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Senior quarterback steps up, leads Thomas Jefferson past Gateway in battle of top-ranked teams

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Friday, September 3, 2021 | 11:24 PM

Quarterback was considered a big question mark for Thomas Jefferson, so coach Bill Cherpak intended to give a couple of players snaps there.

Joe Lekse altered those plans.

The senior first-year starter threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another Friday night as Thomas Jefferson defeated host Gateway, 21-16, in a nonconference matchup of No. 1 ranked teams. Lekse fit perfectly into the Jaguars’ run-first, ball-control offense as they leaned heavily on their trademark defense.

The Jaguars weren’t flashy with Lekse under center, but the 5-foot-9 passer played mistake free and showed they can win with him in there.

“I was a big question mark this year,” said Lekse, who rehabbed calf and shoulder injuries in recent months. “I had to bust my (butt) every day to be the best that I could be. … We’ve got a lot of first-year starters and we all had a ton to prove.”

Lekse played only defense a season ago when Thomas Jefferson won WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A titles. Sophomore quarterback Brody Evans will still have a key role this season, but Cherpak stuck with the reliable senior in the season opener.

“Joe did what Joe does,” Cherpak said. “He can run, he’ll make a pass here and there, and he’s a gamer. He makes plays in games. That’s why he’s in there.

“Is he a drop-back quarterback? No. Not by any means. We were planning on rotating them, but it just never came about. Joe was just managing things so well, so we stuck with it.”

It helped that TJ’s defense held Gateway to negative yards from scrimmage well into the third quarter. That took the pressure off Lekse, who completed 4-of-6 attempts for 69 yards with touchdown throws of 24 and 35 yards. His 48-yard TD run on a quarterback keeper gave TJ a 21-3 lead late in the third.

From there, the Jaguars just held on.

Clinging to a five-point lead in the final two minutes, TJ’s defense made one final stand, forcing Gateway quarterback Brad Birch into an incomplete pass on fourth down from his own 36-yard line. Birch completed only five throws.

“They hit every big-play attempt they made and we missed three or four,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “I think that’s the difference in the game.”

Thomas Jefferson (1-0) was ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 4A with Gateway (1-1) the top-ranked team in 5A.

Birch tried unsuccessfully to rally Gateway with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. He threw a 30-yarder to Dallas Harper and a 46-yarder to Anez Jordan less than three minutes apart early in the fourth.

He finished 5-of-13 passing for 105 yards.

Thomas Jefferson had done its best to make Birch uncomfortable in his first start at Antimarino Stadium. The star sophomore who transferred from Jeannette went without a completion in the first half and was sacked four times before halftime.

Junior defensive end Jordan Mayer had two of TJ’s sacks.

“He’s young. You’ve got to remember he’s a sophomore,” Cherpak said. “I don’t know who (Jeannette) played last year, but they probably didn’t see too many defenses like we have.”

But, about Birch, Cherpak added: “He’s a good one. He’s going to be really good.”

The Jaguars didn’t believe they could match the speed of Gateway’s receivers, so they tried to hurry Birch as best as they could. He and older brother Brett Birch connected on only one pass for 13 yards. Cincinnati recruit Patrick Body was held without a catch.

“When you’ve got guys open behind (the defense), you’ve got to make them pay,” Holl said. “We did it a couple of times but there was a little too much pressure. A lot of guys maybe got big eyes, being their first big one in the stadium.”

Mayer (24 yards) and McClain Flinn (35) caught touchdown passes for Thomas Jefferson. Conner Murga added 56 rushing yards on nine carries.

Special teams played an oversized role Friday night. Combined, there was a safety on a punt, two blocked punts, a muffed punt fumbled away, a 37-yard field goal and a 58-yard kickoff return.

Thomas Jefferson took a 2-0 lead on the opening possession when Gateway’s punter was called down in the end zone for a safety while fielding a low punt. But about three minutes later, TJ’s punter also had trouble. Gateway’s Elijah Heller blocked a punt in TJ’s territory, setting up Gators kicker Cole Plaskon for a 37-yard field goal.

Gateway led 3-2 with about six minutes left in the first quarter.

Thomas Jefferson surged ahead 8-3 at half on Lekse’s first touchdown pass, the 24-yarder to Mayer. The Jaguars’ lead reached 21-3 in the third after Flinn’s touchdown catch and Lekse’s long touchdown run.

Gateway pulled to within five points with Birch’s two touchdown throws early in the fourth quarter.

After already having two punts blocked, Thomas Jefferson elected not to punt midway through the fourth. Facing fourth-and-2 at its own 38, Lekse pushed straight ahead for a first down with less than seven minutes left.

At first Gateway players celebrated, believing Lekse was stopped short. But officials stretched the chains and signaled a first down. The Jaguars, clinging to a 21-16 lead, then ran the clock to under four minutes.

“(I thought) we got a stop on fourth down there,” Holl said. “Didn’t get close to the line — heartbreaker — and they gave them a first down. They killed two minutes of time. That’s brutal. That was a tough one. I thought we definitely had it.

“We were going to have the football on their end of the field with a five-point deficit and some momentum.”

Listen to an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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