Pine-Richland’s Luke Meckler scores 4 times in first quarter to defeat Central Catholic

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 28, 2018 | 10:12 PM

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Pine-Richland and Central Catholic created some extraordinary moments in Friday’s first quarter, but in much different ways.

Pine’s Luke Meckler ran wild on nine carries for 245 yards and four touchdowns in those first 12 minutes as the Rams scored 35 points in the opening quarter. Equally unbelievable: Central Catholic lost three fumbles and turned the football over twice more mishandling kicks — once on the opening kickoff.

That combination gave Pine-Richland an early 21-point lead that the top-ranked Rams never lost in Friday night’s 42-21 victory over No. 3 Central Catholic in WPIAL Class 6A. Meckler had touchdown runs of 82, 6, 81 and 54 yards — twice sparking one-play scoring drives.

Pine-Richland led 35-7 after the first quarter.

“I have to give (credit) to the linemen, they made the holes for me and I just did what I was told: run right through them,” said Meckler, who finished with 280 yards on 24 carries.

His four touchdowns were scored in span of four minutes, 24 seconds. On his two longest touchdown runs, the Rams attacked a defensive alignment they’d highlighted this week in practice, he said.

“We planned it,” Meckler added. “As soon as the hole opened, I was gone. I saw grass.”

The Rams showed Friday they’re willing to run behind an oversized offense line that features five seniors, three returning starters and two Division 1 commits.

Along with Notre Dame recruit Andrew Kristofic (6-6, 270) and Indiana recruit Michael Katic (6-3, 280), the Rams start Michael Dorundo (6-1, 260), Brian Bails (6-0, 295) and Tyler Rudduck (6-3, 275).

All six of Pine-Richland’s touchdowns were rushing scores.

“We’re going to lean on who we’ve got,” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “We’ve got what I think is one of the best lines in the state. We’ve got to lean on those guys.”

As a team, Pine-Richland rushed for 421 yards with 268 in the first quarter.

Rams quarterback Cole Spencer, who passed for only 78 yards, rushed 22 times for 90 yards and a 14-yard touchdown. Fullback Anthony Cerminara had a two-yard touchdown.

“How can we not run with the linemen we’ve got?” Meckler said. “They’re huge. They’re amazing.”

The victory lets Pine-Richland (5-1, 4-0) keep pace with North Allegheny (6-0, 5-0), which earned a 10-6 win over Seneca Valley on Friday.

Central Catholic falls to 4-2 overall, 2-2 in the conference.

Central’s turnovers — seven in all — kept the Vikings offense from finding any consistency. Central scored three times but the offense reached the end zone just once. Central’s John O’Rourke returned an onside kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown, and teammate Brian Dallas took an interception 35 yards to the end zone.

Vikings sophomore Eddy Tillman had 91 yards on 16 carries including a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but he also lost two fumbles. Central Catholic outscored Pine-Richland, 14-7, over the final three quarter, but by then the damage was already done.

It was the second time this season that turnovers doomed Central Catholic. The Vikings committed six turnovers in a Week 2 loss to North Allegheny.

“We turn the ball over so much in big games,” Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said. “We need better play from the offense and the line, and the tailback has to hold onto the ball, and the quarterback can’t turn it over.

“We’re still trying to put some pieces together.”

Pine-Richland’s Cerminara, Caden Schweiger, Tyler King, Miguel Jackson and Luke Miller recovered fumbles. Meckler and Merrick Miller each intercepted Central quarterback Dom Pieto.

A sign in the Pine-Richland’s meeting room keeps track of the team’s turnover plus-minus. The Rams entered Friday as a plus-five. Their offense turned the ball over three times with two interceptions and a fumble, but the defense made sure that number will rise to plus-nine.

A muffed punt led to Pine-Richland’s first touchdown. Central Catholic returner Kyros Thorpe had the football escape, and Schweiger recovered at the Vikings’ 15. Cerminara punched in a two-yard touchdown to lead 7-0 with 6:27 left in the first.

“It’s like blood in the water,” Kasperowicz said of the turnovers.

Central’s next three possessions ended with lost fumbles, and Pine-Richland converted all three turnovers into touchdown drives.

The first drive covered 82 yards in one play when Meckler broke free on first down to lead 14-0. The lead reached 21-0 when Meckler scored again, finishing a three-play, 24-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run.

With a three-touchdown lead and momentum clearly on Pine-Richland’s side, Kasperowicz took a chance and called an onside kick. O’Rourke returned it for a Central Catholic touchdown.

But another Meckler touchdown followed. On the first snap after O’Rourke’s score, Meckler sprinted 81 yards for a 28-7 lead. Meckler capped the first-quarter scoring with a 54-yard touchdown run – his fourth – with 50 seconds left.

“They’re a very high-risk, high-reward defense because they attack so much,” Kasperowicz said. “They put a lot of guys in the box and they come (after the quarterback). If we just stay in our tracks and we get a crease, we can pop it. That happened two or three times tonight.

“(Meckler) is a kid that, if he gets a crease, he can take it the distance.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Central Catholic, Pine-Richland