PINE-RICHLAND WINS WPIAL CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP

PITTSBURGH – Greg Hough, returning to the offensive side of the football for the first time in seven weeks following an injury, rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns to lead Pine-Richland to its first WPIAL Championship in 33 years with a 21-7 win over Thomas Jefferson Saturday afternoon at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.

Hough scored on runs of 4 and 58 yards, and the Rams defense limited a high-powered Thomas Jefferson offense, which was averaging over 35 points per game to 210 yards of total offense.

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime, but Pine-Richland (13-0) scored one touchdown in each of the next two quarters to put the game away.

Wes Smallwood caught the game-winning score on a 7-yard pass from starting quarterback Jake Long, who was the starter at Bradford last season before moving out of the school district, in the third quarter.

Hough then sealed the game with a 58-yard scamper in the final 12 minutes.

Thomas Jefferson (12-1) took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter thanks in large part to a Long interception.

TJ had driven to the Pine-Richland 1-yard line only to be stopped on downs. But Long threw and interception that was returned inside the 5-yard line, and this time Thomas Jefferson wasn’t to be denied. Ryan Hicks scored the touchdown on a 3-yard run.

Pine-Richland answered back scoring on a 4-yard run by Hough. A 77-yard scamper by Tim Newman set up the touchdown.

Newman, who had replaced Hough as the feature runner in Week Six after Hough suffered an arm injury that required surgery, added 20 carries for 108 yards for the Rams.

Long was 3-for-9 passing for 17 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Thomas Jefferson held Pine-Richland’s star receiver Neil Walker, who entered the game with 60 catches, to zero catches.

Quarterback Peter Winovich led the Thomas Jefferson offense going 6-for-20 passing for 103 yards, while also running 11 times for 56 yards. He was intercepted twice. Hicks added 21 carries for 48 yards, while Tim McCafferty had five catches for 92 yards.

PINE-RICHLAND 21, THOMAS JEFFERSON 7

Score by Quarter

PR 0 7 7 7 – 21

TJ 0 7 0 0 – 7

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

TJ – Ryan Hicks 3 run (Evan Browne kick)

PR – Greg Hough 4 run (Patrick Humes)

Third Quarter

PR – Wes Smallwood 7 pass from Jake Long (Humes kick)

Fourth Quarter

PR – Hough 58 run (Humes kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

PR TJ

First Downs 8 10

Rushes-Yards 42-267 33-107

Passing Yards 17 103

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 3-9-1 6-20-2

Total Yards 284 210

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 2-10 5-25

Punts-Avg. 6-40 5-32.8

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Pine-Richland: Greg Hough 9-121, Tim Newman 20-109, Ryan Conley 7-23, Jake Long 6-15. Thomas Jefferson: Peter Winovich 11-56, Ryan Hick 21-48, Matt Magdic 1-3

Passing – Pine-Richland: Jake Long 3-for-9, 17 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Thomas Jefferson: Peter Winovich 6-for-20, 103 yards, 2 interceptions.

Receiving – Pine-Richland: Billy Massaro 2-10, Wes Smallwood 1-7. Thomas Jefferson: Tom McCafferty 5-92, Brad Dawson 1-11.