Jehvonn Lewis rushes for 328 yards, 3 TDs to lead Bethel Park over Woodland Hills

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 1, 2018 | 1:09 AM

Friday night, Bethel Park and Woodland Hills put on a rushing exhibition that paid homage to Allegheny County’s football past.

Unfortunately for Woodland Hills, Jehvonn Lewis looked like he came from the future.

The junior running back, who rushed for 369 yards last year, nearly matched that total. Lewis ran for 328 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries to lead the Black Hawks (1-0) to a 41-20 Allegheny Eight win in their season opener.

“We know he’s got a lot of talent,” coach Jeff Metheny said. “He can run and he can do some things. He’ll be a good player for us.”

It wasn’t just another win for Metheny. In his 25th year as head coach, he celebrated his 200th victory on his home field with players, family and friends.

There was plenty to celebrate.

“I’ve had the chance to coach a lot of great kids,” said Metheny, who won a WPIAL championship in 2008. “All my best friends are guys on my staff. This is another game against a really good program that was haven’t beaten too often.”

A rebuilt offensive line (1-0) steamrolled traditionally powerful Woodland Hills (0-2) to the tune of 519 yards on 50 attempts.

“Those guys, last year they played against a lot of older kids,” Metheny said. “They got a lot of work in practice. We knew although they didn’t play in the games a lot, they were pretty impressive. It’s a whole group. They moved in, got coached up, lifted hard.

“I think that’s going to be a strong part of the team this year and next year.”

The Wolverines, missing top receiver/cornerback and Toledo recruit Michael Coleman because of injury, hung in early thanks to some timely turnovers and a strong rushing attack of their own. Anthony Meredith and William Clark led the way, with Clark rushing for 137 yards and one touchdown on 15 attempts.

When the cloud of dust cleared, both teams combined for 747 yards rushing to 76 passing.

Bethel jumped ahead early with Lewis, who ripped off a 36-yard touchdown run for his second of the game. The Black Hawks were ready to go up big before senior tailback Luke Surunis fumbled at the Woodland Hills 1-yard line.

Surunis would compensate with a 9-yard touchdown run after Tyler Thimons blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety.

Bethel went into the half with a 23-7 lead despite a handful of procedure penalties and three total fumbles (two lost) in the first half.

“We have to fix that if we’re going to be a good team,” Metheny said. “Penalties and turnovers … we had a couple (bad) exchanges. It’s not good football. We’ve got to correct those.”

Woodland Hills changed pace in the third quarter with junior tailback Clark, who combined with Meredith for runs of 69 and 54 yards, respectively, to pull the Wolverines within 26-20.

Bethel had seen enough.

Junior quarterback Anthony Chiccitt marched the Black Hawks on an 11-play, 88-yard drive on his team’s ensuing fourth-quarter drive, using more than 6 minutes of clock. His 39-yard play action pass to Surunis in the flat made up for more than half the total passing yards the game.

By the time Lewis followed his own interception of Woodland Hills quarterback Gavin Gurreri-Judson, his 77-yard touchdown run on his final carry was icing on the cake.

“In the scope of things it’s a conference win,” Metheny said. “It’s the first game of the season, and it’s important so we have a lot of excitement right now.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bethel Park, Woodland Hills