Pioneers’ Jackson claims TD Club title
West Greene鈥檚 Ben Jackson stiff arms Monessen鈥檚 Elijah Davis during the first half of their Tri-County South game at Kennedy Field on Sept. 21. Jackson rang up 162 points this season to capture the 2018 缅北禁地 Touchdown Club title despite missing two and a half games due to an ankle injury and also helped the Pioneers claim a conference championship for the first time since 1993. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Mark Marietta
West Greene wide receiver Nathan Brudnock makes a catch in the Pioneers鈥� WPIAL playoff game against Rochester. Brudnock was the second-leading scorer among Greene County players this season with 54 points and was the only player in the 缅北禁地 Touchdown Club to record at least one touchdown, one two-point conversion and one extra-point kick. (Photo by Mark Marietta)
Jim Downey | 缅北禁地
Waynesburg Central running back Luke Robinson (10) cuts inside of Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Jacob Broadwater to score a touchdown in the first quarter of their non-conference game at Waynesburg on Aug. 24. Robinson and Broadwater tied for fourth place in the Greene County scoring race with 30 points apiece this season.
West Greene鈥檚 Ben Jackson didn鈥檛 even have to play a full season to claim the 2018 缅北禁地 Touchdown Club title.
The junior running back, who missed several games due to an ankle injury, officially wrapped up first place in the standings when Charleroi, the final area team in the playoffs, fell to South Side Beaver, 26-21, in the WPIAL Class AA semifinals Friday night.
Jackson scored 26 touchdowns and added a trio of two-point conversions for a final total of 162 points. He is the first West Greene player to win the award which began in 2005.
Jackson wound up second among local players in rushing with 1,541 yards and went over the 4,000-yard mark for his career.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be the leading scorer,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure if I was going to do it with my injury.鈥�
Jackson went down in the Pioneers鈥� game against Clairton on Oct. 12 with what at first was thought to be a high ankle sprain but was eventually diagnosed as a spiral fracture of his left fibula.
Jackson missed the second half of the Bears game as well as the next two against Jefferson-Morgan and Union. He returned to score his final two touchdowns of the season in a playoff loss to Rochester, although he still wasn鈥檛 100 percent.
Jackson was quick to share the TD Club honor.
鈥淢y teammates helped me with that great accomplishment,鈥� said Jackson, who named several of the Pioneers who blocked for his this season, including Wyatt White, Jeremiah Miller, Cole Widdup, Brock Bedilion and Gregory Staggers.
鈥淭hey did an amazing job this year,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淲yatt and Brock are two of the best linemen I鈥檝e seen. They really opened up the holes for me. Brock is just so explosive, he really drives off the ball and gives it 100 percent.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could be where I am without them.鈥�
Jackson helped lead West Greene (7-4) to its first conference championship since 1993 as the Pioneers finished tied for first place in the Tri-County South with California and Monessen.
Jackson complimented West Greene sports overall, not just the football program. The school has had recent success in softball, basketball, baseball and cross country, in addition to on the gridiron.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making history again,鈥� he said, particularly noting the softball team鈥檚 back-to-back state titles. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bringing our community back together. People are coming out and cheering for our teams, we鈥檙e drawing bigger crowds. When you have all that unity, it really does feel good.鈥�
West Greene鈥檚 Nathan Brudnock was the only area player to score in three different categories with six touchdowns, four two-point conversions and 10 extra-point kicks.
Brudnock was also the second-leading scorer among Greene County players with 54 points. The Pioneers鈥� Kolin Walker was second with 44 points, Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Nate Stephenson as third with 42, and Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Jacob Broadwater, Austin Foreman and Jonathan Wolfe, and the Raiders鈥� Luke Robinson all tied for fourth in the county with 30.
Rounding out the top 10 for Greene County were Carmichaels鈥� Kevin Kelly and West Greene鈥檚 Gavin Scott (tied for eighth with 26), and the Mikes鈥� Bailey Jones (10th, 24).
Charleroi senior H-back Hunter Perry added two more touchdowns in his final game to finish second overall behind Jackson with 136 points.
A trio of players tied for third place with 112 points: Beth-Center senior quarterback Bailey Lincoski, Southmoreland senior running back Ronnie Robinson and Yough senior running back Dustin Shoaf, who won the WPIAL regular-season rushing title for the second year in a row with 1,968 yards.
Lincoski was the area鈥檚 highest scoring quarterback.
Belle Vernon鈥檚 Mason Pascoe placed sixth with 102 points, the Bulldogs鈥� Dominic Fundy was seventh with 98 points and defending champion Jelani Stafford of California followed up his 170 points of 2017 with 94 more this year for eighth place. Tying for ninth were Charleroi teammates Brayden Mahalcin and Dakota Romantino with 90 points.
Romantino was the area鈥檚 highest scoring wide receiver.
Laurel Highlands鈥� Conner Basinger, the second-leading scorer among quarterbacks, and Bentworth鈥檚 Trent Cavanaugh tied for 11th place with 86 points. Mount Pleasant鈥檚 Jake Johnson, the second-leading scorer among receivers, was 13th with 84 points.
Rounding out the top 20 were Elizabeth Forward鈥檚 Zach Benedek (14th, 80), the Leopards鈥� Larry Callaway (15th, 76), Charleroi鈥檚 Geno Pellegrini (16th, 74), the Trojans鈥� Cochise Ryan and Monessen鈥檚 Vaughn Taylor (tied for 17th, 72), the Bearcats鈥� Owen Petrisek (19th, 70), and B-C鈥檚 Devin Dingle, the Greyhounds鈥� Devin Whitlock and California鈥檚 Jaedan Zuzak (tied for 20th, 68).
The leading scorers among kickers were Charleroi鈥檚 Joe Caruso, who finished 24th overall with 65 points, all on extra points, and Belle Vernon鈥檚 Cam Guess, who was 27th overall with 53 points on one field goal and 50 PATs.
The top five in touchdowns were Jackson (26), Perry (22), Robinson and Shoaf (18 each), and Lincoski and Pascoe (17 each).
Beth-Center had three of the top five in two-point conversions. JJ Green led the way with eight, Fundy was next with seven and Lincoski had five, as did Stafford and Monessen鈥檚 Isaiah Beltram.
Connellsville鈥檚 Gage Gillott and the Warriors鈥� Andrew Smith tied for the lead in field goals with five apiece. The Scotties鈥� Andrew Rodriguez was next with two, while Guess, Frazier鈥檚 Shane McGavitt, Southmoreland鈥檚 Andrew Rodriguez, Bentworth鈥檚 Trevor Richardson and California鈥檚 Matt Trunzo each had one.
Following Caruso and Guess in the extra points category were Smith with 31, Rodriguez with 23 and Gillott and the Vikings鈥� Bradley Tait with 19 each.
Carmichaels, Jefferson-Morgan and Monessen were the only teams to record two defensive safeties.