PIAA Class A football championship preview: Jeannette vs. Steelton-Highspire

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 | 12:01 AM

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No. 2 Jeannette vs. No. 1 Steelton-Highspire

11 a.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey

On the air: Audio: TribHSSN.triblive.com

PIAA titles: Jeannette 2 (2007 in Class AA, 2017). Steelton-Highspire 2 (2007, 2008)

Jeannette (10-1)

Player to watch

Brett Birch, Junior, 5-10, 170, WR/DB

Birch received an offer from Central Michigan after his sophomore season. He’s coming off a three-catch game for 87 yards against Reynolds. He also intercepted two passes and had two crunching tackles. He serves as the team’s long snapper as well.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Brad Birch, 108-184, 1,676 yards, 28 TDs; Roberto Smith Jr. 12-24, 388, 3 TDs.

Rushing: Roberto Smith Jr., 112-780 yards, 22 TDs

Receiving: Brett Birch, 40-571 yards, 10 TDs; Toby Cline, 33-513, 10 TDs; James Sanders 29-590, 10 TDs; Kaelen Piscar, 20-291, 7 TDs.

How they got here: In the WPIAL playoffs, No. 3 seed Jeannette defeated No. 6 Avella, 62-14, in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Rochester, 40-13, in the semifinals, and No. 1 Clairton, 45-14, in the finals. In the PIAA semifinals, the Jayhawks defeated District 10 champion Reynolds, 48-12.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Roy Hall

Offense

LT, 65, Xavier Harper, 6-0 217, sr.

LG, 55, Justin Shank, 6-1, 290, jr.

C, 59, Ryan Kimmel, 6-1, 205, so.

RG, 53, Christian Blasco, 5-9, 235, sr.

RT, 64, Emilio Huerta, 5-9, 200, sr.

QB, 5, Roberto Smith Jr., 6-1, 188, sr.

WR, 4, James Sanders, 5-7, 148, sr.

WR, 6, Toby Cline, 5-9, 165, sr.

WR, 7, Brett Birch, 5-10, 170, jr.

HB, 13, Kaelan Piscar, 6-0, 200, sr.

RB, 21, Jaydin Canady, 5-9, 175, so.

Defense

DT, 59, Ryan Kimmel, 6-1, 205, so.

NG, 23, Taishawn Jamison, 5-8, 170, jr.

DT, 64, Emilio Huerta, 5-8, 190, sr.

DT, 55, Justin Shank, 6-1, 290, jr.

LB, 5, Roberto Smith Jr., 6-1, 188, sr.

LB, 13, Kaelan Piscar, 6-0, 200, sr.

LB, 6, Toby Cline, 5-9, 165, sr.

LB, 80, Elijah Binakonsky, 6-0, 185, so.

LB, 21, Jaydin Canady, 5-9, 175, so.

CB, 7, Brett Birch, 5-10, 170, jr.

CB, 4, James Sanders, 5-7, 148, sr.

S, 16, Tyler Horn, 5-11, 155, jr.

Special teams

K, 5, Roberto Smith Jr., 6-1, 188, sr.

P, 6, Toby Cline, 5-9, 165, sr.

LS, 7, Brett Birch, 5-10, 170, jr.

Notable: The Jayhawks are on a 10-game winning streak. … Jeannette hadn’t reached the PIAA finals since winning the title in 2017. … Roy Hall has been the head coach of the Jayhawks since 2009. His record is 115-26. … This is Jeannette’s fourth trip to the PIAA championship game. They won in 2007 and 2017 and fell in 2006. … The Jeannette roster has three sets of brothers — Brett and Brad Birch, James and Noah Sanders, and Xavier and Savion Harper. … Jeannette’s postseason record is 57-33-1 in the WPIAL playoffs and 8-1 in the PIAA playoffs. … The Jayhawks are 766-319-40 overall, ranking No. 1 in wins in the WPIAL. … Jeannette’s offense averages 47.5 points per game and its defense allows 12.3.

Steelton-Highspire (9-0)

Player to watch

Mehki Flowers, Junior, 6-2, 181, WR

Flowers is a 4-star safety. He has 21 scholarship offers including Pitt, Penn State, Arizona State, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. He caught an 87-yard touchdown pass against Bishop Guilfoyle last week. The rangy wide receiver has 56 catches for 940 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Alex Erby, 142-236, 2,308 yards, 31 TDs

Rushing: Odell Greene, 203-1,485 yards, 13 TDs

Receiving: Mehki Greene, 56-940, 14 TDs; Damein Hammonds, 41-677, 10TDs; Tyrone Moore, 28-502 yards, 5 TDs.

How they got here: District 3 champion Steel-High defeated Muncy, 50-43, Old Forge, 39-36, and Bishop Guilfoyle, 16-14. They defeated Delone Catholic, 28-13, in the D3 championship game.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Andrew Erby

Offense

LT, 52, Tydre Holland-Alli, 6-1, 160, sr.

LG, 51, Marlyn Davis, 6-3, 275, jr.

C, 55, Marcus Martinez, 5-10, 215, sr.

RG, 50, Tyhri Duncan, 6-0, 250, sr.

RT, 75, Kiyler Raye, 5-11, 245, sr.

WR, 2, Damein Hammonds, 6-2, 180, sr.

WR, 3, Daivin Pryor, 5-9, 150, jr.

WR, 5, Tyrone Moore, 6-1, 175, jr.

WR, 24, Taeyon Bratton, 5-6, 200, jr.

WR, 9, Mehki Flowers, 6-2, 181, jr.

RB, 4, Odell Greene, 5-11, 195, sr.

QB, 1, Alex Erby, 6-2, 190, fr.

Defense

DE, 75, Kiyler Raye, 5-11, 245, sr.

DT, 52, Tydre Holland-Alli, 6-1, 160, sr.

DT, 53, Andrew Erby Jr., 6-3, 240, fr.

DE, 56, Eugene Green, 6-1, 150, fr.

LB, 7, Tyshaun Holland-Alli, 6-1, 180, so.

LB, 10, Jaieon Perry, 5-9, 150, fr.

LB, 12, Amari Williams, 6-1, 180, jr.

LB, 15, Zaheim Lewis, 6-1, 170, jr.

LG, 51, Marlyn Davis, 6-3, 275, jr.

CB, 3, Daivin Pryor, 5-9, 150, jr.

CB, 5, Tyrone Moore, 6-1, 175, jr.

S, 9, Mehki Flowers, 6-2, 181, jr.

S, 4, Odell Greene, 5-11, 195, sr.

Special teams

K, 16, Bryan Hernandez, 5-11, 160, sr.

P, 10, Jaieon Perry, 5-9, 150, fr.

LS, 5, Tyrone Moore, 6-1, 175, jr.

Notable: Steelton-Highspire won PIAA Class A titles in 2007 and 2008. … Head coach Andrew Erby, a 2000 Steel-High grad, was the linebacker coach on the 2008 team. He’s been the head coach for eight seasons. … Steel-High defeated Serra, 34-15, in 2007 and Clairton, 35-16, in 2008. The Steamrollers are 772-439-55 according to Dr. Roger Saylor’s records, but Steel-High officials dispute that and say its records have 797 wins. .… Steel-High averages 37.7 points and its defense allows 21.

Game scores

Jeannette (9-1)

27 Clairton 34

55 Riverview 6

45 Imani Christian 0

60 Leechburg 14

36 Springdale 28

49 Bishop Canevin 0

55 Greensburg Central Catholic 0

WPIAL playoffs

62 Avella 14

40 Rochester 13

45 Clairton 14

PIAA playoffs

48 Reynolds 12

Steelton-Highspire (9-0)

43 Upper Dauphin 6

43 Middletown 21

77 Trinity 0

36 Camp Hill 26

District 3 Playoffs

65 Big Springs 30

28 Delone Catholic 13

PIAA playoffs

50 Muncy 43

39 Old Forge 36

16 Bishop Guilfoyle 14

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Jeannette