Path to final: Hickory stands in Belle Vernon蘑菇视频 way for chance to repeat as state champ
Ed Thompson
Belle Vernon’s path to winning a second consecutive PIAA Class AAA football championship takes it to North Allegheny High School tonight where the Leopards will have to get past District 10 champion Hickory to earn a spot in next Saturday’s state championship game.
Belle Vernon (11-1) rolled to its second WPIAL title in a row with a 26-0 victory over Avonworth last week while the Hornets (11-2) eliminated District 6 champion Martinsburg Central, 26-13.
Belle Vernon defeated Martinsburg Central in last year’s PIAA semifinals, 21-17.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7 p.m.
Quinton Martin leads the way for coach Matt Humbert’s Leopards, who showed they’re more than capable of winning even when teams focus heavily on the Penn State recruit as the Antelopes did. Martin had a combined 71 yards rushing and receiving but didn’t carry the ball once in the first half and was held out of the end zone as quarterback Braden Laux rose up with a pair of touchdown runs and a 25-yard TD pass to Jake Gedekoh.
“If they key on one kid, we have the guys we can go to,” Humbert said.
Those other guys include Kole Doppelheuer, Gedekoh, Anthony Crews and Laux.
Martin has scored 25 touchdowns and racked up 156 points this season. Doppelheuer has 14 TDs and 84 points,Crews has eight TDs and 48 points and Gedekoh has seven TDs and 42 points. Laux has thrown for almost 1,500 yards with 17 touchdowns while running for three TDs.
That crew also leads a stout defensive unit which shut down an Avonworth team that was averaging 37.1 points per game.
Hickory’s top threats are quarterback Zander Telesz, who threw for a touchdown and ran for one as well in amassing 196 total yards in the win over Martinsburg Central, running back Kelvin Morrison and wide receiver Tylon Cousin.
Both teams are seeking their second state championship. The Hornets won the title in 1989.
The winner will face either District 3 champion Wyomissing or Distrct 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh in the at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field with a 1 p.m. kickoff.