Seton-La Salle, Mt. Lebanon face stiff challenges
Seton-La Salle quarterback Nolan Abbiatici connected with Paris Ford for two touchdowns of 16 and 47 yards and with Billy O’Malley for a 25-yard scoring strike during a 49-0 victory against Carlynton. The Rebels host Steel Valley in a key Century Conference clash at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Peters Township stadium.
Thomas Vissman (No. 22) finds nowhere to run as Levi Metheny (No. 11) closes in for the tackle. Vissman rushed for 86 yards in Upper St. Clair’s 30-7 loss to Bethel Park. The Panthers host North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in non-league action.
The first big showdown in the Century Conference is on tap this week as Steel Valley and Seton-La Salle battle at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Peters Township High School stadium. Both teams enter the fray undefeated, sporting 3-0 records.
“For both teams, it is the first true test of the year,” said SLS head coach Damon Rosol. “Steel Valley is by far the best team that we have seen all year. If we do not come out and match their intensity, it could be a long night for us.”
It was a long night for the Rebels’ and the Ironmen’s opponents last Friday night. Seton-La Salle is coming off a 49-0 victory against Carlynton while Steel Valley dispatched Sto-Rox, 55-0.
In the Rebels’ win against the Cougars, Nolan Abbiatici completed 6 of 13 passes for 171 yards and three scoring strikes. Paris Ford hauled in two TD aerials of 16 and 47 yards. Plus, he returned a punt 63 yards for another score. Billy O’Malley also hauled in a TD pass of 25 yards from Abbiatici.
“For the most part, the Carlynton game went well,” Rosol said. “Our offensive execution was okay. Our passing game is still a work in progress. Defensively we did what we had to do. We were able to force them into obvious passing situations, which then allowed our pass rush to get after their quarterback.”
Lionel Deanes continued to go after opponents’ defenses. After racking up 295 yards and three scores in a win against South Allegheny, the sophomore tail back rushed for two scores of 57 and 31 yards against Carlynton. He finished with 139 yards on the evening. Matt Banbury also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown for the Rebels, who are ranked No. 4 in Class AA.
Deanes ranks third in the WPIAL in rushing. On 25 carries, he has gained 443 yards for a 17.7-yard average. His fast start has come as no surprise to Rosal.
“When you are naturally gifted athletically, and you are an extremely hard worker in the classroom, weight room, and practice field, 99.9 percent of the time very good things will happen,” he said. “Lionel does everything we ask him to do and his future is extremely bright. He is an absolute joy to coach.”
Over at Steel Valley, Rodney Steele is pleased to be able to coach DeWayne Murray and Tre Earl Edwards. The duo led the Ironmen against Sto-Rox. Murray scored five touchdowns. Edwards tossed four scoring strikes, including two to Murray.
The Ironmen are more than a two-man show, says Rosol. “They have speed to burn. Very explosive at the skill positions,” he said. “Plus, their linemen are disruptive and relentless.”
Penn Hills at Lebo
In Penn Hills, Mt. Lebanon is facing a similar situation to Seton-La Salle’s. Though the Indians are coming off a loss, 43-29, to Central Valley, which is ranked No. 4 in Class AAA, they boast some talented skill players, particularly versatile quarterback Billy Kissner. He is verbally committed to Toledo. The Indians are 1-2 overall.
“Penn Hills is explosive and can score from anywhere on the field and they fly to the football on defense,” said Lebo head coach Mike Melnyk.
To beat the Indians will require the same recipe that resulted in Lebo’s 43-14 win against Baldwin. In that win last Friday, Eddie Jenkins completed 10 of 16 passes for 195 yards and two scoring strikes of 57 and 20 yards to Edgar Parilla and Nate Baer. Jenkins rushed for the game’s first score on a 12-yard run. David Harvey racked up two touchdowns on runs of 1 and 7 yards. Eric Kraus also had a TD run, measuring 3 yards.
“Our kids came out very focused and executed well. I was very proud of our defensive effort against an explosive team. We forced a turnover or a three and out on the first five possessions and that helped us.
“We need to have another great week of practice because we need to play better to handle Penn Hills,” Melnyk continued.
“Same formula for success…execute, be disciplined, minimize penalties and turnovers, and play solid special teams. Take care of our business and play as a team,” he added enthusiastically.
Other Quad-A action
Upper St. Clair and Peters Township take a break from Southeastern Conference action this week when the Panthers host North Allegheny and the Indians travel to New Castle for non-league play on Sept. 25.
USC is coming off their first loss of the season, 30-7, against Bethel Park while the Tigers are basking in the glow of their upset victory, 24-17, against Central Catholic. Both clubs are 2-1 overall.
In USC’s loss to BP, Jackson Geisler completed a TD aerial of 21 yards to Kevin Chrissis for the lone Panther score. Thomas Vissman rushed for 88 yards. He has 287 yards and four scores on 56 carries this season. Geisler is 12 for 28 for 232 yards and three scoring strikes. Defensively, Eli Grape leads the Panthers with 30 tackles followed by Wissman, Blake Kadar, Jack Burton and Ryan Harkleroad.
Meanwhile, Peters Township earned its first conference victory last week against Canon-McMillan, 37-21. The Hurricanes, like the Indians, are also 1-2.
In the Indians’ triumph over the Big Macs, Jake Cortes completed 13 of 14 passes for 136 yards. Clayton Yeates was his top receiver with seven grabs for 54 yards. Cortes threw three TD aerials of 50, 11 and 17 yards to Alan Snyder, Yeates and Connor Manning. T.J. Kpan rushed for two scores on jaunts of 89 and 12 yards. He finished with 125 yards on 19 carries.
“It was a good win,” PT skipper Rich Piccinini said of the CM triumph. “We played offense, defense, special teams. All around it was a good game for us.”
SF at South Allegheny
Despite surrendering the first score of the game, it was another good game for South Fayette when the Lions mauled South Park, 49-14.
It should be another fine outing for the Lions when they travel to South Allegheny for a 7 p.m. kickoff Sept. 25. While the Eagles are 0-3, the Gladiators are 1-2 overall. They do pose some concerns, however, says Joe Rossi.
“The Gladiators gave our offense fits last season in the first quarter before we settled in and made some adjustments,” explained the SF skipper. “They are simple on offense where they try to establish the run using counters and options. On defense, they mix their coverages well, which will cause us to figure it out early.”
After giving up the first score, South Fayette figured out South Park. Drew Saxton excelled. The sophomore signal caller completed 12 of 16 aerials for 251 yards.
Saxton, who has 517 yards passing on the season, hooked up with Ryhan Culberson and Dan Trimbur for two scores each. Culberson hauled in TD grabs of 8 and 12 yards while Trimbur caught TD passes of 74 and 5 yards. He also kicked the extra points for the Lions.
On the ground, Hunter Hayes (6 yards), and Mikey Speca (3 yards) scored while Jake Berkovitz returned an interception for a 3-yard score. Hayes leads the SF rushing attack with 331 yards and six scores.
South Park at KO
After facing two of the top teams in Class AA to start the season 0-2, Keystone Oaks encounters its second straight winless club when it hosts South Park (0-3, 0-2) in Century Conference action at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Dormont Stadium.
The Golden Eagles enter the fray coming off a 41-19 victory against East Allegheny (0-3). In that triumph, Alex Smith completed 18 of 25 passes for 312 yards and two scores. Nick Hrivnak hauled in both of those TD aerials, on receptions of 53 and 16 yards. Dylan Knorr caught seven Smith passes for 98 yards.
“Alex played well and the O-line gave him some time to throw and we were able to use the run to keep them off balance,” said KO skipper Greg Perry, who was also pleased with Hrivnak and Knorr. “They caught the balls we needed caught and had some great YAC (yards after catch) yards.”
Stephen Kazalas-Kelley rolled up the yards on the ground. He rushed for 170 yards and three additional touchdowns, measuring 3, 7 and 27 yards. Smith also rushed for a 9-yard score.
“Kazalas-Kelly ran hard and showed good balance,” Perry said. “The game was physical and we responded and didn’t back down.”
Nor will the Golden Eagles back down against South Park, even though the Eagles held the upper hand in last year’s fray. “South Park is using multiple formations and they run the ball well,” Perry said “We need to control the line of scrimmage and continue to block well. Hopefully we can avenge last season’s loss and play a good game.”
In the kicking game, Sal Cimino has had good games for the Golden Eagles. He kicked all the extra points against E-Allegheny.
Char-Houston at Northgate
The Flames (1-2, 0-1) host Chartiers-Houston (1-2, 0-2) at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 in Black Hills Conference action.
The Buccaneers picked up their first win of the season when they defeated Western Beaver, 47-6, in non-league action last week. T.J. Johnston completed 8 of 10 passes for 111 yards and four touchdowns to Jacob Cavalb (39 yards), Cody Scears (56), Tyrone Wormsley (44) and A.J. Myers (25). Scears returned an interception 38 yards for another score while Wormsley returned a kickoff 84 yards for another touchdown.
Fort Cherry at Canevin
Bishop Canevin hosts Fort Cherry at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at Dormont Stadium in a key Black Hills Conference clash. The Rangers are 1-1 in the league and 1-2 overall.
The Crusaders are coming off a dramatic victory, 30-25, against Northgate to improve their record to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. With less than three minutes to play, Sean Fitzgerald returned a kickoff 82 yards for the decisive score. Fitzgerald leads Canevin with eight receptions for 90 yards this season.