Stephenson sparks Waynesburg in win at West Greene
ROGERSVILLE – On Friday night, the first week of WPIAL football games, West Greene High School’s team found out just how much graduation hurt them.
A lot.
The Pioneers lost most of their backfield. Colin Brady and Billy Whitlatch took more than 2,000 rushing yards with them after last season. West Greene also lost bruising fullback Johnny Lampe.
Waynesburg Central, meanwhile, returned one of the best quarterbacks in the WPIAL in Jacob Stephenson.
And it was what Waynesburg had that was more than West Greene didn’t that made the difference in the game.
Stephenson led the Raiders to a 42-7 victory over the Pioneers in a Week Zero game on a perfect Friday evening at Kennedy Field.
Waynesburg extended a 21-7 halftime lead to 35-7 after two Raiders touchdowns. Stephenson scored his second of the night on a 13-yard run and Ross Tennant scored his first touchdown of the season when he bulled over from 5 yards out.
Stephenson unofficially finished with 221 passing and 112 rushing. He left the game late in the third quarter for precautionary measures.
“We needed a hot start right off the bat,” said Stephenson. “It’s always good to beat a county team. We came out and took care of business. We made some adjustments in the second half, just some minor things. We came out ready to play.”.
Roan Tustin’s 4-yard run with 11:20 to play in the fourth quarter gave Waynesburg a 35-point lead and sent the game into Mercy Rule status.
“It’s important to play these games because we’re so inexperienced,” said West Greene head coach Beau Jackson. “That’s not a knock on them. Getting out there and playing them for those reps, you can’t beat that.”
Waynesburg rode Stephenson’s arm and legs to take a 21-7 lead at halftime. But it was West Greene that scored first when Brent Harris got behind the Raiders secondary for a 69-yard touchdown pass.
The lead held for all of one play. Teagen Crouse took the ensuing kickoff back 89 yards to tie the score. Dalton Taylor’s extra point tied the game 7-7 with 9:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Waynesburg controlled the game from there. Stephenson capped an eight play drive with a 6-yard run to give the Raiders a 14-7 lead.
Stephenson and Jack Ricciuti hooked up for a 43-yard pass to extend the Raiders’ lead to 21-7. Stephenson had a chance to put up another touchdown at the end of the quarter but a 43-yard toss was knocked away as the half ended.
Stephenson finished the first half with 12 completions of 19 passes for 185 yards and he ran the ball 10 times for 36 yards,
The Pioneers’ Lane Allison threw for an unofficial total of 116 passing yards in the first half.