Clairton Crushes Steel Valley in Gridiron Classic

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Annabelle Aquino | August 24, 2024

     In a long game filled with flags and injury timeouts, the Clairton Bears won 30-7 against the Steel Valley Ironmen to take home their first victory of the season at the Wolvarena.

Clairton lines up against Steel Valley.

     The Bears started strong defensively on the first possession and forced Steel Valley to punt on fourth down. Clairton blocked the punt, allowing the Bears to start at the 32-yard line.

     Clairton QB Jeffery Thompson had no problem finding senior wide receiver Zaemear Correll in the endzone to put the Bears up 6-0 with 8:27 left in the first quarter. 

      Donald Barksdale got Steel Valley back on track with a quick scoop and touchdown from a Bears fumble. Elbachir Benboujema kicked the extra point to put the Ironmen up 7-6 over Clairton with 7:03 left in the first quarter.

     Steel Valley maintained a strong defense and caused a 4th down turnover for the Bears. RaSaun Hough also recovered a fumble, but Steel Valley could not convert to more points in the quarter.

Jayden Cabbagestalk looks to pass for the Ironmen.

    RB Donald Barksdale and QB Jayden Cabbagestalk worked together for Steel Valley to move down the field at the start of the second quarter, but an interception by Donte’ Wright caused a hiccup in their momentum. Directly after, Steel Valley caused and recovered a Bears fumble.

     After some back-and-forth, Deon Pompey from Clairton scored a touchdown with 3:52 left in the 2nd. A 2-point conversion pass by Thompson to Pompey allowed the Bears to go up 14-7.

     Clairton kept the momentum in their favor. A quick sack and two false starts on Steel Valley forced them to punt. The Bears rushed halfway up the field with 20 seconds left before halftime. Pompey scored a touchdown with less than four seconds to go, and a successful 2-point conversion carried the Bears to a 22-7 lead going into halftime.

     With 5:10 left in the 3rd, Wright had a huge rush to get the Bears to the 5-yard line but was injured in the process. On the following play, Wright’s teammate Michael Ruffin also became injured but carried the ball to the 1-yard line. Pompey finished the job by plowing his way into the endzone with 3:25 left in the 3rd.

     The Bears had another successful 2-point conversion, this time caught by Tahvez Armstrong, making the score 30-7 in favor of Clairton at the end of the third.

Deon Pompey runs the ball for the Bears.

     Following a quick back-and-forth, the Bears fumbled, and Steel Valley recovered the ball on their 4-yard line with under 7 minutes to go in the fourth. Amstrong pushed back Cabbagestalk to the 3-yard line. A penalty forces the Ironmen to kick on their two-yard line on 4th and 19. 

     Fists flew between the two teams with 5:15 left in the game after the kick went out of bounds. The four separate personal fouls caused penalties to decline, and the game moved forward.

     Clairton put in quarterback Brandon Murphy Jr., who passed to Sanders for an 8-yard gain. Murphy ran out the clock, putting the Bears ahead of the Ironmen 30-7 to end the game.

Featured image by Deacon Blues

Contributions by Mia Williams

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