McKeesport runs away from Armstrong

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Andrew Schaffer | November 12, 2022

It was a rainy night at Armstrong and the rest of the WPIAL. But the weather sure didn’t slow down McKeesport’s run offense in their 41-21 victory over Armstrong. “This is the craziest weather played game I think I’ve ever played in, it was very very wet” said Coach Miller.

McKeesport got the ball to start the game. The first drive was looking like a good one and it only took a couple plays to get into Armstrong territory. But after getting inside the Armstrong 25 yard line the drive stalled on penalties and they ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Armstrong’s first drive of the game started on their own 20 yard line. On second down Cadin Olsen completed a big pass and a personal foul was added on and they were in McKeesport territory. A couple plays later Cadin Olsen found Isaiah Brown for a 35 yard touchdown pass which made it 7-0 Armstrong with 5:25 in the first quarter.

On McKeesport’s second drive it didn’t take them long to answer back. On second down Jahmil Perryman busted a big 61 yard run down to the Armstrong 6 yard line. On the next play McKeesport tied it up at 7 on a Larry Gibson 6 yard run.

On Armstrong’s next drive they struggled from the start because of a penalty and a little bit of fog they went three and out on their third drive.

McKeesport started the next drive in Armstrong territory and on the fourth play of the drive, Jahmil Perryman scored on a 21 yard touchdown run. Perryman was one of the main players for McKeesport he ran for 246 yards. “He’s the X Factor, whenever everything is covered, he just picks it up and runs” said Coach Miller. That gave McKeesport a 14-7 lead with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter McKeesport started to pull away. Armstrong just couldn’t get anything going on offense. “Our defense played really well, Mother Nature also helped us out a little bit” said Coach Miller. After another three and out, McKeesport got the ball again in Armstrong territory. After a 20 yard run by Bobbie Boyd, Perryman finished the drive off on a 1 yard run making the score 21-7 McKeesport with 10:43 in the second quarter. “Our guys run the ball hard” said Coach Miller.

On the next drive things got worse for Armstrong. On the second play of the drive a pass was caught and fumbled and McKeesport recovered. The rain really did affect Armstrong’s pass game, but it didn’t stop McKeesport’s run game. On the second play after the fumble Jahmil Perryman scored his third touchdown of the game on a 20 yard run to make the score 28-7 McKeesport with 9:17 in the second quarter. “I like the rain because we run the ball, if we get the snap, there is no telling what will happen” said Jahmil Perryman.

The one thing McKeesport struggled with Is holding onto the ball on hand offs they had several fumbles but luckily for them they recovered basically all of them. The one they didn’t recover Armstrong capitalized on it and Cadin Olsen found Isaiah Brown for a 6 yard touchdown pass. That made it 28-14 McKeesport with 3:09 in the second quarter. Olsen and Brown were the 2 big players for Armstrong. Olsen threw for 175 yards and Brown had 6 catches for 107 yards. That would be the score at halftime.

Armstrong got the ball to start the second half and it appeared that it was going to be a three and out. They went to punt it but the snap was mishandled but somehow Jaxson Crissman ran it and got a first down. They got into McKeesport territory but ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Later in the quarter Armstrong punted it away and Bobbie Boyd was off to the races and scored on a 53 yard punt return. That made it 35-14 McKeesport with 5:52 in the third quarter. “He finds a way, every week it is something new, he’s a living highlight film, and I’m glad he’s on my team” said Coach Miller.

Armstrong got the ball back once again and on second down the ball was intercepted by Bobbie Boyd and that gave McKeesport the ball at the Armstrong 33 yard line. On the third play Jahmil Perryman scored his fourth touchdown of the game on a 31 yard run. “My teammates definitely pushed it, they definitely did their job and everything was opening up, we can’t control the weather, but we can control how we play” said Perryman.

Before the game ended Armstrong added one last score when Cadin Olsen connected with Isaiah Brown for a third time this one being 29 yards. That made the final score 41-21 McKeesport.

The McKeesport win sends them to the WPIAL 4A Semifinals in a rematch of a double overtime thriller from last year against Aliquippa.

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