Roar of the Lions: South Fayette blanks injury-ridden Trinity

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Mark Marietta South Fayette's Aayden Wright (6) eludes Ayvari Chandler (1), the last Hiller defender before the goal line on a seventy yard touchdown run that gave the Lions a 7-0 lead at the half of the September 18 game at Trinity's Hiller Stadium.

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Mark Marietta Hiller freshman quarterback Brady Layhue looks for a receiver with South Fayette's Johnny Oravecz in pursuit during a second quarter drive in the September 18 game at Trinity.

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Mark Marietta Trinity's Owen Gardner grinds out a short gain behind the blocking of Braden Berdar on a first half drive in the September 18 game against South Fayette at Hiller Stadium.

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Mark Marietta South Fayette's Braeden Plasko (16) breaks loose on a fourth and short with a sprint to the end zone that gave the Lions a 21-0 lead over Trinity in the third quarter of the September 18 game at Hiller Stadium.

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Mark Marietta South Fayette's Dylan Monz pulls in a Braedon Plasko pass for the Lions' fourth touchdown of the night, running up a 28-0 lead over Trinity in the September 18 game at Hiller Stadium.

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Injuries are a part of football, but what Trinity is dealing with just four weeks into the season isn’t normal.

Trinity was missing 4/5 of its offensive line and its starting quarterback, just to name a few, and still held South Fayette to within 7-0 late in the third quarter.

But South Fayette eventually pulled away for a 21-0 win behind running back Aayden Wright, who ended the night with 142 yards and a long touchdown on 12 carries, and QB Braeden Plasko, who threw a touchdown and ran for another.

Trinity (2-2) coach Dan Knause was proud of his team’s effort, but at the end of the day, the result wasn’t good enough.

“Super proud of our kids,” Knause said, “but you know, we’re not satisfied. We played well enough defensively and special teams to win. We just did not play well offensively, and ultimately, you know, I’m gonna take the burden of that one.”

Even with the injuries, South Fayette (4-0) coach Marty Spieler knew Trinity would come to play.

“We know Coach Knause very well,” Spieler said. “We’ve worked out with him in the past. Him and (former SF coach Joe Rossi) were close. They are coached really well, and they play a physical brand of football. And again, at the end of the day, it’s 5A, and we’re experienced with that. Even if we drop down the 4A they’re going to play physical and try to stop the run. And our offensive line did a really good job of just staying at it, staying at it, staying at it until we creased something.”

Neither team scored in the first quarter. South Fayette came close, but Trinity’s Ayvari Chandler blocked a 34-yard field goal try to keep South Fayette from drawing first blood.

Then, Wright broke loose for a 70-yard run that brought the game to life and put South Fayette ahead, and it remained 7-0 going into the half.

In the fourth quarter, South Fayette decided to go for it on 4th and 3 from the Trinity 39.

It worked.

Plasko’s 39-yard TD run pushed the lead to two scores, and the Lions were firmly in command.

A 33-yard pass from Plasko to Dylan Monz put the game to bed.

South Fayette will look to keep it going next Friday at Upper St. Clair. Kickoff is scheduled for 7. Trinity will look to bounce back at the same time at Mars.

If Trinity beats Mars, it will be the program’s 400th win.