Beck’s catch, stretch nets title
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter South Fayette's Justin Watson and other teammates hold up the WPIAL trophy after beating Aliquippa.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter South Fayette's Conner Beck gets the final touchdown of the game against Aliquippa in the fourth quarter.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter South Fayette’s Conner Beck runs the ball down the field.
PITTSBURGH – Conner Beck’s status going into the biggest game of his career was in question all week.
South Fayette High School head coach Joe Rossi revealed that the senior wide receiver/defensive back had been nursing some nicks stemming from the WPIAL semifinal with Beaver Falls. Beck didn’t practice all week and it wasn’t known if he would suit up for Saturday’s Class AA final.
His status was unknown, but his impact became obvious.
Beck hauled in a 19-yard touchdown with 2:48 remaining and then intercepted Darrien Fields in the final minute, and South Fayette knocked off top-seeded Aliquippa, 34-28, to earn its second WPIAL Class AA title in four years.
“I knew I wasn’t going to miss playing on Heinz,” said Beck. “That’s been my dream since the beginning of the season.”
South Fayette (13-0) plays Karns City at Clarion University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the PIAA quarterfinals.
The Lions trailed by one, 28-27, after Aliquippa’s Terry Swanson scored on a 28-yard run, breaking a couple of tackles along the way. When Brett Brumbaugh got the ball back, it took him all of two plays to get down to the Aliquippa 19-yard line.
Two straight incompletions made it third down, and then came a play that will be talked about by both sides for a while, and for different reasons.
Brumbaugh fired a pass to Beck at the 1-yard line, and Beck turned his body and lunged, stretching out for the goal line. The football popped out a second later, but the official on the goal line had already signaled a touchdown.
“I couldn’t see the official,” said Rossi. “I was yelling to cover the ball, but it was definitely across.”
“I knew I had to make a play,” Beck added. “We needed one. I just went up for it and caught it.”
Aliquippa (12-1) coach Mike Zmijanac had a different take.
“I have no idea, but it actually appeared to me that it should’ve been an incomplete pass,” Zmijanac said. “But I’m not an official. These guys have a tough enough job without JumboTrons and our parsing every call that they make.”
The offense did its job for South Fayette, and then it was up to the defense to hold the lead. It did so with flying colors.
Roman Denson intercepted Fields with a spectacular leaping, one-handed grab, coming on the first play of Aliquippa’s ensuing drive. The Lions weren’t able to get a first down and had to punt the ball right back, but then Beck came up with his interception two plays later.
“I knew they were going to go deep, and I saw him release the ball, and I dove, and it’s the best feeling when it lands in your hands,” said Beck.
From there, South Fayette kneeled out the clock, and the Lions were again crowned champions.
Brumbaugh shined, despite the on-again off-again snowy conditions, completing 16 of 35 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. He and the Lions also got a little lucky when Beck, racing for the end zone late in the first quarter, fumbled the ball into the end zone and teammate Hayden Orler fell on it for a touchdown.
Justin Watson caught six passes for 130 yards, including a 68-yard strike when every Aliquippa defender lost track of Watson. Beck finished with five receptions for 112 yards.
Brumbaugh became the second member of his family to win a WPIAL football championship.
“I just have to get a state championship now,” he said.
The game’s scoring came in bunches, with the teams combining to score 30 points in the first quarter and 20 in the fourth. In between, it was a defensive struggle with six lead changes total.
Aliquippa, behind Swanson and Dravon Henry, actually outgained South Fayette, 391 offensive yards to 369. Swanson ran for 166 yards on 26 carries while Henry tallied 68 yards on 19 attempts.
But the Quips consistently drove deep into Lions territory before turning the ball over on downs five times.
“We didn’t get it done when we had to,” Zmijanac added.
Before Aliquippa’s final touchdown drive, the Quips had two punts and five turnover-on-downs from 10 possessions.
“We got to the red zone and we just couldn’t finish,” said Henry. “This is the outcome when that happens.”
One of the biggest defensive stops for the Lions was right before halftime. Aliquippa drove to the 5-yard line and had a third and two with South Fayette ahead, 17-16. The Lions stuffed two running attempts and went into halftime with the lead, which they extended to 20-16 to begin the third quarter.
“The stop before halftime was so crucial,” said Rossi. “We always have some great games with Aliquippa. We happened to score a few more points.”