If the scoreboard clock had read 2 minutes, 24 seconds instead of 1:24 when Jeannette got the football for its final possession against Beaver Falls this past Friday, there's a chance the Jayhawks would still be practicing this week.

But there just wasn't enough time in the WPIAL Class AA semifinal for Jeannette to put together a magical drive. With just 84 seconds left, the Jayhawks had to throw, and three passes along with a quarterback scramble gained just 1 yard.

So it was that Jeannette's two-year reign as WPIAL champions came to an end at Pine-Richland Stadium with the 35-28 loss against Beaver Falls.

"If we would have had more time at the end, maybe we could have done something," Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said. "But there's no quit in our guys. Beaver Falls knew it was in a game."

After going 14-2 and 16-0 the previous two seasons with all-everything quarterback Terrelle Pryor leading the way, the expectations were not as lofty for Jeannette this year. But the Jayhawks proved this season they had a lot more than just Pryor.

Jeannette won its first eight games and finished 10-2. Both of the losses were to, at the time, undefeated teams in Greensburg Central Catholic and Beaver Falls.

Senior running back Jordan Hall, an Ohio State recruit, was the Jawhawks' leader with Pryor gone. He finished with 949 yards rushing on 121 carries and caught nine passes for another 254 yards and three scores.

Hall was also a demon on defense as a linebacker.

"He might just be the best running back the town has produced," Reitz said. "And the thing about Jordan was that he was all about the team. He didn't care how many yards he got, just as long as we won."

But Hall wasn't the Jayhawks' only outstanding player. Receiver Moziah Harris was a big-play threat and senior quarterback Cameron Baradziej was much better than many people expect. He threw for 1,182 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Against Beaver Falls, Baradziej was 7 of 13 for 236 yards and three scores. He also ran 16 yards for a touchdown.

"He's a pretty good athlete," Reitz said. "That might have been his best overall game of the season ... he really kept us in the game."

With Hall, Harris, Baradziej, Dane Vaughan (366 yards rushing) and Greg Williams (six receptions, 117 yards) graduating in the spring, the natural assumption is that Jeannette's program will slide next year.

Don't be too sure.

"We're always going to have good athletes ... guys who can run the football," Reitz said. "Plus, we had two sophomores and a junior starting for us on the offensive line in the game the other night. It's not like we won't have some players coming back."

The linemen he was talking about are sophomores Dezon Hall, who is 6 feet 2, 220 pounds, and Anthony Dent, 5-10, 220. The junior is Sammy Moore, who is 6-1, 230. Plus, there are a couple good linemen coming in freshman D.J. Peters, who is 6-1, 290, and junior Trevor Petrillo, 5-6, 210.

And junior running back Toddy Harris hauled in a 53-yard pass for a touchdown on a third-and-14 play against Beaver Falls.

"We were still a tough out [in the playoffs] and that means something," Reitz said. "And the younger guys have seen what it takes to be a champion.

"The thing about our players is that they like to compete, so we fell pretty good about where the program is even if we didn't go as far as we wanted this year."