Jeannette showing no let-up in WPIAL, PIAA playoff run

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, November 26, 2017 | 8:00 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

With the score tied 28-28 and a little more than five minutes remaining on a windy Saturday afternoon in Moon Township, Jeannette turned to a rallying cry to help turn the tide in its favor.

Players were chanting the team's three favorite numbers.

Not 734. That number is nice, too. It's the program's win total following a 35-34 win over Imani Christian in the WPIAL championship that gave the Jayhawks their ninth district title — the first in Class A — in 117 years of football. The win total ties them with New Castle for the most in WPIAL history.

No, Jeannette would play this daily number straight: 4, 5, 6.

“Everyone on the field kept saying we gotta keep going. We can't give up,” junior running back Zack Berginc said. “Everybody on the sidelines was yelling, ‘4-5-6. Don't quit.' ”

The go-to chant has helped Jeannette reach for something extra, especially in tight playoff games, like a personal trainer at the gym pushing them to go beyond their limit.

Jeannette (13-1) wasn't ready for its season to end Saturday. It rallied from a 28-21 deficit after three quarters with a Robert Kennedy-led surge in the fourth quarter to edge past high-powered Imani Christian at Robert Morris.

Kennedy, whose nickname is “Poogie,” scored two touchdowns and intercepted two passes in the final quarter — the second on Imani's 2-point conversion try with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left that would have given the Saints the lead — then ran for a couple of first downs to ice it.

He wouldn't quit with a title hanging in the balance.

“We get together and the kids always say, ‘1-2-3, Hawks,' ” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said. “I put in the 4-5-6 part about five years ago. We even had T-shirts made up … ‘4-5-6, don't quit.' And that sticks. The whole playoffs has been like this. I am so proud of these kids. We had a bunch of distractions this year, but we pulled through it.”

Hall said the momentum from an 18-7 win over nemesis Clairton in the semifinals still resonates.

“Clairton owned single-A,” Hall said. “That win was huge. But it's been every game. We had a great comeback against Rochester. … We beat a great Imani team. There is so much talent on that team.”

Now, it's on to the PIAA semifinals for the Jayhawks, who play District 10 champion Farrell (11-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Seneca Valley.

“Basketball can wait,” Jeannette junior receiver Marcus Barnes said. “We're going to states.”

While the WPIAL final is considered the quarterfinals of the state tournament, Jeannette hasn't played a non-WPIAL team in the PIAA playoffs since the Terrelle Pryor era. In 2007, it finished 16-0 and won the Class AA title with a 49-21 win over Dunmore in the championship in Hershey.

The previous year, the Jayhawks reached the PIAA final but lost to Wilson Area, 29-28.

Jeannette wants another state playoff run. And the can't-let-up mentality could come with it.

“We were ring chasing,” senior wide receiver Tre Cunningham said after Saturday's win. “We had to keep going.”

Cunningham is one of only five players to win a WPIAL baseball and football championship at Jeannette. The baseball players won in the spring and were presented their rings last week during a football pep rally.

Kennedy, who has more than 1,000 yards passing and receiving, shared time at quarterback in the championship game with Seth Howard. The platoon system could continue Friday night.

“You go as the game goes,” Hall said. “Seth's finger was (injured), but he stepped up and made some plays when we needed him to. He's still our quarterback. Robert will still play where we have him. We used Robert as a decoy, which opened up some other things for us. That was our game plan. And I think that kept them off-balance.”

Jeannette's title was the first in football by a Westmoreland County team since Greensburg Central Catholic won in 2009. The Jayhawks had lost in their last three trips to the WPIAL finals, including back-to-back defeats in 2015 and '16.

“I was so nervous because I was 0-3,” Hall said. “Our principal told me, ‘Don't look behind you. Go forward.' ”

And now he can. To the state playoffs. Six playoff wins would mean a state title, so two more await … 4, 5, 6.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Jeannette