No. 3 Imani Christian pulls away from Leechburg

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 12, 2018 | 11:45 PM

Leechburg, enjoying its best season in eight years, kept No. 3 Class A Imani Christian close for nearly the entire first half.

But a touchdown by Saints quarterback Israel Reed with 35 seconds left in the second quarter gave Imani a 13-point advantage at the intermission, setting up a big second half.

Saints senior Dashaun Wright got a safety, a kickoff return, an interception and a touchdown pass from Reed in the third quarter to propel Imani to a 46-10 Eastern Conference victory at Leechburg Veterans Stadium.

The Saints (6-2, 4-2) are in playoff mode, with conference losses to Clairton and Jeannette. Only the top two teams in each Class A conference are assured of playoffs berths, while two wild-card spots will be available.

“We’ve got to play as hard as we can, and we’ve got to win out for an opportunity to get into the playoffs,” Imani coach Ronnell Heard said. “With the two teams ahead of us, it’s a long shot but, hopefully, we can get in with the wild card.”

Leechburg (3-5, 1-4) started off quickly as Dalton Hamm captured an Imani fumble on the opening kickoff.

The Blue Devils drove to the Saints 10 but had to settle for a 27-yard Tanner Dudek field goal.

Leechburg stopped Imani on downs twice to maintain the slim, 3-0 lead.

But the Saints finally broke through in the second quarter. Wright snagged a 19-yard pass from Reed at the Leechburg 3, and Juaron Thompson scored on the following play.

After another short punt with 1:02 left in the second quarter, Imani drove 41 yards in three plays, with Reed scrambling the final 12 yards.

“Putting that one in and showing how the guys should be playing, it took us to the next level,” Heard said. “I’m proud of how our guys played.”

Blue Devils coach Mark George also felt the late score helped turn the tide,

“That really got them pumped up,” George said. “Even though it was just halftime, we talked to our boys and told them we were in this game. We had to come out and do something on offense since they were kicking off to us. But we couldn’t capitalize or do anything in that part of the game.”

After the first scoring drive, Leechburg couldn’t get its offense in gear. The Blue Devils could muster only one first down over the second and third quarters — and that one was on a penalty.

Things came unraveled for Leechburg over a 14-second portion of the third quarter.

After stopping Imani on downs for the third time, Leechburg had the ball at its 4, but two plays later, Wright tackled quarterback Bret Kardos in the end zone for a safety with 3:45 left in the quarter.

Wright then returned Leechburg’s free kick 60 yards for a backbreaking touchdown.

While Imani is best known for its speed, the big guys controlled the line of scrimmage.

“You can’t take anything away from their linemen,” George said. “We definitely had problems with them.”

One bright spot for Leechburg was a 43-yard pass from Kardos to tight end Nico Venanzio early in the fourth.

George Guido is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact George at .

Tags: Imani Christian, Leechburg