Pioneers storm back to stun Bentworth, 36-33
ROGERSVILLE 鈥� Only one playoff berth remains in the Class A Tri-County South Conference and two teams want it. That was what was at stake when Bentworth and West Greene met Friday night at Kennedy Field.
And it was West Greene that would claim that spot when quarterback Lane Allison found Jackson Grimes for a 53-yard touchdown with 3:07 left to play in the game to rally the Pioneers to a 36-33 victory over Bentworth.
West Greene trailed 26-7 with nine minutes left in the third quarter before storming back.
Both teams came into the game with 2-1 conference records. The WPIAL will take four teams from some Class A conferences but that will be up to its discretion so impressive wins will be required over the last three weeks of the regular season for the loser of last night鈥檚 game to get into the postseason.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say it was one of our better wins, but most exciting, absolutely,鈥� said West Greene head coach Beau Jackson. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we told the guys, that we have not played our best game, that our guys have no quit and that鈥檚 why we won this game today.鈥�
Allison completed 8 of 18 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, both to Grimes, who had five receptions for 178 yards. Allison also had 15 carries for 131 yards. The Pioneers also got 19 carries for 126 yards and four extra-point kicks from Hayden Hamilton, and three TD runs by Colin Whyte.
Ben Hays led the way for the Bearcats (2-2, 4-3), completing 6 of 7 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns, returning a punt 98 yards for a score and also contributing a 22-yard TD run.
Mistakes were the bane of West Greene (3-1, 3-4), especially in the first half. But the Pioneers were able to carve out a second-half rally that was truly impressive.
West Greene fumbled away the opening kickoff, which led to Preston Jaquay鈥檚 1-yard touchdown to give Bentworth a 7-0 lead.
Hays then made the play of the half early in the second quarter when he fielded a punt at the two, broke left and went 98 yards for a touchdown. Caden Hackinson鈥檚 extra point made it 14-0.
West Greene drew three consecutive penalties with the football inside the 15 and then lost a fumble that led to Hays鈥� touchdown run which gave Bentworth a 20-0 lead with 7:20 left in the second quarter after Hackinson鈥檚 extra-point try hit the upright.
The Pioneers finally got on the board with 1:58 remaining in the half on Whyte鈥檚 3-yard touchdown run to make it 20-7.
The Bearcats pushed their lead out to 26-7 on Hays鈥� 43-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Burt with 9:37 left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion failed.
The Pioneers answered when Grimes and Allison hooked up on a 62-yard bomb in the third quarter to pull within 26-14.
鈥淚 thought the ball was going over me,鈥� Grimes said of the play. 鈥淚t was a perfect pass by Lane. We needed every single guy on that field. This just shows that we never quit.鈥�
West Greene cut the gap to 26-21 on Whyte鈥檚 1-yard touchdown run with 2:23 left in the third quarter, but Hays answered 1:50 later with another long TD toss to Burt, this one covering 51 yards to make it 33-21.
Whyte scored his third touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run with seven minutes left in the game to again pull the Pioneers with six, 33-28, and set the stage for Allison鈥檚 winning pass to Grimes which was followed by Hamilton鈥檚 two-point conversion run.
鈥淭his one hurts,鈥� said Bentworth head coach Dave Pordash. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 hit a pass like that all year. It was a great pass and a great catch.鈥�