Oct 13, 2014 By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read

Woodland Hills may have slipped to No. 4 in the WPIAL Quad-A football rankings after a slim loss in overtime to AAA powerhouse Central Valley. However, as far as Mt. Lebanon head coach Mike Melnyk is concerned the Wolverines are the best in the state.

“Woodland Hills looks like the No. 1 team in the state,” he said. “They are big, aggressive, fast and well-coached.”

And, the Wolverines promise to be a handful when they visit Mt. Lebanon Oct. 17 for a key Southeastern Conference clash. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

“My primary concern is that I don’t know if we can stop them consistently unless they make some mistakes and I don’t know if we can block them up front,” Melnyk said. “Our kids are going to play as hard as they can, though.”

The Blue Devils played hard in their loss, 24-14, last week to North Hills. In defeat, Eddie Jenkins rushed for 149 yards and passed for another 135. He completed 12 of his 26 attempts, including a 41-yard scoring strike to Patrick Kimball. Plus, Jenkins rushed for a 75-yard touchdown. Jenkins has completed 74 of 128 passes for 946 yards and 12 scores.

In the loss, Alex Englert caught six aerials for 47 yards. Lebo’s leading receiver, Nick Tommasi had four receptions for just under 100 yards before getting banged up and seeing limited action late in the contest. Tommasi ranks among the WPIAL leaders with 34 catches for nearly 400 yards.

“North Hills was a very physical game in a playoff atmosphere,” explained Melnyk. “Our kids handled the situation well, although a couple of key mistakes hurt us. I was proud of the way they battled and never backed down.”

Lebo plans to demonstrate that same spirit against the Wolverines, who are led by Miles Sanders. The junior, who has already verbally committed to Penn State, ranks among the WPIAL’s rushing leaders with 816 yards on 63 carries. He has scored 12 times.

“Miles Sanders has been ready for the next level for two years,” said Melnyk. “He just keeps getting better. I wish Miles could declare early from high school like college kids can for the pros.”

Nevertheless, Lebo, which has already clinched a playoff spot with its 4-1 conference mark and 5-2 overall card, intends to hang with the Wolverines, who are 6-0 in the conference but 6-1 overall.

“Our hope,” Melnyk said, “is to stay healthy, keep it close, and try to win it late.”

Canon-Mac at Baldwin

The Big Macs are still looking for their first victory of the season. They suffered a 28-0 loss to Upper St. Clair last week and dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference.

In defeat, there were a few brights spots for the Big Macs. Justin Mattola averaged 10.3 yards on three carries. He also caught four passes from Dom Eannace for 64 yards. Eannace and Josh Clopp combined for 77 yards passing.

Meanwhile, the Highlanders are coming off a 24-17 win against Peters Township. Doug Altavilla is Canon-Mac’s primary concern. He passed for 134 yards and two scores, including the gamewinner with 22 seconds to play against the Indians. Altavilla ranks No. 3 in the WPIAL in passing with 1,516 yards and 11 touchdowns this fall.

Montour at USC

After winning its second straight Southeastern Conference contest, blanking Canon-McMillan, 28-0, the Panthers host Montour in a non-league game. The Spartans are 4-2 overall and trail undefeated West Allegheny and Central Valley in the Parkway Conference.

Meanwhile, USC is 3-4 overall but 3-3 in the conference. The Panthers clinched a post-season berth with their win against the Big Macs.

In the victory, Dan Trocano completed nine of 13 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns to Marcus Galie (57 yards), Doug Wagner (30 yards) and Mike Krenn (30 yards). Trocano is 43 of 72 for 755 yards with eight touchdowns this season. His top targets have been Wagner (18 grabs for 372 yards), Andrew Bartusiak (11 receptions for 179 yards), Krenn and Galie, both with seven catches for 107 and 106 yards respectively.

Thomas Vissman leads the ground game. The sophomore rushed for a 24-yard touchdown against the Big Macs. He finished with 72 yards on 16 carries. A WPIAL rushing leader, he has 672 yards on 97 carries this season.

Jesse Slinger spearheads the defense. He has recorded 70 tackles. Sean Parker (37), Key Smith (36), Galie (33) and Vissman (30) follow.

CV at New Castle

The Colts look to recover from last week’s loss, 56-20, against Central Valley. In the game, Pitt recruit Jordan Whitehead rushed for touchdowns of 33, 69 and 70 yards for the Warriors who ran their record to 7-0 overall.

For the Colts, who dropped to 2-4 in the Parkway Conference and 2-5 overall, Jake Collins tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jake Shane Waldern. He also rushed for a one-yard score. Steven Alauzen also rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.

Sto-Rox at KO

The Golden Eagles saw their two-game winning streak stopped last week by Steel Valley. In that 50-7 loss, Kobe Phillippi rushed from three yards out for KO’s only score. Brian Brosnan kicked the extra point, giving the Golden Eagles a short-lived lead, 7-6, in the first frame. Phillippi completed 11 passes for 135 yards to improve to 1,269 on the season.

Cody Cerminara hauled in six receptions for 81 yards. KO played without its top receiver, Jimmy Canello, who twisted his ankle in a win against Carlynton. Canello ranked among the top receivers in the WPIAL with 24 catches for 214 yards and an 8.9-yard average.

C-H at Neshannock

After dropping a 28-9 decision to Brentwood in Black Hills Conference play, the Buccaneers take a break from league play when they travel Oct. 17 to Neshannock. In the loss to Brentwood, A.J. Myers caught a 28-yard scoring strike from Alec Ferrari and Mike Cushma kicked a 26-yard field goal to account for Char-Houston’s points. The Bucs are 3-3 in the conference and 4-3 overall.

North Catholic at Canevin

The Crusaders host the defending state and district champions at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Dormont Stadium. While North Catholic shares the Black Hills Conference lead with undefeated Avonworth, Bishop Canevin slipped to 1-4 in the league and 2-5 overall after a 42-21 loss to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In defeat, Reed Relosky threw 12- and 6-yard TD passes to Sean Fitzgerald and Giovanni DeMarzo. Amaan Bridgett accounted for the other score, a one-yard rushing touchdown.