A Night of Takeaways: Spartans Masterclass Under the Lights
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Paul Sembower | September 5, 2026
Cinema. That is the best word to describe this game. High energy plays, flawless stops on defense, and some stars battle it out on live television.
Mckeesport won the coin toss and deferred until the second half. The Spartans took off immediately with a huge rush from Archie Collins. Collins continued rushing down the yard and ended up in the red zone. Quarterback Brandon Bennett found his way to the end zone to make the score 7-0 in the first quarter. 7:21 Seconds remain in the first quarter and the Mckeesport offense led by 5-Star Georgia commit and the #1 ranked running back in the nation, Kemon Spell. Spell got the first touch for the Tigers of the game and exploded for a 70+ yard touchdown run. After the PAT, the score sits at 7-7 with 7:14 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Spartans ended back up on offense, but that drive didn’t last long after Landon Robinson intercepted Bennett and gave the ball back to the Tigers’ offense. Spell was handed the ball and he took off again, he literally dragged a Spartan defender for 10+ yards. The Tigers would end up stalling out in the end zone and settled for a field goal to make the score 10-7 with 0:51 seconds left in the first quarter.
The first quarter expired and the second quarter was underway. The Spartans’ offense had a slow drive and ended up punting the ball away. The Tigers’ offense started to pick up the pace and Kemon spell picked up a couple of first downs. Their offensive drive was broken up after a Bennett’s first interception of the night.
Collins took advantage of the interception and rushed in for a touchdown to set the score 14-10
The Tigers’ offense continued to move down the field. The passing game was small. It only brought 4 yard passes on average. The ball was once ahead handed to Spell and he took off for another rushing touchdown to set the score at 17-14 in favor of the Tigers.
Both of the defenses continued to battle it out and both were very successful. The scores remained 17-14 as halftime rolled around and the bands took the field.
After the break, the atmosphere felt different. Mckeesport started off with the ball and they didn’t get far after the Spartan defense delivered a huge hit to the quarterback and Zander Stern scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown to make score 21-17 with the Spartans on top. The Spartan defense continued to make a stand and stopped the Tigers’ attempts to make anything happen.
The ball was handed back to the Spartans’ offense. Bennett wasted no time running the ball into the end zone for a huge touchdown to make the score 28-17. The Spartan defense continued to lock up Spell who rushed for almost 250 yards in the first half.
Bennett played a huge role in that defense with stealing another pass and gaining his 2nd interception on the night. The Spartan offense had a chance for a field goal but it ended up flying wide left.
The Mckeesport offense continued to be quiet and slipped up once again and allowed Bennett to make his 3rd Interception of the night. Punts came from both teams and time was staring to run out. Under a minute remained and the Tigers were inching closer to a touchdown. That was until Dalton Young intercepted another pass from Mckeesport and ended the game with a final score of 28-17.
A masterclass was put on the field tonight thanks to Brandon Bennett and the Spartans head home victorious. He ended the night with 3 interceptions on defense and 2 rushing touchdowns. The Spartans will be heading to South Fayette to play the Lions next Friday.
