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Jeannette's Toby Cline reacts after losing to Steelton-Highspire in the PIAA class 1A championship at Hersheypark Stadium, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Hershey.
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Interceptions cost Jeannette in PIAA Class 1A championship loss

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Interceptions cost Jeannette in PIAA Class 1A championship loss

 HERSHEY, Pa. — Steelton-Highspire’s Damein Hammonds had his handprints all over the game. He set a record for most receptions in a PIAA Class 1A championship.

But it was the one time that he got his hands on a Jeannette pass as a defensive player that was most important.

Jeannette was on the verge of a comeback after the Jayhawks fell behind by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. Jeannette was driving for go-ahead score late in the game. A third state title in 14 years seemed reachable as the Jayhawks moved to the Steelton-Highspire 26-yard line. Then Hammonds got his sticky little hands involved again. This time as a defensive back.

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Hammonds intercepted a Roberto Smith pass and returned it down the sideline 74 yards for a touchdown with 1:27 left to clinch Steelton-Highspire’s 32-20 victory against Jeannette on Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.

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On Hammond’s interception, he said he correctly read a screen pass. But the ball actually went through a Jeannette receiver’s hands.

“He went like this,” Hammonds said, trying to explain with his hands what the Jeannette receiver did with his hands when the pass was coming. “Then I just said, ‘Gimme me that.’”

And Steelton-Highspire said “gimme” that to the championship trophy for the third time in school history. The others were in 2007-08.

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It was a tough ending for Jeannette (11-2), the WPIAL champion, and it was a game that had its share of irony. Hammonds’ 11 receptions set a Class 1A championship record, and he also caught a touchdown pass. But his interception proved to be maybe his biggest play.

And how ironic that 13 years ago, Jeannette won its first PIAA title when a kid named Pryor was the megastar. Terrelle Pryor was Jeannette’s QB-DB and one of the best players in WPIAL history, but another kid named Pryor helped keep Jeannette from another championship. Besides’ Hammonds’ interception return for a TD, Steel-High’s Daivin Pryor also returned an interception for a touchdown, this one 79 yards in the fourth quarter that gave the Steamrollers a 24-14 lead with 6:28 left.

“We’re a big-play type of offense, but everyone on this team can make big plays, even on defense. That’s what we’re about,” said Mehki Flowers, a junior receiver-defensive back and big-time college prospect for Steel-High.

Jeannette’s Smith threw for 382 yards (22 of 45), only 1 yard away from the PIAA championship game record set in 2014 by Pine-Richland’s Ben DiNucci. But Smith also threw four interceptions, tying a Class 1A title game record.

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This was Smith’s second full game as quarterback since taking over for starter Brad Birch, who sustained a broken left foot in the WPIAL championship Nov. 14. Birch, only a freshman, had thrown for more than 1,600 yards.

“It would’ve been nice to see what happened with Birch, but I shouldn’t say that,” Jeannette coach Roy Hall said. “We fought. We fought a good fight. Roberto did well.

“We felt pretty good late in the game because we had momentum and we were moving the ball. But those are the breaks of the game.”

Odell Greene was a big factor in Steel-High’s offense as he rushed for 195 yards on 35 carries and scored on a 1-yard run with 18 seconds left in the first half to tie the contest, 14-14. Jeannette’s first-half touchdowns came on Smith’s 34-yard pass to Brett Birch and Smith’s 4-yard run. Flowers also scored on a spectacular 50-yard screen pass as he spun out of a few tackles on his way to the end zone.

Steel-High took a 17-14 lead with 3:58 left when Bryan Hernandez kicked a 22-yard field goal.

“We bent some on defense, but didn’t break,” Hall said. “You think about it, if you take away those two defensive TDs, our defense held them pretty good.”

But the interceptions grounded the Jayhawks.

“When you have two of them, it does hurt,” Hall said. “But it’s part of the game.

“But we were only one of two teams left in the state in Class 1A. That’s still something special.”

Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh

First Published: November 27, 2020, 7:09 p.m.

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Jeannette's Toby Cline reacts after losing to Steelton-Highspire in the PIAA class 1A championship at Hersheypark Stadium, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Hershey.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Jeannette's Emilio Huerta and Elijah Binakonsky take down Steelton-Highspire's Odell Greene in the PIAA class 1A championship at Hersheypark Stadium, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Hershey.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Jeannette head coach Roy Hall calls out to his team as they take on Steelton-Highspire in the PIAA class 1A championship at Hersheypark Stadium, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Hershey.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
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