No. 1 Jeannette routs No. 5 OLSH in showdown
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Saturday, October 5, 2019 | 10:09 PM
Jeannette’s Imani Sanders carries for a first down during the second quarter against OLSH Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at Moon Area High School.
Jeannette’s Jackson Pruitt scores during the second quarter against OLSH Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at Moon Area High School.
Jeannette’s James Sanders carries past OLSH’s Stephen Greer during the first quarter Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at Moon Area High School.
Jeannette’s Kalen Piscar picks up a first down during the first quarter against OLSH Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at Moon Area High School.
It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a conference game or not, Jeannette is tough to beat.
The No. 1-ranked Jayhawks won their 16th consecutive nonconference game Saturday night with a decisive 42-13 victory over No. 5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Moon Tigers Stadium.
Jeannette scored on its first five possessions.
James Sanders had 279 passing yards on 18 completions, and Imani Sanders ran for 102 yards and his team’s first two touchdowns.
Jeannette is 7-0 and remains on track for a potential 22nd undefeated regular season, tops in WPIAL history.
OLSH, the defending WPIAL Class A champion, dropped to 5-2.
“I was so proud of the way our kids played, offensively and defensively, tonight,” Jayhawks coach Roy Hall said. “We didn’t punt until late in the third quarter. That’s a credit to our kids and our coaching staff. We had a great week of practice, and it showed tonight.”
Hall thought the game was a good test for his team that’s seeking the 27th conference title in school history.
Said Hall: “It’s very important, especially going into the playoffs. It shows if we can beat them, it would help set us up with a better playoff seeding. We want the ‘W’ like anybody else. They’re the defending WPIAL champs, so that’s big motivation for us.”
After deferring the opening kickoff and stopping the Chargers on downs, Jeannette drove 53 yards in eight plays to get the scoring underway. A 4-yard run by Imani Sanders capped the drive.
The next time the Jayhawks got the ball, a nine-play drive resulted in a 1-yard scoring run by Imani Sanders. Passes of 22 and 15 yards to Toby Cline set up the score.
On the ensuing kickoff, the squib kick hit an OLSH player, and Emilio Huerta recovered the loose ball for Jeannette.
From the OLSH 47, the Jayhawks needed seven plays to tack on another score. Cline’s 5-yard pass from James Sanders put the Jayhawks in front 21-0 with 8 minutes, 42 seconds left in the half.
“I thought they were much better than we were,” Chargers coach Dan Bradley said. “We were missing some guys up front, but I don’t think they would have helped us tonight. That team had more skill and more will tonight.”
OLSH scored on a 34-yard pass from Jaymar Pearson to Bobby Brazell midway through the second quarter. Brazell caught the ball on the left sideline and nicked the pylon for the score.
Jackson Pruitt scored on an 8-yard run, and James Sanders scored on a 1-yard keeper to give the Jayhawks a 35-7 halftime lead.
Cline took a short pass over the middle and raced 42 yards for a touchdown to get the mercy-rule clock running.
Sanders was adept at faking a handoff into the line, then firing a quick pass over the middle.
Pearson finished with 114 passing yards.
“He’s getting better every week,” Bradley said of Pearson. “He threw some balls that should have been caught tonight. He’s getting better with his reads and with command of the huddle.”
James Sanders has 1,064 passing yards on the season and 15 touchdown passes.
Imani Sanders has 616 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.
Tags: Jeannette, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
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