Reality check: Sto-Rox sends Western Beaver back to drawing board in key conference battle

INDUSTRY — Thaddeus Gray kept running, inching closer and closer to his target by the second. Then, he stopped. 

The Western Beaver High School senior defensive back was chasing after Sto-Rox star running back Jaymar Pearson late in the third quarter of the WPIAL Class 2A Golden Beavers’ 41-0 loss to the Vikings on Saturday afternoon. But when Gray got near the 20-yard line, he slowed down, eventually coming to a complete halt and throwing his hands up as he watched Pearson cross the goal line on an 82-yard touchdown run.

“When someone smacks you in the mouth,” Gray said after the loss, “it ruins your spirit. And that’s what they did.” 

It appeared as if the Vikings had crushed the soul of Gray and his teammates well before that play. Pearson’s late-third-quarter touchdown — which extended Western Beaver’s deficit to 35 points — was the third time he’d found the end zone in the game. But, in that moment, it was more evident than ever that the Golden Beavers had had enough. It was almost as if they’d quit. A matchup that was supposed to be a measuring-stick contest for first-year head coach Ron Busby’s squad turned out to be more of a test of its resolve. 

Considered by many to be the best Class 2A team across the board in the WPIAL, the undefeated Vikings have put up video-game-like points on teams this year, hanging 82 on Jeannette, 65 on Shady Side and 63 on South Side. So, the Golden Beavers — who were on a six-game winning streak coming into Saturday and slowly earning respect as a legitimate WPIAL title contender — saw an opportunity to make a statement.

But Sto-Rox’s offensive attack, led by Pearson, proved to be too much for Western Beaver. That much was evident just moments after the opening kickoff. 

The Vikings forced the Golden Beavers to punt from inside their own 30-yard line on the first drive of the game. And after blocking the punt and recovering the football, Sto-Rox capitalized on excellent field position. A few plays later, Pearson scored on a 17-yard touchdown run to put his team on the board first. 

“They’re fast — they’re really fast,” Busby said. “They have a whole lot of fast guys. You have to kind of pick your poison with them and what you want to take away.” 

Western Beaver failed to take away much of anything, though.

The next two Vikings’ touchdowns came through the air. Quarterback Josh Jenkins — who finished with 189 passing yards and three touchdowns — connected with receivers Deigo Ellis and Jaymont Green-Miller before the end of the first quarter to make it a three-score game.

By the time the second quarter began, the Golden Beavers looked defeated. They hung their heads, bickered on the sideline and never came close to even threatening a comeback.

“We fought throughout the whole time, never really gave up until midway through the fourth (quarter),” said junior quarterback Xander LeFebvre, whose three interceptions and one lost fumble were certainly a factor in his team’s demise. 

Whether Western Beaver played hard until the final whistle is a debate that can be had by those on the coaching staff. The notion of the Golden Beavers being outmatched, though, isn’t up for discussion.

With only two regular-season games left before the postseason, Busby’s group will need to ensure that isn’t the case moving forward.

They’ll also need to stick together when their strategy doesn’t work out as planned, when they get hit “in the mouth” early and even when they feel like they’re in insurmountable holes. To be considered among the best, it’ll take a lot more than playing quality football in times when things are going their way.

“I’ve got to keep them all pushing, keep them all trying,” Gray said of he and his teammates. “The game’s not over until it hits 0:00."

Contact Parth Upadhyaya at pupadhyaya@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @pupadhyaya_.