Sharpsville falls to Clairton 30-8 in the PIAA Class A Western Finals.
The Blue Devils fumbled on their opening series of the game, coughing up the ball on their own 6-yard line. Clairton recovered on the one and Tyler Boyd scored on the next drive. The two-point conversion was good. Clairton took the early lead, 8-0.
Sharpsville head coach Paul Piccirilli decided to go for it on 4th-and-one in the second quarter. Alberty-Brown ran 32 yards for the first down. Alberty-Brown would take it in for the score. Albert-Brown's number would be called again for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 8, capping an 11-play, 77-yard drive.
Late in the second quarter, Sharpsville got a gift from Clairton when the Bears punter went down on one-knee to catch the snap, giving the Devils the ball at the Clairton 30-yard line. Sharpsville fumbled, giving the gift back to Clairton. The Bears took advantage and scored on a 70-yard pass-and-run by Tyler Boyd, capping a two-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Again, the Bears went for two making the score 16-8.
Clairton held the 16-8 advantage at halftime.
The Bears added to the lead in the third quarter when junior Tyler Boyd scored his third touchdown of the game. The two-point conversion was good to push the score to 24-8.
In the fourth quarter, Clairton intercepted a Sharpsville pass deep in its own territory and returned the pick for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 30-8.
Sharpsville finishes its season 13-1. Clairton is 15-0.
The Bears are the two-time defending state champions and winners of 46 straight games. The last team to top the Bears was Laurel, 15-8, in the 2009 season opener (September 4).
Clairton will play in the PIAA Class A State Championship at Hershey Park Stadium at 1 p.m. on Friday, December 16.
