PIAA CLASS AAA: West Allegheny rallies for win
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West Allegheny's Tim Johnson is lifted in the air by Zack Fell (83) and Aaron Gardocki after beating Erie Cathedral Prep last night. -
West Allegheny's Mike Caputo breaks away from Erie Cathedral Prep's Ricky Makowski last night at North Allegheny.
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West Allegheny's "wildcat" wasn't exactly de-clawed, but it was limping around with a bad paw.
Mike Caputo, West Allegheny's terrific junior running back, was struggling to gain yardage in the Indians' "wildcat" offense. On top of that, he was sitting out some plays with a gimpy foot.
But West Allegheny proved it is much more than Caputo. Maybe these Indians don't have nine lives, but they certainly have more than one standout player.
Quarterback Jared Buck came through with a big game, the defense straightened out after a shaky start, and West Allegheny defeated Erie Cathedral Prep, 36-21, in a PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal game last night at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium.
West Allegheny fought and scratched back from a 14-0 deficit after the first quarter and a 21-14 margin in the third. The victory put West Allegheny (12-2) into the semifinals Friday or Saturday against Manhiem Central, which defeated Susquehanna Township, 35-29, in another quarterfinal.
Class AAAA: State College 14, Woodland Hills 3.
Class AAA: West Allegheny 36, Erie Cathedral Prep 21
Class AA: Greensburg Central Catholic 49, Bedford 12
Class A: Clairton 46, Conemaugh Township 0
"We knew we weren't a one-man team," West Allegheny coach Bob Palko said.
Now, so does everyone else.
Caputo, who came in with 2,393 yards rushing, still had 131 yards on 16 carries. But 81 of those yards came on a run in the fourth quarter. The rest of the game, he had 50 yards on 15 carries as Erie Prep had 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage for much of the game.
So West Allegheny scrapped the "wildcat," where Caputo receives a direct snap from center. The Indians let Buck have more of a say in the game -- and he spoke loudly. Buck completed 11 of 12 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 76 yards on 11 carries and scored once. He threw some nice screen passes to keep Erie Prep's defense off balance.
"The first couple drives tell us a lot," Buck said. "We knew we had to change after that."
West Allegheny had only one first down on its first two drives and Caputo, running out of the "wildcat," had only 10 yards rushing on six attempts.
"It's been on and off some games," Buck said of the passing game. "We threw a little more in this game than we had before. It was a little different. But I enjoyed it."
Erie Cathedral Prep coach Mike Mischeler said: "I said all week that they were not a one-man show. We knew [Buck] was dangerous. We have two guys who can go, but so do they."
While West Allegheny's offense struggled early, so did the Indians' defense against Erie Cathedral Prep's speedy one-two punch of quarterback Shyquawn Pullium and running back Justin Wiley. They ran right through West Allegheny's defense on the first two possessions. Pullium scored on runs of 10 and 64 yards to give Erie Prep (11-3) a 14-0 lead with 1:14 left in the first quarter.
Pullium finished with 145 yards rushing on 16 attempts, but only 15 yards passing. Wiley rushed for 112 yards on 22 carries.
"Our team motto all year has been 'don't flinch,' " Palko said. "We told them you can't flinch when that bad stuff happens. That's something we have written on shirts underneath their pads.
"Those kids are so dangerous and athletic. But the second half, we just stepped up defensively -- and some turnovers helped."
Erie Cathedral Prep fumbled five times, losing two.
West Allegheny got on the scoreboard with 9:06 left in the first half when Caputo ran 13 yards for a touchdown to cap a 68-yard drive.
Maybe the key part of the game came late in the first half when West Allegheny took over on downs at its own 30 with 53.8 seconds left. Buck ran for 7 yards and completed three passes to put the ball at the Erie Prep 8. On the next play, he hit Ben Simmen with an 8-yard touchdown pass with 9.5 seconds left that tied the score at halftime.
"That score was a momentum breaker," Mischler said. "It was huge going in 14-14. We spent most of the half trying to get our kids' heads up."
C.J. Revtai took a short pass 24 yards for a score to give West Allegheny the lead for good with 9:32 remaining. Buck completed three passes in the go-ahead drive.
Caputo's 81-yard run was a beauty, as he broke a number of tackles to put the ball at the Erie Prep 12. It was pretty much the back-breaker as Caputo scored three plays later on a 6-yard run.
First Published December 5, 2009 12:00 am
