Mt. Lebanon, Petes Township battle in SEC
Jackson Geisler leads Upper St. Clair into battle this week against Woodland Hills. The two teams are battling for the top spot in the Southeastern Conference. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at the Wolvarena.
Seton-La Salle’s Billy O’Malley is tripped up by a defender but not after making big yardage on a pass reception. The Rebels visit Sto-Rox Oct. 2 in Century Conference action. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Paul Grattan (No. 65) celebrates with Hunter Cazin (No. 66) after recording a sack during Mt. Lebanon’s 12-7 victory against Penn Hills. The Blue Devils stopped the Indians on four tries at the goal line at the end of the contest to preserve the win.
David Harvey runs up the middle for a big gain during Mt. Lebanon’s 12-7 win against Penn Hills. He rushed for 170 yards and a 3-yard touchdown in the victory.
The Mt. Lebanon cheerleaders may wish to keep last week’s posters and banners, particularly those that beseech defense, because the Blue Devils, for the second week in a row, play a team nicknamed the Indians. During its journey to Washington County, Lebo will find the similarities between Peters Township and Penn Hills end at the shared monikers.
“Peters is well coached and will present challenges on several fronts. They can run and throw the ball effectively. They challenge you with lots of man to man and you must get yourself open,” said Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Melynk.
Nevertheless, defense determines victory. It certainly did for the Blue Devils when they held on to beat Penn Hills, 15-7, and it did for New Castle when the Hurricanes defeated Peters. In a 38-13 victory, New Castle picked off three PT passes. In a 12-7 triumph against Penn Hills, Lebo used a goal-line stance to seal the victory.
On a fourth-and-four with 14 seconds to play, Cam Haley sacked Billy Kisner. Earlier, a tackle by Ty Quach-Dao prevented Penn Hills from scoring when he stopped Frederick Squires (No. 23) at the 1-yard line after he hauled in a long reception from Kissner. The Lebo defense stopped Penn Hills three times in an eight-minute span in the second half. Once the Blue Devils nearly recorded their second safety of the contest and twice Sean Witte caused turnovers. He recovered a fumble and he intercepted a pass with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.
Eddie Jenkins, Jack Young, Tommasi, Eric Kraus, David Aul and Hunter Cazin also stood out on defense.
After a scoreless first quarter, Lebo registered the first TD of the game. David Harvey rushed for a 3-yard TD. Harvey picked up 170 yards on 22 carries. With 44 seconds to play in the second half, Paul Gratton forced a safety when he tackled a Penn Hills player in the end zone.
Garrett Montilla kicked two field goals for the Blue Devils. He converted from 20 yards out with 9:59 to play in the third quarter. He tacked on a 29-yarder with 2:29 to play.
Offensively for the season, Jenkins and Harvey have proved lethal weapons for Lebo. They rank among the WPIAL leaders in passing and rushing, respectively. Jack Young has been the top target, but Jenkins found Nick Tommasi six times during the win against Penn Hills.
While Lebo improved to 4-0 overall, Peters dropped to 1-3. Against the Hurricanes, the Indians fell behind, 26-0, before scoring. They scored late in the second stanza when Jake Cortes hooked up with Clayton Yeates for a 14-yard touchdown and early in the third quarter when T.J. Kpan plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard drive.
Bethel Park at CV
This contest promises to be a real shootout as both these clubs are coming off high-scoring victories. The Hawks blasted Canon-McMillan, 69-21, while the Colts mastered Blackhawk, 37-20, both in homecoming affairs.
“We had several big plays, we threw the ball well, the offensive line protected very well and the coverage teams did well. We had two take aways, so that’s an area we will continue to work on,” said Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny. “The Colts have played very well, and they have improved a ton on defense. CV beat us a few years ago, so we’re not looking past them.”
For the Hawks, who evened their overall record to 2-2 with the win, Levi Metheny completed 10 of 11 passes for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns each to Charlie Davis and Jake Dixon. Davis led all receivers with five grabs for 145 yards.
Terron Murphy rushed for 105 yards and two scores of 34 and 49 yards. John Doleno also topped the century mark for rushing with 115 yards. He also tacked on a 43-yard score. Jeremy Lazzari (6 yards) and Tanner Volpatti (10 yards) also rushed for touchdowns. Kelsey Tischler kicked the extra points.
While Metheny (627 passing yards) and Murphy (533 rushing yards) rank among the WPIAL statistical leaders, Jake Collins is CV’s big gun. The senior signal caller has passed for 705 yards this season, including 215 in the Colts’ victory against the Cougars last week. He connected on 11 aerials, including a 54-yard scoring strike to Delmar King and rushed for another touchdown, measuring 25 yards.
Steve Alauzen dominated the ground attack for the Colts. He racked up 118 yards on seven carries. He scored thrice on runs of 1, 50 and 56 yards. Noah Zajicek contributed a 35-yard field goal and kicked the extra points for the Colts, who sport a 3-1 record.
Fox Chapel at C-M
The Big Macs look to snap their four-game losing streak when they host Fox Chapel on Oct. 2. The Foxes are also 0-4 after being shutout by Central Catholic, 56-0, last week.
In C-M’s loss to Bethel Park, 69-21, last week, Bryan Milligan rolled up 151 yards rushing. He scored twice on runs of 65 and 21 yards. Greyden Piechnick caught a 17-yard TD aerial from Jordan Castelli for the Big Macs’ other score.
USC at Woodland Hills
The Panthers head back into Southeastern Conference play riding a two-game losing streak after falling to North Allegheny, 31-6, last week. Thomas Vissman registered the lone USC score on a 13-yard run, in the fourth quarter. He gained 153 yards rushing on the night.
The Panthers are 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league, while the Wolverines are 4-0 overall after their 42-7 triumph against Baldwin.
Carlynton at South Fayette
The Lions return home to host the winless Cougars from Carlynton after coming off a shellacking of South Allegheny, 58-6.
Drew Saxton threw five scoring strikes, including three to Ryhan Culberson, all measuring 12 and 11 yards. The sophomore signal caller completed 11 of 15 aerials for 133 yards.
Nick Ponikvar and Dan Trimbur also hauled in TD aerials of 35 and 11 yards. Joe Mowod and Johnny Obenour rushed for scores of 2 and 45 yards for the Lions, who stretched their winning steak to 36 games.
KO at SA
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 26-7 win against South Park as they prep to visit South Allegheny, which took a pounding against South Fayette and dropped to 1-3 overall. Keystone Oaks is 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Century Conference.
“(Last week), we played with four returning starters out for multiple reasons, so we were up against it some,” said Keystone Oaks skipper Greg Perry. “Alex Smith played very well with Hrivnak, Palmer and Knorr helping him, and Joey Kazalas leading the line play. Alex is throwing it well and getting pretty good. Hopefully, we get some kids back for South Allegheny. We need to continue getting better and take care of our own stuff and try to get No. 3.”
Last week, Smith ignited the Golden Eagles, tossing two TDs in the first half and staked them to a 26-0 advantage. Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 327 yards. He ranks among the top passers in the WPIAL with 916 yards already this season.
Nick Hrivnak rolled up 153 of those yards on nine receptions. He also hauled in a 10-yard score. Hrivnak ranks among the WPIAL leaders with 19 receptions for 333 yards.
Also, in the win against the Eagles, Stephen Kazalas-Kelley turned a reception into a 74-yard score. He finished with 124 yards passing.
In the second half, Leo Palmer recorded both KO TDs. He capped an impressive third-quarter drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone. He also grabbed a 12-yard TD pass. Palmer finished with seven receptions for nearly 88 yards.
SLS at Sto-Rox
After coming off a disappointing loss to Steel Valley, 27-21, the Rebels visit Sto-Rox. The Vikings are 1-3 while Seton-La Salle slipped to 3-1.
Against Sto-Rox, the Rebels will face no running back like Dwayne Murray. The Steel Valley tailback rolled up 196 yards and two scores, including the gamewinner, a 47-yard romp into the end zone in the third quarter.
Against the Ironmen, Paris Ford staked SLS to a 7-0 lead with a 35-yard touchdown at the 10:03 mark of the first frame. Lionel Deanes rushed for the other scores. Liam Sweeney rushed for the 2-point conversion to knot the contest, 14-14, at halftime. Deanes scored the Rebels’ only touchdown in the second half, a 35-yarder. A WPIAL rushing leader with 635 yards on the season, Deanes was held to 53 yards on 16 carries by the Ironmen defense.
Canevin at C-H
This Oct. 2 fray is a big Black Hills Conference clash as Chartiers-Houston hosts Bishop Canevin. The Buccaneers are 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference after knocking off Northgate, 23-13. The Crusaders also have a win against the Flames, 30-25. They are 2-2 overall, 1-1 in the conference after Saturday’s 20-14 loss to Fort Cherry.
Char-Houston rebounded from a 13-0 first-half deficit to extinguish the Flames. A.J. Meyers ignited the Bucs, catching a 10-yard scoring strike from T.J. Johnson in the third quarter. C-H erupted for 16 points in the final frame. Johnson capped a scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown. Mike Cushma kicked a 34-yard field goal and Tyrone Wormsley recovered a fumble and returned it 55 yards for a score.