Jeannette pulls away from Riverview to complete turnaround after slow start to season

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 4:51 PM

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Jeannette quarterback Kymon’e Brown couldn’t say he was happy with how things were in early October. The Jayhawks had just suffered their third straight loss and made a habit of fading after halftime.

But the way Brown looked at it, Jeannette had an opportunity to turn around its season and grab a wild card for the WPIAL Class A playoffs. The Jayhawks ended that journey Saturday at Riverside Park in Oakmont, with Brown being involved in all five of Jeannette’s touchdowns in a 34-20 win over Riverview.

“We are the best that we’ve been all season on the offensive and defensive end,” Brown said. “We are getting more stops every game. We are getting more stops and more stops. I feel like we are playing hard together, and it’s showing.”

Brown passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the Jayhawks with 147 rushing yards and scored three times.

Jeannette (7-3, 4-3) made a living from big plays. Noah Sunder caught touchdown passes of 75 and 35 yards, and Brown scored on a 90-yard run.

Riverview coach Trevor George said the Raiders got caught applying pressure a few times.

“We threw a couple of blitzes in there,” George said. “They were able to break our coverage a couple times.”

Brown opened the scoring with a 3-yard run in the first quarter. Riverview tied the score with a quick-strike drive.

The Raiders went 65 yards in two plays. Connor Kmetz found Alex Schulheis for a 47-yard pass. Kmetz then tied the score with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rio Stotts.

Riverview’s joy would be short-lived. Brown found Sunder, who had slipped behind the secondary, for a 75-yard touchdown on the next play from scrimmage.

“We wanted to come out and strike first,” Brown said.

Sunder’s first touchdown was the start of 27 consecutive points for the Jayhawks. Riverview didn’t score again until the fourth quarter.

“We had good execution all around, staff and players,” Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone Jr. said.

Schultheis scored on a 75-yard run for Riverview to cut the lead to 34-14. After the Raiders recovered an onside kick, Max Kratt scored on an 8-yard run to cut the deficit to 14 with a few minutes remaining.

Kmetz finished with 137 passing yards. Schultheis caught six passes to set a school record for catches in a season (35).

“They did a great job pressuring us,” George said. “The concepts we are trying to run aren’t developing yet. I think they had six or seven sacks in the second half.”

Paulone was happy with how the Jayhawks sealed their playoff spot. Jeannette received the No. 13 seed and will travel to Neshannock for a first-round playoff game next Friday.

“We sat in a team meeting when we lost three straight and said you are capable of winning three straight,” Paulone said. “Let’s see where we end up. That’s what we did, and we are currently sitting right now.”

Tags: Jeannette, Riverview