Thomas Jefferson followed up its previous two WPIAL titles by winning a matching PIAA title.
The Jaguars are now two wins away from doing it for a third straight time.
Luke Kosko threw for three touchdowns to propel Thomas Jefferson to a 35-0 win against District 9 champion Clearfield in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal Saturday at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.
Thomas Jefferson (14-0), which claimed back-to-back PIAA titles in 2019 and 2020, will meet District 3 champion Lampeter-Strasburg (13-0) in next week’s semifinals.
The Jaguars had little difficulty against Clearfield (12-1), which last week won its first PIAA game in 11 years. Coach Bill Cherpak’s team led, 14-0, after one quarter and held a 28-0 halftime lead.
Kosko finished just 5 of 8 for 143 yards, but three of those completions went for touchdowns, all in the first half. Kosko threw scoring strikes of 57 and 51 yards to Brayden White and connected with Tyler Eber for a 19-yard touchdown. Eber would have had two touchdowns in the first half, but he fumbled just before getting into the end zone in the first quarter. Luckily for the Jaguars, Trent Miller scooped up the ball for a touchdown.
Eber would add a 2-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the fourth quarter that put the mercy rule into effect. Eber finished with 131 yards on 32 carries.
Class 1A
After losing in the PIAA final the past two years, Westinghouse hoped the third time would be a charm this season.
But not only won’t the Bulldogs win a title next month, but also they won’t even play for one.
Chase Kissell threw for three touchdowns and also ran for a pair of scores as District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle rolled to a surprisingly lopsided 56-15 win against City League winner Westinghouse in a Class 1A quarterfinal at Farrell.
Westinghouse moved down a class this season after finishing as Class 2A runner-up the past two seasons. The Bulldogs (9-2) appeared to be rolling right along, having won nine games in a row, including a 61-6 rout of District 5 Windber in the first round. But Bishop Guilfoyle (13-1) put an end to Westinghouse’s championship hopes. The Marauders, who last won a PIAA title in 2021, have lost just once this season, and that was to Class 3A semifinalist Penn Cambria.
Bishop Guilfoyle raced to a 28-0 lead following a pair of Taurean Consiglio touchdown runs, a Kissell touchdown run, and an 88-yard scoring toss from Kissell to Hamilton Gates. However, Westinghouse showed some fight, pulling to within 28-15 at the half courtesy of two Khalil Green touchdown passes (56 yards to Lloyd Penn and 61 yards to Johnny Bailey).
But in the second half, Bishop Guilfoyle extended its lead and eventually summoned the mercy rule. Chase Kissell found Jake Kissell for two touchdowns and ran for another score, while Gates added a touchdown run.
Bishop Guilfoyle will play District 4 champion Muncy (12-2) in the semifinals.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.