Jeannette tops rival Clairton to reach 3rd straight WPIAL title game

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 17, 2017 | 11:12 PM

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When Clairton trounced Jeannette in the final game of the regular season three weeks ago, Bears coach Wayne Wade felt his team took it to the Jayhawks in the second half.

In the rematch Friday night, Jeannette didn’t flinch when Clairton took the lead in the third quarter. This time, the Jayhawks hit back.

Robert Kennedy raced 19 yards for the winning touchdown with 5 minutes, 33 seconds left, and quarterback Seth Howard sealed the deal with a 29-yard score with 3:06 remaining, as No. 3 Jeannette stunned No. 2 Clairton, 18-7, in the WPIAL Class A semifinals Friday at Elizabeth Forward’s Warrior Stadium.

It was the first time Jeannette has defeated Clairton, ending a six-game losing streak. Clairton leads the series, 6-1-1. Jeannette also stopped Clairton’s 14-game winning streak in the WPIAL playoffs and ended Clairton’s three-year reign as champion.

“That wasn’t a monkey on my back, it was a gorilla, and the team got it off,” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said after his team’s dramatic fourth-quarter comeback for the second consecutive week.

Jeannette (12-1) rallied to defeat Rochester, 30-26, last week.

Now the Jayhawks will play Imani Christian, which defeated No. 1 California, 30-26, at noon Nov. 25 at Robert Morris’ Joe Walton Stadium.

“This was a great win, and I almost forget that we still have to play the championship game next week,” Hall said. “I thought we played with some swag. The players responded well. They made everyone at the school and community proud.

“This team played with heart. We overcame a lot from injuries to distractions. I’m so darn proud of them.”

Clairton (9-3) grabbed a 7-6 lead on its first series of the second half by driving 76 yards in 15 plays with Aaron Thompson scoring from the 1.

But Jeannette, which crumbled in the second half in the previous game, wouldn’t go away. The Jayhawks drove to the Clairton 2 before a sack forced a them to attempt a 26-yard field goal, which Tre Cunningham missed wide right.

“I felt we moved the ball well enough, but penalties hurt us,” Wade said. “They responded well after we scored. Tonight, they punched back and we didn’t respond.”

Then, the Jeannette defense came up big. After Clairton moved to its 43, linebacker Justin Cramer and tackle Jalen Jones forced key stops to end the drive.

That’s when Jeannette’s offense took over.

Seth Howard connected on a 31-yard strike to Kennedy, who made an Antonio Brown-like one-hand catch against his helmet to the Clairton 19. Then Kennedy, who opened the scoring with a 50-yard interception return in the second quarter, raced 19 yards to the end zone to give Jeannette a 12-7 lead.

“I felt we wanted this game more, and it showed,” Kennedy said. “We wanted this win for coach Hall. That catch, I make every day in practice. Our defense came up big, and Anthony (Johnson) and Jalen (Jones) were making plays all over the place.”

Clairton was faced with fourth-and-5 from its 49, but defensive end Anthony Johnson raced in and sacked Clairton quarterback Brendan Parsons, forcing a fumble that he recovered at the Clairton 26. Three plays later, Seth Howard raced 29 yards for the final score.

“We were focused all week in practice,” Johnson said. “I was never part of this rivalry until this season, but it feels great to finally beat them.”

Tre’sean Howard rushed for 151 yards for Clairton.

Clairton’s defense turned away Jeannette early in the second quarter when Seth Howard and Kennedy failed to gain a yard on consecutive plays from the Bears 8.

The punting of Jeannette’s Cunningham kept Clairton bottled up. The Bears never cross midfield in the first half.

Seth Howard completed 5 of 7 passes for 101 yards, rushed for 84 yards and caught a 23-yard pass from Kennedy.

Kennedy rushed for 47 yards and caught three passes for 69 yards.

“We got in a big huddle and said don’t give up,” Kennedy said. “We have a saying 4-5-6, don’t give up and we didn’t.”

Now Jeannette must regroup and get ready for Imani Christian, a team it defeated 54-36 on Sept. 23.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Clairton, Jeannette