McKeesport makes big plays in Class 4A quarterfinal win over Trinity

By: Liam Belan
Friday, November 10, 2023 | 11:55 PM

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When it comes to playoff football in the WPIAL, it’s vital to limit mistakes and be opportunistic in making big plays.

On Friday night, No. 2 McKeesport made a few more key plays than No. 10 Trinity in a 28-14 win to move onto the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals against No. 3 Montour next week.

“It seemed like we were a little slow to start,” McKeesport coach Matt Miller said. “I think with the bye week, it just took us some time to shake the rust off, but once we got it going, we played pretty well.”

“They’re such a good team, they’re well coached, and they’re physical,” Trinity coach Dan Knause said. “We knew we had to play a perfect game and we didn’t.”

One of those big McKeesport plays came with some controversy, though.

With the Tigers leading 7-0 less than a minute before halftime, Knause opted to send his kicker, Andy Palm, out to attempt a 43-yard field goal. Knowing that a missed kick in the end zone is a dead ball in high school football, he elected to take the risk and try for the kick.

On the other side, McKeesport elected to call its last timeout of the half to try to get pressure on the kick and ensure no costly penalties or mistakes. When Palm trotted out again to kick, Kemon Spell was placed back deep for the Tigers just in case of a miss that could be returned.

The snap and hold weren’t particularly clean on the kick, and in cold temperatures, Palm’s kick was short, but it looked to enter the end zone when Spell caught it and took it about 101 yards for a backbreaking touchdown from Trinity’s perspective.

“The field goal thing was frustrating because he was 2 yards in the end zone and that’s a dead ball, but I’m mad at myself for kicking it and I took the ownership of it,” Knause said. “That’s a 10-point swing right there. But (the referees) have a tough job, and I don’t mean to criticize them.”

Knause reiterated that he didn’t want to pin the play on the referees, and Miller said that the officials checked in with him about it.

“The referee told me that (Spell) was in the perfect position,” he said. “I talked to him at halftime right after it happened and he told me, ‘Your kid did a great job. He told me right where he was and he stayed there the whole time.’”

Regardless, the touchdown stood, and it was Spell’s second of the night that made the score 14-0 going into the break.

All 14 of those points were posted in the second quarter despite an entertaining first 12 minutes. Trinity was just one yard away from opening the scoring with five minutes left in the opening frame, but quarterback Jonah Williamson was stuffed and couldn’t find a way into the end zone on fourth down.

Slowly but surely, the Tigers marched out of their end zone on the ensuing possession with Keith Spell rumbling forward to give McKeesport some breathing room. He, Anthony Boyd and Kemon Spell chugged forward slowly until the game had moved to the second quarter and the Tigers faced third-and-long from Trinity’s 34 after a false start.

Kemon Spell made the play yet again, but it was through the air as Garrett Tarker connected with the freshman phenom for a 34-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Nathan Kendrick’s extra point made it 7-0 with 9:05 left before halftime. Kemon Spell posted 178 all-purpose yards with the receiving and return touchdowns.

Ironically, possession flipped hands after a missed field goal from Kendrick before Trinity wound the clock down and elected to try for the kick that Spell scored on. McKeesport’s miss came after a 63-yard keeper from Tarker set the Tigers up at Trinity’s 4, but they proceeded to move backwards with penalties and negative plays.

With a 14-0 lead, the Tigers got the ball out of the halftime break and went on a 7:39 scoring drive to push their lead to three possessions.

Keith Spell and Boyd got the majority of the work on the drive, averaging about four yards per carry to churn the clock. Listed at 6-foot-2, 255 pounds with deceiving speed, Keith Spell is a handful for any defense, and he was the one to finish the drive from a yard out to make the score 21-0.

Once Trinity finally got its first possession of the second half, Williamson aired it out and led a promising scoring drive. He completed three passes for over 20 yards and finished the drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown carry. Williamson went 13 for 22 for 150 yards and a touchdown through the air and added 94 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

“We had trouble getting pressure on (Williamson),” Miller said. “He’s elusive. He played a really great game. You can tell he’s got a ton of talent, and he’s gonna be someone to be reckoned with for the next two years.”

After the score made it 21-7, things almost got even more interesting at the end of the third quarter after a 40-yard carry from Boyd had a block in the back penalty force an untimed down. The Tigers called on Boyd again, but this time, he fumbled to Trinity just past midfield. With the score at 21-7 and the Hillers fresh off their first points of the contest, they started the fourth quarter with the ball.

However, McKeesport’s stingy defense quickly forced the Hillers to punt the ball back, and Boyd’s mishap went unpunished. From there, the Tigers added another touchdown through a 4-yard rush from Anthony Cromerdie. That concluded their scoring and brought their lead to 28-7.

Trinity capped off the scoring with seven seconds left as Williamson connected with senior Tony Cipoletti for a 26-yard score in what ended up being his final high school reception.

“We have so much love and appreciation for the seniors, and everybody,” Knause said. “It was a special group that did everything we asked of them. They were great role models for the guys coming forward.”

Next week, the Tigers will battle a Montour squad that dominated Thomas Jefferson on Friday night in a 51-21 victory. The winner of that game will get to move on to face the winner of No. 1 Aliquippa and No. 4 Mars at Acrisure Stadium.

“I haven’t watched Montour, but I’ve heard a lot about them,” Miller said. “I stay week to week. I hadn’t seen TJ until the week we played them. I’ll find out a lot about them tomorrow, but right now, we enjoy the win and start working tomorrow. I know they’re a good team, but in the final four, all you’re gonna get is good teams.”

Tags: McKeesport, Trinity