Mt. Lebanon travels to Penn Hills
The WPIAL football playoffs do not commence until Nov. 3, but Mt. Lebanon is already prepared for the post-season. By the end of the regular season, the Blue Devils will have played every team in the Class 6-A playoffs with the exception of Central Catholic.
“There is not another team that can say that so I am very proud of our kids work ethic and preparation this year,” Lebo skipper Mike Melnyk said.
This week, the Blue Devils prepare for a visit to Penn Hills on Oct. 20 before hosting rival Bethel Park for the Southeastern Conference championship on Oct. 27. The Indians are 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Northern Seven Conference with losses to top-ranked Pine-Richland (8-0) and North Allegheny (4-1, 6-2).
“Although we will be excited for the game against Bethel for the conference title in two weeks, we will not look past Penn Hills,” Melnyk said. “This will be our third game in a row against a playoff team and Penn Hills will be a great challenge. We are very similar. Their skill kids are as good as any in the league and their new staff has done a terrific job in a short period of time getting them on track. We have to try and find a way to slow them down offensively and execute up front to create running lanes and protect the passer.”
Lebo did exactly that in beating Peters Township, 18-15. James Stocker passed for 285 yards, including 138 to Aidan Cain. Antonio LaSota and John Naylor rushed for two short scores and Bart Barcic kicked a pair of field goals, one with 1:64 to play to seal the victory.
With his seven receptions, Cain broke the WPIAL regular-season record for yardage. He has 1,343 yards on 73 catches to break the mark of 1,330 set by Avonworth’s Mike Grau in 1987. In addition to playing wide receiver, Cain ran the ball, returned punts, recovered a fumble and punted for a 54-yard average.
“He did everything but sell programs and popcorn,” said Melnyk.
Lucas Decaro has come on for the Blue Devils. He had a 58-yard reception in the game and has become “a huge threat” when teams decide to double cover Cain. “Lucas is an outstanding receiver and has made some great catches this year,” Melnyk added.
With the win, Lebo remained unbeaten and atop the conference standings with a 5-0 slate. The Blue Devils are 6-2 overall with losses to Pine-Richland and NA.
Peters Township
After a disappointing loss to Mt. Lebanon, 18-15, the Indians (3-2, 5-3) pay a visit to Canonsburg on Oct. 20 to battle Canon-McMillan (2-3, 4-4) in a Southeastern Conference clash with playoff implications.
PT skipper TJ Plack admitted the defeat to Lebo was hard. “We needed to make a couple plays and we didn’t. The bad things that happened in the game were a combination of them preparing and taking advantage of opportunities and us simply not getting the job done. We need to take the things we did poorly and improve, and the things we did well and build upon.”
The Indians will build upon the 136 passing yards by Jake Cortes as well as his 12-yard scoring strike to Aidan McCall, the 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Adrian Williams as well as the play of newcomer Luke Mary. A standout wrestler, he is playing football this season.
“We probably do not give the kid enough credit,” Plack said. “He has been able to quietly make two or three plays for us offensively each game. It’s safe to say, we should get the ball into his hands a little more.”
The Indians also need to get back on track. They are on a two-game slide.
“We need to get our stride back,” Plack said.
South Fayette
At South Fayette, many Lions made the plays during a 62-14 thrashing of Indiana.
Drew Saxton completed five of six passes for 114 yards. He tossed scoring strikes of 23 and 32 yards to Noah Plack, 41 yards to RayQuin Glover and 35 yards to Ryan Kokoski. Saxton also rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.
Johnny Obenour rushed for two scores on runs of 60 and 10 yards. Johnny Beck opened the scoring with a 41-yard gallop. Drew Franklin also tacked on a 1-yard score.
The Lions host Highlands (4-3) at 7 p.m. Oct. 20. The Golden Rams pushed an “excellent” Montour team to the limit before giving up a late touchdown.
“They are the best passing team that we have faced since moving up to 4-A and they have an aggressive defense,” said Joe Rossi. “We look forward to the challenge of playing them. We expect a great football game.”
The Lions, who stretched their regular-season winning streak to 55 games, have had great performances this season from Saxton, Beck, Plack and Brian Coyne. Saxton, who recently surpassed 6,000 yards for his careers, has 1,634 yards and 20 TDs. Beck has rushed for 742 yards and 12 scores. Plack has seven TD catches and 472 yards. He also leads the team in tackles while Coyne is tops in sacks with 11.
Bethel Park
After thumping Canon-McMillan, 48-16, the Hawks (4-0, 6-1) travel to Altoona (1-4, 2-6) for a 7 p.m. kickoff Oct. 20.
In the win against the Big Macs, Tanner Volpatti rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught an 84-yard scoring strike from Anthony Chiccitt, who finished with 280 passing yards on 10 completions. David Opferman and Austin Lewis also caught TD aerials of 24 and 54 yards. Luke Mattola added a 1-yard TD run. John Doleno returned a punt 47 yards for another score.
Upper St. Clair
The Panthers (6-0, 6-2) look to recover from a non-conference loss to McKeesport, 42-14, when they play host to Hampton (2-4, 2-6) at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in Allegheny Nine Conference action.
In the loss to the Tigers, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 5-A, Colin McLinden rushed for a 3-yard score and Chris Pantellis caught a 16-yard TD pass from Jack Hansberry. The Panthers trailed, 21-0, before pulling to within one score at halftime but the Tigers reeled up three unanswered touchdowns in the second half.