Westmoreland high school football notebook: Tatsch a force in Latrobe’s ground game

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 5:51 PM

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Alex Tatsch might be heading to Penn State to play linebacker, but the Latrobe senior made it clear this summer he had plenty to give the Wildcats as a running back.

Remember, Tatsch was limited last season with a labrum tear that required offseason surgery.

Now that he is at 100%, Tatsch is going to be a force in the backfield, with several complementary rushers around him.

Tatsch was brutally effective Friday night, rushing for a career-high 251 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-28 victory over Norwin.

The Wildcats racked up 451 yards on the ground on the way to their first 3-0 start since 2005.

“He’s a horse,” Wildcats coach Ron Prady said of the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Tatsch. “He doesn’t look like he’s running fast, but he glides. He’s just a phenomenal all-around player.”

Quarterback John Wetzel added 156 yards and a touchdown in the win.

“Alex, John, Brady Prohovic and Chris Cochran all complement each other well,” Prady said.

Latrobe will play at Franklin Regional next week in the Big East Conference opener.

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Premus selected

Southmoreland receiver/linebacker Elliot Premus was named the Mr.Pafootball.com Small School Player of the Week after his performance last Friday.

He had six catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-14 win over East Allegheny.

This week, he had four catches for 138 yards and a rushing TD as the Scotties rolled past Laurel Highlands, 49-13.

Southmoreland (3-0) also saw freshman quarterback Anthony Smith throw for a career-high 281 yards and three TDs in Friday’s win.

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Six-pack for Kershaw

TyVaughn Kershaw’s nickname is “TKO.” The Monessen running back continues to knock out opposing tacklers.

He scored six touchdowns Friday in a 56-30 win over Beth-Center, giving him 16 for the season.

Kershaw has 900 all-purpose yards, along with two sacks and an interception, which he returned for a touchdown.

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In a rush

Jeannette and Ligonier Valley matched 200-yard rushers in the Jayhawks’ 34-28 win.

Kymone Brown ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns for Jeannette, and John Jablunovsky piled up 222 yards and two scores for the Rams.

The teams combined for 690 rushing yards on 88 carries. Ligonier Valley ran it 54 times.

Ligonier Valley led 27-20 heading into the fourth quarter.

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No contest

Greensburg Central Catholic was leading Apollo-Ridge at halftime on Friday, 28-21, but lightning delays forced officials to cancel the game.

GCC athletic director Dan Mahoney said the game will be filed as a “no contest” and will not be made up, meaning no statistics from the game will count.

The Centurions are 1-1.

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Odd matchups

Week 3 will bring some interesting matchups for county teams, along with an increase in mileage.

Mt. Pleasant will play at Ambridge, Greensburg Salem plays at Ringgold, Blackhawk visits Southmoreland and the longest WPIAL road trip of next Friday has New Castle visiting Yough.

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Saturday game

Greensburg Central Catholic will play Clairton next Saturday with a noon kickoff at Thomas Jefferson.

Clairton’s field is undergoing removations, so the Bears are playing home games at TJ.

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Kickin’ it

Hempfield’s Sawyer Leuthold had a memorable week. First, he scored two goals for the Spartans soccer team in a 4-2 win over Derry that snapped a 41-game losing streak.

On Friday, he connected on a 26-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining as Hempfield rallied past Kiski Area, 31-29, to break an 11-game losing streak.

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Extra points

Kole Doppelheuer of Belle Vernon had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 23-17 win over Central Valley. … Upper St. Clair kicker Jacobo Echeverria went against Franklin Regional’s Joey Bayne Friday, but it was Echeverria who shined. He had eight touchbacks. Bayne has 17 kickoffs this season and, all have produced touchbacks. …Hempfield quarterback Dom Detruf has thrown for 564 yards and six touchdowns in two games since being cleared from myocarditis. … Monessen is averaging 59 points a game.

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

Tags: Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Southmoreland