Chartiers Valley prepares for showdown with Central Valley
Jake Collins breaks free of the grasp of a Moon tackler during Chartiers Valley’s 45-26 victory. The senior rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more in the victory. He was 9 of 16 for 111 yards.
Joe Antonucci carries defenders on his back and he picks up additional yardage after making a reception in Chartiers Valley’s 45-26 victory over Moon. Antonucci caught six passes for 96 yards and a touchdown in the game.
After beating Moon, 45-26, Chartiers Valley finds itself in one of the biggest games in the program’s recent history. The Colts travel to Central Valley to play the Vikings at 7 p.m. Oct. 16. Both teams are 4-1 in the Parkway Conference.
“We haven’t seen many of those,” agreed Niel Loebig, who is in his third season at the helm at CV. “It’s one of the big games.”
And, the Colts have to win it if they wish to keep their hopes alive for a championship. “We have to continue winning,” agreed Loebig. “A win gives us sole possession of second place.” And Central Valley still has to play league-leading West Allegheny on Oct. 30. The Indians are 6-0 overall.
This week’s game, like the one against Moon, is a road trip for the Colts. Loebig embraces those. “I do,” he said. “I like playing on the road. Getting away from school. Being with the team. There are no distractions. Everybody is focused.”
In practice this week the Colts will be focused on special teams coverage. That was lacking in their win against Moon. The Tigers scored twice on huge returns, 90 yards on a kickoff by Zachary Duncan and 85 yards on a punt from Anthony Panucci. The other TDs were the result of two short runs.
“Special teams is one thing that we always need to work on,” Loebig said. “I was happy, though, with the way we played offensively and defensively. Obviously, we can get better in both areas. Especially when you want to be competitive in AAA, you have to play better offense and defense.”
Offensively, the Colts benefited from the 1-2 punch of Steve Alauzen and Jake Collins. Alauzen rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. Collins connected on 9 of 16 aerials for 111 yards. He rushed for two TDs and hooked up with Eric Acheson and Joe Antonucci for two more scoring strikes. Antonucci hauled in six passes for 79 yards, including 20 on a TD reception.
Additionally, Dominic Pocci rushed for a 2-yard score and Noah Zajicek kicked a 33-yard field goal in the win over the Tigers (1-5, 1-4).
Defensively, Jarred Lewis stood out, almost registering a safety, as did Alex Curran on the line, Pocci at middle linebacker and Dante Panucci.
“We are a true defensive unit,” noted Loebig of the group that has allowed just 157 points. “Some weeks others play better but it’s a good defense overall.”
Of Lewis, Loebig commented, “He tackles extremely well. He is football savvy. He knows his job and he is good at it.”
Panucci is a “good all-around player” that was moved from linebacker to the line this season. He plays both sides of the ball for the Colts. “He has done a fantastic job,” Loebig said. “He has embraced his role.”
So have Pocci and Curran. “Alex is playing extremely well. He makes a lot of plays on shear effort,” Loebig said. “Dom also has done an awesome job. He is making the right calls and getting us in the right situations. He has made a lot of sacrifices this season and we use him more on defense this year. He has gone above and beyond our expectations. Loebig expects no surprises from Central Valley. The Vikings, he says, operate a no-huddle offense and defensively, they run multiple schemes.
“They try to confuse you so we have to be simple on offense,” he said. “On offense, they are efficient and they are good at what they do.
Loebig, added, however, that he is not so much “worried” about the Vikings as he is concerned with his Colts. Thus, CV’s task is simple. “We have to play our best football,” he said. “We have to do things right.”
KO at Steel Valley
The Golden Eagles (4-2, 4-1) cannot turn over the ball as they did in last week’s win, 14-6, against Carlynton if they hope to defeat Steel Valley (5-1, 4-1) on their home turf in Munhall. In the win against the Cougars, Keystone Oaks turned the ball six times.
“Ugly win,” agreed KO coach Greg Perry, “but you take it when you self-inflict the miscues. We are learning how to win. I’m not sure we would have won this game last year. We have to keep growing.”
Despite that statistic edge in turnovers, the Golden Eagles dominated. Alex Smith completed 9 of 16 aerials for 135 yards. He rushed for a 15-yard touchdown. Leo Palmer accounted for the other score on a 2-yard jaunt. Also, Nick Hrivnak hauled in six passes for 87 yards.
“Alex and Nick are good together and we are very excited to see how they grow in the coming year but they need to keep progressing and get stronger and understand where we need them to be,” said Perry.
The Golden Eagles need to be ready for the whiplash of the Ironmen’s 37-0 loss to South Fayette.
“Steel Valley is a very good aggressive team that will be hungry after the SF game. They throttled a very good Freeport team that will win the Allegheny conference and beat them convincingly,” Perry added.
“It will be a great challenge for us but we need to execute better than we did against Carlynton. Dwayne Murray is a big time running back and he will be a tough task to control. We need to keep growing and show up and face a big-time challenge.”
Valley at SLS
The Rebels (5-1) don’t really catch a breather this week before they travel Oct. 23 to South Fayette for the Century Conference showdown. This contest is a good tune-up for both the Lions as well as the postseason because the Vikings are 4-2 in the Allegheny Conference and coming off a 31-21 win against West Shamokin.
“They are three points away from being 6-0 so that definitely gets your attention,” said SLS head coach Damon Rosol of the Vikings. “Its like preparing for a playoff game because the opponent is unfamiliar.
“I don’t mind playing it right now. It gives you a chance to work on some things without any real consequences, seeing as how it is non-conference,” he added.
With Nolan Abbiatici directing the offense, the Rebels are firing on all cylinders. At least they were in last week’s 48-16 win against East Alleghey.
In the win, Abbiatici connected on 7 of 10 passes for 157 yards and four scoring strikes. Nico Popa, Lioneal Deanes, Paris Ford and Billy O’Malley caught TD aerials of 25, 67, 6 and 8 yards respectively. Abbiatici ranks among the passing leaders in the WPIAL. He is 41 of 79 for 782 yards and 13 TDs.
“Nolan has been pretty solid so far and is showing vast improvement each week,” Rosol said. “Playing QB in this offense is never going to be easy so daily we our working on understanding different indicators and nuances that can help expedite his learning curve.
“I wouldn’t say he is what makes us go, rather he is playing a larger role than most. Our O-line is what makes us go. If they are able to protect him in our passing game and continue to open up holes in our run game, than we will go a long way this year.”
Deanes has gone a long way for the Rebels on the ground as has Liam Sweeney. Deanes also rushed for a score, measuring 10 yards, against E-Allegheny as did Dalaun Samuels for 21 yards. Brandon Siler recovered a fumble and return the turnover for a 39-yard touchdown.
Sto-Rox at SF
After accomplishing a lot in a 37-0 shellacking of previously undefeated Steel Valley, the Lions will not rest on their heels or take Sto-Rox lightly. They will prepare as if it is any other game in the Century Conference says Joe Rossi.
While the Lions improved to 6-0 overall and stretched their winning streak to 38 games, third-longest in the WPIAL, tying them with the 1913-16 team from Greensburg, Sto-Rox is 1-5 overall.
Highlights against the Ironmen included: Drew Saxton’s 13-for-28 showing in the passing department for 152 yards; Hunter Hayes’ touchdown runs of 16 and 2 yards; Dan Trimbur’s two TD receptions of 9 and 19 yards as well as a 38-yard field goal and Noah Plack’s 29-yard interception return for a score.
C-M at USC
The Big Macs (1-5, 0-5) are coming off a 49-7 loss to Woodland Hills while Upper St. Clair (3-3, 3-2) is fresh off a win, 35-21, against Baldwin.
In the loss to the Wolverines, Dom Eannace completed 5 of 13 passes for 126 yards. He connected with Ahmad Morris-Walker for the lone TD, a 65-yard scoring strike.
Against Baldwin, Jackson Geisler completed 8 of 13 aerials for 135 yards. Doug Wagner caught six of those aerials for 113 yards. On the ground, Thomas Vissman rolled up 267 yards on 26 carries. He accounted for all five of USC’s touchdowns.
PT at Baldwin
Peters Township slipped to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the SEC with a 38-12 loss to Penn Hills but the Indians are prepared for a battle with Baldwin, which is winless in the conference. Secrets to success are simple said PT skipper Rich Piccinini.
“We need to be able to sustain drives and cut down on our turnovers. Baldwin has some very good athletes that we have to keep in check. Their quarterbacks have had some huge statistical games this year and are playmakers. We need some or our younger players to step up and play bigger roles. Because we have had games where as many as seven to 11 starters have been out, we need the next man up to play solid football,” Piccinini concluded.
Against Penn Hills, Jake Cortes stepped up. The sophomore signal called completed 13 of 19 passes for 138 yards. He tossed a 19-yard scoring strike to Clayton Yeates. Alan Snyder also hauled in a 25-yard TD pass from Yeates.
OLSH at Canevin
The Crusaders (4-2, 3-1) are coming off a 35-28 win against Avonowrth (5-1, 4-1) in Black Hills Conference action while the Chargers dropped to 0-6 with their loss to Chartiers-Houston.
In the win against the Antelopes, Austin Scott completed 5 of 11 passes for 123 yards and two TDs of 27 and 43 yards to Sean Fitzgerald and Amaan Bridgett. Bridgett also rushed for two scores. Maleik Hemingway also ran for a touchdown, measuring 64 yards.
Brentwood at C-H
The Buccaneers are coming off a 40-14 win against OLSH. They are 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the Black Hills Conference.
In the win against OLSH, Spencer Terling rushed for two scores; A.J. Myers returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown; Ethan Schober caught two scoring strikes from T.J. Johnston and Mike Cushma kicked two field goals.