Southmoreland doubles up Greensburg Salem in win

By: Jonathan Guth
Friday, October 14, 2022 | 11:07 PM

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Ty Keffer did a little bit of everything to lead Southmoreland to a 42-21 victory over Greensburg Salem in Interstate Conference play Friday evening before a Homecoming crowd at Russ Grimm Field in Alverton.

Keffer, a junior, pulled in nine receptions for 160 yards and six touchdowns.

Not bad for someone who hasn’t played football in five years.

“I last played in sixth grade,” Keffer said. “My friends convinced me to play football, and I just decided to give it a shot. The other guys stepped up tonight, and that took the pressure off me.”

On the other end of Keffer’s six touchdowns was quarterback and fellow junior Kadin Keefer, who was 12 of 23 for 231 yards. The duo played football in the youth leagues and are on the Scotties basketball team.

“We played from first through sixth grade together, and he quit to focus on basketball, but we have had that connection since,” Keefer said. “He just has the feet and everything to make the moves, and I just put it up to him and he catches it.”

Southmoreland’s defense shut out the Golden Lions in the second half.

“Our defense has been great in the second half all year if you look at the numbers,” Southmoreland coach Tim Bukowski said. “Every week, we play much better in the second half, and they did it again tonight. I am really proud of them. We had a lot of guys step up. We had a couple of guys injured, but we had subs in and our kids played tough. This puts us in a good position for the playoffs, and we knew it was a huge game. My coach staff coach their tails off every week.”

Bukowski has been coaching for three decades and can’t recall seeing six touchdowns from one player.

“I’ve got guys I’ve coached that are in the NFL currently that I don’t think have caught six touchdowns,” Bukowski said. “These two (Keefer and Keffer) have a special connection, and I’m blessed to coach them. I’m so proud of them. They went out there and made plays. If it’s one-on-one, Kadin knows to give him a shot because he’s going to go get it, and he did it again tonight, and they’ve been doing it all year.”

Greensburg Salem (3-5, 0-3) forced the Scotties (4-4, 2-1) to punt on their first drive of the third quarter, and coach Dave Keefer’s offense was driving when Keffer picked off a pass and returned it 63 yards to the Golden Lions’ 12.

“I think we did a lot of things to ourselves,” Coach Keefer said. “We didn’t finish drives, and we blew coverages. We didn’t make plays, and they did a good job making plays. You have to tip your cap to them, though. We had a play where we didn’t make the right read and threw a pick.”

Keffer pulled in a 12-yard touchdown reception from Keefer, and Jake Kaylor connected on the third of four PATs for a 29-21 lead with 5:05 left in the third.

Austin Mough broke up a pass on Greensburg Salem’s next drive on fourth down, and the Scotties scored on Keffer’s 18-yard touchdown reception at 9:41 of the fourth for a 35-21 advantage. Keffer pulled in a 11-yard grab while keeping his feet inbounds on a fourth-and-10 from the Golden Lions’ 28 to keep the drive alive.

Keffer recorded his second interception on Greensburg Salem’s next drive and capped the scoring on a 24-yard reception over the middle with three minutes remaining.

Wyatt Richter ended Greensburg Salem’s last hopes of scoring with an interception with 2:55 left.

With the Scotties looking to burn clock, Mough put together some tough runs in the second half. The junior rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries.

“Mough and (Tray Whetsel) ran hard,” Bukowski said. “Our backs ran hard, and our line blocked hard when they had to.”

Southmoreland scored on its opening possession after Keffer got behind the defense and caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Keefer for a 7-0 lead at 6:11 of the first quarter.

Two holding penalties forced Greensburg Salem to punt from its own, and the Scotties extended their lead to 9-0 at 4:17 of the first when the punter was tackled in his own end zone for the safety.

Southmoreland took advantage of the good field position following the free kick after the safety when Keffer pulled in a 35-yard touchdown reception for a 15-0 advantage at 2:37 of the first.

The Golden Lions made it a one-score game at 7:38 of the second when Kai Bruno scored on a 1-yard run, and Daishaun Alexander added the extra point for a 15-7 lead for the home team. Cody Rubrecht’s 44-yard run to the Scotties’ 7 set up Bruno’s score.

Rubrecht found the end zone on his team’s next possession with a 52-yard run at 5:16 of the second. Markeece Walker caught the 2-point conversion from Rubrecht for a 15-15 score. Rubrecht rushed for 96 yards on seven carries.

Greensburg Salem continued to ride its momentum on Southmoreland’s next possession as Christian Hostetler returned an interception 40 yards for the score and a 21-15 lead at 3:07 of the second.

The Scotties took a 22-21 advantage into the locker room after Keffer caught a 2-yard pass, and Kaylor added the PAT with 45.8 remaining in the quarter. Keefer found Ronnie Collins for a 48-yard gain to the Golden Lions’ 12, and Keefer ran 10 yards to the Greensburg Salem 2 on third down before Keffer’s score.

During the homecoming halftime festivities, Brooke Elizabeth Wolfe was crowned queen and Kaleb Tkacs king.

Southmoreland is at Belle Vernon next week in conference play, and the Golden Lions host Elizabeth Forward at Offutt Field.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Southmoreland