Wolfe leads way as Montour beats rival West Allegheny

By: Antonio Rossetti
Saturday, October 28, 2023 | 12:11 AM

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The Montour Spartans, led by Jake Wolfe and a talented crew of skill-position players, capped off their season defeating their rival West Allegheny Indians, 49-17, at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium.

The Spartans (9-1, 6-1 Parkway Conference) were down 10-7 but tallied 28 unanswered points to go up 35-10. Montour’s explosive offense and its 28-point second half led to victory.

Wolfe threw for 320 yards and five touchdowns, completing 20 out of 25 passes. He also punched in a touchdown and ran for 116 yards on 18 carries.

“West A is our rival,” Wolfe said. “We knew this game was going to be a bloodbath, so we wanted to come out and give it our best shot. We all did, and we executed and had a great game.”

Wolfe’s top target was AJ Alston, who had seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.

Nevertheless, the Spartans offense featured five players finding the end zone, including Keino Fitzpatrick, Daniel Batch and Caden Halajcio.

“It’s just nice to see that we can spread the wealth everywhere,” Alston said. “Going into the season, we knew we had the athletes, but we didn’t know if we could spread it or not. It’s nice to know that … we have a lot of different players.”

Fitzpatrick, a senior, finished with with 175 yards of offense, including a 75-yard touchdown run on a pitch left that put the game out of reach.

“They called the play, so props to the OC (Randall Labrie) who gave me the opportunity,” Fitzpatrick said. “As soon as I saw that, all the hard work I put in the summer shows off on the field. I’m definitely blessed to have the ability to be able to do it, but it doesn’t overshadow the work I put in over the summer to make a play like that.”

Fitzpatrick also commented on the skill position players but talked about the underclassmen as a whole to help make his senior year a memorable one.

“All the young guys underneath have done a great job. It’s nothing but hard work from the all the time. To see them step up on the big stage all the time, and I couldn’t be prouder in what they do.”

The Spartans defense also played a part as they held West A to 7 points in the second half.

West Allegheny (6-4, 4-3) was led by Brock Cornell as he ran for 114 yards on 17 carries, mustering two touchdowns.

Batch, who had five receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown, plays on both sides of the ball. He was proud of his defense for containing Cornell and getting a key fourth-down stop when it was down 10-7.

“Our defense knew we had to stop Brock Cornell,” Batch said. “He’s a great player, but we also knew that one player doesn’t make a good team and so we rallied on him and stopped him.”

The Spartans threw the first punch when Wolfe connected with Alston for 51 yards, giving them a 7-0 lead 4 minutes into the game.

The Indians struck back in a hurry when Brock Cornell found his brother Brodie Cornell to put them into Montour territory.

A few plays later, Brock Cornell ran in from 16 yards to tie it 7-7.

After forcing Montour to punt, West Allegheny took the lead on their next drive. The Cornell brothers connected yet again, this time for 31 yards to set them up in Spartans territory.

Nevertheless, the Spartan defense held the Indians to an Andy Cosnek 25-yard field goal.

West A drove inside the Montour red zone. However, the Spartan defense took a stand and stuffed Cornell on fourth down.

Montour then put together an 85-yard drive that was capped by a Wolfe 18-yard touchdown Daniel Batch. After the Matt Marcinko extra point, the Spartans regained the lead 14-10.

The Indians looked to regain the lead and took a shot deep, but James Bundridge picked off a Cornell pass and ran it to midfield.

This led to a 37-yard toss from Wolfe to Fitzpatrick to put them in the red zone.

Wolfe then threw a dime to Batch on a fade route to the back of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown to go up 21-10 going into halftime.

Montour’s momentum carried into the beginning of the second half. The Spartans put together a drive that ended with a Wolfe 2-yard touchdown run.

The Spartans forced a stop and on their next drive, Fitzpatrick took one to the house from 75 yards to go up 35-10. That made it 28 unanswered points for the Spartans.

The Indians ended the barrage with a Cornell 23-yard touchdown to make it 35-17.

Nevertheless, Montour’s offense continued to pile on. Wolfe found the end zone on a 17-yard run to make it 42-17.

The Spartans tacked on one more when Caden Halajcio ran one in from 6 yards. The Spartans won by the final of 49-17.

Montour and West A already had clinched the playoffs. The win could give the Spartans a first-round bye.

“It can give us huge momentum going into the playoffs,” Fitzpatrick said. “I know we’re going to use it. It’s definitely going to add fuel to the fire, understanding we did what we needed to do. We’re now looking for a long playoff run and the opportunity that’s going to come down the road.”

Tags: Montour, West Allegheny