Seton-La Salle battles South Fayette
Brett Brumbaugh leads South Fayette into its toughest battle this season when the Lions face Seton-La Salle at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Chartiers Valley Stadium.
Seton-La Salle head coach Damon Rosol (right) chats with his quarterback, Tyler Perone, during a timeout in Century Conference football action. The Rebels’ brain trust hope to devise a plan to challenge South Fayette, which has compiled a 33-1 record over the past two seasons. Perone ranks among the WPIAL passing leaders with 1,344 yards and 19 touchdowns on 101 completions.
Seton-La Salle versus South Fayette at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Chartiers Valley literally is the game of the century – the Century Conference, that is. However, the confrontation likely won’t be the last battle this season between the undefeated rivals.
“Whoever wins the game, wins the conference, but win or lose, we get up Saturday morning and prepare for Keystone Oaks and whatever comes after that in the playoffs,” said SLS skipper Damon Rosol.
“Beating South Fayette is a heck of a challenge. They are 33-1 in the last two years for a reason. People talk about Clairton’s streak, but South Fayette has not lost since Wash High in 2012 and that was some game. The kids are excited about playing them.
“At the end of the day, however, we have to beat them twice. We want to make sure we win the most important one.”
The Lions have what the Rebels and everybody else wants, explains South Fayette head coach Joe Rossi. Not only do the Lions ride a 23-0 winning streak into the fray, they are the defending WPIAL Class AA champions and PIAA victors. “We have what people want,” he said. “We are still the state champions and everybody wants to take what we have.”
The Rebels had better be ready for a fight, because the Lions intend to take care of business.
“We will prepare the same way we always have. Every week, we worry about taking care of ourselves. Working on tackling. Individual drills. Working our way toward Friday and putting ourselves in a position to win,” said Rossi.
The method has worked seven times this season. The Lions are coming off a 48-8 win against Sto-Rox. In the triumph, Brett Brumbaugh passed for 175 yards on 14 completions. He has completed 92 of 143 attempts for 1,557 yards and 20 touchdowns. Brumbaugh owns four district passing records, including the WPIAL career mark for yards as well as touchdowns. He set those standards two weeks ago against South Allegheny.
“You don’t see too many high school teams that can run that type of offense he does,” said Rosol. “And, as crazy as it sounds, to say about the WPIAL’s best passing leader, Brett Brumbaugh is underrated. The looks he gets. The throws he makes. We have to stop him and we have to stop his receivers defensively.”
While Logan Sharp is one of the top tight ends in the district with more than 18 receptions for 330 yards, Nick Ponikvar is one of the top receivers in the WPIAL with more than 430 yards and a 20-plus yard average per catch. Sharp is a two-way threat as evidenced by his interception against the Vikings to go along with a seven-yard score.
“We have to be able to run against their front seven,” explained Rosol, “and guys like Sharp, Andthony Davidson and J.J. Walker don’t get enough publicity for their defense.”
The Rebels, like the Lions, are more noted for their offense than their defense. They, too, have talented skill players. However, their best performer is ineligible for the contest. In SLS’s win against Quaker Valley, 24-14, a game in which he caught two scoring strikes of 37 and five yards, Danzel McKinley-Lewis incurred two penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. A Toledo recruit, McKinley-Lewis had been one of the WPIAL’s Top 5 receiving leaders with more than 400 yards and a near 13-yard average per catch.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Rosol of the one-game suspension for McKinley-Lewis. “He’ll learn from it. He’s not happy about it. He feels that he let the team down. He was devastated. But it’s not the end of the world. Danzel will have ample opportunity to help the team out. He can give us great practices in preparation for South Fayette. And win or lose, he will be eligible to play the next week and in the playoffs. He will be hard to deal with the rest of the way.”
Even without McKinley-Lewis, the Rebels will be hard to deal with, says Rossi.
“Seton has a tremendous amount of athletes,” he said. “Danzel happens to be the best of the bunch as evidenced by his getting a scholarship. He’s fun to watch on film.
But they have enough guys to fill in for him. You never replace a guy like him but, they have enough weapons. That’s our biggest concern. They have so many weapons and a lot of athletes you have to stop. It all starts with the trigger man and Seton, like us, has one of the best.”
Tyler Perone calls the signals for the Rebels. Against the Quakers, he completed 19 of 30 aerials for 278 yards and two scores. On the year, the senior has completed 101 of 146 attempts for 1,344 and 19 touchdowns.
Even without McKinley-Lewis, Perone has plenty of targets. Paris Ford caught five passes for 53 yards against the Quakers. In addition to the sophomore, Dequay Broadwater and Matt Reinmund will be relied upon to pick up the slack. The Rebels will also rely upon tight ends Adam Ottaviano and Billy O’Malley as well as H-backs like Liam Sweeney.
“Collectively, we need to step up,” Rosol said. “It falls on those guys to pick it up in a big way.”
The Rebels, also, aren’t all passing like the Lions, who are led on the ground by Hunter Hayes. He had three touchdowns against the Vikings. He ranks among the WPIAL’s top scorers and running backs.
At tailback for the Rebels, Ricky Mellick is his match. The senior rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown against the Quakers while Justin Nedzesky nailed a 36-yard field goal. Rosol expects a big game from Mellick as well as from his offensive line.
“We preach balance,” he said. “We are pretty even on snaps, 30/28 pass/run. And, Rick has really stepped up his game. He is most focused and his work ethic has been off the chart. He understands what we want to do and he runs every play through to the end.”
In the end, the verdict all comes down to the same equation. Execution plus flawless football results in victory.
“You hate to use clichés but it’s true,” said Rossi. “The game will come down to who makes the plays and takes care of the ball. Both teams have playmakers and it’s a tremendous rivalry. We love to play them and they love to play us. After the opening kick-off, and working out the jitters, we’ll both settle down and play good football.”
Rosol agreed saying the secret will be to remain calm, play the game and have fun. “These are moments the players will remember for the rest of their life. It’s not pressure. Pressure is when the mortgage is due or when you find out that you are expecting twins.”
The Rebels and the Lions, however, are expecting. They are expecting this to be just the first encounter on the twin bill this autumn.