Jefferson-Morgan putting pieces together for more Tri-County South success
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Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | 6:01 AM
Jefferson-Morgan skyrocketed into the playoffs in 2023, ending an 11-year playoff drought. The Rockets built on that in 2024, completing a 10-0 season and the Tri-County South Conference before a first-round loss to South Side.
The Rockets faithful lined the streets for the last regular season game and sent them off before they defeated California, 28-27.
“The fans have been awesome,” coach Shane Ziats said. “The community has been awesome. The school’s been great. The kids, I couldn’t ask anything more from the kids. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them, some of them a little bit beyond.”
The Rockets proved they can win, but now they want to stay on top, this time with a target on their back.
“It was the first time we’ve been in the playoffs in 11 years,” Ziats said of 2023. “We’re just trying to build off of that momentum, trying to get that mojo back, trying to get the players into that groove.”
Quarterback Houston Guesman and rising senior wide receiver Deakyn Dehoet made quite the duo last season.
Guesman graduated after throwing for 1,852 yards with 26 touchdown passes to four interceptions and notched 1,175 rushing yards and 14 scores.
Dehoet, an all-conference wide receiver, was fifth in the WPIAL in receiving yards, catching 52 passes for 1,038 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Dehoet and Triton Farabee have shared quarterback duties in the offseason. No matter where he lines, Ziats said Dehoet will be a player the Rockets rely on.
“He’s the guy,” Ziats said. “He’s who we’re looking for. He’s who we’re looking at. We got guys that are going to go fill in the blanks around him, but for his ability and for his athleticism in a (Class) A school, he’s the guy.”
Dehoet is ready to take snaps at wide receiver, running back and quarterback and said he gained confidence after reaching his goals last season.
“At the beginning of our season, my goal was to surpass 1,000 yards, and it felt great meeting that achievement,” Dehoet said. “It felt good to help Houston meet his goal with 1,000 in passing and receiving.”
Another piece of the puzzle the Rockets have in place is all-conference honoree Eli Hill, who part of the entire returning starting offensive line.
“Eli’s a great leader for the line,” Dehoet said. “He’s definitely one of the hardest workers we have on the team, and he’s a great leader overall.”
Ziats has confidence in the experienced linemen heading into 2025.
“Some of these guys are going to be four-year starters,” Ziats said. “That’s big. All the guys have been around together, the camaraderie they have, they know, and they all know what they’re going to do, and how they’re going to do things. That’s huge.”
Hill shares Ziats’ opinion and added that all-conference linemen Landon and Levi Heath will also play a huge role.
“We have a lot of chemistry,” Hill added. “We’ve grown up with each other our whole lives, so it just helps out a lot.”
Running behind the veteran line will be all-conference senior John Woodward, who mustered 658 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season.
“He’s just always so reliable,” Hill said. “We’ll be good at running the ball again. Won’t have any problems with that.”
Woodward is going into his second season as a starter. He also earned snaps at running back when he was a sophomore in 2023.
“He’s going to be big,” Ziats said. “We will try to run the football again, and as long as he can run, as long as the line’s going to be OK, we’re going to move the football. Those are huge components of our offense.”
Ziats also has been impressed with his wide receivers — sophomore Liam Rogers and senior Jeremiah Robertson.
Rogers will be a first-year starter.
“Liam’s going to be playing lead receiver,” Dehoet said. “He’s good. He has speed and is shifty.”
The Rockets appear to have the pieces to again contend, but Ziats stressed that wins won’t come easy. He added that he wants to have his players keep a winning mentality.
“It’s still under the fourth year, so we’re still kind of getting into the idea that we still need to compete every single minute of every single game,” Ziats said. “We can’t let up. We can’t relax and think about the games in hand. We need to compete for all 48 minutes.”
Jefferson-Morgan
Coach: Shane Ziats
2024 record: 10-1, 7-0 in Class A Tri-County South Conference
All-time record: 372-476-36
SCHEDULE
Date, Opponent, Time
8.22 Chartiers-Houston, 7
8.29 Waynesburg, 7
9.5 at Burgettstown, 7
9.12 at Mapletown*, 7
9.19 Carmichaels*, 7
9.26 at West Greene*, 7
10.3 Beth-Center*, 7
10.10 at Bentworth*, 7
10.17 Avella*, 7
10.24 California*, 7
*Conference game
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing: Houston Guesman*
94-156, 1,852 yards, 26 TDs
Rushing: Guesman*
128-1,175 yards, 14 TDs
Receiving: Deakyn Dehoet
52-1,038 yards, 20 TDs
FAST FACTS
• Shane Ziats was a walk-on at Cal (Pa.), where he later earned a scholarship and became an Academic All-American.
• Ziats coached West Greene, and his alma mater Beth-Center as an offensive line coach. He also coached in college with Charleston (W.Va.) and Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Mansfield.
• The Rockets won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 1973 and ‘74.
• Dick Grey, a Jefferson-Morgan alum, played on the 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers, which was their first year after moving from Brooklyn. Grey played for Waynesburg University.
Tags: Jefferson-Morgan
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