Week Zero features interesting high school football matchups
Eleanor Bailey/THE Almanac
Chartiers Valley coaches watch intently as Socrates Boulis attempts to bring down a South Fayette running back at scrimmage.
BEleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Connor Barrett (No. 8) of Chartiers Valley breaks a tackle during a scrimmage against South Fayette.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette head coach Joe Rossi stresses his point to his defense during a scrimmage against Chartiers Valley. The Lions will travel to Upper St. Clair on Aug. 24 to kick off the 2018 football season.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Chartiers Valley’s Connor Barrett makes a one-handed touchdown grab during scrimmage action against South Fayette.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Chartiers Valley quarterbak Griffin Beattie (No. 2) attempts to escape the grasp of a South Fayette defender during last week’s scrimmage.
For Chartiers Valley, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Seton-La Salle, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair training camp comes to a close Thursday and competition commences as several local teams raise the curtain on the 2018 high school football season Aug. 24 with Week Zero action.
While each of the area teams are previewed in a special supplemented inserted in The Almanac, here is a preview of Friday’s games.
South Fayette at USC
Normally, Jim Render is “suspicious” of teams that want to play Upper St. Clair but the legendary football coach welcomes the opportunity to host South Fayette.
He and his fellow sideline foe and rival coach, Joe Rossi, are good friends. Rossi’s father was Render’s tailor and their families traveled together to Italy in 2000.
“I’m usually leery when someone calls and proposes a game against us because they think they can beat us,” said Render, who owns two state titles, a handful of WPIAL championships and is two victories shy of 400 career wins. “But, I have known Joe for a long time. This year, we are playing all the neighbors. That’s a first.”
Whether the confrontation reaches the excitement, drama and atmosphere of a playoff contest, Render doesn’t know but he promises that he and his players are excited about the opener.
For the Panthers, they have an opportunity to snap the Lions’ regular-season 57-game winning streak. Under Rossi, the Lions have also won back-to-back PIAA titles as well as several WPIAL championships. They boast a Division I recruit in Tom Elia (Richmond) and a plethora of skill players beginning with wide out Mike Trimbur (21 receptions for 430 yards), tailbacks Drew Franklin and Joe Mowod, not to mention quarterback Jamie Diven, a transfer from West Allegheny.
“They have got some good skill kids, a veteran linemen and a quarterback,” Render said. “They have veterans that have played in the playoffs for several years. Plus, they are always well coached. So a lot concerns me about them.”
USC poses its own problems for the Lions. The Panthers boast four-year starter Colin McLinden, a standout linebacker who also rushed for 859 yards and 11 scores last season. They have a vaunted veteran on the line in Jake Slinger. Anthony Orsini as well as the Pantellis brothers, Chris and David, looked good in camp. Plus a couple of young linemen such as Roman Murgi and Brian McCombs have stepped up, particularly in practice as well as last weekend’s match against Altoona.
Of the “typical” scrimmage, Render said there were “positive things he liked” and several other items that need to be “corrected.”
“At times, we held our composure pretty well,” he said. “We had some kids turn in big-time performances but on defense, we didn’t always fill the gaps where we were assigned to be.”
The Panthers need to continue to improve if they plan on beating the Lions, says Render.
“We can’t take a step backward and beat them. We have to match them the best we can.”
Gateway at Lebo
At Lebo, it will be more playoff atmosphere than non-conference game when the Blue Devils host Gateway at 7:30 p.m.
The Gators are the defending WPIAL Class 5A champions. They finished 14-2 overall after losing to Archbishop Wood, 49-14, in last year’s PIAA title game in Hershey.
The Blue Devils compete at the Class 6A level in the newly organized Quad County Conference with eight of the biggest schools in the WPIAL-Butler, Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Hempfield, North Allegheny, Norwin, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley.
“When we scheduled Gateway, we knew what we were getting,” said Mike Melnyk, who enters his seventh season as head coach at Lebo. “We have an extremely tough league and playing a quality team will only make us better in the future. Finding out where your blemishes are early is never a bad thing.”
The Gators certainly have the weapons to expose any team’s flaws. Nine starters return on defense. Additionally, they have plenty of playmakers on offense.
For starters, there are seniors Courtney Jackson and Jeremiah Josephs. A Syracuse recruit, Jackson caught 96 passes for 1,916 yards and scored 27 touchdowns last season. A Miami (Ohio) recruit, Josephs had 53 receptions for 582 yards.
Then there is Derrick Davis. The sophomore tailback already has scholarship offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Pitt and Penn State.
Even Brendan Majocha has big-play capabilities. The senior looks to fill the quarterback shoes as Brady Walker has graduated. Last year’s state player of the year at the Class 5A level, Walker ranked as the WPIAL’s top passer with 4,657 yards and 45 touchdowns.
“They are a complete team,” Melnyk mentioned. “They look very fast and physical.”
In their only scrimmage of the season, the Gators demonstrated that. Against Belle Vernon, they had eight to 10 plays that gained over 50 yards. Several went for touchdowns.
“They are always a step away from breaking one,” Melnyk added.
This fall, Seth Morgan is in sole control of the offense. Last year he shared the quarterback duties with James Stocker. Yet, Morgan completed 90 of 148 aerials for 1,202 yards and 11 TDs. Morgan’s top returning target is Lucas DeCaro, who caught 43 passes for 750 yards last fall.
Other key contributors on both sides of the ball include veterans Mason Ventrone and Mike Palmer as well as a bevy of experienced, mobile linemen headlined by Nathan Hughes, J.B. Nelson and Nate Hoaglund.
Generally, Melnyk was pleased with the performances of the Blue Devils in their scrimmage against West Allegheny.
“We played physical and made a few plays, but that won’t be enough this week,” he cautioned. “We have a bunch of things to correct.”
Ringgold at CV
In facing one of the coaching legends in the WPIAL, Chartiers Valley prepared for its Week Zero against Mike Zmijanac’s Ringgold Rams by scrimmaging Joe Rossi’s Lions of South Fayette.
“Good look to prepare us for Week Zero,” CV skipper Dan Knause said. “Facing a program like South Fayette demands that you are prepared.”
If they play like they scrimmaged, the Colts could be prepared to face Zmijaac, who posted a 237-36 record with six WPIAL titles and one PIAA crown in 21 seasons at Aliquippa before taking the Ringgold job this summer.
“It was a competitive physical scrimmage by both teams,” Knause said of the action on Aug. 18. “We did some good things
“Obviously Coach Z. is a legend and will have his team prepared to play,” Knause added. “Ultimately we have to focus on the details to beat Ringgold. We will have to play physical on both fronts, be sound in special teams and win the turnover battle.”
As always the first game of the season, regardless of opponent, is preparation for conference action. And, the Colts, who averaged 320 yards per game on offense last season but also managed three turnovers an outing, compete in the Allegheny Eight Conference with the likes of West Allegheny, Upper St. Clair and Woodland Hills not to mention Bethel Park, Baldwin and Peters Township, arrivals from Class 6A.
“We still need to improve in a lot of areas as we prepare to play in one of the best conferences in the state of Pennsylvania,” Knause stressed. “We have to focus on the process of getting better on a daily basis.”
W. Toronto vs. Peters
Improvement is always the concern of T.J. Plack and the Peters Township field general expects a better team than the one that scrimmaged Seneca Valley to step on the field at 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Wolverina in Turtle Creek. The Indians face West Toronto Prep at 5 p.m. Aug. 24 in the Western PA vs. Everyone Showcase Tournament. However, Plack expects nothing less than a similar effort.
“I was encouraged that we were able to match the physicality of a big, strong football team,” Plack said. “This team comes out to compete. We will not show up to practice or play a game, but rather show up to compete.”
Against a team that has been hard to scout because of its locality, the Indians are focused on their owns assets and strengths. They are a united squad that features an experienced line with veterans Ian Chaudhari, Shane O’Connell, Rob Corrado, Logan Clark and Grant Nelson to go along with all-conference running backs Adrian Williams and Ryan Magiske, not to mention standout linebacker Corban Hondru and talented wide outs Josh Casilli, Gabe Maloni and Aidan McCall.
“We have tried to learn everything we can. We have done a lot of Twitter and YouTube research on West Toronto Preps most recent recruits,” Plack said. “We have a general idea of things we will see, but will look to control what we can on our side. We will make sure our players understand exactly what we want from them.”
During their scrimmage on Aug. 18, the Indians were able to get a “real” feel for what is expected of them, playing a live quarter of football. That prepared the players for substitutions, special teams, sudden changes and situations.
In PT’s scrimmage, Plack also noted that the Indians were able to make some big time plays in key situations and open field tackles. Plus, they trusted the guy next to them, noting the group’s intangible asset, camaraderie.
“These players have created true friendships. They enjoy being around each other,” Plack said. “They thoroughly play for each other, and truly do not care who gets the credit.”
Whether the Indians are credited with a victory or not, they will follow up the action with their conference opener on Aug. 31 at Upper St. Clair.
“With a win, comes momentum. With a loss, comes reflection and regrouping. In either case,” Plack said, “we will learn and continue to improve.”
SLS at KO
This battle between schools that are only separated by McNeilly Road will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at Dormont Stadium.
An interesting sidelight to the contest is the fact that Greg Perry coached at Seton-La Salle before taking the position at Keystone Oaks and current Rebels’ skipper, Rob Carter, a USC graduate, honed his skills under Perry.