If you based your opinion of Trinity strictly around its overall record of 2-4 entering Friday night’s showdown against Class 4A No. 1-ranked Thomas Jefferson, you likely wouldn’t have given the Hillers much of a chance of climbing out of the 15-point deficit they faced at halftime.
Of course, it’s never a good idea to judge a book strictly based on its cover.
Those who dug deeper into Trinity’s resume would have known the Hillers had faced a schedule as rugged as any team in the area up until this point this season. Led by dual-threat quarterback Jonah Williamson, Trinity has battled injuries and self-inflicted wounds while dropping several close calls against teams such as Bethel Park, Moon, Class 4A No. 4 Montour and Class 5A No. 2 Peters Township. But all along, the Hillers have proven they can compete with the best of the best.
And Friday night, they proved they can beat them, too.
“To beat a program like Thomas Jefferson two times in three years is special,” coach Dan Knause said. “Our expectations are changing. That’s a good thing. You want expectations to rise.”
After a sloppy first half that included two lost fumbles and a snap out of the back of the end zone for a safety, Trinity picked itself up off the canvas and delivered a barrage of haymakers to knock out the defending WPIAL champions. In the end, a pick-6 sealed a second-half shutout for the Hillers (3-4, 2-0), who came back for a miraculous 33-22 win to defeat the Jaguars (5-2, 1-1) for the second time in three years.
“I think I played against TJ in Bill Cherpak’s first year as a coach,” Knause said. “I could coach against him 100 times and I would still never accomplish what he has. That’s what makes [beating them] so special. We’re so grateful for the opportunity, and we’ll probably see them again.”
In the win, Williamson completed 15 of 28 passes for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with 15 carries for 92 yards and an additional score on the ground. The standout senior now is now up to 1,089 yards passing and 14 TD passes this season with 632 yards rushing and 10 TDs.
As for junior running back Owen Gardner, his breakout season continued with 14 carries for 126 yards and a TD while adding the clinching interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
“The one thing is, we’ve accomplished nothing yet,” Knause said. “We haven’t even qualified for the playoffs yet. We have a 6-1 Char Valley team coming in here next week. … We never viewed ourselves as underdogs. We know the team we had. We had some heartbreaking losses.
“They wanted to bury us, but all it did was elevate us. We had some injuries, but we kept coming back.”
GRAHAM SHINES FOR NEW CASTLE AGAINST MONTOUR
Announcing his arrival as one of the WPIAL’s next big stars, New Castle freshman quarterback Marino Graham accounted for five touchdowns in the PUP’s Game of the Week — 4 rushing and 1 passing — to lead the Class 4A No. 5 Red Hurricanes (6-1, 2-0) to a convincing 34-14 triumph against visiting Class 4A No. 4 Montour (4-3, 1-1). Graham completed 14 of 21 passes for 165 yards while rushing for 107 yards in the win. Brandon Bennett went 13 of 24 for 174 yards with 1 TD and 3 interceptions for the Spartans.
NORWIN RALLIES PAST HEMPFIELD
Facing a 10-point deficit entering the final quarter, Class 6A No. 3 Norwin rallied with 17 unanswered points to defeat Class 6A No. 4 Hempfield in a thrilling back-and-forth battle between two Westmoreland County rivals, 33-26. Giovanni Rothrauff did most of the heavy lifting in the victory for the Knights (5-2, 2-1), rushing for 193 yards and 2 TDs, while Dom Detruf put up another 300-yard game in the defeat for the Spartans (4-3, 1-3), completing 21 of 35 passes for 325 yards with 3 TDs and 3 interceptions.
PETERS TOWNSHIP STORMS BACK TO STAY UNBEATEN
After trailing for most of the game against Moon (4-3, 1-1), Class 5A No. 2 Peters Township (7-0, 2-0) came alive late in the second half with 21 unanswered points to keep its perfect record intact with a 21-10 home victory. Senior quarterback Nolan DiLucia got the Indians on the board with a 31-yard TD pass to P.J. Luke late in the third quarter, then he found Pitt recruit Reston Lehman for a go-ahead 17-yard scoring strike with 7:58 to play before Cole Neupaver iced the game with a 1-yard TD run less than two minutes later.
McKEESPORT SURVIVES SCARE FROM WEST MIFFLIN
In a battle between two of the top running backs in the state, Class 4A No. 2 McKeesport (4-3, 2-0) escaped with a 28-21 victory at West Mifflin thanks to another big-time performance from Penn State recruit Kemon Spell. The No. 1 running back prospect in the nation in the 2027 class according to Rivals, Spell rushed for 169 yards and 2 TDs, while West Virginia recruit Armand Hill ran for 128 yards and 3 TDs in the loss for the Titans (1-6, 0-2).
PUP BITES
• Senior tailback Ayden Yocum continued his recent surge for Class 4A No. 3 Mars (6-1, 2-0), posting his third consecutive game with 200-plus yards rushing and at least 3 TDs in a 56-0 rout against visiting Knoch (0-7, 0-2). Yocum finished with 227 yards and four scores, raising his totals to 793 yards and 11 TDs over the Planets’ past three games.
• After successfully booting a 54-yard field goal earlier this season, Fox Chapel‘s Harran Zureikat broke the WPIAL record by nailing a 57-yard field goal for the Foxes (2-5) in a 21-10 loss to Franklin Regional (1-6). The Georgia recruit is widely regarded as one of the top high school kickers in the nation.
• Building off the best start in 20 years for Class 2A No. 3 Western Beaver (7-0, 4-0), freshman quarterback Amari Marshall rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs for the unbeaten Golden Beavers in a 27-12 win at Ellwood City (3-4, 2-2).
THREE STARS
*** — Brayden McCarthy, Blackhawk. One of the leading rushers in the WPIAL, McCarthy racked up 246 yards and 4 TDs on just 12 carries in a 51-20 home win against Ambridge.
** — Domenic Pratt, Central Valley. Pratt drilled four extra points and two field goals — one from 50 yards in the first quarter and another from 42 yards in the fourth — to help the Warriors earn a crucial 34-28 road win at Class 3A No. 4 North Catholic.
* — Alex Clawson, Apollo-Ridge. The senior quarterback led an unforgettable fourth-quarter comeback for the Vikings in an 18-12 win against Class 2A No. 4 Steel Valley. Clawson tossed two TD passes in the final quarter while finishing 17 of 25 for 183 yards.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
Canon-McMillan 33, Seneca Valley 29
North Allegheny 28, Mt.t Lebanon 19
Norwin 33, Hempfield 26
CLASS 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Bethel Park 75, Baldwin 14
Peters Township 21, Moon 10
Upper St. Clair 50, South Fayette 14
Big East Conference
Kiski Area 34, Latrobe 13
Penn-Trafford 33, Gateway 23
Woodland Hills 50, Armstrong 14
Northeast Conference
North Hills 14, Plum 13
Pine-Richland 63, Penn Hills 19
CLASS 4A
Big Six Conference
Chartiers Valley 36, Belle Vernon 35
Ringgold 47, Laurel Highlands 7
Trinity 33, Thomas Jefferson 22
Greater Allegheny Conference
Hampton 35, Indiana 7
Mars 56, Knoch 0
McKeesport 28, West Mifflin 21
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa 19, West Allegheny 7
Blackhawk 51, Ambridge 20
New Castle 34, Montour 14
CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
Burrell 41, Valley 21
Imani Christian 61, East Allegheny 0
Highlands 28, Freeport 27 (OT)
Interstate Conference
Elizabeth Forward 56, Derry 7
Mount Pleasant 42, Greensburg Salem 29
Southmoreland 41, Yough 0
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 46, Quaker Valley 7
Central Valley 34, North Catholic 28
Hopewell 63, McGuffey 0
CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
Apollo-Ridge 18, Steel Valley 14
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 14, South Park 13
Century Conference
Seton LaSalle 53, Sto-Rox 0
Washington 55, Keystone Oaks 0
Waynesburg 36, Carlynton 6
Midwestern Conference
Beaver Falls 28, Union 22
Riverside 37, Freedom 7
New Brighton 38, Mohawk 35
Western Beaver 27, Ellwood City 12
CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Laurel 63, Summit Academy 8
Shenango 13, Rochester 12
South Side 63, Northgate 13
Black Hills Conference
Bishop Canevin 54, Serra Catholic 14
Chartiers-Houston 37, Monessen 18
Fort Cherry 56, Cornell 20
Eastern Conference
Brentwood 27, Riverview 14
Clairton 51, Springdale 0
Jeannette 37, Greensburg C.C. 22
Leechburg 48, Frazier 14
Tri-County South Conference
Avella 48, Mapletown 12
California 50, Carmichaels 0
Jefferson-Morgan 37, Beth-Center 18
West Greene 42, Bentworth 0
CITY LEAGUE
Brashear 28, Perry 14
University Prep 38, Allderdice 6
NON-CONFERENCE
Albert Gallatin 62, Clear Spring, Md., 27
Beaver 45, Deer Lakes 7
Butler 35, University, W.Va., 27
Central Catholic 69, Shaler 7
DuBois 38, Connellsville 24
Franklin Regional 21, Fox Chapel 10
Karns City 28, Westinghouse 24
Ligonier Valley 67, Charleroi 13
Neshannock 34, Burgettstown 7
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
