Oct 13, 2016 By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read

When Mike Evans took over the Canon-McMillan football team in 2015, he looked toward Bethel Park for inspiration.

So it is not surprising that when the Big Macs host the Black Hawks in a Southeastern Conference clash, the teams may be reflections of each other in their actions on the gridiron.

“I definitely think you can draw parallels between how we are built,” said Evans. “I looked at the Bethel Park football program as an excellent model of how we would like to be viewed. They are well-coached, physical up front and play with an edge that comes from confidence in their system. We have work to do, but we are making strides. Our kids are believing.”

The Big Macs ride a two-game winning streak into the fray. Although they are 1-3 in the conference, they improved to 3-4 overall with an impressive victory against Shaler, 43-7.

In the triumph, Rahmiere Knight hauled in 10 passes for 210 yards and one score on a 69-yard strike from Jordan Castelli, who threw for 324 yards on 14 completions. Castelli also tossed two TD aerials, measuring 7 and 62 yards, to Andrew Engel. On defense, Engel intercepted three passes. The Big Macs had six picks and limited the Titans to 14 total yards of rushing.

While pleased with his team’s play and delighted for his players, Evans prepared this week to correct mistakes and ready the team for the Hawks, who lead the conference with a 3-0 slate.

“We are aware of who they are,” Evans said. “They have outstanding players in many positions. It’s a team game, and we are going to do everything we can to control what we can control.”

What was beyond Jeff Metheny’s control was the Hawks’ disappointing loss last week to Seneca Valley, 25-21. BP led, 21-3, before allowing the Raiders to rebound. Turnovers powered the Raiders’ comeback.

“We turned the ball over a lot and that cost us the game,” Metheny said. “We have to take better care of the football.”

Metheny says that will be critical against the Big Macs.

“We need to possess the ball more and finish teams off,” he said. “Seneca Valley was a good football team but without the turnovers, we win that game. We gave them a chance. We’ve got to get better at finishing out games against good teams.”

And the Big Macs are a good team, Metheny concedes.

“They are a well-coached team,” he said. “They score a lot of points. They have a lot of big guys up front. They can throw it, and (Bryan) Milligan is a very good running back.”

Milligan rushed for 191 yards and four scores against Shaler. His TD runs measured 3, 3, 88 and 2 yards. Milligan is one of the rushing leaders in the WPIAL since recovering from an early-season injury. He broke school records last season in earning all-conference honors.

While Terron Murphy is BP’s standout tailback, the Hawks relied on other weapons against Seneca Valley. In the loss, Cole Rogers completed 6 of 12 passes for 116 yards. He rushed for touchdowns, measuring 12 and 1 yards. Jeremy Lazzari rushed for the other score on a 7-yard dash. Shawn Halligan kicked the extra points.

Rogers has developed into one of the passing leaders this season. He has thrown for more than 700 yards this fall.

“We think our quarterback is pretty good,” Metheny said. “He has the ability to throw it and we have guys who can catch the ball.”

What will determine the outcome will be those skill players in the trenches. They enable the offensive engines to operate.

“The team that is able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, the team that most efficiently can run the ball and stop the run, will have a big edge in any game,” said Evans.