Mt. Lebanon focuses on North Hills
Mt. Lebanon defender David Harvey (No. 4) engages in a tug of war with Alex Minton (No. 32) as the Bethel Park running back attempt to gain yardage.
Mt. Lebanon wide receiver Nick Tommasi (No. 6) twists and spins away from Bethel Park defenders Connor McGinnis (No. 33) and Jake Lewis (No. 16).
After winning a significant section game against Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon visits North Hills for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Oct. 10 at Martorelli Stadium. But don’t tell the Blue Devils this is a meaningless non-league contest, one week removed from the Southeastern Conference showdown Oct. 17 with Woodland Hills.
“Our focus is squarely on North Hills,” said Lebo head coach Mike Melnyk. “We will prepare for this game in the same way we prepare for every game. We will not be looking ahead.
“Mt. Lebanon and North Hills have a rich tradition and a long lasting rivalry and we won’t overlook them,” Melnyk assured. “They are well coached, hard-hitting and skilled.”
The Indians are 4-2 overall. They slipped to 3-2 in the Northern Eight Conference after a 20-10 loss to undefeated Central Catholic, which is ranked No. 1 in Quad-A of the WPIAL.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils are 5-1 overall. They improved to 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference after a 30-22 triumph against Bethel Park. Until the final six minutes of play, Lebo struggled against the Hawks. “It took to about the last six minutes of the game until I felt like we wore them down,” said Lebo head coach Mike Melnyk. “In those six minutes, our kids really took it to them.”
After a four-yard scoring scramble by Levi Metheny inched BP to within a point, 16-15, with 10:34 to play, the Blue Devils responded, particularly on defense.
On a third-and-four play, Eddie Jenkins kept the ball and scooted 63-yards for Lebo’s decisive touchdown with 3:56 to play.
The Blue Devil defense, spearheaded by linebacker Ben Bruni, took over. Thanks to Hunter Cazin and Paul Hoffman, the Blue Devils recorded two sacks and took over possession in excellent field position. With 2:05 to play, Joe Stabile rushed seven yards into the end zone, salting away the victory though Metheny hooked up with Jake Lewis for a 25-yard TD with 1:19 to play.
“A lot of odd things happened during the game,” Melnyk said. “Our kids did not get dissuaded by any of that. We got a great stop there at their end.”
Bruni, who serves as team captain, was credited with many big stops in the game. The linebacker is one of Lebo’s top tacklers. “Ben’s a great football player. He’s the heart of our team. He personifies the type of kid that we have. We don’t have star power but we have tough, hard-nosed kids that play their hearts out.”
Nick Tommasi is another of those no-quit kids on Lebo’s team. Not only does he rate as the squad’s top receiver, he ranks in the Top 20 in the WPIAL. With his eight receptions for 123 yards against Bethel Park, he improved to 27 receptions for 359 yards and a 13-yard average. He also returns kicks and runs the ball for the Blue Devils.
“Nick has done an outstanding job,” Melnyk said. “He has been an explosive offense force for most of the year.”
Patrick Kimball proved explosive at a key juncture in the BP contest. The junior, who is a standout hurdler in the district, hauled in a 63-yard scoring strike from Jenkins with 6:36 to play in the third quarter. The score came 86 seconds on the heels of Matthew Monti’s third field goal of the game and widened Lebo’s lead to 16-9.
“Patrick made a splash play for us against Bethel Park at a crucial time and it was nice to have him contribute in a big way,” Melnyk said.
Melnyk also credited his offensive coordinator Mike Junko for his contribution against the Hawks. “Our offensive coordinator made some nice adjustments at halftime,” he said. “[Junko] said that play [to Kimball] was there and we pulled it off. It was a great call upstairs by Mike.”
On the second play from scrimmage, Lebo also benefited from a great call as Stabile galloped 66 yards for the game’s opening score. Though the Blue Devil defense surrendered two field goals of 32 and 39 yards to Matthew Monti, Lebo took a 10-6 lead into the locker room at halftime when Rob Costantino converted a 39-yard field goal. After Monti’s third field goal of the game (40 yards) and Metheny’s 4-yard touchdown run narrowed Lebo’s lead to one, 16-15, with 10:34 to play, the Blue Devils took over.
“We came out a little bit flat and Bethel Park took it too us,” Melnyk admitted. “But, we responded and got the win we needed to stay in the hunt. It was a conference game and that was the important thing.
“We have a non-conference game this week against North Hills so we have two weeks to prepare for Woody High. That’s a big game for us, too.”
Big game for BP
Bethel Park also has a big game this week. The Hawks travel to Penn Hills for a Southeastern Conference clash. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10. After a 56-21 win over Peters Township, the Indians remained undefeated in the division with a 5-0 record. They are 5-1 overall and ranked No. 5 in Quad-A.
“It’s a big game,” agreed Jeff Metheny, “and we have our hands full. [Penn Hills] rings up about 40 points a game. They have speed, size, athletic ability. They got it all. We’ve got to find a way to slow them down.”
Although their strategy did not pay off in a win against Lebo, Bethel Park curtailed the Blue Devils. They limited their offense to under 50 plays. “Sometimes that doesn’t always add up to winning the game,” sighed Metheny.
Three big lapses on defense, where BP surrendered three, 60-plus yard touchdowns, added up to defeat for the Hawks as did their inability to convert touchdowns. They settled for three touchdowns, thanks to the toe of Matthew Monti.
“You can’t give up the big scores,” Metheny said. “No question, against Penn Hills we have to play good defense. We have to battle them one play at a time. I know the loss to Lebo was tough on the kids but we have good leaders. We’ll bounce back. We have to because we go over there and it’s a real important game.”
In the past, Bethel Park has played Penn Hills close. So Metheny is anxious to see what will happen if the Indians are challenged. “They’ve seemed to have had their way with people but nobody knows how things would go if it gets close. We are going to try and make them hang around awhile,” Metheny said, noting how last year’s contest came down to the last play of the game.
The Indians are led by Henton Mathis, Bill Kisner and Te’shan Campbell. Mathis rushed for 178 yards and two scores of 76 and 75 yards in the win against Peters Township. Kisner and Campbell also both rushed for two scores.
Baldwin at Peters Township
The Indians host Baldwin in this conference clash. Peters Township slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the division after their loss to Penn Hills. Meanwhile, the Highlanders are winless in the league and 1-5 overall.
In Peters Township’s defeat, Cory Owen completed 11 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Clayton Yeates hauled in 13- and 3-yard scoring strikes. Connor Freely grabbed a 17-yard TD aerial.
Doug Altavilla spearheads the Highlander attack. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 204 yards in a loss to Upper St. Clair. He ranks No. 4 in the WPIAL in passing with 1,256 yards.
USC at Canon-McMillan
The Panthers are coming off a 44-16 victory against Baldwin while the Big Macs suffered their sixth loss of the season, falling to undefeated Woodland Hills, 40-8. USC is 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
In the loss to the Wolverines, Jordan Castelli contributed to all of the Big Mac points. He tossed a 60-yard scoring strike to Brady Ruth. He then completed the 2-point conversion pass to George Carson.
Thomas Vissman spearheaded USC’s attack on the Highlanders. The sophomore rolled up 235 yards rushing and two touchdowns of 21 and 73 yards. He has 600 yards rushing this fall on 81 carries.
Dan Trocano and Gunnar Lund controlled the signals for USC. Trocano completed three of seven passes for 43 yards and a touchdown of 27 yards to Mike Krenn. Lund hooked up with Doug Wagner for a 30-yard score. Trocano is 34 of 59 for 582 yards and five scores this season while Lund is 10 of 28 for 124 yards and one touchdown.
Marcus Galie contributed two scores for USC against Baldwin. He dove for a one-yard touchdown and he returned a fumble 73 yards for another. Galie, who ranks second on the team in rushing, leads USC in scoring.
Defensively, Jesse Slinger led USC with 13 tackles against Baldwin. The senior linebacker has 64 on the season. Sean Parker and Key Smith follow with 32 and 30 respectively.