No. 4 McKeesport stifles Latrobe in 49-0 rout

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 30, 2017 | 8:57 PM

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McKeesport's triple option, flexbone offense is a sight to behold when it's in high gear.

But Tigers coach Matt Miller wants to see his team's defense appreciated.

The McKeesport offense scored three touchdowns in the first nine minutes, but the defense set up the next two as the No. 4 Tigers rolled past Latrobe, 48-0, in a WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference game Saturday afternoon at Weigle-Schaeffer Stadium.

After McKeesport had taken a 20-0 lead with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first quarter, Knota Goskins grabbed a loose ball at the Wildcats' 23 and raced in for a touchdown.

De'Shon Webb then picked off a Jason Armstrong pass at the 23, setting up a 15-yard scoring run by Carlinos Acie on the following play. That gave the Tigers a 34-0 advantage with 1:39 left in the opening quarter.

McKeesport (4-1, 4-1) held Latrobe (2-4, 1-3) to 74 yards in the first half and tackled the Wildcats for a loss 11 times on the day.

“Those turnovers, I think, really turned the game,” Miller said. “I hope we're known for our defense and not our offense. If you're going to win big games, you better be able to stop people, and so far, we've been able to do pretty well.”

John Harper got the scoring barrage underway with a 63-yard run on the game's second play from scrimmage. After a 12-yard Wildcats punt, Layton Jordan scored on a 35-yard run up the middle.

“All week in preparation, you always know going in that it's very tough to simulate the speed that they truly have on the football field,” Latrobe coach Jason Marucco said. “That was very evident early on. We couldn't get anything going, and we couldn't match their speed.”

On the third Tigers drive, Harper soared over the pile and stretched the ball into the end zone for the score.

“That was our plan. We wanted to get on them quick,” Miller said.

“They gave Penn-Trafford a real good first half last week, and we knew they would be a formidable opponent. Harper does a great job for us making the reads.”

The Tigers attempted only three passes, giving them 13 on the season. One was a 51-yard completion from Harper to Branson Smith, who got behind the Latrobe secondary.

Harper capped a nine-play drive with a 2-yard burst to make it 48-0 with 1:07 left in the half.

“We definitely focused on taking down the inside and get them out on the perimeter,” Marucco said. “But they were able to pitch the ball and get it out to the perimeter. Overall, I thought we did a decent job on the dive, but they made plays on the perimeter, and that's to McKeesport's credit.”

Miller, a second-year coach, pulled his starters at the start of the second half.

The only original starter who got yardage was Jordan, running out of the end zone after a punt snap was bounced to him in the third quarter. Jordan raced out to the 36 to give him 100 rushing yards on the day.Harper had 83 rushing yards, Acie had 60 and Marcquis Butler 45.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Latrobe, McKeesport