Pine-Richland Outlasts North Hills for Top Northeast Conference Spot
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Blake Fuchs | September 14, 2024
Gibsonia– It was a run-heavy game for both sides as Pine-Richland managed to fend off a fierce North Hills effort to take the top spot in the 5A Northeast Conference.
Both teams were undefeated going into Pine-Richland Stadium, but Pine-Richland had one less win due to weather canceling the previous week’s game at 6A team Seneca Valley. And with starting running back Mac Miller being out, it was unclear how well they would fare. North Hills had a strong start to their season as well, with their first 3-0 start since the 2019-20 season after wins against 6A opponents Hempfield and Seneca Valley, as well as 4A school Mars.
But it didn’t look like the Rams had skipped a beat, as they jumped out to an early 8-0 lead off the fourth play of the 109-second drive. The score came from a 10-yard rushing touchdown for replacement running back Jalen Neals, who stayed on his feet to get Pine-Richland on the board first. Senior Tanner Cunningham converted the 2-point conversion with a reception in the corner of the end zone from sophomore quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader.
PR coach Jon LeDonne followed the quick scoring drive with an onside kick attempt, which was recovered by North Hills at the Pine-Richland 48. But the Indians’ odds continued to lower as on their first offensive play was a Kelly McCarthy pass intercepted by Lawrence “Jay” Timmons, who took it to the house to put Pine-Richland up 14-0 with 9:58 left in the first quarter and a second two point conversion failed.
Pine-Richland then ran another onside kick, which was recovered at their 49 by North Hills. They would not score, with most of their yards coming off the legs of McCarthy. Pine-Richland subsequently turned the ball over after one first down conversion, but faked the punt at their own 30 yard line. The ruse was unsuccessful after senior Sam Heckert tripped about a half yard from the line to gain.
North Hills had more luck on their third offensive drive, swapping McCarthy for Stephen Murphy, who ran the ball himself from under center three snaps in a row, the third leading to Murphy taking it into the end zone from 27 yards out, untouched. He did not play for the rest of the game, as McCarthy finished the rest of the game as quarterback.
Pine-Richland followed up with another successful offensive drive, with runs from both Neals and Strader setting them up for a 15 yard endaround from Cunningham punching in for 6 with 10 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The woes continued for North Hills as on the following kick return, junior Josiah Mathis lost his grip on the football and allowed sophomore Nico Aiello to recover it on the ground. Pine-Richland marched down the field, but had to settle with a 23 yard field goal from senior kicker Grant Argiro, extending their lead to 17.
Penalties were an issue on both sides, with each side being forced to settle for a field goal when their offenses were originally intending on going for a touchdown. There were multiple delay of game penalties as well for Pine-Richland, with the new play clock being shut off by the referees in the middle of the fourth quarter.
But North Hills did not give up. They utilized running back Jack Martin to run short run plays as well as screen passes from McCarthy, which led to multiple large gains, including a 33 yard reception to set North Hills up at the 30 yard line, then another 26 yard gain that resulted in a touchdown for the Indians.
Pine-Richland attempted to balance the play-calling with passes from Strader along with runs from both Strader and Neals, but Strader’s inconsistencies led to a more run-heavy offense, mirroring North Hills. Their next drive resulted in another field goal from Argiro, the last offensive score from Pine-Richland in the game.
North Hills slowly chipped away at the deficit, first from a 68-yard screen touchdown reception from Martin, a play Pine-Richland consistently had trouble dealing with.
Entering the third quarter, Pine-Richland’s defense did enough to prevent losing the lead and forcing a 33 yard field goal from senior Jack Scarsella to make it a three point game at 27-24 to open third quarter play, a drive that lasted just under 8 minutes in length.
The following drives from both teams focused on the ground game, running down the clock as both quarterbacks and running backs took turns running the ball for short gains.
However, special teams again came in clutch for Pine-Richland. With 4:06 remaining in the game, a punt from Argiro was downed at the half yard line by Neals, the exact same thing happening two weeks prior in PR’s home opener against Central Catholic. The first play was a run stopped behind the line of scrimmage, as Julius Green got tackled in North Hills’ end zone for a safety.
Cunningham set up Pine-Richland well with a 55 yard kickoff return as North Hills did not punt off the safety, and that would effectively end the game there as the Rams were able to run out the clock and take the 29-24 win.
With the win Pine-Richland advanced to 3-0 on the season, their first conference win of the year. They take the top spot in the 5A Northeast Conference, with Penn Hills and Plum getting their first wins of the season to go 1-0 to open conference play. Next week the Rams will take on the Mustangs in their second to last away game, their only remaining away opponent being fierce 6A rival North Allegheny on October 18th.
North Hills drops to 3-1 with the loss, and joins Shaler and Fox Chapel as the other two 5A Northeast teams to lose their first conference game this week. However, they are the top contender for a future #2 spot as they are the only one-loss team in the Northeast, and if their conference play improves they will likely be the second team from the conference guaranteed a spot in the WPIAL playoffs. The Indians will next play Fox Chapel, who was able to get a win for the first time in a number of years but should be an easy win for the #2 contender.
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