Penn-Trafford had a tough decision to make against Upper St. Clair on the opening drive of the game.
Saddled with a fourth-and-1 at their 37, the Warriors had to choose whether to play it safe and punt, or go for it and make a statement by making it or give a ton of early momentum to the visiting Panthers.
In the end, there was no choice.
“I have confidence in the coaches to make the right call,” Penn-Trafford quarterback Ethan Carr said. “It was just a whole team effort the whole night.”
Penn-Trafford (6-1) made the call to go for it and made it, then did it again later in the drive which led to a 5-yard Cade Yacamelli touchdown and launched the fourth-seeded Warriors to a 35-7 victory over No. 5 Upper St. Clair (4-3) in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.
“They did a good job of keeping the pressure on us offensively,” Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko said. “That first drive took a lot of time off the clock and there were fourth-down conversions in there and, you want to get into a rhythm offensively and, when they’re controlling the clock and making plays, it makes it tough.”
Penn-Trafford was dominant defensively throughout the game and never really allowed the high-octane Upper St. Clair offense to get out of first gear. The Warriors held the Panthers to only 30 total yards in the first half and held senior wide receiver and Yale recruit David Pantelis without a catch prior to the intermission.
Pantelis was locked up with defensive back Brad Ford all game and the Penn-Trafford senior held him to two catches for 46 yards while breaking up several deep shots that could have turned the tide.
“He just played football,” Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said. “He just read pass — and they tested him quite a bit and that’s difficult to get thrown at four or five times in a row — but Brad Ford is a great football player for us, he’s been terrific for us all year and we expect that from him.”
What helped make Ford so effective was the dominance along the line that made Upper St. Clair completely one-dimensional. The Panthers only gained 67 yards rushing on the night, including 28 in the first half, which allowed Penn-Trafford to key on Pantelis as the game-breaker in the passing game.
“We just played really good team defense and I thought a lot of or tackles were really hard tackles,” Ruane said. “I thought our defensive line did a good job of getting extension and allowing our linebackers to run free, but I also think our tackling was outstanding and, against a team like that with so many athletes in space, our tackling had to be great.”
Penn-Trafford dominated the line on both sides of the ball and Carr, a Villanova receiving recruit, and Yacamelli were the beneficiaries.
“We definitely want two guys that can do it and we feel like we do,” Ruane said. “Cade has become a really good football player for us running the football hard with great vision and Ethan’s just one of the best athletes in the WPIAL.”
Yacamelli picked up the bulk of his yardage in the first half as he carried 12 times for 102 yards and two scores before the intermission and finished with 19 trips for 120 yards the two touchdowns. Carr broke off a couple of big ones in both halve as he finished with 17 carries for 194 yards and the two scores.
Carr also tossed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mason Frye with 10:05 remaining that gave the Warriors a 28-0 lead and all but put the game away. It may have been his final carry, but the 40-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-3 exemplified just what Penn-Trafford was able to do the entire game.
On the play he appeared to be stopped, he somehow found a hole, shook loose and took it to the house. It was a run similar to his 55-yard score in the first half that gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead with 4:47 remaining in the second quarter.
“There wasn’t a lot of creases all night and it was a hard-nosed football game,” Carr said. “There was lots of blocking and lots of physicality, so I was just waiting for a little seam to pop and then take off.”
First Published: October 31, 2020, 3:11 a.m.