Warriors clinch share of conference title with suffocating defense.
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News
PFN Staff | October 7, 2019
Written by: John Robbins on Friday, October 4th, 2019
Penn-Trafford senior captains Gabe Dunlap, Chase Burk, Derek Sutherland, and Josh Cheplick walk out to the coin toss at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. (Photo credit to Rush Pedder)
The Penn-Trafford Warriors needed to win and get some help from their rival Gateway to clinch at least a share of the 5A Big East Conference title. The Warriors did just that with a convincing 39-7 win over the Latrobe Wildcats. The Warriors opened the scoring on their first drive when senior quarterback Gabe Dunlap punched it into the endzone from 1 yard out to make the score 7-0. The Wildcats used their next play to respond when senior Kam Stevens ran the kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game at 7. The Warriors had a kickoff return of their own on the next kickoff when sophomore Cade Yacamelli took his turn and returned it to make the score 13-7 after the missed point after attempt. That sequence had 20 points scored in just 30 seconds of gametime. The last score of the first quarter would be when Dunlap threw the ball to Yacamelli on a screen pass and he ran it into the endzone to put the Warriors up 20-7. The second quarter would remain scoreless and a defensive slugfest between both teams.
In the third quarter, Penn-Trafford’s offense would only manage a field goal when freshman Josh Huffman booted one from 25 yards out to make the score 23-7. The Warriors special teams unit would add more points on the scoreboard for Penn-Trafford when they caused a safety as the ball was snapped high over the head of Latrobe’s punter, to make the score 25-7 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter would bring a change to the Warriors offense when they decided to put junior Ethan Carr at quarterback. Carr would lead the offense down the field and cap it off with a 2 yard rush into the endzone to extend the Warriors’ lead to 32-7. The Warriors’ defense would practically seal the game when senior linemen Dylan Schmidt sacked Latrobe’s senior quarterback Branden Crosby on fourth down. Carr would get a second rushing touchdown of the night when he ran it in from 9 yards out to make the final score 39-7. Following the win and a Franklin Regional loss, the Warriors clinched at least a share of the 5A Big East Conference title. Penn-Trafford plays Trinity at home at 7:30 next week on senior night. The Latrobe Wildcats play what essentially is a do or die game against Plum next week at home at 7.
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