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Mt. Lebanon hosts Bethel Park for conference championship

By Eleanor Bailey Sports Editor Ebailey@thealmanac.Net 11 min read
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Johnny Beck

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Noah Plack is wrapped up and tackled but not after making the reception for South Fayette.

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Mike Trimbur makes the reception during South Fayette's 48-14 victory against Highlands.

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South Fayette football coach Joe Rossi points the way

Mt. Lebanon is the place to be Oct. 27 as the Blue Devils host Bethel Park for the Southeastern Conference football championship. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

“A lot of people want to see this game,” said Jeff Metheny who has managed the Hawks to a 7-1 overall slate and a 5-0 mark in the league after defeating Altoona, 42-3, last week. “It’s going to be one of those nights. A special night,” he added.

Mike Melnyk concurred. He has his Blue Devils positioned to defend their title. They are also undefeated in the conference but 6-3 overall after falling to Penn Hills, 42-31, in an Oct. 20th non-conference tune-up.

“It should be a great environment, the atmosphere will be electric,” Melnyk said. “This is why the kids from both schools have worked so hard for the past year…to have a chance to play in a game like this. Memories will be made that will last a lifetime.”

In addition to bragging rights throughout the South Hills, the victor will emerge as one of the top seeds for the WPIAL 6-A tournament, slated to begin Nov. 3 and conclude with a trip to Heinz Field to play in the championship on Nov. 18.

“Both schools are excited for this game,” Melnyk said. “It is truly unique to be so close to each other but that’s what makes it special. Coach Metheny has been around for a long time and always has his kids prepared for these games. They are the team everyone has been picking for the entire year to compete for a championship from the South.”

Hence, Melnyk sees his team, despite the moniker of reigning champion, as the underdog. “Our kids feel like we have nothing to lose,” he said. And, despite having fought injuries on a week-to-week basis and not having put together a “complete game” Melnyk added, “Our kids will answer the bell when it goes off.”

The Blue Devils land a knockout punch with Aidan Cain. The senior is six receptions away from breaking the WPIAL regular-season record. Seton-La Salle’s Carmen Connolly caught 86 passes in 2004. Cain has 81 and has already broken the regular-season record for yards with 1,447.

The Blue Devils also jab with two quarterbacks-James Stocker and Seth Morgan. Stocker completed three scoring strikes and raced for a touchdown in the loss to Penn Hills. Stocker has passed for 1,580 yards and 11 scores while Morgan has 973 yards and 10 TD aerials.

“Mt. Lebanon is a very good football team,” Metheny said. “They have played good opponents and done well against those teams. They also have two pretty good quarterbacks that know the offense and understand what needs to be done. They score a lot of points.”

So do the Hawks. They average 35.3 points compared to Lebo’s 32.2. Defensively, however, BP limits the opposition to 17.1 while the Blue Devils surrender 25.8 poiners per game.

“We’ve been playing well defensively,” agreed Metheny. “That’s a credit to the coaches and the players. Against Lebo though, we need to limit the big plays on defense. Limit their touches. We’ve got to tackle and do our jobs.”

Running the ball is BP’s job on offense. Tanner Volpatti is the leading rusher. His 120 yards in the win against Altoona pushed him beyond the 1,000-yard mark for the season. He has scored 20 touchdowns. The Hawks also feature Johnny Doleno, Tiger Burkes and Jehvonn Lewis out of the backfield, running behind the blocking of WVU recruit James Gmiter as well as Gavin Vargesko, Dan Kwiatkoski, Liam Williams and Connor Wholey.

“The key is we’ve got to run the ball,” Metheny said.

In the past few weeks, however, BP has developed a passing attack with Anthony Chiccitt taking control behind center. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 183 yards against Altoona and TD strikes of 39 and 12 yards to David Opferman and Austin Lewis, who also returned an interception for a score.

“Chiccitt has played better and gotten comfortable out there. He’s talented and we are excted about where he’s going.

“Opferman has also been playing well at tight end and we are moving the ball with out fullback and we are getting good protection up front from those guys on the line.”

Melnyk agreed with that assessment and outlined the course the Blue Devils must take to insure victory against the Hawks.

“Bethel Park is a very balanced team, well-coached, and opportunistic,” he said. “We will need to win the turnover battle, be efficient in the red zone, and play the best defense of the year if we hope to compete with them.”

Upper St. Clair

In the past, Upper St. Clair has competed against Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park for conference championships but the Panthers battle Woodland Hills (4-2, 5-4) at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Allegheny Nine Conference finale. USC already has claimed a stake in the title with a 7-0 record while West Allegheny follows with a 6-1 slate.

“Absolutely,” Jim Render said about ending the regular season on a winning note. “It would be a great feather in these kids’ hat to go undefeated in the conference and win without an asterick.”

But the Panthers miss the rivarly of playing their neighbors.

“We’ve played Woodland Hills a lot but I know they don’t particularly like to come west and we don’t like going east and it’s tough to go play teams when you drive right past Bethel Park and Lebo,” Render said.

Regardless, the Allegheny Nine Conference is a league steeped in winning traditions as Render pointed out that the Panthers, West-A, Woodland Hills and North Hills has many WPIAL titles among them. “There is more tradition in our conference than any other in the WPIAL. A lot of winning years and championships tied up in those programs,” he said. “The conference itself is excellent. From top to bottom, it’s been very competitive.”

And, after thumping Hampton, 41-21, the Panthers are the most competitive.

Behind the line play of Drew Miller, Jack Burton, Ohil Elias, Dante Grecco and Jake Slinger, Colin McLinden rolled up 147 yards and two scores while Jack Hansberry completed 9 of 19 passes for 131 yards and two more scores to Dom Cepullio and Chris Pantellis. Hansberry also rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown. Jame DeIulis had the other score.

For the season, McLinden has rushed for 723 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hansberry has 1,322 yards passing and 9 scoring strikes.

“Woodland Hills has always had good athletes and they still have them only one name doesn’t jump out like a Miles Sanders,” Render said. “They have a lot of quickness and balance but we think we have our share of weapons and kids that have some skill.

“We are a work in progress just like everybody else,” Render said, “but I have been particularly pleased with how well our offensive line has been playing. As a group, they have matured and gotten better and for us to be successful against a team like Woodland Hills, that’s a good place to start.”

Performing the fundamentals of the game well will propel USC to victory and a top spot in the post-season playoffs.

“We have to do our thing,” Render said. “Our special teams has been good for the most part. Our defense bends but does not break and our offense needs to continue to play well.”

South Fayette

Offense has been South Fayette’s signature as the Lions (7-0, 9-0) stretched their regular-season winning streak to 56 games after thumping Highlands, 49-14, and clinched a share of the Northwest Nine Conference title. The Lions set out to win the division outright when they travel to Montour (6-1, 7-1) for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 27.

Since being reclassified, the Spartans are as a big a rival for the Lions as any team in the conference.

“Proximity-wise, they are a natural rival,” said Joe Rossi. “It’s the closest school to us (that we play) and our kids know each other. It’s not like USC and Lebo or us when we played Seton LaSalle but its building.

“There are tremendous athletes on both sidelines and some good high school friends so it is going to be a good atmosphere. It’s for the conference championship. It’s all you’d want for a high school game on a Friday night.”

Because Highlands has some fine athletes, the Lions are prepared for the Spartans, who boast two-year starter Kavon Mormon, Brayden Jones and George Padezanin among others.

“Montour features tremendous skill athletes that have the ability to score at any time,” Rossi said. “Kavon can beat you with his legs and arm. Brayden is a bruising tailback who carries players with him when tackled. On defense, they get a great pass ruh from Padezanin. And, they have tremendous cover kids that will challenge our receivers.”

Drew Saxton doesn’t seem to have trouble finding his targets, particularly Mike Trimbur. The two-way starter had five receptions for 107 yards and two scores. Rayquin Glover also had five grabs and Noah Plack added four. Johnny Beck, who rushed for 102 yards and a score, also caught a scoring strike as did Nolan Lutz. Saxton completed 17 of 27 passes for 227 yards and four scores.

Defensively, Beck, Joe Mowod and Ben Coyne led with six tackles.

“Highlands had some good athletes that we prepared for, particularly their wide receiver, and some of our guys on defense, particularly Trimbur, did a good job,” Rossi said. “So I think that and this week will be good preparation for Montour. We want to play well and win. This is a great tune-up game for us as well as them for the weeks ahead.”

Peters Township

The Indians already played their rivalry game and defeated Canon-McMillan, 28-14. They close out the regular season hosting Shaler (0-9) at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27.

While Peters Township (4-2, 6-3) clinched a playoff spot with the win against the Big Macs, the Indians hope to solidfy their positioning when the WPIAL steering committee meets Oct. 30 to determine post-season seeding.

“Shaler is the best 0-9 football team that I have seen,” said T.J. Plack. “So it will be business as usual. To be a good football program we have to remain consistent.”

Not since 2010 have the Indians been so consistent. Seven years ago was the last time the team clinched a playoff spot. And they did so by knocking out their rival the Big Macs, who tumbled to 4-5 overall and ended conference action with a 2-4 record.

“I am just so happy for the young men in our program, that have worked so hard during their high school careers, had the opportunity to reach this accomplishment,” said Plack of the playoff berth. “For the younger players, we would like this achievement to be the norm. Heading into the playoffs is not an easy task, and I believe our players are beginning to understand what it takes to be an accomplished program.”

So beating the Titans is imperative and riding the wave of beating an arch rival is even bigger.

“It is definitely a positive that we have the ability to head into the playoffs after a big rival, conference win,” Plack said. “This win was just another battle that our players came through victorious, and we would like to keep that going. So our goal (against Shaler) is really easy. Win,” Plack said. “We look to get better each and every week, and this is not different. After each game, there are always skills/concepts that we feel we need to improve, and this week is not any different.”

Angelo Quarture has continued to show improvement over the 2017 campaign. A tight end and defensive end, he had three receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns against the Big Macs.

“Angelo is one of the best, most relentless, athletic, football player that I have ever been around,” Plack said. “He has done such a tremendous job for us defensively, that we always looked to give him a break on offense. He would be included in offensive sets to only block. However, Angelo made a couple plays for us and we realized we have to keep him in the game and look to get him the ball. He has single-handenly changed our offense.”

By the same token, Jake Cortes changed the complexion of the offense against the Big Macs. He threw for 347 yards and the two scores to Quarture. Ryan Magiske scored PT’s other touchdowns on runs of 8 and 5 yards.

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