Phil Jurkovec, Pine-Richland dominate Wayne (Ohio) in nationally televised game

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 27, 2017 | 4:30 PM

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The ESPN cameras showed a national audience what Western Pennsylvania already knew.

Phil Jurkovec is pretty good.

And his Pine-Richland Rams could be the best team in the state.

The Notre Dame-bound quarterback threw three touchdowns and rushed for three more Sunday afternoon to defeat Ohio powerhouse Wayne, 41-0, in a made-for-TV matchup that turned instead into a major mismatch.

With a 35-point halftime lead, the large crowd that filled Pine-Richland’s stadium saw the clock ran continuously in the second half under the mercy rule.

This was Jurkovec’s first action since last September, when a thumb injury ended his junior season in Week 5. The injury required surgery on his throwing hand, but the senior looked maybe better than ever Sunday.

It was important to “shake the rust off,” Jurkovec said, but that didn’t take him long. His first snap was a 14-yard completion to Raymond Falcone.

“He’s by far the best we’ve gone against ever,” said Wayne coach Jay Minton, a 36-year coaching veteran who’s led Wayne for 20 seasons.

“We had a pretty good one in (former Ohio State star) Braxton Miller,” Minton added, “but I’ll tell you what, some of the things that kid (Jurkovec) can do, he just wows you.”

Jurkovec completed 14 of 20 attempts for 250 yards with touchdown throws of 28, 27 and 24 yards to three different receivers. He had 107 rushing yards on just seven carries and scored from 65, 21 and two yards away.

This was vintage Phil, coach Eric Kasperowicz said, the player who threw for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 as a sophomore.

“You kind of forget how good Phil is because he missed so much last year,” junior lineman Andrew Kristofic said, “… but you saw a lot of what you saw last year whenever he was healthy. Phil’s a great player.”

But it wasn’t Jurkovec alone who dominated Wayne, a team from Huber Heights, Ohio, near Dayton. The Rams defense, now directed by Kasperowicz, forced four turnovers. One fumble was forced at Pine-Richland’s 11-yard line and another at the 22. A year ago, the team allowed almost 30 points per game.

“That’s probably the best our defense has played in a long time,” Jurkovec said, “and our offensive line was dominant, I thought. They gave me so much time. Wayne wasn’t little at all. Their D-linemen were big dudes, but our offensive line was able to handle them and really dominate.”

The Rams allowed just one sack to a lineup that starts a Kentucky-bound defensive lineman.

“We’ve got to take care of him,” Kristofic said. “He’s our quarterback. We take it personally whenever someone gets a chance to hit him.”

For much of the afternoon, Jurkovec had ample time to wait and throw. His touchdowns passes included a 28-yarder to Falcone, a 29-yarder to Jason DeFrancisis and a 24-yarder to Crawford on the first possession after halftime.

With a 41-0 lead, Jurkovec then headed to the bench early.

DeFrancisis had 103 yards on three receptions, and Falcone led with five catches for 81.

Afterward, Pine-Richland’s only cause for concern was the health of tailback Kenny White, who injured his knee in the second quarter and needed crutches. Kasperowicz said White will have an MRI soon. The senior was a 1,300-yard rusher last season for West Allegheny.

“We’re praying for him,” Kasperowicz said, “hoping it’s not the worst.”

This was the second year in a row Pine-Richland started its season on ESPN. The Rams lost 28-27 a year ago at St. Edward of Lakewood, Ohio, near Cleveland.

This year, ESPN arranged Wayne as a Week Zero opponent for Pine-Richland, the top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 6A. The Dayton-area school was state runner-up for 2014 and ’15 in Ohio’s largest classification. This year’s roster featured four-star recruit L’Christian Smith, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior receiver who committed to Ohio State before kickoff.

But Smith was a non-factor Sunday with 30 total years, and Wayne looked overwhelmed almost from the start.

A 64-yard touchdown run by Jurkovec — with a stiff-arm near midfield — gave Pine-Richland a 7-0 less than 4 minutes into the first quarter. The senior had more than 300 yards of offense in the first half, which also included touchdown runs of 21 and 1 yard.

“It’s no surprise to me,” Kasperowics said. “He’s been doing that for years, so we knew about him. But he came out (and convinced a national audience) on a big stage against a quality opponent.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Pine-Richland