Big second half leads Thomas Jefferson past Belle Vernon

By: Jeremy Sellew
Friday, September 25, 2020 | 11:19 PM

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A dominant second half and the return of a Thomas Jefferson staple helped the Jaguars roar past rival Belle Vernon Area on Friday night.

Jake Pugh continued the tradition of great quarterback play in the program, accounting for all six Jaguars touchdowns.

In front of him, the TJ offensive and defensive lines continued their portion of the program’s tradition, leaning on the Leopards defense and helping to push the Jaguars to a 42-21 win over Belle Vernon to take control of the Class 4A Big 8 Conference.

“We knew coming in that we were going to have to get our running game going and pound the football,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said. “I think this game we got back to that. That offensive line showed me a lot about what they’re made of, especially in the second half. This was a coming-out party for those guys.”

After the teams went toe-to-toe in the first half, ending the first 24 minutes tied 21-21, the second half belonged to the Jaguars.

“That second half was the difference, for sure,” BVA coach Matt Humbert said. “For us, the second half was us not focusing on the little details. I’m not going to put that on those kids. That’s on me as the head coach.”

After the Leopards got a couple of big plays in the first half, they were unable to do anything with the ball in the second half.

Belle Vernon held the ball for only 2 minutes, 16 seconds in the third quarter and less than five minutes in the second half.

“They came out, and they really leaned on us,” Humbert said.

Leaning the most behind the Jaguars offensive line was DeRon VanBibber. Returning this season after missing nearly all of last season with a knee injury, VanBibber had his best performance since before the injury.

The senior running back carried the ball 27 times for 146 yards. On one Jaguars drive he carried the ball eight straight times.

“By far, this is the best he’s looked. And he’s even banged up. He took a lot of big hits tonight,” Cherpak said.

Lost in TJ’s dominance was a six-touchdown performance from quarterback Jake Pugh. A senior with minimal experience coming into the season, Pugh performed like a savvy veteran.

He completed 13 of 20 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. He also had three 1-yard touchdown runs on quarterback sneaks.

“He continues to improve. He made some big passes early on for us and converted some big third downs,” Cherpak said.

The Leopards opened the scoring after a Cole Weightman interception of Pugh at the TJ 37-yard line. Five plays later, it was Devin Whitlock scoring on a 2-yard run.

TJ answered with a 37-yard hookup from Pugh to Ian Hansen before another immediate response from Whitlock and the Leopards. This time, the junior quarterback hooked up with freshman Quinton Martin on a 60-yard touchdown pass.

“We knew (Martin) is a good athlete. I told Schultz Reinhart to be ready because they were going to come back to it again,” Cherpak said.

Those words of wisdom were vital later in the game.

After consecutive TJ touchdowns on a Pugh 1-yard run and a catch by Rex Miller, the Leopards got a break late in the second quarter to tie it.

Andrew Graham shanked a 7-yard punt to give BVA (2-1, 2-1) the ball at the TJ 20. Whitlock hit Tanner Steeber near the pylon for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds to go before halftime to tie the score 21-21.

The Jaguars (3-0, 3-0) opened the third quarter by chewing up half of the period before Pugh finished off the 12-play drive with another sneak.

On the Leopards’ ensuing possession, it was Reinhardt intercepting a Whitlock pass as he looked for Martin deep again.

“That was the play of the game,” Cherpak said. “I knew they were going to come back to it, and he was ready for it. Everyone contributed for us in this game. That’s one of my biggest takeaways from it. Truly, a team win.”

The Jaguars jumped out to a two-score lead when Pugh found Preston Zandier for a 27-yard touchdown.

“We didn’t execute things the way we needed to. That’s a championship football team, and they ran their stuff so efficiently,” Humbert said. “The stuff was there. We had a long touchdown run taken off the board with a penalty, and they should have been punting the ball on two occasions that on third down we had penalties to give them first downs. You can’t do that against a team like that. They’re too good.”

Cherpak warned his team, though, to be ready for a rematch.

“I told those guys to enjoy this one, but be ready. That’s a really good football team. They’re physical, and we beat each other up,” Cherpak said. “There’s no doubt we’re going to have to play them again.”

Both teams head to Fayette County Friday with the Jaguars facing Uniontown and the Leopards taking on Laurel Highlands.

Check out an archive video stream broadcast here.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson