Football - West Greene vs GCC

November 02, 2019

GCC Football Season Ends at West Greene

Greensburg Central Catholic's return to WPIAL Class A playoff competition after several years absence came to an abrupt close at West Greene's Kennedy Field in Rogersville as the #2 seeded Pioneers beat the #7 seeded Centurions 36-0 on Friday, November 1.

GCC received the opening kickoff bit failed to move the ball. West Greene, relying exclusively on their power running game, got on the board at 4:32 of the first quarter when senior fullback Kolin Walker carried for the touchdown from 7 yards out. A botched PAT snap gave the Pioneers a 6-0 lead.

Recently minted WPIAL single season touchdown record holder Benjamin Jackson put his 100th career touchdown in the books on a defensive play, as he picked up a David Altimore fumble on third-and-long and raced to the end zone for the score. Walker carried for the successful two-point conversion and the Pioneers were up 14-0 at 1:21 to play in the first.

The Centurions next possession ended quickly and badly as Ben LaCarte was hit and lost the ball, which was picked up by Austin Crouse who rambled 45 yards for a second Pioneers defensive touchdown within less than a minute. Kevin Thompson added the PAT kick as West Greene took a 21-0 lead into the second quarter.

Walker got his second touchdown at 3:55 to play in the first half on a 12-yard run, with Thompson's kick giving West Greene at 28-0 lead to take to the locker room at halftime.

West Greene receive the second half kickoff and only needed 21 seconds to put the game into mercy rule status as Ben Jackson carried 70 yards from scrimmage for his first offensive touchdown of the game. Another botched snap on the PAT kick led to Thompson passing to Gavin Scott for two points. Neither team scored for the remainder of the game, played under a running clock, and West Greene sent the Centurions back to Greensburg with a 36-0 defeat to end their season.

Zach Kuvinka was placed into service on placekicking and punting duties for the game while regular kicker Nathan Ward, who plays soccer as his main sport, was with the Centurions soccer team as they claimed the WPIAL Class A title at Highmark Stadium with a 1-0 victory on Ward's solo goal. The Centurions' ladies team played in a WPIAL title game just before the boys game, but they fell short to rival Shady Side Academy in a 2-1 contest.

Even with Centurions fans splitting up between the 3 playoff contests, a good crowd made the 90 minute trip to Rogersville in 30-degree weather to watch the Centurions gridiron season end. Greensburg Central Catholic finished the season at 7-4 overall. West Greene improves to 10-1 and meets 10-1 Sto-Rox next week in a neutral site semifinal game.