Keystone Oaks looks to stretch streak to three
Coaching football at Keystone Oaks has been a whole new experience for Greg Perry, who spent 20 successful seasons at Seton-La Salle, previously. After back-to-back wins against South Allegheny, 35-20, and Carlynton, 42-14, he is 2-4 overall with the Golden Eagles.
“It’s been challenging but I always knew that coming in with only four seniors,” said Perry, who compiled a 73-22 record with the Rebels in nine years at the helm. “In all of our games, we have been competitive and the [players] have all done all that we have asked of them. They are learning.”
One of the biggest lessons they have learned that turned a four-game losing streak into a two-game trend upward is how to win. KO lost its first game against Quaker Valley by a late-game touchdown and the Golden Eagles also lost by five against East Allegheny.
“Aside from South Fayette, which everybody loses to,” Perry said of the 51-7 debacle, “we have been playing well. I have been pleased. We lost a couple of games early because we did not know how to finish. We scored what would have been the winning touchdown in a game with 1:50 to go and we get so excited, we forget to play defense. We’d lose focus.
“We are changing that,” Perry said. “We are learning what it takes to win. How to fight and how not to quit,” he continued. “These are things that don’t just help you on the football field. They will help them later in life. That’s what’s important.”
What’s important for the Golden Eagles at present is Steel Valley. KO visits Munhall Oct. 10 for a Century Conference fray. The Ironmen are 4-2; the Golden Eagles 2-4 after their 42-14 win against Carlynton.
In the triumph, Kobe Phillippi completed six passes for 121 yards. The senior signal caller ranks among the WPIAL passing leaders with 1,015 yards on 88 completions. He tossed TD strikes of 15, 33 and four yards to Jimmy Canello, Stephen Kazalas-Kelly and Nick Hrivnak. Canello and Kazalas-Kelly also rushed for four and 10-yard scores.
At the start of the season, KO expected Brandon Carroll to be Phillippi’s top target but he was injured at the start of the year. Now, Canello, a top receiver in the WPIAL, may be out for Friday with a rolled ankle.
However, Perry has been pleased with Hrivnak, a sophomore, as well as juniors Cody Cerminara and Kazalas-Kelly, not to mention Bill Knorr.
“We were expecting Brandon to be our go-to-guy. After that we didn’t have too many who played before. We have a lot of inexperience out there. One play they look great and then at other times we’re trying to get them turned around because they are running the wrong way,” Perry said with a laugh.
“It’s a process. But we are learning what it takes to win.”
Seton-La Salle at Quaker Valley
The Rebels remained undefeated and kept pace with South Fayette in the Century Conference when they blanked East Allegheny, 36-0, last week. Meanwhile the Quakers are 4-2 overall after their win, 41-6, against Sto-Rox.
Tyler Perone leads the Rebels. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 330 yards and five scores against the Wildcats. On the year, the senior signal caller is 82 of 116 for 1,066 yards and 17 scoring strikes.
Danzel McKinley-Lewis had 10 catches for 135 yards against the Wildcats. A WPIAL receiving leader, he has 32 grabs for 393 yards. He caught two TD strikes of 16 and 14 yards against EA. David Ross (67), DeQuay Broadwater (19) and Paris Ford (10) also hauled in scoring strikes from Perone.
Central Valley at CharTIERS Valley
Fans of Pitt football should turn out for this one if they wish to get a glimpse of the Panthers’ premier recruit.
Jordan Whitehead leads the Warriors into this Parkway Conference fray. The University of Pittsburgh recruit recently rushed for 145 yards and two scores in Central Valley’s 35-12 win against New Castle. He ranks among the WPIAL rushing leaders with 688 yards.
The Warriors, who are undefeated at 6-0, also get a boost from Chris Callaghan. He is one of the WPIAL’s most accurate passers with more than 800 yards. His top target is Dante Lucci, who is averaging close to 20 yards a catch.
Meanwhile, the Colts are 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the Parkway Conference after falling to Moon, 21-0.
Bishop Canevin at OLSH
The Crusaders dropped a 39-13 decision to Avonworth last week and slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in Black Hills Conference play. Canevin trailed, 23-0, before scoring twice in the second stanza. Reed Relosky rushed for a two-yard touchdown then hooked up with Amaan Bridgett for a 68-yard scoring strike. The Antelopes then responded for 16 unanswered points in the second half.
Char-Houston at Brentwood
After beating Our Lady of Sacred Heart, 15-7, the Buccaneers find themselves in a position to clinch a playoff spot with a win over Brentwood (3-3, 2-2) this week.
Against OLSH, Austin Warchol scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. A.J. Meyers rushed for 86 yards on six carries and Mike Cushma kicked a pair of short field goals (28 and 18 yards) for the Bucs (3-2, 4-2), who limited the Chargers (0-5, 0-6) to eight yards rushing on 20 carries and forced a safety in the third quarter.