West Mifflin beats Greensburg Salem in Big Nine defensive struggle

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 29, 2017 | 11:06 PM

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Greensburg Salem played its 1,100th football game Friday night at Offutt Field.

Golden Lions coach Dave Keefer might be able to give you 1,101 reasons why his team didn't win the milestone game.

Poor tackling, penalties and missed opportunities hindered Greensburg Salem early, and the offense sputtered in a 14-7 Class 4A Big Nine loss to West Mifflin before an umbrella-wielding crowd on homecoming night.

“We gave it away, not to take anything away from (West Mifflin),” Keefer said. “We gave it away in the sense that we did not take advantage of our opportunities. We outplayed them in many ways. Offensively, we couldn't get into any kind of rhythm. We had the ball three times inside the 20 and couldn't do anything.”

Despite the issues, the Lions (2-4, 2-3) stayed within a touchdown of the Titans (4-1, 3-1) for most of the night. They turned the ball over twice on downs in the fourth quarter.

West Mifflin, admittedly off a bit on offense and riddled with penalties, allowed Greensburg Salem to hang around in the defensive struggle.

“We really had to depend on our defense,” West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo said. “We made a lot of penalties. We have to do better offensively.”

Running back Howard Reid rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries for the Titans.

The Lions led by a touchdown early, but West Mifflin finally found enough offense to get by.

West Mifflin tried to punt on its second possession but the snap got away from Keyrjon Sampson, who fell in the ball at the 1-yard line.

A play later, Golden Lions quarterback Jake Hoyle tried sneaking up the middle but then bounced outside for a short touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Reid scored from the 8 on the next drive to tie it. Sampson's 14-yard reception set up the score after some slippery runs helped the Titans avoid tacklers.

The Lions had a big gain called back by a momentum-killing hold, and the Titans struck again.

“It makes you sick when you watch the film and see the chances you had,” Keefer said. “It can come down to a tackle here or there.”

After a 25-yard run by Nevin Cardamone, and a personal foul — helmet-to-helmet contact on Greensburg Salem — set up Reid' six-yard touchdown and gave the Titans a 14-7 lead.

West Mifflin used two quarterbacks to keep the Lions off-balance.

“I don't know if we got caught up in things or what. You tend to overplay some things,” Keefer said. “I thought we laid the wood in the second half and played better defensively.”

West Mifflin, whose only loss came against improved Albert Gallatin, 28-27, held Greensburg Salem to 26 total yards in the first half and 83 for the game.

“Our line could have blocked better,” Braszo said. “Their quarterback gave us some trouble and their middle backers gave us issues in that 3-5.”

The Lions' Joe Williams recovered a Titans' fumble late in the third quarter at the Titans' 26. But Greensburg Salem gave it right back with a fumble of their own after driving to the 14.

Another productive drive misfired in the fourth when the Golden Lions wasted a trick play. DaJuan Hertzog threw a 37-yard halfback pass to Tyler Williams to get the Lions to the Titans' 33. Hoyle then scrambled for 25 yards. The quarterback crossed the goal line after a tough run, but the score was negated by a hold.

Hoyle, who rushed for 56 yards, was sacked on second down, and the Lions turned it over on downs after an incomplete pass to the end zone on fourth down.

The Lions gave it back on downs again with 1:10 left and the Titans took two kneel-downs to end it.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, West Mifflin