Jeannette, Leechburg set for ‘a great challenge’ in Eastern Conference clash

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | 5:56 PM

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The Leechburg and Jeannette football teams followed similar paths in arriving at Friday’s Eastern Conference clash at Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Both suffered Week Zero setbacks — the Blue Devils fell to Apollo-Ridge, whereas the Jayhawks saw Mt. Pleasant rally for a win — before rattling off three straight victories.

Jeannette is out to avenge last year’s 35-13 home loss to Leechburg, which was part of the Blue Devils’ 7-0 start. The Blue Devils are mindful of the Jayhawks’ opportunistic scoring abilities so far this season and hope to quell any such uprisings on their home turf.

It all will be settled starting with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“Jeannette is extremely talented,” Leechburg coach Randy Walters said.

“They look like they are better up front than they were last year. All of their skill position players are a year older and that much more experienced. They are very scary as they can make things happen in space. We have to play very disciplined defense. It’s going to be a great challenge Friday.”

Last year’s win helped Leechburg finish one game ahead of Jeannette in the conference standings. Two years ago, the Jayhawks won 37-31 at Leechburg to finish one game ahead of the Blue Devils in the standings.

“I have the utmost respect for Randy Walters and his staff in what they have been able to do to build up that program to be a contender every year,” Jeannette coach Thomas Paulone said.

“Leechburg has been one of the conference’s best, and we prepare for them as such. They are able to maximize the talent that is on the roster, and that is a gift at this level (Class A). They have a top rusher in the WPIAL again, and I am really not that surprised.”

Paulone knows his team easily could be 4-0. Jeannette built a 23-0 first-half lead over Mt. Pleasant in the opener before the Vikings rallied to stun the Jayhawks, 29-23.

“The best educator is adversity, and the worse educator, sometimes, is success,” he said.

“That loss really molded us into who we are this week. But at this level, it is a week-to-week game. Winning three straight and learning a little bit more about ourselves, we feel pretty good, but we know we have to get better today and then get better tomorrow.”

Jeannette rebounded for wins against Apollo-Ridge, Ligonier Valley and Frazier last Friday.

The Jayhawks scored in all three phases in a 61-19 win over the Commodores. Jeannette led 40-13 at halftime. Kymon’e Brown again was a difference maker for the Jayhawks. The dual-threat quarterback rushed eight times for 142 yards and four touchdowns and completed 6 of 11 passes for 102 yards and a pair of TD tosses to Jayce Powell.

Hunter Schaeffer delivered a 69-yard kickoff return for a score, and Eli Jones returned a fumble 61 yards to the end zone.

Paulone said that, along with the amount of scoring and the ways in which it happened, having no turnovers was key in allowing his team to build a lead and eventually pull away for the win.

Leechburg bounced back from a close 20-16 loss to Apollo-Ridge and rolled past Beth-Center, 58-6, and Serra Catholic, 26-0, before scoring a 27-18 win over Riverview last Friday under the lights at Riverside Park in Oakmont.

“We’re getting better,” Walters said. “I asked the kids after Friday’s game if we played our best, and it was a resounding ‘No.’ We have things to work on this week, and the kids understand what good practices will do to help us stay on the right track.”

Walters said a key part of last Friday’s win was cleaning up the penalties, an improvement in his eyes from a week earlier against Serra.

“We played a pretty sloppy game against Serra, and it might have been the most penalized game I’ve ever coached,” he said.

“It’s not the way we want to do things. We try to be a real disciplined group. We had a couple (of penalties) against Riverview, but we improved with that, and we were able to make plays. We can’t have many penalties in a game like we are playing Friday night. If we have too many penalties or turn the ball over, we’re probably going to lose the game. It could be a pretty even game where it comes down to who makes the fewer mistakes.”

Senior running back Timmy Andrasy continues to carry the load for the Leechburg offense. He delivered three more touchdown runs against Riverview and finished with 162 yards on 33 carries. He has 691 yards and 13 touchdowns on 98 attempts through his first four games.

Junior quarterback Jaxon Vargo has fared well this season in his new role in the Blue Devils offense.

He got things started on the scoreboard against the Raiders with a 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was his third rushing touchdown of the season.

“Jaxon is doing what I knew he would do,” Walters said. “He’s a very smart kid and a hard worker. He’s very coachable. Unfortunately, we lost our best receiver (senior Tristan Zalenski) at the start of the year, and that’s hurt us a little in the passing game, but Jaxon has done a lot of good things for us. He had a couple big runs and throws last week.

“He had big shoes to fill, and people may have had some doubts because Jayden (Floyd) was a heckuva player. But everyone inside the program knew Jaxon could do what he’s doing now.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette, Leechburg