Published Sunday, Nov. 17, 1996
Steelers 14
Lions 12
WPIAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Farrell heading to 3 Rivers Stadium
By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer
ROCHESTER _ Go for two, or go for one? The kicker's out with a sprained ankle. If the conversion fails and the opponent scores a touchdown all they need is an extra point and the season is finished.
Oh, to be a coach in overtime!
Farrell's Lou Falconi left his final decision up to the team, and the response was unanimous. Go for two.
``I was going to kick, but the kids said go for it,'' Falconi said. ``They wanted to go for two. The kids wanted to go for two.''
An audible, a pass, a deflection and a catch later the Steelers (10- 1) had what proved to be the winning points in its WPIAL Class A semifinal game against South Fayette which they won, 14-12, at Rochester High School.
With the game tied 6-6 at the end of regulation, a berth in the WPIAL Class A Finals was to be decided with both teams getting four plays to score from the 10- yard line.
Farrell got first possession, and on first down Jason Kennedy made it to the 1 with a run off left tackle. On second down, Kennedy notched his 200th rushing yard of the game on his 26th carry, scoring on a dive to put the Steelers up, 12-6.
Falconi looked down the sideline and saw his kicker, Chico Pinkins sitting where he sat the entire second half _ propped up on the back of the bench with his ankle wrapped in ice and bandages, within reach a pair of crutches. Obviously he couldn't kick after being hurt late in the first half while blocking.
Rennie Gash audibled at the line, stepped back on the snap and dumped the ball over the line in the direction of tight end Derrick Newell. Newell managed to bat the ball towards the other tight end, Willie Evans, about three yards away. Evans bobbled it, but gained posession just before he hit the ground to make it 14- 6.
``When we went into overtime, the kids were just pumped,'' Falconi said. ``We did this at Aliquippa (earlier in the season) and it brought all those memories back.''
The fact that Evans made the catch was more amazing because he hadn't practiced all week, and didn't take the field against the Lions (9-2) until the second half.
``Talk about fate,'' Falconi said. ``Evans was out all week with the bruised shoulder. I didn't think he'd be able to get dressed. At halftime, he kept saying, `I want to play.' Talk about fate. That was it in a nutshell.''
South Fayette took over at the 10 on its overtime possession and quarterback Mike Iagnemma wasted no time in hitting running back Brandon Davis in the end zone on first down to cut Farrell's lead to two, 14-12.
Left with no choice but to go for two, Iagnemma rolled right looking for Davis again, but threw into triple coverage and the ball was knocked away.
``It just wasn't meant to be our day,'' said South Fayette coach Bob Babish.
Farrell will play Riverview, 25-14 winners over Monessen, next Saturday for the WPIAL championship at Three Rivers Stadium.
``I don't care who we're playing, we're going to Three Rivers,'' Falconi said. ``We're finally on turf. We're going to regroup and get ready for next week.''
South Fayette used two fourth-down conversions to score on its first drive of the game, one that covered 61 yards on 10 plays.
Facing fourth-and-2 at Farrell's 30, Shawn Dalverny gained three yards up the middle to keep the Lions' drive going. They managed just four more yards before their next fourth down.
This time Iagnemma, facing pressure from a strong Farrell rush, stepped up in the pocket and fired into the end zone to Davis who was waiting behind a jumping Demarco Wilder. That made it 6-0 after the kick failed.
Iagnemma was 6-of-15 for 63 yards, with Davis receiving four passes for 49 yards for the game.
The Lions couldn't get anything going on the ground, gaining just 72 yards compared to Farrell's 225. And in the second half, they managed just two first downs.
``We knew that they had good athletes,'' Babish said. ``We knew we had to play solid defense and move the ball on offense. We were just playing against a good football team.''
The Steelers' first touchdown came on their first drive of the second half and was bolstered by a 47-yard Kennedy run on first down. He followed on second down with a 3-yarder to the Lions' 12 before Keygen Bryant scored on third down on a run up the middle.
With Pinkins out, Rennie Gash attempted the extra point and made it, but an illegal procedure penalty negated the play. Gash's next attempt was blocked, and the score was tied 6-6.
WPIAL Class A Semifinals
SOUTH FAYETTE 6 0 0 0 6 12
FARRELL 0 0 6 0 8 14
Scoring plays SF _ Davis 26 pass from Iagnemma (kick failed) FA _ Bryant 12 run (kick blocked) FA _ Kennedy 1 run (Evans pass from Gash) SF _ Davis 10 pass from Iagnemma (pass failed)
Team stats
SOUTH FAYETTE FARRELL
8 First downs 14
72 Rushing yards 225
63 Passing yards 29
16-6-1 Att-comp-int 11-3-1
0-0 Sacks-yards lost 3-35
135 Total yards 219
1-1 Fumbles-lost 2-1
1-5 Penalties-yards lost 5-30
Individual stats
Rushing: SOUTH FAYETTE _ Davis 15- 27, Iagnemma 7-22, Dalverny 7-23; FARRELL _ Kennedy 26-200, Wilder 3-18, Bryant 6-13, Gash 6-4. Passing: SOUTH FAYETTE _ Iagnemma 15-6-1, Davis 1-0-0; FARRELL _ Gash 11-3- 1. Receiving: SOUTH FAYETTE _ Davis 4- 49, Neely 1-8, Wible 1-6; FARRELL _ Newell 2-38, Falconi 1-(-9).
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Updated Nov. 17, 1996.