USC, Lebo, BP, KO, SLS in friendly football frays
After falling to South Fayette, 41-14, Damon Rosol (center) will attempt to get his Rebels from Seton-La Salle back on the winning track when they face cross-street rival Keystone Oaks Oct. 24 at Dormont Stadium. The two schools are only separated by McNeilly Road.
Rick Mellick rushed for one touchdown in Seton-La Salle’s 41-14 loss to South Fayette. The Rebels look to regroup when they face Keystone Oaks at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Dormont Stadium.
The last game of the regular season in scholastic football is reserved for rivalries, and plenty games abound this week that pit neighbor against neighbor. The battle of Route 19 has Upper St. Clair traveling north to Mt. Lebanon for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Oct. 24. Bethel Park crosses Route 51 to play Baldwin. And though McNeilly Road separates Keystone Oaks from Seton-La Salle, the two Century Conference rivals converge on Dormont Stadium for their clash.
The KO-SLS contest features a significant sidelight. After 20 years as a coach for the Rebels, Greg Perry now skippers the Golden Eagles. Perry’s alma mater has won three out of its last four games, including a 41-16 triumph last week against Sto-Rox.
“Keystone Oaks is going to be ready to play. It’s a big rivalry game,” said Damon Rosol, whose Seton-La Salle team is coming off its first loss of the season to South Fayette, 41-14. “It’s a trap game. The ultimate trap game,” he added. “I’m sure there’s nothing more that Coach Perry wants to do than knock us off. No doubt about that. We had it handed to us [against South Fayette] and we have to regroup, do things differently and get ready for KO.”
The Golden Eagles, like the Lions, boast a standout quarterback. Kobe Phillippi threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns against the Vikings. He also rushed for another score. The senior signal caller ranks eighth in the WPIAL in passing with 119 completions on 240 attempts for 1, 558 yards and 14 scores.
While Phillippi’s top targets against Sto-Rox included Mike Orosz and Nick Hrivnak, the Golden Eagles are relying upon Jimmy Canello and Stephen Kazalas-Kelley for their ground game. Both scored rushing touchdowns for the Golden Eagles, who improved to 3-5 overall.
In SLS, the Golden Eagles face another Top 10 passer in the WPIAL. Tyler Perone completed 12 of 28 passes for 169 yards in the loss to South Fayette and improved his season totals to 113 of 174 for 1,513 yards and 20 scoring strikes. He connected with Paris Ford for a 32-yard touchdown against the Lions.
Rick Mellick, who ranks among the area’s top rushers, scored SLS’s only other score against the Lions on an eight-yard run in the second stanza.
The contest sees the return of Danzel McKinley-Lewis. The senior was ineligible for the game against South Fayette. He ranks among the WPIAL’s top receivers with 35 catches for 444 yards.
While the loss to the Lions ruined SLS’s expectations for a perfect season, the defeat does not deter the Rebels’ expectations.
“We wanted to win 16 games,” Rosol admitted. “But the ultimate goal is to win a state championship and we know we have to go through them to get there.”
BP at Baldwin
Championship expectations for any other area club mean making it through rivalry week first. While the Golden Eagles come first for the Rebels, Baldwin comes first for Bethel Park. While the Highlanders hold out hope for the wild-card playoff spot in Quad-A, the Hawks could clinch home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs should several scenarios happen, including undefeated Woodland Hills topping Penn Hills and USC upending Lebo. The Hawks, however, must beat the Highlanders.
Because the schools share borders, there is a natural rivalry between Baldwin and Bethel Park.
“It’s usually our senior night or their senior night. Our kids know their kids. We all play sports against each other like Peters, Lebo and USC,” said BP skipper Jeff Metheny. “So you want to play your best game of the year.”
In beating Peters Township, BP played another of its best games this season. With the victory, the Hawks improved to 4-3 overall. They are 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Alex Minton rambled for 189 yards. He scored five touchdowns on runs of 1, 15, 47 and 27 yards and on a 60-yard interception return. The senior tailback has 979 yards on the season.
Levi Metheny racked up a 1-yard TD to ignite the Hawks. He ranks as one of the WPIAL’s top passers, but Baldwin’s Doug Altavilla rates among the top four. In the Highlanders’ 28-21 win against Canon-McMillan, he threw for three TDs and rushed for another in the victory. He was 19 of 24 for 286 yards. Altavilla has completed 133 of 228 passes for 1,680 yards and 14 scoring strikes.
“He’s a great player,” Metheny said of Altavilla. “And, he has a heck of receivers, including his brother. They like to spread you out. He’s hard to get to. We have to be on our toes. He gets protection and they test you vertically.”
Because the Highlanders could be a wild card, Metheny said the Hawks have to be ready to play them. It’s a similar scenario the Hawks faced when they came off their upset win against Penn Hills to face Peters Township.
“We worked hard to get them ready for Peters. They had got some talented players,” Metheny said. “They are dangerous. You have to be able to defend against the pass. Run the ball well and our offensive line has been doing a good job.”
BP must continue to follow its recipe to be successful against the Highlanders.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve been doing. Come out and play,” Metheny said. “We need to run the ball well. Move the chains. Control the clock. We do that we will be successful.”
USC at Lebo
Perhaps the biggest and best rivalry game of the week pits Upper St. Clair at Mt. Lebanon. Few words are needed to describe the impending battle.
“It is USC-Lebo,” emphasized Mike Melnyk, who is in his third season as Blue Devils’ head coach. “This will be a great atmosphere. It’s a great rivalry, much like many others I have been involved in,” said the former Manheim Township skipper.
The game pits opposing clubs. Lebo is looking to right a ship that has suffered back-to-back setbacks, including last week’s 41-0 loss to Woodland Hills. With the loss, Lebo slipped to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the league.
“There was not much to say,” said Melnyk of the defeat that dashed Lebo’s hopes of winning the conference championship. “Woodland Hills was bigger, faster, stronger and I obviously didn’t have them ready to play well enough.”
Though USC is also coming off a loss, albeit a non-conference defeat, falling to Montour, 27-17, the Panthers are on the rise. After starting the season, 1-4, they are 3-5 overall but, more importantly, 3-3, in the conference and assured a playoff spot.
Despite the loss to the Spartans, Thomas Vissman rushed for 121 yards and a three-yard TD and Dan Trocano completed 16 of 21 passes for 158 yards. The pair are a potent 1-2 punch as they rank among the leaders in the WPIAL. Vissman has rushed for 793 yards and six touchdowns on 116 carries. Trocano has completed 59 of 93 passes for 913 yards and eight scores.
“They are the most improved team I have seen,” said Melnyk. “They were very young to start the year but you can see the quality of the coaching has helped this team improve tremendously. They have found their identity.
“The two running backs are big, hard runners,” Melnyk continued, pointing out Marcus Galie’s play. “The quarterback they settled on can throw the ball down field and is very comfortable in the pocket. Their receivers are very skilled. They will be a handful.”
While the Panthers boast a bevy of receivers in Doug Wagner (392 yards), Andrew Bartusiak (222), Galie (137) and Mike Krenn (121), they will likewise have their hands full attempting to contain Lebo’s talent. Eddie Jenkins operates the hurry-up offense, throwing for over 1,000 yards and being an equal threat to run. Joey Stabile leads the ground game with over 700 yards and Nick Tommasi had ranked among the receiving leaders in the district.
“We are banged-up right now,” said Melnyk, “so getting healthy is a key to our success. We have to match [USC’s] intensity and put the past two weeks behind us.”
CV at Ambridge
Though neither team is a rival, this Parkway Conference clash has playoff implications because the Colts remain alive for a wild-card berth. The Colts are 2-4 in the conference and 2-5 overall after a disappointing loss to New Castle, 29-28. The Colts had led the Canes, 28-6, at halftime before yielding to defeat.
In the loss, Mike Roper rushed for two scores of one and three years. Delmar King returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown. Jake Collins tossed a 37-yard pass to Jared Nelson.
PT at Pine-Richland
The Indians close out the 2014 campaign with a visit to the Northern Eight Conference champion, Pine-Richland. The undefeated Rams thrashed Central Catholic last week.
The Indians saw their playoff hopes fade with their loss to Bethel Park, 41-14. T.J. Kpan and Cory Owen rushed for the only scores. Peters Township is 2-5 overall. The Indians finished 1-5 in the Southeastern Conference.
Blackhawk at C-M
The Big Macs close out the 2013 campaign hosting Blackhawk, which is 2-5 in the Parkway Conference. Canon-McMillan slipped to 0-7 overall with a loss to Baldwin, 28-21.
For the Big Macs, Brennan Handyside and Bryan Mulligan rushed for five- and seven-yard touchdowns. Jordan Smith caught a 26-yard scoring strike from Domenic Eannace. Abigail Gillespie kicked the extra points.