Leechburg beats California in school’s 1st playoff game at Veterans Stadium

By: George Guido
Friday, November 5, 2021 | 10:30 PM

It was a memorable night for Leechburg’s first home playoff game at Veterans Stadium.

The Blue Devils stopped California on downs twice deep in their own territory in the third quarter then scored two touchdowns in 91 seconds early in the fourth quarter to defeat the Trojans, 28-7, before a huge home crowd.

It was the first playoff victory for Leechburg since a 7-0 win over Neshannock in 1978.

Junior Braylan Lovelace ran for 160 yards and scored three touchdowns, and Thomas Burke III threw for 108 yards to pace Leechburg.

The Blue Devils (9-2) will play Cornell on Friday at a site and time to be determined.

“It was pretty cool,” said Leechburg coach Randy Walters, summing up the evening. “Great crowd here, great student section and the community has been behind us a thousand percent.”

The Blue Devils had a 14-7 halftime lead, but California took the kickoff and drove to the Leechburg 9.

Defensive end Eli Rich took over, making two tackles behind the line of scrimmage and, after a holding penalty against the Trojans, Rich and Jacob Reinke hurried California quarterback Hunter Assad’s fourth-down pass attempt.

“They score there, then it gets real hairy,” Walters said. “Once we steeled down and the defense made those, we started to get going.”

After a 6-yard punt, the Trojans took over on the Blue Devils 41. Once California got inside the 20, Rich and Reinke made key plays to preserve the slim lead.

“We’ve been working hard, and it’s amazing what we’ve been able to do,” Rich said. “Once that happened, all the momentum came to us.”

Leechburg took over on downs at its 29 and drove 71 yards in seven plays, with Lovelace taking the ball the final 2 yards with 10 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game.

Three plays after the kickoff, Tino DeCapite stripped the ball from Assad and made the recovery. Two plays later on a sweep right, Lovelace escaped a tackler in his backfield and got loose for a 56-yard scoring run to ice the contest.

“I was able to get out on the edge, and my line did a great job blocking and I saw my path,” Lovelace said.

The Leechburg picked up two more turnovers, stopped the Trojans on downs again, then were able to run out the clock.

“It feels great. First time Leechburg was able to see a playoff game in 33 years,” Burke said. “To come out and be able to play like this in front of the community was great.”

Leechburg’s last playoff game was a 35-0 loss to Wilmington in 1988.

The Blue Devils took an 8-0 lead when Lovelace scored with 1:32 to go in the first period. After a bad snap, Burke found freshman Jayden Floyd in the end zone for a 2-point conversion.

Jake Schuffert booted a 36-yard field goal to make it 11-0.

The Trojans (7-3) answered with a 61-yard drive in three plays with Damani Stafford running all three times.

Schuffert had a 30-yard field goal late in the half.

“It felt great to have the whole community behind us tonight,” Lovelace said.

Leechburg is 5-3 overall in WPIAL playoff games. California is 7-23.

Tags: California, Leechburg