Thomas Jefferson sophomore Dominic DeCicco is one of West Mifflin quarterback Kirk Rider's top receivers. In two games, DeCicco has intercepted Rider four times.
The two most important ones came Saturday.
DeCicco had two third-quarter interceptions which led to touchdowns in Thomas Jefferson's 20-0 victory over West Mifflin (7-6) in the WPIAL Class AAA championship game at Heinz Field.
"The first one, I just snuck up and got my hands on it, and ended up catching it," he said. "The second one, I bobbled a little bit, but was able to gain control and hold onto it."
DeCicco's first interception came with 10 minutes to play. He snagged a Kirk Rider pass at the West Mifflin 43. Four plays later, Thomas Jefferson scored on a 1-yard run by Nate Nix at the 8:25 mark.
Thomas Jefferson (13-0) led 14-0.
DeCicco, a sophomore, added a second interception on another Rider pass with a minute to play in the third quarter. He returned it 17 yards to the West Mifflin 6-yard line. One play later, Thomas Jefferson quarterback Brad Dawson threw a touchdown pass to Kurtis Meyer. Evan Browne's extra point attempt failed.
"Dom has done a great job for us," Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. "He is a good cover guy. We knew they were going to throw the ball to (Justin Moore), so he was just playing the ball, and he did a great job."
This wasn't the first time DeCicco intercepted two West Mifflin passes. He picked off two when the teams played in the final game of the regular season. Thomas Jefferson won that game, 17-7.
"I knew what they would do," said DeCicco, who has been playing football since he was 7 years old. "That is why I think it is good to play the same team more than once because you know about them. I love playing defense. I just try and break on the ball in the air. We were rushing the quarterback, so it made my job much easier. If I know I can catch the ball I do. If I don't think I can, then I just try and knock it down to make sure the other team doesn't get it."
This was only his fifth game at cornerback. He moved to the position from safety in the previous West Mifflin game because of an injury to one of his teammates. DeCicco said playing cornerback is a little easier because he only has to worry about the pass. At safely, he had to be concerned about the run and the pass.
West Mifflin coach Ray Braszo said was worried about Thomas Jefferson's defense. He said his team could have done a better job reading which receivers were open. Credit Thomas Jefferson with making finding the open receiver difficult for West Mifflin, Braszo added.
"They have great athletes, and they forced us to throw the ball more than we wanted to, and to places where we didn't want to," Then, once they get the ball, they made things happen."
Cherpak said the goal was to get two quick scores after the interceptions, which his team did. Thomas Jefferson was not able to take advantage of turnovers in last year's WPIAL title game, losing to Pine-Richland, 21-7. DeCicco remembered that loss. He had to watch from the stands at Heinz Field since he was only a freshman.
"I hoped we would get back here," he said. "I wanted to win it all and it was nice to be able to make a difference in the game. This feels great."
