By Bryan Swan

For D9Sports.com

DuBOIS — District 8 Champion Schenley beat Punxsutawney 54-0 in the preliminary round of the PIAA Class AAA Championships Friday night at E.J. Mansell Stadium in DuBois.

The Spartans (10-1) dominated on all sides of the ball. Schenley scored on offense, defense and special teams in the first half to take a 20-0 advantage into the second half.

Schenley, winners of eight straight, added two more touchdowns on its first two drives of the third quarter before Jerome Matthews scored for the third time with a 69-yard run on the Spartans first play of the fourth quarter to go up 46-0.

Punxsutawney (9-2) couldn’t get anything going offensively. The Chucks, who had their winning streak end at nine games, were held to only 72 yards of total offense.

“We have accomplished a lot and the players have accomplished a lot,” Punxsutawney head coach Alan Nichol said. “But we have a lot of work to do. That’s the thing about a school like this and a game like this. We understand we are going to learn from it and we are going to make ourselves a better program out of it. It has been a long time since we’ve had to taste defeat, and I’m telling you right now it doesn’t taste good. That’s the way it should be.

“We got down a little bit, and what could go wrong went. It was just one of those nights. Our focus, though, is the great job these guys did. No one gave us a chance to do what we did, but they worked hard and did it.”

Punxsy quarterback Logan Weaver was picked off three times in the first half, and Deandre Black returned the final one 100 yards for a 12-0 lead after Schenley was stopped on the two-point conversion.

One bright spot early on for the Chucks was their defense. Punxsy held Schenley to only 82 yards on 29 plays in the first half, but the Chucks still trailed by three scores.

Fifty-four yards came on the Spartans final possession of the second quarter, which was ended by Matthews, who capped the nine-play drive with a 7-yard TD run.

The Chucks defense began to wear down in the second half, and Matthews, along with the rest of the Spartans ground attack, took advantage.

Schenley totaled 219 of its 301 rushing yards in the second half, including 121 by Matthews, who finished with 167 yards on 16 carries. The Spartans did not have any passing yards as Darren Jackson and Calvin Beck combined to go 0-for-5.

Punxsy turned the ball over for a fourth time on a fumble by Weaver late in the third quarter, and Shawn Davis scooped up the loose ball and he returned it 43 yards to pay dirt for a 40-0 lead.

Weaver was under pressure for most of the contest. He completed only 2 of 15 passes for 19 yards and the Schenley defense sacked him three times in the first half.

“They made plays. Our hats are off to them,” Nichol said. “They played tough up front and made it tough for us to pass the ball. We tried to throw the ball, but they have two corners that are really good. You have to give them credit.”

Running backs Brennan Niver and Ben Blazavich combined for most of the Chucks’ offense. Niver ran the ball 13 times for 43 yards and he also had one catch for six yards. Blazavich finished with 28 yards on eight carries.

Punxsy was only 2-for-12 on third down while Schenley converted three of eight times.

“It’s a tough way to finish, but we are very proud of these young men,” Nichol said. “The job they did and the excitement they created, right now we are hurting. But in the long run, there is a lot of pride in that locker room.”

Schenley will play District 10 Champion Cathedral Prep next weekend at a sight and time to be announced. Cathedral Prep advanced with a 47-21 victory over Grove City.

SCHENLEY 54, PUNXSUTAWNEY 0

Schenley    6          14        20        14        —        54

Punxsy       0          0          0          0          —        0

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

S - Jayron Brown 20 punt return (Run failed), 1:45.

Second Quarter

S - Deandre Black 100 interception return (Pass failed), 7:44.

S - Jerome Matthews 7 run (Matthews run), 1:46.

Third Quarter

S - Matthews 31 run (Jeron Grayson run), 9:35.

S - Darren Jackson 10 run (Kick failed), 3:17.

S - Shawn Davis 43 fumble return (Kick failed), 1:43.

Fourth Quarter

S - Matthews 69 run (Kick failed), 10:58.

S - Brown 4 run (James Adams run), 1:25.

       S          P

First Downs            10        4

Rushes-Yards         39-301 29-53

Passing Yards         0          19

Comp-Att-Int         0-5-0    2-19-3

Total Yardage        301      72

Punts-Average        3-24.3  6-23.5

Fumbles-lost           0-0       2-1

Penalties-Yards      6-40     3-7

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Schenley: Jerome Matthews 16-167, Darren Jackson 7-22, James Adams 6-41, Jeron Grayson 4-47, Jayron Brown 3-20, Shawn Davis 2-(-1), Calvin Beck 1-5. Punxsutawney: Brennan Niver 13-43, Ben Blazavich 8-28, Logan Weaver 3-(-17), Glenn Perry 3-3, Daniel Stephens 1-(-1), Alex Fedigan 1-(-3).

Passing - Schenley: Darren Jackson 0 of 3, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int.; Calvin Beck 0 of 2, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int. Punxsutawney: Logan Weaver 2 of 15, 19 yards, 0 TD, 3 Int; Luke Janocha 0 of 0, 0 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int.

Receiving - Schenley: None.  Punxsutawney: Braedon Pennington 1-13, Brennan Niver 1-6.

Interceptions - Schenley: Renurvio Holloman, Jerome Matthews, Deandre Black. Punxsutawney: None.