Football - Latrobe vs Connellsville

Wildcat  Senior Zakharee Williams scores four touchdowns as Latrobe beats Connellsville 49-14.

It was a tale of two halves at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium as the Latrobe Wildcats battled the visiting Connellsville Falcons on Friday night Sept. 21, 2018 in Latrobe. Both teams managed to get onto the scoreboard in a competitive first half of football that began on a beautiful evening on the last day of summer. Latrobe’s Kameron Stevens opened the scoring when he scored a touchdown at 8:41 in the first quarter and the Wildcats took a 7-0 lead on the Falcons. Then Latrobe linebacker Caleb Domenick recovered the football after it sailed over the head of Connellsville quarterback Joshua Maher and the Wildcats were set up in great field position. Latrobe senior Zakharee Williams then scored the first of his three first half touchdowns, and it looked like the home team was pulling away from the visitors. Connellsville junior quarterback Joshua Maher had other plans when he found a wide open Blake Lancaster on a 78-yard touchdown pass and Connellsville cut the lead in half making the score 14-7. With 2:12 left in the first quarter Latrobe quarterback Branden Crosby threw a strike to slot receiver Zakharee Williams who made a great one handed catch for a 25-yard touchdown pass and the Wildcats took a 21-7 lead. Connellsville senior wide receiver Jalen Rogers caught Maher’s second touchdown pass of the evening with 47 seconds left in the first quarter to pull within a touchdown of the Wildcats and the score was tight at 21-14. Zakharee Williams added his third touchdown of the half with 7:38 left in the second quarter and the score was 27-14. Both teams traded possessions, and they headed to the locker rooms with a halftime score of 27-14. Latrobe took the field in the second half and - much like the high winds that began to swirl around the stadium - they blew right past the Falcons. It began when at 8:40 of the third quarter running back A.J. Rock scored a touchdown and then returned to the end zone for the two-point conversion making the score 35-14. Wildcat slot receiver Zakharee Williams then scored his fourth touchdown of the night at the 2:13 mark of the third quarter and the rout was on. Latrobe’s defense took control of the game and blanked the Falcons in the second half as the rain and high winds forced fans from the stands. Latrobe’s Brady Johnson recovered a fumble by Connellsville’s Blake Lancaster and then running back Paul Simonovitch scored the Wildcat’s final touchdown of the game at 9:50 of the fourth quarter. Latrobe secured a 49-14 victory over Connellsville in their WPIAL Class 5 A Big East conference contest.

Watch this link for a full gallery of action photos available for purchase or sharing the day after the game.