The WPIAL’s Class A Eastern Conference is as competitive from top to bottom as any in the district. But at the top of the mountain, there is no debate.
There is the Clairton football team, and there is everyone else. The Bears continued to flex their muscles by recording their seventh straight shutout in a 66-0 win over Riverview on Saturday at Riverside Park.
Clairton coach Wayne Wade said the Bears (7-1, 6-0) are one of the most mature groups of players he has had since taking over as coach in 2014.
“We have six of our seniors who have been starting with us since they were freshmen,” Wade said. “That’s why you see maturity on the field. On defense, those guys have so many reps and understand our schemes, what we want to do and what teams try to do against us. We are really fast, too. So I think that’s why we have all the shutouts.”
Clairton has outscored its opponents 416-0 during its current winning streak. The Raiders (4-5, 2-4) didn’t find much room to operate.
Riverview was limited to 10 yards of total offense. Raiders coach Trevor George said Clairton makes life difficult for game planning.
“It’s hard because they load the box, and their edge players are so fast to the flat,” George said. “They force you to throw the ball, which stops the clock, because you don’t want to run against a loaded box. But their kids do a great job of getting out of the box and playing in their passing and coverage zones.”
Clairton’s offense was led by quarterback Jeffrey Thompson, who finished with 219 passing yards and threw four touchdowns. The Bears first scoring drive was a deliberate march.
Clairton went on an eight-play drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Donte Wright.
“We have a few players who can take the ball 80 yards at any time, and we also can drive on you and wear you down and tire you out,” Bears receiver Brandon Murphy said.
Clairton piled on three more touchdowns by the end of the first quarter. Michael Ruffin scored on a 24-yard pass from Thompson, Deon Loevelace-Pompey scored on a 12-yard run and Murphy caught a 37-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 27-0.
Murphy finished with 91 yards on five catches and scored twice. Rheyjohn Williams scored twice for Clairton: on a 35-yard interception return and a kick return to open the second half.
Williams celebrated the pick-6 with a backflip in the end zone.
He said the Bears take a lot of pride in their shutout streak.
“It’s all about our mentality,” Williams said.
Riverview is still alive for the postseason. The Raiders would need to beat Jeannette next week and see how things shake out in the wild-card race.
Riverview is hoping to snap a three-game skid.
“Next week, the mission is the same as usual,” George said. “It’s another in-conference rivalry, and the playoff picture is going to be a wild, wild thing.”