Through 47 minutes of Friday night’s defensive slugfest between Class 2A No. 3 South Park and Steel Valley, the Eagles seemingly had the upper hand in just about every category imaginable — except for the one that matters most.
Despite moving the ball inside the red zone three times, nearly doubling the Ironmen’s yardage output and nearly tripling their time of possession, South Park had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, which somehow still showed nothing but zeroes with one minute left to play in the fourth quarter. Then, with the Eagles facing third-and-goal at the 1-yard line, quarterback Robert Lenzi reached the ball over the goal line to mark the first and only score of a 7-0 win for South Park (3-1, 1-0) on its home field.
It wasn’t pretty, but Eagles coach Brian Abbey couldn’t wipe the smile off his face after his team’s gritty, hard-fought victory to open up Allegheny Conference play.
“I would have liked to have thrown the ball a few more times, but our guys were getting it done up front,” Abbey said. “We just wanted to see it through and finish strong, and we did. They were able to get it done.”
After Lenzi’s QB sneak, Kenyan Brown finished the job with a game-ending interception for South Park, but it was standout senior Eric Doerue who did the heavy lifting on both sides of the ball to propel the Eagles to victory. A bruising back who seeks out and embraces contact, Doerue carried the ball 33 times for 160 yards while making a handful of tackles on defense.
“He played a full 48 [minutes],” Abbey said. “Hats off to him. He wears you down in the fourth quarter.”
For the game, South Park held the ball for a total of 34:17, while Steel Valley held it for only 13:43. The Ironmen finished with just 128 yards of offense compared to 233 for the Eagles.
Brown rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries, while South Park’s suffocating defense limited Steel Valley star Donald Barksdale to 76 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Barksdale and Doerue met in the hole for several head-on collisions, with Doerue proving he can impact the game as a linebacker as well by slowing down the speedy big-play threat.
“We just tried to stop the outside runs,” Doerue said. “[We knew] if we stop the outside runs, we win the game.”
After recovering from a knee injury, coveted junior Da’Ron Barksdale made his first start of the season for the Ironmen (1-3, 0-1) and was also largely kept in check by the Eagles, finishing with four receptions for 33 yards. He had an opportunity to get Steel Valley on the board on a deep pass down the sideline late in the third quarter, but the ball bounced off his hands.
“We were prepared for both [Barksdales],” Abbey said. “That’s a solid football team. They’re battle tested in these first four games here. They’re going to make some noise in the playoffs, for sure. … This conference is strong. It’s going to be a weekly battle all the way through.”
Although Doerue gets most of the headlines — and with good reason — the true strength of South Park’s team lies in its stout offensive line. Led by twin brothers Troy and Parker Cunningham, the Eagles typically win the battle at the line of scrimmage and wear their opponents down late in games.
Friday night was no different, especially in the second half. Coming out of the break, South Park started the third quarter with a 13-play drive lasting more than nine minutes, only to come away empty after a fourth-down stop by the Ironmen. Then, the Eagles chewed up nearly 11 minutes of clock on their go-ahead, 15-play, 88-yard scoring drive, which began with 11:47 left in the fourth quarter and ended with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
“To be able to control the clock and keep their talented athletes off the field, it really bodes well for us,” Abbey said. “Again, I would have liked to have cashed in a few more times, but for us to be able to maintain that clock and rely on the run game — I feel we have one of the best running backs in the WPIAL.
“With that line, we’re going to ride [Doerue], and we rode him tonight.”
Parker Cunningham is a James Madison recruit, and Troy has a handful of Division I offers of his own. Together, they provide the backbone for arguably the most physical team in Class 2A — and a surefire WPIAL title contender.
But is South Park the team to beat after Friday’s win? Doerue thinks so, but he knows the Eagles still have a lot more to prove.
“We’re better than this,” Doerue said. “We’re going to enjoy the win, but it wasn’t our best football.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
