Pine-Richland Cruises Past Central Catholic To Secure WPIAL Class 6A Championship

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 18, 2017 | 10:33 PM

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Chris Harlan for TribLive.com

Phil Jurkovec, Jordan Crawford and their Pine-Richland teammates checked their phones for weather updates in the days and hours before they headed to Heinz Field.

The forecast: Rain, and lots of it.

That’s dreadful news for an offense like Pine-Richland’s, which has a Notre Dame commit at quarterback and thrives on quick, accurate passes. But after Saturday’s 42-7 victory over Central Catholic in the WPIAL Class 6A final, wearing uniforms still soaked from the rain, the Rams insisted they were thrilled with the wet weather.

“I know Coach K woke up this morning and was a little nervous, but we were not,” said Crawford, a senior running back who scored twice. “We wanted it to rain to prove to people that we can do anything in any weather situation.”

No team has slowed Pine-Richland this season, so why not take on Mother Nature next?

“That’s the stigma of the spread-offense, right?” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “‘You can’t win in the Northeast running the spread.’ Yeah, we run the spread, but we run the ball pretty darn well. We can throw it when we need to.”

Pine-Richland rolled up 482 yards from scrimmage, scored seven times and led 42-0 early in the fourth quarter.

With temperatures in the 40s, Jurkovec threw three touchdowns and rushed for another as No. 1 seed Pine-Richland (13-0) stormed away with its first WPIAL title since 2014. The Rams face District 6 champion State College next weekend in the PIAA playoffs. No. 2 Central Catholic (10-3) was trying to win its third consecutive WPIAL title.

“They’re the three-headed monster,” Central Catholic quarterback Troy Fisher said. “You can try and stop one, and try to get the others. We’ve always been that the last two years.”

Jurkovec completed 16 of 23 attempts for 283 yards, with touchdowns of 35 and 58 yards to Jason DeFrancesis and a 48-yarder to Raymond Falcone.

Pine-Richland also rushed for 199 yards on 25 carries, led by Jurkovec’s 93 yards. Crawford’s touchdown runs covered 10 and 51 yards.

Pine-Richland has scored at least 41 points every week this season, and no opponent has finished within 20 points.

The rain fared no better.

“Rain really doesn’t scare us,” Kasperowicz said. “And the wind? We threw in the wind last week.”

What did cause Pine-Richland some trouble was Central Catholic’s pressure. The Vikings likely hurried and hit Jurkovec more than any team this season, he said. But Pine-Richland adjusted, eliminated some downfield throws and Jurkovec started tossing the football quicker.

“They did do a nice job, you’ve got to credit their defense,” Jurkovec said. “They had a good game plan against us, but coach (Ryan) Lehmeier, Coach Kasper, they figured out where to attack them. Once we knew how to attack them, then we were able to pick up the yards.”

Pine-Richland led 14-0 after its first two possessions. The first was a five-play, 80-yard drive that included a 50-yard Jurkovec run and ended with Crawford’s 10-yard touchdown run. The second drive covered 65 yards in just three plays, ending with a 48-yard touchdown to Falcone.

Jurkovec and DeFrancisis connected for a 35-yard touchdown catch in the second to lead 21-0 at half. Pine-Richland had 245 first-half yards, while Central Catholic managed just 89.

The Rams pulled away in the third with Crawford’s 51-yard run and DeFrancisis’ 58-yard catch to lead 35-0.

Central’s lone touchdown came on a 2-yard run by Dontre Jones with 1:22 left in the fourth. Pine-Richland’s defense held the Vikings to 158 yards from scrimmage, and Fisher completed just 3 of 9 attempts for 27 yards.