Westmoreland high school football notebook: Franklin Regional takes pride in defense

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, September 9, 2023 | 4:51 PM

Lance Getsy isn’t surprised to see his defense making plays each week. In fact, he will tell you without blinking that he expects it.

“We have a lot of guys who have a lot of experience on the defensive side,” the Franklin Regional coach said. “They are tough, physical kids. There are nine guys there who have seen a lot of snaps.”

That physical brand of football was a staple for decades under coach Greg Botta. The identity of this team seems like something Botta would appreciate.

The Panthers posted a 38-0 shutout Friday night, dominating Connellsville up front and rendering the Falcons’ running game powerless.

A late goal-line stand prevented the Falcons from finally breaking the seal.

“Getting the shutout was very important to us,” said senior middle linebacker Owen Sinclair, who has has been starting since he was a sophomore. “Our goal this season is to hold teams to less than 10 points a game. This was a coming-out game for us at every level.”

Junior linebacker Austin Kerns had a team-high 11 tackles, six for loss, and two sacks. Kerns and Sinclair have been a formidable run-stopping unit.

“They are making the stops up the middle,” Getsy said.

The Panthers also blocked two punts — Hunter Reinhardt and Elijah Bennett got a hand up — and got eight points and seven touchbacks from kicker Joey Bayne.

In the previous game, the Panthers made two goal-line stands to hold back Latrobe, 28-21.

Win column

Two local first-year coaches earned their first victory in Week 2.

Norwin and coach Mike Brown defeated Fox Chapel, 33-18.

“Couldn’t be prouder of this group of young men,” Brown tweeted Friday night.

Meanwhile, Greensburg Salem handled Ligonier Valley, 34-7, to give Ty George his first victory as the Golden Lions’ coach.

Q … and A?

Belle Vernon isn’t all Quinton Martin.

While the senior is the top college recruit in Pennsylvania — he’s headed to Penn State — the top-ranked Leopards (2-0) have plenty of other weapons.

Take junior Anthony Crews. The wide receiver showed off his skills in Friday’s 21-14 win overtime over McKeesport.

Crews had three rushes for 80 yards and a touchdown and also pulled in five receptions for 34 yards and another score.

Martin? He had 9 yards on six carries and three catches for 10 yards.

“Quinton’s not our whole team. We have athletes at every position,” Crews told KDKA after the win. “We’re all capable and good enough to make plays.”

Crews’ 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter — and Willie Schwerha’s extra point — tied it 14-14.

Ward of the state

Derry running back Ahmad Ward’s performance last week against Greensburg Salem caught the attention of fans across the state.

Ward was named the PennLive state player of the week.

Ward ran for 191 yards, scored four touchdowns and had two interceptions, including one he returned 100 yards for a touchdown, in a 26-21 win that snapped a 20-game losing streak.

Of the more than 75,000 votes, 27,242 went to Ward.

Whipple tops 200

Penn-Trafford junior running back Tasso Whipple ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries as the Warriors’ offense finally took flight in a 28-26 win over hard-charging Woodland Hills.

Whipple also had a 22-yard TD catch, and his 9-yard score gave the Warriors a 21-0 lead they carried carefully into halftime.

Penn-Trafford had managed just one touchdown in the first two weeks.

Tatsch does it all

Like a new penny, Latrobe junior Alex Tatsch shined on both sides against Hempfield. Both sides of the football.

Tatsch had two touchdown runs to stake Latrobe (2-1) to a 13-0 lead, but he also had three sacks and two interceptions.

Tatsch is a Division I prospect, as evidenced by scholarship offers from Marshall and Connecticut.

His brother, Andy, a sophomore, also had an interception Friday.

Battle of unbeatens

Southmoreland is the only 3-0 team in Westmoreland County, and the Scotties will face a likewise unblemished team next Friday in Knoch (3-0), another Class 3A team from the Allegheny 6 Conference.

Southmoreland wiped its collective forehead after holding off improving Derry, 24-21. Jake Kaylor kicked two fourth-quarter field goals — 32 and 24 yards — and Wyatt Richter came up with an interception with just less than a minute left to seal the win.

Derry led 21-18, but Richter picked off another pass and returned it 51 yards to set up the tying field goal.

Ty Keffer and Ethan Shawley, who transferred from Greensburg Central Catholic and attends Geibel, stopped Trojans back Ward as the Scotties went on to win it with Kaylor’s second 3-pointer. Shawley had a game-high 24 tackles.

Da’sjon Craggette ran for 133 yards and two TDs for Southmoreland.

Ward ran for 146 yards on a career-high 34 carries and scored twice.

Complete performance

Samir Crosby of Greensburg Central Catholic continues to put up numbers, but not just on the offensive side of the ball.

The talented sophomore made 19 tackles, 13 solo, and also intercepted two passes, caused two fumbles and recovered a fumble in a 48-30 win over West Greene.

Crosby also had a touchdown reception and a 70-yard kick return score.

He has five interceptions in three games.

Quarterback Tyree Turner also was sharp, completing 8 of 14 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for two scores.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg Salem, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland