One step short
Wilmington (13) vs. Steel Valley (49)
Written: Dec 03, 2016
  By Clay Sauertieg
New Castle News
WEXFORD —The Wilmington High football team's season came to an end Friday night.
The Greyhounds ran into a buzzsaw in undefeated WPIAL champion Steel Valley, falling 49-13 in a PIAA Class 2A semifinal at North Allegheny High School.
"That speed that they have, they have it everywhere," Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said. "They have twice as much speed as most teams have and they can play defense, too. They come out in man and can cover you and the rest of them are so quick rushing that you don't have time to pass. That's just the way it is."
Wilmington (12-2) struggled to handle the team speed of the Ironmen (14-0). Steel Valley’s potent offense started clicking on the first drive of the game, as running back DeWayne Murray found the end zone from three yards out just 2:33 into the game. The Greyhounds were able to establish themselves a bit on their own opening driving, taking the ball down to the Steel Valley 18 before stalling out and failing to convert on fourth down.
Wilmington was able to hang with the Ironmen through one quarter, but that changed in a hurry. Steel Valley scored twice in a span of three minutes, the first on the 30-yard run by Pitt recruit Paris Ford and the second, a 4-yard scamper by Murray to build a commanding 21-0 lead. The Ironmen added a passing touchdown late in the quarter from quarterback Ryan Harper to wide receiver Najheir West to extend the lead to 28-0 at half.
"Ryan came up through the system," Steel Valley coach Rod Steele said of his quarterback. "He's played JV with these kids. Ryan waited his turn, he developed himself. You have to take your hat off to Ryan, he put in a lot of hard work."
The second half was equally impressive from Steel Valley despite a Wilmington team that refused to lie down. Murray took a handoff 54 yards with 9:29 remaining in the third quarter and closed the door on any potential comeback bid. West added a 66-yard rush later in the third before Kyle Slicker and Reese Bender hooked up on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 10:24 remaining in the game to get the Greyhounds on the board.
Harper finished the contest with 175 yards on 10-of-13 passing and one touchdown. Murray rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries and West ran for 136 and two touchdowns on six carries.
DeMedal led the way for the Greyhounds with 70 yards rushing on 14 carries, while senior Kyle Slicker added 34 yards on nine carries and sophomore Cameron Marett had nine carries for 31. Quarterback Reese Bender struggled in difficult conditions against a Steel Valley defense that flies to the ball. He finished the game 2 of 12 for just 22 yards but added two touchdowns, the first to Slicker and the second to Colton Marett.
The Greyhounds' semifinal run is their furthest since 2009 and their 12 wins are the most since that same season.
"It means a great deal (to the team)," Verrelli said. "I try to tell them 'don't let one game spoil your feeling about the season that you had.' They had a great season. They played together and that's the key, that's why they got here tonight."
Steel Valley will now head to Hershey and take on perennial powerhouse Southern Columbia in the Class 2A state championship next Saturday at 11 a.m at HersheyPark Stadium.
"Tomorrow," Steele said about when his team puts the Wilmington victory behind them. "We'll celebrate this win tonight and we'll get ready for whoever we play next week (starting) tomorrow."
(Email: csauertieg@ncnewsonline.com)
WILMINGTON STEEL VALLEY
12 First downs 16
145 Yards Rushing 293
11 Yards Lost 10
134 Net Rushing 283
13 Passes Attempted 15
2 Passes Completed 10
0 Passes Intercepted 0
22 Yards Passing 175
156 Total Yards 458
0-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
6-22.3 Punts-Average 3-36.3
4-22 Penalties-Yards 12-119
WILMINGTON 0 0 0 13 — 13
STEEL VALLEY 7 21 14 7 — 49
Scoring plays
STEEL VALLEY — DeWayne Murray, 3-yard run (Alex Grace kick).
STEEL VALLEY — Paris Ford, 30-yard run (Grace kick).
STEEL VALLEY — Murray, 4-yard run (Grace kick).
STEEL VALLEY — Najheir West, 23-yard pass from Ryan Harper (Grace kick).
STEEL VALLEY — Murray, 54-yard run (Grace kick).
STEEL VALLEY — West, 66-yard run (Grace kick).
WILMINGTON — Kyle Slicker, 9-yard pass from Reese Bender (Jacob Winters kick).
STEEL VALLEY — West, 1-yard run (Grace kick).
WILMINGTON — Colton Marett, 13-yard pass from Bender (kick failed).
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