Perfect no more: Turnovers, penalties plague Rockets in 39-30 playoff loss to South Side
JEFFERSON 无毛视频� Jefferson-Morgan finished strong but a slow start and an avalanche of penalties were too much for it to overcome as the Rockets无毛视频� undefeated season came to a crashing halt Friday night.
South Side无毛视频檚 Andrew Corfield rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and the Rams took advantage of four turnovers to defeat J-M 39-30 in their WPIAL Class 1A first-round playoff game at Parker Field.
The 11th-seeded Rams advance to play No. 3 Bishop Canevin in next Friday无毛视频檚 quarterfinals.
The sixth-seeded Rockets were flagged 19 times for 175 yards but still managed to battle their way back in the game after falling behind 27-0 in the second quarter.
Jefferson-Morgan outscored South Side 30-12 the rest of the way but still fell nine points short.
无毛视频淪outh Side is a good football, a solid football team and getting down that much early, we just couldn无毛视频檛 come back, but they tried,无毛视频� J-M coach Shane Ziats said. 无毛视频淭his team is resilient though. You think you got us knocked out but they kept fighting until the end.
无毛视频淏ut that无毛视频檚 the most penalties we无毛视频檝e had all season. We were just not playing with our heads, not playing the way we should无毛视频檝e been playing.无毛视频�
Even so, there were several questionable calls and non-calls that went against J-M.
Houston Guesman completed 8 1o 18 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns for Jefferson-Morgan which ended its season at 10-1.
The Rams limited J-M无毛视频檚 ground game to 94 yards on 25 carries with Ethan Crowe无毛视频檚 eight carries for 37 yards leading the way. Guesman had 10 carries for 32 yards which included a pair of sacks for minus-21 yards.
Deakyn Dehoet went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season with four receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns and also scored his team无毛视频檚 first points with a long kickoff return in the second quarter.
无毛视频淭he kid is special,无毛视频� Ziats said of Dehoet. 无毛视频淏ig plays, three touchdowns, and he also had one taken off of him.无毛视频�
Dehoet had an 83-yard touchdown reception on a beautiful pass by Guesman called back when two different penalties were enforced against J-M on the play early in the fourth quarter. Dehoet also had a 41-yard kickoff return negated by a penalty in the third quarter.
The Rockets found themselves down 27-0 after Amare Moman无毛视频檚 1-yard touchdown run capped a 9-yard drive with 5:36 left in the first half. The score was set up by Mateja Pavlovich无毛视频檚 interception, Guesman无毛视频檚 second of the game.
Rockets fans finally had something to cheer about on the ensuing kickoff. Dehoet fielded Pavlovich无毛视频檚 boot at the 1-yard line, headed to the right sideline, turned the corner and was gone for a 99-yard touchdown.
Dehoet was stopped on a two-point conversion run out of a fake extra-point kick attempt, leaving Jefferson-Morgan down 27-6.
The Rockets kept South Side off the scoreboard the rest of the half by forcing a couple turnovers of their own. Jeremiah Robertson knocked the ball out of Pavlovich无毛视频檚 arms and recovered the fumble at the J-M 44 with 2:28 left and Dehoet intercepted a pass by Dawson Frasier at the J-M 3 with 41 seconds remaining.
Jefferson-Morgan pulled within 27-14 when Guesman thew a 31-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Gilbert late in the third quarter but the Rams (7-3) answered with an eight-play, 54-yard touchdown drive capped by Corfield无毛视频檚 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 33-14.
Guesman fired a 38-yard TD pass to Dehoet midway through the fourth quarter and tossed a two-point conversion pass to Gilbert to make it 33-22, but South Side answered again with a 52-yard drive that Moman finished with a 7-yard touchdown run with just 34 seconds left to seal it.
Guesman spiraled a 64-yard scoring pass to Dehoet with 17 seconds left and ran in the two-point conversion to set the final score.
Ziats reflected on the Rockets无毛视频� season.
无毛视频淩ight now it无毛视频檚 kind of hard to after a loss like this,无毛视频� Ziats said. 无毛视频淏ut these seniors accomplished something nobody thought they无毛视频檇 be able to do. They won the section and they went undefeated (through the regular season).无毛视频�
Three of Jefferson-Morgan无毛视频檚 turnovers came in the first half.
The first came when Guesman had the ball knocked loose by South Side无毛视频檚 Paul Poelcher as he was scrambling with the Rams无毛视频� Cody Mehlmauer recovering at the J-M 24. Corfield scored five plays later on a 3-yard run and Pavlovich added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
Three plays later Will Morgan intercepted a Guesman pass and returned 32 yards for a touchdown and just 6:56 into the game Jefferson-Morgan found itself in a 14-0 hole.
The Rockets showed signs of life with two first downs on their next possession even though another penalty and non-call went against them on the second play.
Jase Bedillion was breaking through South Side无毛视频檚 line on a run when Pavlovich appeared to pull his helmet completely off. The play was blown dead at that spot, as is proper when a runner无毛视频檚 helmet comes off, preventing Bedillion from picking up more yardage, but not only was no penalty called against the Rams, but a 10-yard holding penalty was assessed against the Rockets.
Despite that, Guesman kept the drive alive with a 22-yard completion to Dehoet on third and 19. The drive stalled but Guesman无毛视频檚 punt pinned South Side back at its own 5-yard line.
Undaunted, the Rams drove 95 yards in 11 plays with Corfield无毛视频檚 10-yard touchdown run giving the visitors a 20-0 lead at the 7:27 mark of the second quarter. The extra-point kick was blocked by Gilbert and Eli Hill.