Jaguars hoping to squash Plum offense

By JEREMY TEPPER

MVI Sports

Over the years of Thomas Jefferson’s prolific football run, its program has developed some hallmarks. 

The Jaguars have always been consistent, mature and most importantly, always focused and ready as anybody when the playoffs approach. But this year is different, Jaguars’ coach Bill Cherpak said.

The regular season was only six games, the game atmosphere is different and the playoff games are no longer played at neutral sites. In this pandemic altered season, the playoffs don’t feel too much like the playoffs to Cherpak and his team.

“The whole thing with COVID, it doesn’t even seem like we’re in the playoffs,” Cherpak said. “The season was so short, and there was no excitement in school because the kids can’t even come to the games. It’s really just been an odd, strange year.”

But no matter, the semifinals of the WPIAL 4A playoffs are here, and the No. 2-seeded Jaguars must get themselves focused and in a playoff-mindset, as a challenge beckons against an 8-0 Plum team, the No. 3 seed.

Plum is coming off a 12-9 win against McKeesport, the team that handed the Jaguars their only loss this season.

Thomas Jefferson beat Mars 41-6 in the quarterfinals.

Having gone 3-7 last season, Plum has undergone quite a turnaround this season, morphing into a dominant unit that has outscored opponents by over 24 points per game. But it’s not just that Plum has been good, it’s the way that they’ve been good that has caught Cherpak’s attention.

The Mustangs run a spread offense, putting four or five receivers wide. But yet, they’re balanced, running a bit more than they’re passing. It’s an offense unlike any that the Jaguars have seen this season.

“A lot of the things they do, we just haven’t seen. It’s just different. There’s been a lot of mental work, we’ve been doing as much as we can to prepare,” Cherpak said. 

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