Monday's Westmoreland County Sports Notebook
Written by: Sean Meyers
November 23, 2020
Tags: Brad Birch Toby Cline Roberto Smith Jaydin Canady Brandon Penn Ryan Kimmel Brett Birch Carlo Denis Tatum Gretz Aly Kindelberger
Strong second half propels Jeannette to PIAA final
It took more than a half for Jeannette to find its rhythm in Friday’s PIAA Class 1A semifinals battle against Reynolds, but once the Jayhawks did, they never looked back. Jeannette outscored Reynolds 27-0 in the third quarter, and claimed a 48-12 road victory to advance to the PIAA Championship game. Playing without standouts QB Brad Birch and receiver Toby Cline, Jeannette (10-1) led the District 10 Champion Raiders 14-6 at halftime. In the decisive third frame, though, Roberto Smith Jr, who started at quarterback, scored on a pair of runs, Jaydin Canady notched a 2-yard touchdown, and Brandon Penn produced a 37-yard fumble recovery score after a Ryan Kimmel strip sack. Smith was 6-of-14 passing for 274 yards, as Jimmy Sanders hauled in three of those passes for 192 yards and a score, and Brett Birch added the other three receptions for 82 yards. Smith also rushed 11 times for 34 yards and three touchdowns. Jeannette will face District 3 representative Steelton-Highspire for state gold on Friday at 11 a.m. in Hershey. The Jayhawks have twice hoisted the state trophy in football – in 2007, and 2017.
GCC soccer teams fall short in state championships
Both the boys and girls soccer teams at Greensburg Central Catholic returned from Hershey with silver medals over the weekend. With the Centurions playing for the PIAA Class 1A Championships on Friday, GCC boys were ousted 5-1 by Faith Christian Academy, while the girls were edged by Southern Columbia 2-1. On the boys side, GCC actually scored first in the title game, as junior Carlo Denis ripped the twine seven minutes into the match. However, Faith Christian, the champion of District 1, netted the next five goals, keyed by a hat trick by Luke Perreault. Greensburg Central Catholic (17-2-0) had advanced to the PIAA Championship for the first time in program history after Denis scored the late winning goal against Brockway in the semifinals last Tuesday. Just a few hours earlier on Friday, the GCC girls suffered their only loss of the season against the District 4 Champion Tigers. Loren Gehret scored twice in the first half for Southern Columbia, while Tatum Gretz provided the lone marker for the Centurions, who finished 18-1-0. Prior to the PIAA Championship, GCC had scored at least three goals in every match, including seven in its semifinals win against Cambridge Springs earlier last week. The Centurions finished as state runners up for the third time in team history, in addition to titles in 2013 and 2012.
Franklin Regional volleyball claims PIAA silver
Playing for state gold for the first time in team history, the Franklin Regional girls volleyball team was unable to complete the historic season in the PIAA 3A Championship. The Panthers fell in straight sets to District 11 Champion Bethlehem Catholic 25-17, 25-21 and 25-17 on Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School. Franklin Regional, which finished the campaign at 21-3, was led by DePaul commit Aly Kindelberger, who concluded her career with more than 1,000 kills. Franklin Regional claimed a straight-sets win against DuBois last Tuesday to reach the title match.
PSAC cancels winter sports; PAC intends to resume
A pair of notable local college conferences announced contrasting plans for athletics last week. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), an NCAA Division II Conference, has cancelled the mandated regular season and championships for winter sports in the 2020-21 season. Similar to the previous decision regarding the cancellation of fall sports, the PSAC will allow member schools to still compete for a conference championship if six or more schools opt to do so. Among the notable winter sports affected include men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling. The PSAC still intends to move forward with spring sports at this time, however. Conversely, the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC), of NCAA Division III, tentatively plans to resume athletics in early 2021. Beginning as early as Jan. 23, several winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, can commence, while the previously postponed fall sports can also begin. A decision has yet to be made on the status of wrestling, and the conference will continue to monitor the effects of COVID-19.