Nov 4, 2017 3 min read

JEFFERSON HILLS – Avoiding detrimental mistakes is one of the traits of a playoff team and a team that excels in the postseason.

Those mistakes are only magnified when you take on playoff powerhouse and two-time defending WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson, which finds another level in November and December.

The Jaguars didn’t wait until the second half this time as No. 3 Thomas Jefferson scored 28 points in the second quarter and defeated No. 6 seeded Trinity 42-0 in a Class 4A first-round game Friday night.

“You go through the season and have games where you don’t play well. You have games where you play down to your opponent,” said Thomas Jefferson head coach Bill Cherpak. “When you get in the playoffs, the focus is 10 times greater and everything is elevated. We look at it like this is our time. There is no tomorrow.”

The Jaguars didn’t wait to assert their dominance.

After forcing a Trinity punt on its first possession, Cherpak didn’t hesitate getting star running back Justin Vigna involved. Vigna carried the ball on nine of Thomas Jefferson’s 12-play, 85-yard opening drive, pounding his last carry on the drive into the end zone from the one-yard line to give the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.

Things went from bad to worse for Trinity – in its first playoff appearance since 2012 – when Thomas Jefferson forced a fumble on the Hillers 19-yard line before five-yard run by fullback Sean Bell would give TJ a 14-0 less than four minutes later.

“The big thing is they play such good defense,” Trinity coach Jon Miller said about Thomas Jefferson. “You have to control and move the ball. You also have to put points on the board. But that front four they have might be the best in the WPIAL regardless of classification. When you let their offense pound and grind, they eventually make plays.”

Trinity (6-4), which limited to Thomas Jefferson to only seven first-half points in a Big Nine Conference game Sept. 8, wasn’t able to stop Justin Vigna, who ran for 134 yards on 16 carries and two total touchdowns before being replaced to start the second half. He had five carries of 10 yards or longer.

Vigna’s biggest play came through the air when sophomore quarterback Shane Stump found him behind the Hillers’ defense for a 65-yard touchdown pass 49 seconds before halftime to give Thomas Jefferson a 35-0 lead at the break.

“Justin Vigna is a great athlete and he proved that tonight,” Miller said.

The Thomas Jefferson (9-1) defense had one focus: finding and stopping Trinity running back Joey Koroly, the second-leading rusher in the WPIAL.

Koroly’s biggest run on the night came on the last play the Hillers’ starting offense was in the game when he broke loose for 34 yards. He finished with 63 yards on 16 carries.

“He is such a great player,” Cherpak said.

“(Trinity) finds so many creative ways to get him the ball. We knew our focus had to be slowing him down. That allows you to be more aggressive as a defense.”

Thomas Jefferson advances to the semifinals where it will play No. 2 seeded Belle Vernon, which defeated Mars 42-7 in the opening round.

Belle Vernon handed the Jaguars their only loss of the season, 21-17, in a conference game Oct. 13.

“We’ll be ready to play,” Cherpak said. “There’s no doubt that we’ll be ready to play.”