PG East: Jeannette back making himself a Hall of fame
Terrelle Pryor has received the lion's share of the headlines this season for the Jeannette Jayhawks for a very good reason -- it's not often a Western Pennsylvania high school football team has arguably the best player in the nation.
Terrelle Pryor draws oohs and aahs with the plays he makes. He's a one-man highlight film and the main reason Jeannette crushed Beaver Falls, 61-12, in the WPIAL Class AA championship game Friday at Heinz Field.
But Terrelle Pryor would be the first one to say that one player, no matter how talented, doesn't make a championship team. And Jeannette is fortunate to have a number of gifted athletes.
If it wasn't for Terrelle Pryor, the Jeannette player in the spotlight at the final would have been junior running back Jordan Hall. All he did at Heinz Field was rush nine times for 72 yards, catch two passes for 53 more and score three of Jeannette's first-half touchdowns.
OK, so his numbers pale a bit when compared to Terrelle Pryor's 166 yards rushing on 12 carries and 81 yards passing on five of six attempts. But Jeannette coach Ray Reitz knows Hall's value.
"I don't know if there's a better back in the WPIAL to be honest with you," Reitz said. "He's very shifty, but he's also very strong. He benches more than 300 pounds."
It didn't take Hall, who is 5 feet 9 and 180 pounds, long to make a big play. On Jeannette's first possession, he hauled in an 18-yard pass from Terrelle Pryor on a third-and-9 play. That gave the Jayhawks a first down at the Beaver Falls 12.
Later in the first quarter, he caught a 35-yard pass for a touchdown then ran in the two-point conversion on an option play to give Jeannette a 21-0 lead.
On defense, Hall was a terror from his linebacker spot. He finished with four tackles, one for a loss, forced a fumble, broke up a pass and recorded a quarterback sack.
"If we play great defense, we can beat anybody," Hall said. "Aliquippa [a 70-48 victory] put some points up on our defense, but then our offense got going."
Hall has always played on both sides of the ball. He said he prefers offense because he likes finding the end zone, but his future might be on defense as a strong safety.
"I don't think it makes any difference. He's just a physical kid," said Reitz when asked if he liked Hall better on offense or defense. "I'm sure he likes offense because you get a little more glamour, but he's just a physical player."
When opponents load up to try and stop Terrelle Pryor, Hall is usually the one who alters the strategy.
"We have a lot of guys who can make plays," Hall said. "If they do that [overplay Terrelle Pryor] ... that's just dumb. He's a great player, but we have others who can get it done."
It would be interesting to see what kind of numbers Hall would put up if the Jayhawks got him the football on 30 plays just one game. Naturally, he played off any thought of the damage he could do.
"Our fullback, if you gave him the ball 30 times a game, he'd make plays ... I'd make plays. We just have a lot of talent," he said.
Reitz said Hall is as good a person off the field as he is a player on it. He also has taken to Jeannette's one-for-all mentality.
"That's the nice thing about this group. They've all bought into the team concept. That's what has made this year so enjoyable," he said.
He also contends Division I colleges are missing the boat when it comes to Hall. Reitz thinks Hall should have gotten a scholarship offer or two.
"You should see him throw the ball. He's a very good athlete," Reitz said. "He could probably win a state wrestling championship if he went out for wrestling. That's just the type of kid he is."Coming up
• What: PIAA Class AA quarterfinal.
• Who: Jeannette (13-0) vs. Karns City (12-0).
• When: 1 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Memorial Stadium, Clarion University.
• The skinny: Jeannette needs 21 points to set a state record for most points scored in a season. ... Karns City is the District 9 champion.
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