Week 6 in high school football
After one of the better games in South Fayette football history, a come-from-behind victory against Blackhawk, 28-21, the Lions face another tall task when they host New Castle at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7. The game will be televised on Root Sports.
While the Lions improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Northwest Nine Conference, the Hurricanes are 4-1 in the league after losing to Mars, 34-7. The Planets, likewise are 4-1 in the division but 5-1 overall, while New Castle is 4-2 on the year.
“They feature two of the best athletes in the conference and their skill will pose a tremendous challenge,” said SF head coach Joe Rossi.
Marcus Hooker is New Castle’s primary threat. He ranks among the WPIAL’s top scorers. Hooker also anchors the Hurricanes’ defensive secondary along with Geno Stone, who is the team’s quarterback.
“They do a tremendous job in both the pass and run games,” Rossi said of the Canes’ defense. “Their front seven also is very active and aggressive and will pose a great challenge to our offensive line, which must be able to control the line of scrimmage.”
While Marshane McElroy is a strong target also for Stone, Lorenzo Gardner is a key running back for New Castle, which runs a spread offense and a 4-3 quarters coverage defense, the Lions counter with a confident crew fresh off the comeback trail. They trailed, 21-0, before roaring back to defeat the Cougars.
“The team showed great poise and character as we battled back in the second half,” explained Rossi. “At halftime, nobody doubted, and they accepted the challenge. They understood that the fight in the second half was about the guys in our locker room and not the team across the field.”
Drew Saxton ignited the Lions. He tossed four second-half TD passes to stoke the comeback. The junior completed 21 of 41 aerials for 316 yards.
Dan Trimbur was the primary target as the senior caught eight passes, three of them for touchdowns, measuring 7, 10 and 3 yards.
Noah Plack, who hauled in four receptions for 104 yards, caught the other scoring strike that measured 11 yards. Anthony Frost has seven catches for 83 yards.
For the season, Saxton has completed 68 of 95 attempts for 1,104 yards and 14 TDs. Plack (17 catches), Trimbur (16), Camron Garland (13) and Mike Speca (11) are Saxton’s top targets, each ranging in reception yards from 212 to 270.
Canon-Mac at Shaler
Saturday afternoon football games bring back many fond memories for Mike Evans. He played scholastically at Peters Township back when the school had no stadium lighting. “We played at 1:30 p.m. if we were at home,” he said. “More to the point, I don’t care when we play.”
So the Canon-McMillan head coach will gladly get on the bus Oct. 8 and travel to Shaler for the Big Macs’ non-conference clash at 1 p.m. The Titans are 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the Northern Seven Conference. And Evans is only looking for a victory to follow last week’s thrilling overtime triumph at Altoona, 21-14.
“Respectfully, where we are compared to the other division is the least of my concerns,” he said. “I care about the 56 guys in our room and the guys who coach them. We are looking for ways to win football games.”
The Big Macs found a way against Altoona.
Bryan Milligan scored the game’s first and final touchdowns on runs of 11 and 10 yards. He rolled up 271 yards on 49 carries.
Jordan Castelli tossed a 22-yard scoring strike to Rahmiere Knight in the fourth quarter. Knight had three receptions for 46 yards. He also had two kick-off returns for 109 yards.
“It wasn’t a big night for our passing game, but we handed the ball to Bryan and let the guys up front block,” said Evans. “Rahmiere’s return yards were big, too.”
The defensive heroics by Drew Engle and Alonzo Lemus were also huge. Engle ended a late-scoring threat by the Mountain Lions with an interception. Lemus had the game-winning interception in overtime.
Of C-M’s first road win in some time, Evans said, “The kids have stayed positive and are working very hard. It was nice to see them earn this victory. I like the way we fought through the ups and downs of the game and stayed focused. We haven’t been a great second-half team but we did a nice job of improving in that area. Altoona does a nice job. The game could have gone either way, as we both squandered opportunities throughout the game.”
As the Big Macs attack the second half of the season, they are demaning more of themselves, according to Evans. They are practicing better and some leaders have emerged. “Victories have a way of justifying the means to young people,” he said.
And while the Big Macs know the Titans have faced the likes of North Allegheny and Central Catholic, they are not concerned about those incidentals. “We worry about what we can control and prepare,” Evans said.
Seneca Valley at BP
Bethel Park ran its record to 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference with a 48-13 triumph against Hempfield. The Blackhawks take a break from league action this week but host a strong Seneca Valley club from the Northern Seven Conference at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7. Both teams are 3-2 overall.
In the win against the Spartans, Cole Rogers passed efficiently, completing 5 of 8 attempts for 142 yards and scoring strikes of 44 and 59 yards to Zac Taylor and Jeremy Wodarek.
Terron Murphy led the ground attack, gobbling up 177 yards. He rushed for 61- and 34-yard touchdowns. Jeremy Lazzari (4 yards), Rogers (25) and Christian Frazier (1) also ran for touchdowns in the contest, which the Hawks led, 42-0, at halftime.
Lebo at Norwin
Mt. Lebanon returns to Southeastern Conference action after suffering a 22-15 loss to North Allegheny. The Tigers scored 15 points in the final frame to secure the comeback win against the Blue Devils, who slipped to 3-3 overall.
Despite the defeat, Lebo coach Mike Melnyk was far from disappointed.
“NA was a difficult loss, but I was very proud of the way our kids competed and fought till the end,” he said. “There was a lot of adversity during the game, which affected the outcome, but our kids kept fighting. We got better last week, and that is a good thing this time of year.”
In the loss to NA, Jack Young caught a 10-yard scoring strike from James Stocker. After the first-frame TD, the Blue Devils managed a safety and a pair of field goals of 21 and 32 yards from Garrett Montilla. Montilla has kicked 16 field goals over the past two years, which is the most in the WPIAL.
The Blue Devils travel to Norwin Oct. 7. The Knights are 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the league after upending Peters Township, 38-7. Lebo is 2-1 in the league.
“Norwin has had some terrific performances this year and is a solid playoff-caliber team,” Melnyk said. “They have excellent skill kids and are well-coached. We just need to continue to improve and learn how to finish in tough games. That will be a focus for us this week.
“The importance of this game is obvious. We both need a win if we want a chance at a conference championship. One team will stay in the hunt, and the other will focus on getting into the playoffs because the championship will be out of reach.”
Pine-Richland at PT
The Indians look to recover from a disappointing loss to Norwin, 38-7, when they host Pine-Richland at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7. Peters Township fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
In the loss to the Knights, PT managed just one score, a 3-yard TD run by T.J. Kpan in the third quarter. Tanner Scott kicked the extra point.
Ever the optimist, T.J. Plack said of the Indians’ prospects for the week, “We’ll try to go 1-0 against Pine-Richland. That’s the only place we can go from here. This coaching staff and these captains won’t let the team go in the gutter.”
Pine-Richland, which is 4-2 overall, boasts Notre Dame recruit Phil Jurkovec. He threw for 335 yards in last week’s loss to Central Catholic, 48-35. The junior has passed for 1,658 yards this season. Jurkovec, however, hurt his thumb in the loss to the Vikings and is out of action for the coming weeks.
Burrell at KO
After dispatching Shady Side Academy, 35-7, the Golden Eagles host Burrell at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Dormont Stadium. With the win, Keystone Oaks improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Allegheny Conference. Burrell is 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the league.
In the win against SSA, Alex Smith completed 14 of 26 aerials for 208 yards. He tossed a 16-yard scoring strike to Joey Tortorella. Smith also ran for 106 yards. He scored on a 16-yard rush. Smith ranks among the WPIAL passing leaders with 1,452 yards and 12 scores.
Devin Thomas rolled up 108 yards. He rushed for touchdowns of 1, 3 and 7 yards.
Deer Lakes at SLS
The Rebels look to recover from a 35-28 loss to Apollo-Ridge when they host Deer Lakes at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Thomas Jefferson Stadium. Seton-La Salle dropped to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Allegheny Conference. The Lakers are 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the league.
In the loss, Lionel Deanes rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Vari also ran for a 40-yard score for the Rebels. Nolan Abbiatici cuaght a 72-yard scoring strike from Matt Banbury.
Imani Christian at Canevin?
The Crusaders are coming off a 40-0 loss to Jeanette, which leads the Eastern Conference along with Clairton, as both have undefeated records. Bishop Canevin is 2-2 in the league after the defeat but 3-2 overall.
The Crusaders host Imani Christian at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at Dormont Stadium.