Jeannette outlasts Aliquippa in record-setting game
Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor took advantage of a high-scoring game that allowed him to play a full contest for the first time this season.
Pryor rushed for 331 yards and five touchdowns and threw two TD passes and 90 yards, as No. 1 Jeannette outlasted Aliquippa, 70-48, in the highest-scoring WPIAL playoff game in history. The 118-point total is believed to be the highest for any WPIAL game since 1952.
The Jayhawks (12-0), the No. 1 Class AA team in the WPIAL and the state, advanced to their second consecutive WPIAL title game. Jeannette will play Beaver Falls, a 21-14 winner over Riverside, in the championship game at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Heinz Field.
The 118 total points smashed the mark of 78, established when Riverview defeated Frazier, 57-21, in 1995.
Pryor scored on runs of 1, 44, 67, 54 and 48 yards, and threw touchdown passes of 8 yards to Jordan Hall and 17 yards to Kenny Grant.
Jeannette rolled up 707 total yards, including 617 yards on the ground. Hall rushed for 182 yards and scored three times and Grant, who recovered two fumbles, scored twice.
"I'm a creative writing teacher, and I can't think of any superlatives to say about Pryor and Jeannette," Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac said. "I don't know what to say after I watched him do that to an Aliquippa team, but he's not alone. That's a great football team."
It was the first time this season that Jeannette did not invoke the mercy rule; it led by 35 points or more in the second half in its first 11 games. The 48 points surrendered by the Jayhawks were more than it had allowed in their first 11 games combined.
"First of all, Aliquippa is a great team," Pryor said. "They battled us. We scored and they came right back at us. I'm going home and sleep after this one."
Jeannette showed its mettle against the stubborn Quips (9-3).
After Aliquippa trimmed the Jeannette lead to 43-40 early in the third quarter, the Jeannette offense, led by Pryor, Hall and Grant, took over.
Jeannette outscored the Quips, 27-8, during the final 21 minutes to pull away.
Pryor made it 49-40 on a 54-yard jaunt, and Hall raced 55 yards to make it 56-40.
Aliquippa, which turned the ball over three times, cut the lead to 56-48 on a Daron Cox 6-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Pryor raced 48 yards to make it 63-48, and Grant dashed 44 yards to make it 70-48. It was the third time this season Jeannette has scored 70 points in a game.
"Jordan is my sidekick, and my offensive line did a tremendous job," Pryor said. "The coaching staff had a great game plan. They told us what would work and it did."
Jeannette fans showered the field at Highlands Golden Rams Stadium with Heinz ketchup packets after the game.
"This is the most incredible game I've ever been involved in," Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said. "It was tremendous athletes going against each other. I can't believe it. I'm just glad we're headed back to Heinz Field."
The teams combined for seven touchdowns in the second quarter, including four in the final two minutes of the half. Jeannette gained 315 yards (225 rushing, 90 passing) in the first half, while Aliquippa gained 266 yards (82 rushing, 184 passing). Aliquippa finished with 474 total yards.
Jeannette couldn't put Aliquippa away in the first half. After Jeannette opened up a 22-8 lead early in the second quarter, the Quips matched the Jayhawks score for score.
Pryor rushed for two scores and threw two touchdown passes -- 8 yards to Hall and 17 to Grant -- in the second quarter as Jeannette took a 36-28 lead at halftime.
But Aliquippa sophomore quarterback Rasheem Jones shredded the Jeannette secondary in the first half. He threw touchdown passes to Anderson (49 yards) and two scoring strikes of 39 yards to Jonathan Baldwin -- the last score on the final play of the first half. Jones also scored on a 1-yard run.
Jones completed 13-of-22 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns. Baldwin caught six passes for 180 yards and three scores. He made an incredible catch of a 67-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Aliquippa struck first after recovering a Jeannette fumble. Jones hit Anderson from 49 yards.
Jeannette scored the next three touchdowns. Hall scored on an 11-yard run, and Pryor scored on a 1-yard keeper and 44-yard dash.
That's when things got even more wild.
Aliquippa was faced with a fourth-and-2 at the Jeannette 49 when Terry Patrick bobbled a pitch from Jones. The ball bounced back into his arms and he gained 18 yards to the Jeannette 31. Jones scored four plays later from the 1.
