TJ Football

Keystone Oaks certainly had improved since its 31-3 loss to Thomas Jefferson in the third week of the regular season. The Golden Eagles won their next seven games to finish second in the Big Seven Conference and advance past the opening round of the WPIAL playoffs.

And the Golden Eagles averaged 40 points per game in that winning streak to become the highest scoring football team ever at Keystone Oaks.

But Thomas Jefferson also had improved since its last game with its conference rival.

The Jaguars finished with the best offensive AND defensive averages in the WPIAL.

TJ raced through the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record then stomped Laurel Highlands, 70-6, in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

The local squad steamrolled through KO (8-3) for the second time this year, 37-0, in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

“ We’ve been pretty sharp all year. This team hits as hard as any team we’ve had,” said TJ’s head coach, Bill Cherpak.

“ They just want to keep winning.”

The Jaguars advanced to the WPIAL semifinal round — for the fifth year in a row and seventh time in eight seasons — where they will meet Hopewell this Friday (Nov. 8) at 7:30 p.m. at West Mifflin High School.

Hopewell — which defeated TJ in the semifinals last year — clipped Knoch last week, 28-14, behind Paul Posluszny’s 182 yards rushing.

“ Hopewell’s a lot like they were last year,” said Cherpak. “They have great size on the lines. They’re bigger than we are, but they’re just like us on defense in that they get to the ball well.”

Keystone Oaks found out that when you play Thomas Jefferson, it’s as much a track meet as it is a football game.

The Jaguars ended up with a 327-121 advantage in yardage and a 16-6 edge in first downs.

Keystone Oaks had no answer for TJ senior running back Jon Drager, who rushed for 163 yards on 30 carries and scored four touchdowns.

In three quarters.

Drager (6-0, 188), one of the most talented and elusive running backs in the WPIAL, hiked his season rushing totals to 1,970 yards on 229 carries.

He also has scored a WPIAL-leading 41 touchdowns.

Drager’s main blockers on the offensive line are seniors Ed Daley, Tony Cappelli, junior Tom Donohue, and seniors Mike Rehak and Luke Billman.

TJ held a 10-0 halftime lead thanks to Drager’s one-yard TD run and Jon Browne’s 31-yard field goal — his fifth field goal of the year.

The roof caved in on the KO defense in the second half as the field seemed tilted downward in the Jaguars’ favor.

TJ, playing most of the third stanza in KO territory, erupted for 27 points in an eight-minute span to wrap up the verdict and improve to 11-0.

Drager rambled to three touchdowns, on runs of 12, 18, and four yards, and junior quarter Pete Winovich added another on a brilliant 38-yard run.

Winovich’s jaunt may have been the play of the game, as he shook off a KO facemask penalty, weaved his way around left end, broke a half-dozen tackles then plowed his way into the end zone.

The shutout was the sixth of the year for the Jaguars, who have allowed just 44 points.

Drager, Ed Daley and Ryan Tempalski all had interceptions for the winning side.

TJ, which outscored its regular-season opposition by a 376-38 overall margin, has outscored its first two playoff foes by a 103-3 overall margin.

PLAYOFF NOTES:

Hope-well, which tied for first in the Parkway Conference, owned the second-best defense in the WPIAL behind TJ.

The Vikings allowed just 46 points in the regular season while piling up 231 on offense.