Thomas Jefferson pulls out victory over Belle Vernon in game of missed opportunities

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, September 26, 2025 | 11:37 PM

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It doesn’t always have to be pretty in the game of football. Sometimes you just have to find a way to win.

That’s exactly what Thomas Jefferson did on The Beach at James Weir Stadium.

The Jaguars’ Zach Villa recovered a fumble by Belle Vernon quarterback Curty Wade with just under four minutes remaining, setting up Harrison Kolling’s 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dom Volomino with 2:19 to go to give Thomas Jefferson a wild 14-10 win over the Leopards to open Big 6 Conference play Friday night.

“I just told the kids, sometimes in this game, you just find a way,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said. “We made so many mistakes and really hurt ourselves so many times. With penalties, not being lined up right, we had to use our timeouts early. … It wasn’t pretty at all. There’s so many things we need to clean up.”

For the Leopards (1-4, 0-1), there are no moral victories. They, too, shot themselves in the foot too many times. They had a chance with 2:19 remaining, but Wade threw his second interception of the game, this one by Emmett Forte, allowing the Jaguars (5-1, 1-0) to run out the clock.

“There’s a lot of guys hurting right now, no doubt,” BVA first-year coach Scott Bryer said. “We had a great week of work, and our defense was really prepared. It got a little rough there at the end, but I think we learned a lot about our team and what kind of effort it’s going to take from us.”

On Volomino’s touchdown pass, Bryer said there was a blown coverage, allowing Kolling to find Volomino all alone.

“We knew the tight end there was the biggest part of their passing game,” Bryer said. “The receivers crossed, and one guy didn’t go with him. We had two guys on one and left him alone. Then we had two costly turnovers.

“Curty’s hurting for sure, but I chalk those turnovers up to him trying to make a play.”

The first half was all about missed chances for both teams.

The Leopards drove 60 yards in 16 plays and chewed up over eight minutes but were able to come away with only a Preston Rathway 37-yard field goal that gave Belle Vernon a 3-0 lead.

After the BVA defense held the Jaguars to a three-and-out in their first possession, the Leopards turned the ball over on downs at the Jaguars’ 8-yard line.

Then Tyler Eber got rolling.

Behind Eber, the Jaguars went on a 13-play, eight-minute drive of their own. Wessel ended up missing a 43-yard field goal, but the Leopards’ David Bergstedt was called for roughing the snapper.

Two plays later, Eber cashed in with a 17-yard touchdown run after the offense spread out the Leopards’ defense, allowing Eber to score on a counter. He finished his night with 127 yards on 29 carries.

“I think in the first quarter, we only had four offensive plays,” Cherpak said. “Then we had our own eight-minute drive. I thought our guys did a great job with that drive and we were able to take advantage of their mistake.”

Wade was intercepted on the second play of the ensuing drive, but he was bailed out after Wessel missed a 24-yard field goal with just under a minute to go in the half as TJ carried a 7-3 lead into the break.

Late in the third, the Leopards lined up to give Rathway another chance at a school record with a 52-yard field goal, but the snap was mishandled by holder Jackson Shawley to give the ball back to the Jaguars.

BVA’s defense came up big again, forcing TJ to turn it over on downs at the Leopards’ 24.

Three plays later, the Leps got the big play they needed as Wade hit Anthony Dicenzo on an out pattern, and the receiver weaved his way through the secondary and into the end zone for a 73-yard completion to send the crowd into a frenzy and give the Leopards the lead.

“That was a great play,” Bryer said. “We were able to hit the big play when we needed it there.”

Minus the turnovers, Wade had a great game. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 214 yards and the score.

Taking over with 10:48 remaining, the Jaguars ran down a lot of the clock, only to have the Leopards defense force another turnover on downs. This time, it was Dicenzo breaking up a pass on a fourth-and-8 at the BVA 24.

But after a TJ facemask penalty, Belle Vernon committed a holding penalty and a false start. One first-and-24, Wade kept the ball on a read-option and took it up the middle, where he fumbled it away.

Chace Petrosky ran hard for Belle Vernon, finishing with 123 yards on 20 carries. He nearly scored at the end of the first half after ripping off a 65-yard run with no time on the clock. But he was forced out of bounds just inside the red zone.

“We’re in a hole now,” Bryer said. “Again, no moral victories. We have to win games. If you don’t finish in the top two of the conference, you’re not guaranteed a playoff spot. So we need to put in some work and get ready to go to Chartiers Valley.”

For the Jaguars, they will travel to Trinity to face the Hillers.

“Trinity’s a good football team. We have to be better than we were tonight,” Cherpak said. “Again, we found a way to win this one. I don’t know if it was us saying, ‘Oh they’re 1-4. They’re no good.’ But anything can happen when you face a rival and the type of rivalry game this is. We have to be better.”

Tags: Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson