McKeesport gets rolling early, often against Ringgold

By: Jose Negron
Friday, October 2, 2020 | 11:31 PM

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Entering the season, McKeesport coach Matt Miller knew the Tigers’ renowned triple-option offense would be in good hands with quarterbacks Caleb Reist and Terrance Glenn at the forefront.

That was certainly the case Friday as the duo combined to run for more than 200 yards and three first-quarter touchdowns in McKeesport’s convincing 54-0 victory over Ringgold in Class 4A Big 8 Conference play at Joe Montana Stadium.

Reist, who made his first start of the season under center, carried the ball six times for 112 yards. He got the scoring started in the opening quarter with a 47-yard touchdown run.

Glenn was used in the backfield and was just as dynamic, finishing with nine carries for 134 yards and rushing scores of 7 and 95 yards.

“Hats off to Terrance because he held us in place for the first three weeks as we were getting Caleb back from an injury from last year. With Caleb ready to go under center, Terrance solidified himself at fullback,” Miller said. “Terrance is a great, selfless player.”

After undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury, Reist did begin the season playing on the defensive side of the ball. He didn’t have the comfortability early on to step in at quarterback.

He got his shot against the Rams and made the most of it, even completing a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kanye Thompson for the final score of the second quarter.

“Over the last couple of weeks, he proved more and more to be ready,” Miller said. “It was time to make the move and he looked really good. He is a bright kid, and he’s played quarterback forever. He was able to really run the offense well.”

While McKeesport (3-1, 2-1) ran with ease, finishing with 382 rushing yards and 418 total yards, Ringgold (1-3, 0-3) struggled mightily to get anything going on offense.

A week after rolling to a 48-6 nonconference win over Uniontown, the Rams finished with just 27 total yards, all of which came on the ground.

Their longest play of the night came on a 20-yard run on a fake punt by punter Clayton Rosensteel.

“We knew the challenge that lied ahead of us, and we’re a work in progress. The kids work hard every week, but it was a complete and utter breakdown,” Ringgold coach Darwin Manges said. “It’s just disappointing that we didn’t take advantage of the things we do well and continue to build off of that. It was like we took a step back tonight.”

Reist and Glenn helped McKeesport take a 21-0 lead after 12 minutes of play, but they weren’t the only contributors in the Tigers’ running game.

Asaad Robinson added a 17-yard touchdown and Jahmil Perryman followed witha 20-yard score to push McKeesport’s lead to 35-0.

After a Ringgold fumble allowed the Tigers to regain possession, Reist found Thompson for the lone passing score of the night.

Perryman added a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Caiden Holtzman finished off the scoring in the fourth with a 45-yard score.

Two weeks after being shut out by Belle Vernon and a week after scoring just 10 points in a win over Trinity, McKeesport’s offense got back on track heading into a conference home matchup against West Mifflin next week.

“We knew we could score.We just hadn’t been able to do it,” Miller said. “We haven’t been able to stay healthy, but credit to the kids because they grinded. We’re hoping this is just the start of things to come.

“West Mifflin is an opponent we haven’t played in a long time, but I know it’s going to be exciting.”

Ringgold’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Rams travel to Belle Vernon next week before hosting Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin to end the season.

“When you’re going up against opponents like this week in and week out, it’s hard to catch your breath,” Manges said. “These next couple of weeks are going to be no different.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: McKeesport, Ringgold