Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Eber wasn’t counting his carries, and neither was his coach, so they were a little surprised to hear he’d run the ball nearly 50 times.
Forty-eight to be exact.
“Forty-eight?” said TJ coach Bill Chepak. “Holy … .”
“I had no idea,” said Eber, who rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns Friday night as No. 1 Thomas Jefferson rode the sophomore to a 28-7 victory over No. 8 West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals.
Cherpak couldn’t remember another TJ running back with more carries in his three decades as coach.
“I love it,” Eber said. “I’ve worked so hard to be in the position to do that. It feels great to be that guy.”
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound running back carried the ball on nine consecutive plays in the third quarter and 11 in a row in the fourth, sustaining drives that both led to touchdowns. Eber doesn’t like to leave the field, but reluctantly exited once late, only because his helmet came loose.
His previous single-game high was 39 carries.
“The plan was maybe to sub him out or rotate him a little bit, and he just didn’t want to come out,” Cherpak said. “The whole time the line was like, ‘Pound it. Pound it. Pound it.’ That’s all they wanted to do. … That wasn’t the plan for him to run it 48 times, but it worked.”
Thomas Jefferson (11-0) took a 14-0 lead seconds before halftime and then controlled the second-half clock, running behind a strong offensive line anchored by left tackle Shep Turk, a Pitt recruit.
The win sets up a semifinal matchup against No. 4 Aliquippa (7-2), the three-time defending WPIAL champion. A site and time will be announced.
“I’ve been waiting to play them for four years,” Turk said. “I can’t wait.”
TJ quarterback Luke Kosko passed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Kane Eggerton for a 21-yarder just before halftime and Brayden White for an 11-yarder in the fourth quarter.
But mostly, Eber ran.
Eber gained 115 yards on 18 first-half carries and shouldered 30 more after halftime.
“He’s a monster,” Turk said. “He works so hard in the offseason. It’s his spot. He deserves it. He earned all of those carries.”
West Allegheny (4-5) had earned a share of the Parkway Conference title with its own ball-control offense but couldn’t get going on Friday. The team finished with 142 yards of offense with 70 coming on a third-quarter touchdown run by Brock Cornell.
The Indians’ offense ran just 11 plays after halftime and only two in the third quarter as Eber and the Jaguars played keep away. In contrast, TJ ran 21 plays in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth.
“I do appreciate when a young man is running the ball like that,” West Allegheny coach Dave Schoppe said. “I think the beauty of it and the credit goes to the guys up front. They were coming off the ball hard and they were moving our defensive line. … One heck of a job by their offensive line.”
Thomas Jefferson used a 15-play, 80-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. The drive, which included a fourth-and-1 conversion by Eber near midfield, ended with his 7-yard touchdown run.
Eber converted on three fourth downs in the win.
“That’s what our O-line loves to do,” Turk said. “That’s our identity here at TJ — pound the rock.”
Turk, a senior, is joined on the line by Luke Janosko, Zane Sable, Dom Metz and Beckett Everly.
“Let me just say, that’s the best line in the WPIAL,” Eber said.
A 21-yard touchdown catch by Eggerton extended Thomas Jefferson’s lead to 14-0 with 24 seconds left in the first half. The Jaguars scored again on the opening possession of the second, taking a 21-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Eber.
The third-quarter drive consumed more than 7 minutes.
“We knew they ran the ball and we run the ball, so it was going to be a short game,” Shoppe said. “You had to make sure you took advantage of every possession you had offensively.”
West Allegheny broke the shutout with a one-play drive when Cornell sprinted 70 yards in the third. The senior finished with 90 yards on nine carries.
Thomas Jefferson scored again with 2:44 left in the fourth on an 11-yard catch by White. The senior had seven catches for 81 yards and an intercepted a pass.
“Once we got the lead,” Cherpak said, “we knew it was going to be hard for them to come back.”