Chartiers Valley commences playoff run
Steve Alauzen bursts through the goal line for an apparent touchdown. Alauzen scored once but a penalty negated this TD during Chartiers Valley’s 17-10 loss to Upper St. Clair
Anthony Doye (No. 5) attempts to make a reception despite being heavily defended by Tom Kyle. Chartiers Valley dropped a 17-10 decision to Upper St. Clair.
The WPIAL playoffs do not start until Nov. 4. But for the Chartiers Valley football team, they commence Friday, when the Colts travel to Moon for a critical Allegheny Nine Conference clash. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
After falling to No. 1-ranked Upper St. Clair (5-0), the Colts slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the league. The Tigers also are 1-3 in the conference but 1-4 overall.
“For us, Moon’s the most important game. That starts our playoffs,” said CV skipper Niel Loebig. “We have three losses in the conference right now. Four make (the playoffs). So if we win out, we would be at least the fourth-place team, which gets us in,” he continued. “And if we lose one, then it’s going to be tough to get in as a fourth-place team. So we have to play well each week from this point on. Our playoffs start now.”
For the past several weeks, the Colts have been dealing with the teams in the top echelon of the conference. In addition to falling to USC, 17-10, the Colts dropped a 14-0 decision to rival West Allegheny (5-0) and a 44-0 bout against Woodland Hills (5-1).
“It was a brutal schedule for us, no doubt,” Loebig said of the past three weeks. “We weren’t afraid of it. We knew we could go play with all three of those teams.
“West A was who they always are. We competed well. Woodland Hills, I just think we weren’t ready for their speed. If we play them again, it would be different. We would be in the game. We weren’t ready for their speed.
“This week, I thought we had a chance to win the football game again.”
The Colts took a 7-3 lead against USC with 20 seconds to play in the first frame when Steve Alauzen scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Though another Alauzen score was negated by a penalty, the Colts were tied, 10-10, with the Panthers at halftime, thanks to a 26-yard field goal from Derek Glausser. With 3:21 left in the third quarter, USC took the lead for good on a 3-yard TD run by Colin McLinden.
Despite the defeat, Loebig was pleased with his players’ effort. He noted his charges play hard every week.
“That is what I love about them. We could go play anybody and I know that our kids are going to play hard. And that’s what I love about this football team.”
Loebig didn’t like that his team was unable to put together a complete game against the Panthers.
“We played well on defense. But when the defense made a big stop, our offense did not play well after that. And I think when we scored on offense, I don’t think our defense came out and played where we wanted them to be or if we needed a big third-down stop, we didn’t get it. Special teams, we had some opportunities to get a block. I don’t think our guys got there like we wanted them to. But we are going to keep working and get better.”
While Reed Bruggeman continues to get better calling the signals-he passed for 124 yards and rushed for 56 against USC-the CV defense got better against USC. Dominic Pocci and Anthony Onomastico led with 10 and nine tackles, respectively, while C.J. Saluga, Daniel McGeough and Dante Panucci were credited with sacks. Troy Donofrio and Logan Ford also racked up their share of tackles with seven and six, respectively.
Coming close to upsetting top teams and scoring wins is no longer enough for Loebig’s teams. After rebuilding the program in his past four seasons, Loebig said that his players are past the point where they want moral victories. “We are not happy with losing,” he said.
“I don’t care if its St. Clair, West Allegheny or Woodland Hills. Whether we lose by 50 or we lose by a touchdown, our kids are hurting because they believe they should win football games. That’s where we want our football program to be and I believe that’s where we are at,” he said.
“Our kids are confident moving forward,” he added. “It’s a key that our kids stay confident going into our last four games.”