Belle Vernon receivers don hard hats for matchup with Thomas Jefferson

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 | 4:53 PM

Previous Next

Belle Vernon players wear practice jerseys with three words emblazoned on the back of them.

The words are big and bold, deliberate and gold — like the turf at James Weir Stadium.

“Do Your Job.”

There is more to the job of the team’s wide receivers than meets the eye.

A unit that quietly goes about its business, creating splash plays at “The Beach,” Leopards’ wideouts are more than pass catchers and slot guys. More than members of the hands team. More than finesse route runners.

“Anyone who coaches football knows that the receivers have to do some dirty work,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “It’s a matter of, mentally, those kids buying into it. They don’t mind it. I don’t know if they like it, but they never show they don’t like it. They just do it. They’re like the unsung heroes with the line, because they also dig out people who need dug out.”

Juniors Evan Pohlot, Chase Ruokonen and Tanner Steeber are the team’s Hines Ward trio. They clock in and go to work.

Their role as blockers could be just as important as what they do catching the ball Friday night when the top-seeded Leopards (9-0) face rival and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson (8-2) in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals at West Mifflin.

The Leopards are known for their quick-strike offense that hinges on speed, spacing and flash-bang plays.

But headliners Devin Whitlock and Quinton Martin can’t do it all and can’t do it alone.

“We’re at full force all the time, five days a week, ready to practice,” Pohlot said. “It’s beneficial for our run game; get outside for Quinton and Devin to score.

“You can never be overprepared. We’ll be full-tilt all week. Practice until 7 o’clock every day. That’s the grind for TJ. Everyone has to be on their A game, 100%.”

Belle Vernon is not a passing team, although it showed signs of being one in last week’s 45-20 win over New Castle when Whitlock threw for 144 yards and a touchdown. (He also ran for three scores, and Martin ran for 124 yards and two TDs.)

The hard hats lined up wide once again and helped the Leopards get into the end zone multiple times, assisting to set big plays in motion while keeping the defense honest.

“It’s monumental,” Humbert said of his receivers’ role on the big-play assembly line. “When you really look at unsuccessful football plays — and we try to analyze that — nine out of 10 times on offense, it’s a missed block. On defense, it’s misalignment. With our receivers, their blocking has probably been the best at this position that I have seen since I have been here, and I have had some good receivers.”

Pohlot has a team-best 17 receptions for 188 yards and a score, Ruokonen has 15 grabs for 234 yards and three TDs and Steeber has seven catches for 99 yards and two TDs.

“When Q (Martin) is scampering down the sideline and he picks up an extra 20 yards, it’s because of that block,” Humbert said. “When we’re trying to dig out a safety across the field, in case that kid is spying Devin, it’s Chase doing that dirty work.

“They’re just solid in every aspect. When we’re featuring a tight end, fullback 75% of the time, you need two dudes that can do everything, from blocking, to RPOs, to screen game, to attacking vertically. They probably have the best tool boxes that we have seen here because they’re good at a lot of those different things.”

Even fullback Logan Hoffman managed to figure into the passing game last week. Lining up as a tight end with senior standout Cole Weightman only playing defense because of a knee injury, Hoffman had a 30-yard touchdown catch.

“It was just well designed,” Humbert said of Whitlock’s pitch-and-catch to Hoffman. “You had those two kids pull their kids out in man coverage. We’ve run that before to Cole (Weightman). Logan was methodically disciplined in his route. The neat thing is, after he caught it, was the yards after the catch, having a nose to get into the end zone. That was pretty cool.”

Whitlock was bottled up on his first 10 carries last week until he finally busted loose for a 75-yard score. Should Thomas Jefferson slow Whitlock and Martin, which is possible, can the Leopards win with the pass?

When the teams met during the regular season, Whitlock electrified the crowd at Weir Stadium with a 40-yard touchdown run with 4.5 seconds left for a 28-21 Leopards win.

“As good as he threw it Friday, he missed a couple hook routes that were wide open,” Humbert said of Whitlock. “Or he came to them late. He’ll be the first person to tell you that. Unfortunately, you can’t have any mistakes on Friday. You almost have to play a perfect game if you want to win that semifinal.”

Humbert and his players have been prepping for another installment of “TJ Week,” a pretty big deal on the yearly calendar.

The respect between the programs rings true every time they play.

“The separation is the understanding that they are still the team that, if you want to achieve the ultimate goal and covet that trophy, it always will have a Thomas Jefferson road map in it,” Humbert said. “If it’s a Candy Land board, you’re always coming to that spot on the board, because they’re always there. They play some of their best ball in November.”

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

Tags: Belle Vernon