South Fayette & Seton-La Salle battle for WPIAL final berth
Hunter Hayes is South Fayette’s leading rusher with 1,153 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Joe Rossi has South Fayette riding a 27-game winning streak into a WPIAL Class AA semifinal class against rival Seton-La Salle.
Logan Sharp is one of South Fayette’s leading receivers with 685 yards and 12 scores.
Danzel McKinley Lewis will suit up for Seton-La Salle’s battle against South Fayette. The senior, who ranks among the top receivers in the WPIAL with more than 500 yards receiving, missed the last battle between the two clubs, a 41-14 victory for the Lions.
The only unknown regarding the WPIAL Class AA football semifinal game between top-seeded South Fayette and No. 3 Seton-La Salle is the outcome.
The time, date and place are set: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Peters Township Stadium. Having faced each other in a conference clash earlier this season, the foes know each other’s personnel well. The coaches are prepared. The players are pumped.
“It’s the best week of the year,” said South Fayette wide receiver Nick Ponikvar. “Coach says there’s no better time of the season to play SLS in the playoffs and here we are playing them again. We’re fully loaded. They’re fully loaded. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”
Joe Rossi concurred with the prediction. “Seton is a great rivalry. It’s going to be a fun night. It’s going to be a great semifinal game,” agreed the Lions’ head coach. “We got a great team. They have a great team.”
South Fayette can boast a better record and one more trophy so far this fall than the Rebels. The Lions won the Century Conference with a 9-0 mark. They take a 27-game winning streak into the battle and they reign as defending district and state champions. They also boast the most prolific passer in WPIAL history.
Brett Brumbaugh has thrown for 10,036 yards and 118 touchdowns in his career as the Lions’ signal caller. For the season, he has passed for 2,710 yards and 33 scores. His top target is Ponikvar, who has 773 yards receiving and nine touchdowns. Logan Sharp follows. The senior tight end has 685 yards receiving and 12 scores. Then there’s Hunter Hayes. The junior has racked up 1,153 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns.
“Brett is their offensive maestro,” said SLS field general Damon Rosol. “He is the one that handles the ball on every play. Brett also has talented teammates assisting him.”
Rosol then noted the offensive line, which he dubbed ‘awesome’.
“They take pride in protecting him along with opening up holes for Hayes, who is a top flight running back. Sprinkle in Sharp, Ponikvar, [Ryan] Schmider and [Roman] Denson and they have an arsenal.”
Seton-La Salle, which enters the fray with a 10-1 record, is not without its own weapons.
Tyler Perone orchestrates the offense. The senior has completed 133 of 211 passing attempts for 1,848 yards and 23 scores. Rick Mellick spearheads the rushing attack, having gained over 1,000 yards this season.
Plus, Danzel McKinley-Lewis will be in the line-up. During the regular season, he had 38 receptions for 488 yards. However, the Toledo recruit did not play in SLS’s 41-14 loss to South Fayette in Week 8 of the regular season.
“I’m excited for Danzel for this game because I know how devastated he was not being able to play the last time. That was a tough time for him, seeing as how he felt like he let his teammates down,” Rosol said.
“Anytime you take your most explosive player out of the offense there is going to be a noticeable difference,” explained Rosol, although he added that Paris Ford had been a tremendous playmaker for the Rebels as a complement to McKinley-Lewis along with DeQauy Broadwater and Matt Reinmund. “Those guys have been solid in their roles but there is a reason why Danzel is a Division I player. I know the entire team understands what he brings to the table.”
Rossi and the Lions comprehend as well. While noting Mellick’s experience as a four-year player and Liam Sweeney’s effectiveness as a fullback and linebacker, Rossi acknowledged the Rebels have ‘great athletes’ but McKinley-Lewis is one of the ‘best receivers’ in the WPIAL. “I don’t think he played as a sophomore so we didn’t know him and last year when he did play us, it was ‘who is this guy?’ but he’s fun to watch,” Rossi said. “Danzel is a tremendous playmaker so we are going to be prepared for a lot of jet sweeps and reverses as well as passes. I am sure they’ll want to get him the ball.”
Roman Denson will be more than happy to take the ball away from McKinley-Lewis and the Rebels. The defensive back did not play in the Lions’ win over the Rebels because of a hand injury. He’s back in the secondary and leads the team in interceptions with five picks while Jake Relihan follows with four.
The Lions have also welcomed Zack Radinick back to the line. The 6-3, 230-pound junior did not play against the Rebels the first time around. While Anthony Davidson is the anchor of the unit, Jeremy Carter and Anthony Gedrys, a sophomore, leads the Lions in sacks.
“We both have great players,” said Rossi. “With Zack and Roman back, we have a full hand. We got beat up and were dealt some injuries [during the regular season] but we’ve had people step up and we are hitting a good stretch in the season when you want to be healthy.”
While the Lions are averaging a healthy 47.5 points per game and Seton-La Salle an average of 27.5, both teams have allowed anemic numbers. South Fayette’s defense, led by J.J. Walker (77 tackles) and Schmider (47 tackles), has surrendered 130 points in 11 games. The Rebels have permitted 136 points and posted three shutouts this fall.
Regardless, Rosol says he’s not a believer in the ‘defense wins championships’ adage. “Teams win championships,” he stated. “Look at it this way, our defense has not scored one touchdown yet this year. So without the offense and special teams, where would they be? Like I said from day one, I like this ‘team’ a lot.”
Rosol also likes the Rebels’ track record in big games, particularly ones where they are considered the underdog. He doesn’t look at South Park’s close loss, 39-21, to South Fayette, a reversal from the regular season’s 59-20 defeat, as a confidence booster or a motivating factor for the Rebels.
“Regardless of what the score was [for South Fayette] versus South Park last week, we were going into this game knowing we can win. There is no room in competition for a defeatist attitude,” said Rosol as he pointed to the start of the new millennium.
In 2002, the Rebels weren’t supposed to beat Aliquippa in the semifinals. In 2004, Aliquippa also was the defending PIAA champions and possessed a 21-game winning streak when the Rebels played them at Heinz Field, the destination as well for the 2014 semifinal winner.
“This week’s opportunity is one that doesn’t come along often,” said Rosol, an alum that coached during those championship seasons under Lou Cerro. “A trip to Heinz Field, against your rival, who are the defending state champions riding a 27-game winning streak. If this doesn’t excite you, what will?”
But what will determine the outcome of the game?
How well they handle the hype will factor into the decision for Seton-La Salle, says Rosol. He adds the Rebels have learned from their last experience against the Lions.
“We all got caught up in the moment, beginning with me, and let the game get the best of us,” he said. “We need to understand that football is such a game of momentum and you never know when that one play could swing the whole game. You can’t take anything for granted. In a game like this, every play is that much more magnified.”
Rossi predicts a down-to-the-wire finish. He fully expects the game to be decided in the final frame.
“We expected this,” he said of the match-up. “We had us, them and the Quips as the top three teams.
“They are a senior-dominated team that has looked for this for a long time and it’s a big game. Both teams have such respect for each other. Both staff and players will be ready to go. It will come down to who makes a couple of plays. You have to do what you do and do it better than your opponent. Who does it better in this game will win.
“It’s going to be an awesome game. One I believe will come down to the fourth quarter.”