TJ Wins 11th WPIAL Title
When Thomas Jefferson faced McKeesport in Week 2 of the WPIAL regular season , the game went into overtime with the Jaguars earning the 34-31 victory . Those two teams would face each other again , eleven weeks later at Norwin High School for the WPIAL Championship on Saturday , November 16 . This time , the contest was not as close , with Thomas Jefferson winning 28-7 , and hoisting the school ’ s eleventh WPIAL football championship trophy .
After a scoreless start in the first quarter , the Jaguars offense came alive in the second quarter with a rushing touchdown from Tyler Eber and a 50 + yard touchdown reception from Brayden White . As time expired in the second quarter , White provided the exclamation point to the first half with an 85-yard pick-six . TJ led 21-0 at halftime .
In the second half , Eber added another touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Jaguars ran towards a 13-0 record in the WPIAL and the tenth WPIAL championship for head coach Bill Cherpak . The tenth title makes Cherpak the head coach with the most championships in WPIAL history .
For Thomas Jefferson , the win ties the school with New Castle for the third most championships in the WPIAL . Aliquippa has 20 . Clairton had 14 entering the 2024 season . The win secured a spot in the PIAA playoffs for the Jaguars .
PHMS Food Drive Highlights Generosity of WJH Community
WEST JEFFERSON HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
est Jefferson Hills WEST JEFFERSON HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
2024 marked the 20th year for the Pleasant Hills Middle School Food Drive . The annual collection , which also takes place at Gill Hall Elementary School , McClellan Elementary School , and Jefferson Hills Intermediate School , is one of the biggest ways the West Jefferson Hills community supports its neighbors in need .
Year 20 produced a record-setting donation to the West Elizabeth Food Bank with well over 20,000 pounds of nonperishable food items collected throughout the district from October 8 through November 8 . The largest collection to date came even though the food drive was paused for one week for the Hurricane Helene supply drive that took place in every district school in mid-October .
On Tuesday , November 19 , a little more than one week from Thanksgiving , dozens of Pleasant Hills Middle School students along with their teachers loaded box after box into a U-Haul truck parked outside the middle school . There were so many boxes of donations that it took nearly a half-hour to pack the truck . Those donations were then driven by organizers and educators Bob Kerr and Mike McCabe to the West Elizabeth Food Bank where students and teachers worked alongside volunteers to unload the thousands of pounds of food . In addition , a monetary donation was also presented to the food bank .
The generosity of and overwhelming support from West Jefferson Hills School District students , staff , and families made this year ’ s Pleasant Hills Middle School Food Drive the biggest yet and will help families in need throughout the holiday season . And already , planning is underway for 2025 with a new goal set .
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