WPIAL PLAYOFFS: Laurel to battle Beth-Center
Written: Nov 13, 2009
 By RON PONIEWASZ JR.
rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com
The march to Heinz Field got started right for the Laurel High football team last week.
To continue the journey, the Spartans must reach a territory they haven’t been for a while — the semifinals.
Laurel (9-1) will meet Beth-Center at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals at Beaver High School. The Spartans last reached the semifinals in 1996, losing to Mars, 14-13.
Laurel is also seeking its first 10-win season since 1980 when the program claimed its lone WPIAL championship.
“Really it’s just a simple thing like we get to keep playing if we win another game,” Spartans coach Jerry Holzhauser said. “That’s real important, to keep winning because we will continue to play football.
“The kids want to keep playing and another win means another game.”
Last week, the Spartans rolled to a convincing 55-7 verdict over Burgettstown. Beth-Center reached the quarterfinals with a 38-17 decision over Serra Catholic.
Laurel, seeded second, is ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL in Class A by the Post-Gazette and No. 4 in the PIAA poll. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs (8-2) finished second in the Tri-County South Conference (6-1) behind Monessen.
One of Beth-Center’s losses came against Burgettstown in the second week, 7-6. The Bulldogs also lost to Monessen, 13-12.
“We know that Burgettstown loss was the second game of the year and they’ve gotten better every week,” Holzhauser said.
Laurel’s lone loss was to Big Seven Conference champion Rochester, 14-7.
“Laurel is a big team that is playing a lot of seniors and juniors,” Beth-Center coach Ed Woods said. “They run the ball well, their quarterback can do everything; they’re a solid football team.”
Quarterback Sal Faieta, a 6-foot-1, 192-pound sophomore, leads the Beth-Center attack, completing 62 of 129 passes for 928 yards with nine touchdowns.
“He does a lot of rolling out,” Holzhauser said of Faieta. “He runs a lot of playaction passing and we have to contain someone like that.
“He has a real strong arm and is a good runner.”
Jake Sofran boasts a team-leading 499 rushing yards on 107 attempts with seven touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
“Sofran is a good sized kid,” Holzhauser said. “ He runs hard and he’s a north-south kind of runner.”
Beth-Center’s defense is allowing just 7.7 points a game, which is fifth among WPIAL Class A schools.
“Beth-Center appears to be a 4-4 team,” Holzhauser said. “When they played Serra and Serra spread them out, they would go to a 3-3 stack.
“If we decide to spread them out, we have to make sure we identify what coverages they’re in and take advantage of that.”
Tyler Forbes, a 6-1, 195-pound senior quarterback, directs the Spartans’ attack. Forbes is 40 of 82 for 632 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s a threat on the ground as well, rushing for 607 yards on 112 attempts. The rushing yardage is tops among all county signal callers.
“Forbes can both run and pass extremely well,” Woods said. “He’s another kid that does a great job with the option and he looks like the type that’s a leader on the field.”
Forbes also paces the defense with eight interceptions, which ties the school record.
Dylan Jones, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore running back, ranks second in the county with 967 yards rushing on 138 attempts with 11 touchdowns.
“He’s a nice back,” Woods said. “He runs hard and he has great vision for a younger kid; he’s a hard-nosed running back.”
Laurel also boasts a stingy defense. The Spartans’ defensive unit has allowed two opponents to reach double figures (Rochester and Monaca). The Spartans are surrendering just 7.4 points a game, ranking third in Class A behind Rochester (3.8) and Clairton (3.9).
“It just looks like they play base defenses,” Woods said. “They’re big and strong enough to handle people.
“They control teams at the line of scrimmage and they have guys to cover guys in the passing game.”
Beaver’s surface is field turf and both teams will be competing on it for the first time this year.
“The thrill of it, you get past it early and then you just play football,” Holzhauser said. “I don’t think it’s a big change. You’ll have to watch for bouncing balls on kickoffs, but balls can bounce funny on natural grass, too.”
The winner will play the survivor of the Clairton-Avonworth matchup at a time, date and site to be determined by the WPIAL.
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