South Fayette battles Steel Valley again
South Fayette is one step away from returning to Heinz Field and defending its WPIAL Class AA football title. Only one team stands in the Lions’ way.
Steel Valley will try to snap the Lions’ 43-game winning streak as well as stop their attempt at capturing three straight district titles when the Ironmen face South Fayette at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at Peters Township High School Stadium.
The Ironmen are appearing in the AA semifinals for the first time since 1991. That year, they featured a quarterback named Charlie Batch, who ranked third in the WPIAL for passing. Batch went on to play with the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers.
This season, the Ironmen boast another top commodity in the league. Dewayne Murray surpassed 4,000 yards rushing in his career during Steel Valley’s 24-18 win against Beaver Falls (9-2) in the quarterfinals. The junior running back is already drawing Division I interest.
Murray is not the Ironmen’s sole weapon. Trey Earl Edwards tossed three TD passes and rushed for 124 yards.
Plus, the Ironmen, whose only loss, 37-0, this year occurred Oct. 9 against South Fayette at Campbell Field in Munhall, are solid on defense, allowing only 10 points per game while racking up 42.4.
“They are a fast, aggressive bunch that will challenge our front five,” Lions’ coach Joe Rossi said of the Ironmen.
South Fayette, meanwhile, has demonstrated similar prowess. The Lions have averaged 49.4 points per game while permitting 7.5 on their way to an 11-0 record. They made quick work of Beaver, 54-7, in their quarterfinal playoff game at West Allegheny. Plus, they stopped Darius Wise, who had passed for 1,100 yards and rushed for 1,500 more this season. Wise was held to 18 yards on 16 carries. He completed 5 of 9 passes for just eight yards.
“He’s a stud but our kids did a good job keeping him in front of them,” Rossi said of Wise. “We bottled him up. He’s special. He’s a Division-I kid for sure.”
Hunter Hayes demonstrated why he is Division I material, not to mention a potential Ivy League recruit. The senior tailback rushed for 216 yards on 24 carries. He scored on runs of 15, 10 and 49 yards. For the season, Hayes has gained 1,220 yards rushing on 134 carries. He has scored 18 TDs and averages 9.1 yards per carry.
Mike Speca also got into the rushing act. He rolled up 104 yards and tacked on a 1-yard touchdown. Geovonie Love and Will Allen also rushed for scores of 1 and 6 yards respectively.
Drew Saxton completed 7 of 15 passes for 155 yards and a scoring strike of 8 yards to Ryan Culberson. A sophomore, Saxton has completed 95 of 144 aerials for 1,393 yards and 26 scores this season.
Dan Trimbur provided the extra points as well as a 27-yard field goal. Trimbur is the Lions’ top receiver with 29 grabs for 481 yards and 10 scores. Nick Ponikvar follows with 25 receptions for 397 yards and four scores. Culberson has 20 catches for 267 yards and eight TDs.
Love and Dom Malosh are the team’s top tacklers with 57 and 52 respectively followed by Zack Radinick, Culberson, Hayes, Noah Plack, Thayer Phillips, Alex Minford, Jake Berkovitz and Ray Eldridge.
“We’re fast and get to the ball,” said Rossi of his defense. “We have another great challenge this week, and another great running back. They are all good teams at this point.”