Keystone Ready to Tangle With Port Allegany’s Big Three

KNOX, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Keystone’s task: slow down “The Three Stooges.”

That’s what Port Allegany coach Justin Bienkowski calls quarterback Drew Evens, running back/wide receiver Noah Archer and running back Blaine Moses.

(Photo by Shelly Atzeni)

When the Gators come to Knox Friday night for a first-round District 9 Class A playoff game, there’s little doubt that those three will be key part of Port Allegany’s attack against Keystone’s stout defense.

“It’s no secret we’re going to try to get the ball in their hands,” Bienkowski said. “We jokingly call those guys ‘The Three Stooges.’ They’re best friends. There’s zero element of selfishness. They’re three-sport athletes. They’re captains on our team. They’ve been around our program for what feels like is forever. It’s cool. We have a pretty good family environment up here.”

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Evens, Archer and Moses have accounted for most of the offense this season for Port Allegany (5-4), the No. 5 seed.

Evens has completed 107 of 192 for 1,608 yards and 11 touchdowns. Moses has rushed for 871 yards and 13 scored and Archer has 577 rushing yards and five TDs to go with 39 receptions for 620 yards and seven more touchdowns.

Keystone coach Ryan Smith knows first-hand just how potent they are.

In Week 2, Keystone won a shootout at Port Allegany, 36-30. That was the most points the Panthers have given up in a game this season. The “Stooges” accounted for 443 yards in that contest.

“They’re dangerous,” said Keystone coach Ryan Smith. “They were dangerous in our first game up there. Archer is a playmaker; he’s really fast in the open field. Evens at quarterback is a great decision-maker; he sits back in the pocket and delivers great balls. And then Moses is a really big, strong running back who’s hard to bring down at times. Those are definitely three guys that we have to key on.”

But Keystone’s defense has been up to the challenge this season thanks to a penchant for taking the ball away from the other team.

The Panthers (7-2), the No. 4 seed, have forced 32 turnovers — 17 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries.

“They are opportunistic on special teams and defense,” Bienkowski said. “They don’t just tip a ball. They tip a ball and turn it into a pick-six. They can return any kick to the house. I watched the Union/A-C Valley game on YouTube, watching them score on special teams and on defense, and I’m sitting there at my computer and you can tell they practice it. They’re prepared and they know what to do when they get the ball.”

Zander McHenry had 13 tackles in the mud last week in a 31-13 win at Moniteau and leads Keystone with 52 stops this season.

He also recovered two fumbles and forced another in the victory in the regular-season finale.

Keystone can also get to the quarterback with 19 sacks from 10 different players.

“The defense has gone and made big plays all year,” Smith said. “They’ve gotten some defensive touchdowns and a lot of huge stops. We have a lot of playmakers. Tyler Albright has six interceptions at corner. Bret (Wingard) has a couple. Zander has three at safety. We have big Brock Champluvier in the middle and he has 12 tackles for a loss at nose guard this year. Our linebackers have quite a few tackles and tackles of losses. We’re even across the board because they all just go out and make plays and have fun playing. That’s important.”

Port Allegany’s defense also isn’t too shabby, led by Moses at linebacker.

Last year as a sophomore he had more than 100 tackles during a shortened season. This year, he has made 71 stops.

“He’s been a pretty dominant force for us,” Bienkowski said.

Keystone has found some success on offense the last couple of weeks after that unit struggled in losses to Union/A-C Valley and Smethport.

Some of the success has been the big-play arm of Wingard, as well as his feet.

Against Moniteau, Wingard completed just four passes, but they went for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 85 yards and two scores.

Wingard did most of his damage running inside the tackles in the sloppy conditions. The original plan against the Warriors was to get to the edge.

“From what we had seen on tape, we wanted to get to the outside, but we weren’t getting really good traction and getting our feet planted,” Smith said. “We were slipping so we went to a more downhill game. That’s something we’ve been working on. We’ve had that in the playbook.”

Keystone trailed 7-6 at the half against Moniteau last week. The Panthers also trailed 14-0 all the way back in early September at Port Allegany before rallying to win.

That has given Keystone confidence, no matter the score.

“The guys don’t panic,” Smith said. “That’s what I like about these guys. They stay chill. They go take care of it.”

The winner will travel to No. 1 seed Redbank Valley next week in the Class A semifinals.

To get there, Bienkowski expects it will be earned.

“This is going to be a four-quarter game,” he said. “This is going to be a good, clean, hard-fought football game.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.