South Hills Record notebook: Thomas Jefferson football fills trophy case with postseason honors

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, January 26, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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A tip of the cap (or is it helmet?) goes out to Thomas Jefferson football coach Bill Cherpak for being named Trib HSSN football coach of the year in Class 4A.

Cherpak and his staff guided the Jaguars to a WPIAL 4A title, PIAA semifinal-round appearance, 10-0 regular-season record, the conference championship and a 14-1 record.

TJ won the Big Six Conference crown with a 5-0 record and the WPIAL title with a 13-0 mark. The Jaguars defeated Belle Vernon, Trinity, Ringgold (via forfeit), Chartiers Valley and Laurel Highlands by a 168-35 overall margin in conference play.

And the postseason accolades didn’t stop there for the Jaguars.

Shep Turk (6-5, 270) was selected as Class 4A player of the year by Trib HSSN after the senior lineman helped a TJ running attack led by sophomore Tyler Eber amass a team total of 2,598 yards and protected senior quarterback Luke Kosko, allowing him to throw for 1,991 yards and 24 touchdowns

Turk, a two-way player for the Jaguars, also was named as an offensive lineman on the 2024 Pa. Football Writers’ Class 4A all-state team. He is projected as an offensive tackle at Pitt.

Turk, Eber and senior wideout Brayden White were selected as TribLive HSSN Terrific 25 football all-stars for 2024.

Turk anchored TJ’s offensive line at left or right tackle, arguably the team’s biggest strength, and earned all-conference honors for both offense and defense, where he contributed 31 tackles.

White, a South Dakota recruit, was named offensive player of the year in the conference. The 6-1, 175-pound wide receiver caught 68 passes for 1,287 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Against WPIAL competition, White reeled in a team-leading 59 receptions for 1,118 yards and 13 touchdowns.

White’s big-play potential showed through in the WPIAL finals when he caught a 53-yard TD pass and returned an interception 85 yards for another score. His touchdowns came just 76 seconds apart for the Jaguars.

He also played in the secondary on defense and racked up 43 tackles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries this season. He was voted all-conference on both sides of the ball.

Joining Turk and White on the all-conference first team were junior center Zane Sable, junior guard Dom Metz, senior tight end Kooper Kamberis, Kosko and Eber.

Eber rushed for 2,276 yards and 33 touchdowns, averaging 163 yards per game. He carried the ball 420 times, topping 30 carries nine times and 40 carries three times. His season high was 48 carries.

He also caught 13 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown and landed all-conference honors.

Matt Martinis, a senior linebacker who led TJ in tackles for three seasons, was voted to the first-team defense.

Two sophomores, Beckett Everley at tackle and Kane Eggerton at wide receiver, earned second-team all-conference status on offense.

Sophomore lineman Luccas Patterson and junior linebacker Zach Villa were named to the second team on defense.

Turk also was a finalist for the Bill Fralic Memorial Award.

Baldwin doubles up

The Baldwin hoopsters apparently enjoy playing in doubleheaders at home.

Seven Baldwin players reached double figures Jan. 7 in leading the boys and girls basketball teams to a doubleheader sweep.

Lynsey Bernotas scored 16 points, Julianne Ott followed with 13 and Mary Vargo and Hannah Prilla each scored 10 as the girls team routed Uniontown, 83-13, in Section 4-5A.

The final point total was the most scored by a Baldwin girls basketball team in recent memory.

Baldwin’s boys team followed up with a 72-29 thrashing of Ringgold in Section 3-5A as Max Marzina scored 14 points, Caden Cherico had 12 and Matt Schenk added 10 for the winning side.

Seven was the winning number again a few days later as the Baldwin hoopsters swept another doubleheader in section play at Bethel Park.

This time the boys team played in the first game and won by a 71-55 score as Nate Wesling tossed in 26 points, including 22 in the first half. Schenk and Gabe Barakat added 12 and 10 for the Highlanders.

Game 2 saw the Baldwin girls defeat the Black Hawks, 67-57, as Ott led the visitors with 21 points. Vargo followed with 13 while Bernotas and Bella Niles chipped in with 11 apiece.

Baldwin grad enshrined

The WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2025, which features 15 inductees across seven different categories, includes Baldwin graduate Ron Simkiw as one of seven members of the athlete category.

According to the WPIAL, Semkiw held the district record for in the shot put event for 44 years, tossing a throw of 70-feet, 1.75-inches at the 1972 WPIAL championships. He also held the PIAA championship meet record in the shot put for 33 years with his 1972 toss of 66-5.

Semkis captured three PIAA titles in the shot put and earned the 1973 AAU national junior championship with a throw of 64-1.25. He became the first member of the 70-70 club at 19 years old with a throw of 70-0.5, claiming distances of at least 70 feet with both 12 and 16-pound shots.

Semkiw competed collegiately at Arizona State, Mesa Community College and San Jose State and owns the NJCAA shot put record with a toss of 70-5 in 1974. He amassed top-five NCAA championships finishes in the shot put in 1973 (fifth place), 1976 (second) and 1977 (fourth) and ranks second all-time at San Jose State in the outdoor and indoor shot put, tossing respective marks of 65-9 and 62-9 in 1976.

The 18th WPIAL Hall of Fame class will be inducted officially June 6 at the Double Tree Hotel in Green Tree.

Super 7 pick

After a week of voting, Thomas Jefferson’s Shep Turk was one of seven winners of the Super 7 award in high school football.

These players were voted as the best in their respective classifications: Class A – Matt Sieg (Fort Cherry), 2A – Khalil Taylor (Seton LaSalle), 3A – Luca Neal (Avonworth), 4A – Turk, 5A – JaVaughn Moore (Bethel Park), 6A – Bradley Gompers (Central Catholic), City League – Lloyd Penn (Westinghouse).

Brentwood plays D

The Brentwood girls basketball team did not boast a prolific offense in the Brentwood High Athletic Boosters Association’s annual tipoff tournament.

The Spartans scored 75 points in two games but, thanks to a vigorous defensive performance, it was enough offense to claim first place in the tournament.

Brentwood nipped Freedom, 35-34, in the first round and Eden Christian, 40-20, in the championship game.

“I was very happy overall with our performance,” Brentwood coach Rachel Thomas said. “Every player did exactly what we needed them to do. They really played like a team. But we still have to cut down on our turnovers.”

The Spartans were led by senior forward Ay’Maree Henry, who was named MVP of the girls tournament. Henry scored 10 points against Freedom followed by a 15-point performance against Eden Christian.

“I was very proud of my team for winning the championship in the tipoff because our last (tipoff tournament) win was three years ago,” Henry said. “I was surprised but thankful to win the MVP award.”

Paige Boehm, a senior guard/forward, chipped in with 12 points in the championship game for Brentwood. Boehm and teammate Jessie Yee, a senior guard, were chosen to the all-tournament team.

Brentwood’s vigorous defensive effort was driven by junior Emma Thompson, a first-year varsity player.

“I was extremely happy with Emma,” Thomas said. “We explained her defensive role to her on the bench, and she absolutely nailed it for us. Our bench was very critical to our success.

“Unfortunately, the tournament cost us a starter. (Sophomore guard) Delaney Rosing suffered a season-ending knee injury. We were already battling low numbers because of injuries.”

Junior guard Tafsira Gambarie turned in a solid performance in Rosing’s absence.

“Taf really stepped up for us,” Thomas said.

Brentwood’s boys team advanced to the finals but lost a 75-45 decision to Carrick in the title game. The Spartans beat Freedom, 57-45, in the first round.

Brentwood senior guards Forrest Betz and Colton Rosing were selected all-tournament.

Betz scored 14 points and Rosing had 13 against Carrick in the championship game. Betz led the Spartans with 21 against Freedom.

Tags: Baldwin, Brentwood, Thomas Jefferson