Lebo hosts Peters Township in key conference clash
Cory Owen (No. 1) is a primary concern for Mt. Lebanon when Peters Township invades Blue Devil territory Sept. 26. Owen has consistently rushed and passed for 100 yards or more this season.
Eddie Jenkins has been elusive for Mt. Lebanon this season. He is a threat to run or pass and has helped the Blue Devils to a 3-1 record. Lebo hosts Peters Township in a key Southeastern Conference clash at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26.
After a breather away from conference action and after a disappointing defeat, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon get back to business in WPIAL Quad-A football. The Indians (2-2, 1-2) visit the Blue Devils (3-1, 2-1) Sept. 26 for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off in a key Southeastern Conference clash.
“There are no weeks off in this conference,” said Peters skipper Rich Piccinini. “Every game in this conference means something. Every game can decide the conference championship. Every game has playoff implications.”
For now, Lebo’s 41-21 loss to Penn Hills took the Blue Devils out of the running for first place in the league as Woodland Hills remains undefeated at 4-0. Though 3-1 overall, Penn Hills is also unbeaten in the conference.
Of the Penn Hills outcome, Piccinini said, “it’s not indicative of the team Lebo is. Penn Hills is explosive. A fast-striking, big-play team,” he added. “They score at will.”
Against Lebo, Penn Hills did exactly that. Henton Mathis, Billy Kisner and Te-shan Campbell rushed for scores measuring 60 yards or more. The Indians added two field goals, another rushing score and a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Campbell and Mathis rushed for 165 and 132 yards respectively.
Lebo, however, operated offensively as it has all season. In the first half alone, the Blue Devils ran 46 plays. However, they were held 28 points below their average.
Pointing out the positives in the loss, Mike Melnyk said, “The offense moved the ball but we hurt ourselves. We settled down defensively in the second half,” he noted.
Eddie Jenkins completed 14 of 21 passes for 142 yards while Nick Tommasi hauled in nine of those aerials for 92 yards. Jenkins rushed for two scores and connected with Tommasi for the other, a 14-yard strike.
Jenkins has been a lethal weapon for opponents. The junior, who has the ability to run, ranks among the WPIAL passing leaders. He has completed 42 of 65 aerials for 532 yards and nine scores this fall. Tommasi is the top target. Plus, Joey Stabile ranks among the district’s top rushers.
“Lebo plays a wide-open, fast-paced offense,” said Piccinini. “We need a great effort defensively, an effort that can slow them down. We need to play our assignments and do our jobs.”
One way for Peters to thwart the Blue Devils is to continue running its offense. Cory Owen does just that for the Indians. He had 250 yards of total offense in the win against New Castle, 30-14. He completed nine passes for 126 yards and a 20-yard scoring strike to Tim Swoope. TJ Kpan scored twice on 10 and two-yard runs and Nick Gaudy tacked on a 20-yard field goal to complete the scoring.
Owen is a primary concern for the Blue Devils. Last year, he ran for over 300 yards against Lebo. “A human highlight reel,” Melnyk dubbed the performance. “Obviously, we need to contain him.”
Consistently this season, Owen has rushed for 100 yards and passed for that distance as well. “That’s what he does,” Piccinini said. “He’s a super athlete. He makes the right decisions. He makes the right plays. If he continues to help us move the ball it helps [against Lebo]. It never hurts to keep the [other team’s] offense off the field. We use a mix of passes and runs.”
Swoope leads the aerial attack. He ranks among the top receivers in the WPIAL, averaging nearly 20 yards a catch. “Tim’s been having an excellent year for us,” explained Piccinini.
Since starting the season with conference losses to Woodland Hills and Upper St. Clair, the Indians have shown marked improvement. Christian Phelps and Mike Fortunato have anchored the offensive line. They are leading by example, says Piccinini. Plus, the defense has improved as demonstrated against New Castle. In the win over the Hurricanes, Ethan Anderson had an interception and Jake Uhler forced turnovers and made several tackles for losses. “He played well on defense,” Piccinini noted.
“Overall our continuity on offense and defense has gotten better and we’ve been able to force turnovers rather than make them. That was a key against New Castle and will be against Lebo,” Piccinini predicted. “If we execute our game plan, then we’ll do okay,” he assured.
Meanwhile, Melnyk believes his Blue Devils will be okay if they learn from their loss against Penn Hills. “I hope they learn hot to play in a big-game atmosphere. I hope they learn to handle the adversity. Our kids did not quit and fought hard throughout the game.”
Noting his Blue Devils will need another fight-to-the-finish attitude in this key conference clash, Melnyk also said an error-free effort will be required to defeat the Indians. “No mistakes, penalties or turnovers,” he said. “Those will be other keys to the outcome.”
Woodland Hills at USC
This Homecoming and Hall of Fame night doesn’t get any easier for the Panthers, who are coming off a 31-14 loss to North Allegheny in non-league play. The Panthers face Woodland Hills, which is undefeated and atop the Southeastern Conference standings with a 4-0 record.
The Wolverines also are ranked among the top two teams in WPIAL Quad-A and boast Penn State recruit Miles Sanders, who rushed for 197 yards in last week’s 25-0 win against Baldwin. Sanders scooted 64 and 81 yards for touchdowns against the Highlanders. He has rushed for 531 yards on 38 carries this fall.
Meanwhile, Tom Vissman is USC’s top runner. The sophomore galloped 107 yards and scored one touchdown against the Tigers. He has 357 yards on 52 carries this season for a 6.9-yard average. Marcus Galie accounted for the other score when he hauled in a 16-yard TD pass from Dan Trocano in the final frame. Galie is USC’s second-leading rusher and No. 3 receiver behind Doug Wagner (11 catches for 204 yards) and Andrew Bartusiak (nine grabs for 169 yards and two scores.)
Jesse Slinger, who is averaging 36 yards per punt, led USC in tackles against the Tigers with 16. He has 41 on the season followed by Sean Parker and Key Smith with 28 and 20 total. Mike Krenn adds 19 tackles while Blake Kadar and Vissman follow with 18 each.
Chartiers Valley at Bethel Park
Both teams are coming off big victories as they prepare for this non-conference, homecoming clash at 7 p.m. Sept. 26.
The Black Hawks improved to 2-1 in Southeastern Conference action and 2-2 overall with a 48-0 victory against Canon-McMillan. In the triumph, BP rushed for five scores. Charlie Davis led the parade into the end zone as he rushed for a 13-yard score and caught a 36-yard strike from Levi Metheny. Metheny (1), Connor McGinnis (2), Alex Minton (3), Terron Murphy (59) and Joseph Weston (9) all ran for touchdowns in the contest that invoked the Mercy Rule in the third quarter.
Meanwhile the Colts even their record at 2-2 as they held on to beat Blackhawk, 28-27, in Parkway Conference action. Jake Collins was the hero as he tossed two TD strikes of 16 to James Pachis in the second stanza and of nine yards to Shane Waldern in the third quarter. Collins also rushed for a five-yard score in the first frame. While Mike Roper also rushed for a three-yard touchdown, Austin Fisher kicked two extra points and Collins completed a two-point conversion pass to Pachis.
Canon-McMillan at Fox Chapel
The Big Macs get a reprieve from Southeastern Conference action when they visit Fox Chapel this week. The Foxes are 1-3 overall after being blanked by Central Catholic, 56-0, in Northern Eight Conference action. Meanwhile, the Big Macs slipped to 0-4 overall after their 48-0 loss to Bethel Park.