Belle Vernon slams door in 2nd half to beat Martinsburg Central, reach state finals

By: Liam Belan
Friday, December 2, 2022 | 11:12 PM

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Time and time again this season, Belle Vernon’s defense has come up clutch and made game-clinching plays, and Friday night’s 21-17 Class 3A PIAA semifinal victory over District 6 champion Martinsburg Central was no different.

After forcing a turnover on downs with under five minutes remaining to get the ball back with a four-point lead, the Leopards (11-2) had flashbacks to an early-season loss to Penn-Trafford when Quinton Martin fumbled and Central (12-3) recovered with 4:31 remaining in the game.

But this time, things went in their favor.

“It felt like Penn-Trafford all over again,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said. “We milk the clock, then we fumble. But then for the defense to go out and force another turnover, I think that was a nice exclamation point on the way this game went for our defense.”

Chase Ruokonen forced two second-half turnovers for the Leopards as Central’s prolific quarterback, Jeff Hoenstine, fumbled and threw a pass that looked to be complete to Rylan Daugherty before Ruokonen ripped it away from him. The Dragons had two late chances to potentially put points on the board, but they were unable to convert on fourth down twice down the stretch.

It was a dream start to the game for the Leopards, who wasted no time in scoring.

Most of Belle Vernon’s opponents have spent the year trying to avoid kicking to five-star running back Martin, and that’s exactly what Central did. However, upman Anthony Crews did his best Martin impression and took the kick 69 yards to score just 10 seconds into the game.

Willie Schwerha knocked the extra point through, and just like that, Belle Vernon jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.

Only four minutes later, the Leopards struck again.

After Belle Vernon quarterback Braden Laux drew Central offsides on fourth-and-1, he made them pay by taking a run 42 yards to double his team’s lead after another Schwerha point after.

From there, though, the entire game shifted as the Leopards offense went cold while Hoenstine, the all-time record holder for career passing touchdowns in the state, ignited a fire under his.

He started connecting with 6-foot-1 target Daugherty, who was able to overcome tight coverage from 5-10 Crews to make several contested grabs. In fact, it was the receiver’s strong performance early in the game that made Belle Vernon move Ruokonen to defend him in man coverage, which eventually led to his interception.

Once the move was made at halftime, Daugherty mustered just one grab for 4 yards after having five receptions for 73 yards at the break.

“Crews had great coverage. (Daugherty) was just acrobatic in the air,” Humbert said. “That’s the disappointment for Crews. He was hip-for-hip and did everything he needed to do, but (Daugherty) was great. We put so much emphasis on (Eli Lingenfelter). How about (Daugherty)?”

With 2:54 remaining in the opening quarter, Shalen Yingling caught a pass and took it 21 yards to open the scoring for the Dragons.

Central continued to stifle Belle Vernon’s offense before Hoenstine called his own number to tie the ballgame at 14. On another strong drive, the quarterback took a designed run 30 yards to find paydirt with 9:05 remaining in the second quarter.

The senior finished 18 for 37 with 216 yards and a touchdown through the air and accounted for 67 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries in his final high school game.

The next few minutes were back and forth, with both offenses failing to add any points until a long drive from the Dragons to close the first half. They started at their own 6 and drove until they were forced into a 28-yard field goal as the half expired. Central had its first lead of the game at 17-14.

It seemed like the Dragons had all the momentum heading into the break, but according to Humbert, the halftime message for the Leopards was typical.

“It’s going to be four quarters, and whoever is going to punch the hardest is going to win this game,” Humbert said. “It’s that simple, and again, I’m so damn proud of the coaches and the kids the way they bent but didn’t break. And again, you can’t say enough about that squad. That’s a scary good team.”

It took most of the third quarter before the Leopards put up the only points of the second half. The Leopards were unable to take advantage of Ruokonen’s fumble recovery with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter, but eventually Laux did the job for his team.

The junior who rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries exploded for a 58-yard run after the Leopards went several drives without any success. This got Belle Vernon to the Central 6-yard line, and Laux carried the ball twice more for 3 yards each before bullying his way into the end zone.

“It felt amazing,” Laux said about the score to take the lead. “To get all the way down there and punch it in myself, it was great.”

That was the end of the scoring, but certainly not the drama in the tightly contested affair. Ruokonen’s interception came with 10:30 remaining in the contest, but the Leopards were unable to take advantage on offense.

Still, Belle Vernon’s defense continued to do its job, and it looked like the game could have potentially been finished once the Leopards got the ball back with 5:24 left to play deep in Central territory. Right when things seemed to settle down, Martin’s fumble put things in jeopardy.

The final drive for the Dragons saw Lingenfelter make a huge toe-tap grab to convert on third-and-long before he drew a defensive hold on Martin the next play. This put Central at Belle Vernon’s 22 with two minutes to play.

From there, Hoenstine looked to connect a few passes, including a heave to the end zone on fourth down, but the Leopards shut it down.

Now, the victors will travel to Cumberland Valley on Saturday to take on the winner of Neumann Goretti and Wyomissing in the Class 3A PIAA championship game.

“You get back to that normal schedule,” Humbert said regarding preparation for the title game. “I’m going to really enjoy getting to Belle Vernon at 4:45 in the morning and not leaving until 1 p.m. That’ll be the last Sunday we get to do that.

“We preach one thing to our kids: expiration date. That milk goes bad, that meat spoils, and we wanted to control our expiration date this year rather than letting another team control that, and we succeeded in that this year.”

Tags: Belle Vernon