PINE TWP, Pa. — Pine-Richland opened the season with a 21-0 win over defending WPIAL and PIAA Class-5A Champion Penn Hills Friday night in Gibsonia.
The Rams (1-0) scored on their first possessions of the first and third quarters and were in control for the entire night.
The defending WPIAL Class-6A Champions held the Indians to just 177 yards on offense and had an interception in the third quarter to thwart a possible touchdown.
Cole Spencer opened the scoring when he found senior Luke Meckler on a quick pass on a 4th and 2. The talented running back wove his way through the defense for a 45-yard touchdown and the Rams were off and running.
Pine-Richland pulled a little trickery on the ensuing kickoff when Zach Waryanka recovered his own onside kick (think Pat McAfee), and the Rams scored three plays later when Spencer completed a long pass to Eli Jochem on a busted coverage.
Amazingly, Penn Hills held a 21:33 – 2:27 time of possession advantage in the first half, but had nothing to show for it.
In the second half, after a quick three-and-out Pine-Richland scored again on a 15-yard Meckler run.
Spencer paced the offense with 207 yards on 17-27 passing and the two scores. He added another 105 yards on the ground as he and Meckler were the only two players to record a rushing attempt for Rams.
Meckler gained 34 yards on the ground and caught six passes for 79 yards to go along with his rushing and receiving touchdowns.
