West Mifflin makes early lead stick in win against Greensburg Salem

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 5, 2018 | 11:03 PM

It didn’t take long for Class 4A No. 5 West Mifflin to assert its dominance Friday night over Greensburg Salem. It also didn’t take long for the Lions to punch back.

But after enough haymakers, the visiting team was out of juice at West Mifflin stadium in a key Big Eight matchup, and the Titans came away with a 42-28 victory.

The fireworks at the outset didn’t even involve Howard commit Parrish Parker, who ended up with 201 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries.

Quarterback Matthew Schuster executed a masterful play-action pass to receiver Bryant Johnson the first play of the game to give the Titans a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“I saw their first play last week against Belle Vernon,” Titans coach Ray Braszo said. “Their safeties were coming up for a run. We figured we’d give it a shot.”

The Lions (2-5, 2-2) dug a bigger hole after an initial three-and-out as a low snap was dropped by punter Wyatt Ramer at their own 4-yard line. Parker took it in for a score two plays later, giving the Titans two touchdowns on their first three offensive plays.

Greensburg Salem met the early adversity with a big response. Junior Jalen Page found the corner on a jet sweep for a 69-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession.

After Parker led another drive to make it a two-score game, the Lions responded again with the legs of junior quarterback Trent Patrick. He executed a 75-yard drive, with 50 of those coming on the ground by his own accord. Dajauhn Hertzog converted a big fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line to keep the score close.

Patrick finished the game with 112 yards on the ground and a touchdown and added 105 yards and a touchdown through the air.

West Mifflin (4-3, 3-0) caught a break when Parker tried to show off his arm on a flea-flicker, throwing an interception into triple coverage. However, Greensburg was called for pass interference, giving the Titans and Parker a shot at redemption.

The Lions defense tightened up at the goal line, but Parker scored on fourth-and-2 to extend the lead again.

“It’s frustrating,” Lions coach Dave Keefer said. “You misalign and give some plays away on your end early.

“But our kids are great kids. Trent is a (heck) of a competitor. We have a lot of kids that compete hard. But competing doesn’t win games. Competing just gets you on the field.”

The second time was a charm for Parker: He connected on another flea-flicker attempt in the second quarter, this time to a wide-open Johnson for a 56-yard score after a Jared Bevan interception.

Johnson had two receptions — one for 56 and another for 57 — both for touchdowns. West Mifflin poured it on before halftime as Parker added an 11-yard touchdown run with one second to go, making it 42-14.

“We played hard at times,” Keefer said. “But you can’t spot a talented team fourteen points and expect to win. I’m just extremely disappointed in how we played, particularly on defense.”

Greensburg Salem showed more fight the second half. It executed a 7 minute, 30 second drive, capped by a Patrick 3-yard pass from Patrick to Cavan Trout. Patrick led another long drive in the fourth, adding a 6-yard touchdown, and the Greensburg Salem defense held strong.

After stopping West Mifflin on downs, the Lions showed a little life with three minutes left, but it was snuffed out by a Johnson interception.

“I was worried,” he said. “Sometimes teams get it going, and they got it going. They had the momentum. Sometimes your guys you think you have it in the bag … (the interception) was huge.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, West Mifflin