Area football teams take their shows on the road this week
Chris Pantelis eludes a tackler as he heads for the end zone during Upper St. Clair’s 16-14 victory against Peters Township earlier this year.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Josh Casilli breaks downfield after making a reception. He scored a 57-yard touchdown but that was not enough as Peters Township dropped a 16-14 decision to Upper St. Clair. The Indians look to rebound from the defeat when they host Woodland Hills at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
David Pantelis makes his move after picking off a pass. During Upper St. Clair’ 16-14 win against Peters Township, the sophomore had two interceptions as well as a 21-yard touchdown reception. He looks to help the Panthers win their third game this season when they travel to Baldwin for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 7 in Allegheny Eight Conference action.
After competing in the familiar confines of their home stadiums for the first two weeks of the season, Almanac football teams take their show on the road this week. Playing the role of visitors, however, presents special challenges, particularly for those clubs traveling significant distances to compete.
“Long road trips require mental discipline,” said Mike Melnyk. His Blue Devils of Mt. Lebanon will journey to Butler for their Quad County clash at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.
Recalling last year’s 2-hour-plus bus ride to Latrobe, Dan Knause has compensated for this Friday’s journey to Armstrong. The school is the byproduct of a merger between rivals Kittanning and Ford City. This year, the Colts will leave early enough to enjoy a team meal together. They will stop somewhere within 10 minutes of the River Hawks’ stadium.
“Travel can be an obstacle, Knause noted, “but we are hoping getting there earlier will allow us to focus on our game plan.”
Part of any away team’s game plan is dealing with a hostile crowd. South Fayette and Bethel Park will face “rabid” fans during their sojourns to New Castle and West Allegheny respectively for their conference confrontations at 7 p.m. Sept. 7.
“We are used to the travel,” said SF coach Joe Rossi. “We have a mature team that understands the importance of playing (at New Castle). It’s been one of our most exciting games of the year. Great atmosphere. Great tradition. It’s a good challenge playing on the road, facing a hostile environment and a great program.”
Acknowledging he preferred traveling to West-A better than other places they have had to go to in the past like Hempfield, Norwin and Altoona, BP skipper Jeff Metheny agreed with Rossi’s assessments.
“It’s tough to play on the road against teams whose communities are really excited about their teams and their football. We haven’t built a rivalry in football yet with West-A but we know their players and their coaches. They are one of the top teams in our league. So it’s a big game. They will be up for us and that place will be rocking.”
Because both teams are 1-0 in Allegheny Eight Conference action, the game between BP and West-A may be the one to attend as it contains interesting elements within it being a contest with playoff, not to mention championship, implication.
Bethel Park at West Allegheny
The Hawks are facing their second vaunted program in two weeks. On Aug. 31, they eased past Woodland Hills, 41-20, in preparation for the Indians, who are led by legendary coach Bob Palko. He has guided West-A to eight WPIAL titles, the most of any coach in the history of the league. Palko is in his final season as head coach.
“No question, Bob is a great football coach,” said Metheny, who himself won his 200th game with the victory against the Wolverines. “Bob stands for all that’s good about Western Pennsylvania and football. Integrity, grit, teamwork,” Metheny continued. “He’s as good as you can get. Under his leadership, they have come a long way. It is always tough to go up against him and his teams.”
Though they lost plenty from last year’s conference championship club, BP appears to be a tough opponent this autumn for Allegheny Eight Conference squads, including West-A because of Jehvonn Lewis and his line of protectors-Brandon Cole, Mike Conaboy, Nathan Currie, Jake Dowell, Alex Dudowski, Brandon Greco, Corey Hardinger and Ben Hultz. Behind his offensive line, Lewis rambled for 328 yards and three touchdowns of 28, 39 and 77 yards.
“Those guys up front did an exceptional job. They blocked well and Jehvonn played very well. He has grown up and matured. He’s conditioned himself,” Metheny continued. “We expect big things from him. If we are going to win, he’s got to take control when he has the ball.”
When Lewis wasn’t running the show against the Wolverines, Anthony Chiccitt, John Gummo and Luke Surunis took control of the action. Chiccitt added an 8-yard score. Gummo kicked the extra points and connected on a 20-yard field goal. Luke Surunis rushed for a 9-yard touchdown and added a two-point conversion. BP also registered two points on a safety.
“When you beat Woodland Hills, you beat a good program and we face another this week but we have to be prepared. We can’t fumble the ball and we can’t have the penalties we had against Woodland Hills if we expect to beat West-A. They are too good a team and they are too well-coached.
“It’s going to be a good game,” Metheny concluded.
As mentioned fans will have to travel a bit to see the good games this week involving teams from the South Hills. Here is a look at the other top contests along with round-ups of last week’s action.
Chartiers Valley at Armstrong
After a 41-7 loss to West Allegheny, it was back to the classroom for Chartiers Valley (1-1) as it prepared for its 7 p.m. non-conference clash at Armstrong (2-0). The lone bright spot in the lopsided loss was a 22-yard TD run by Griffin Beattie and the successful PAT by Adam Weiss.
“We made too many mistakes to compete with West-A,” explained CV skipper Dan Knause. “We made huge mistakes on special teams that gave them two series inside the 5-yard line. You can’t win games with kids like that all week.
“We also lost the battle at the line of scrimmage. That is a recipe for a long night, Knause continued. We played a sloppy game and it showed on the scoreboard.
“So, we need to learn from our mistakes and move forward. I know our guys will learn and get better from this experience. There is nothing else we can do but get back to work.”
The Colts will be working hard to offset the River Hawks’ advantage in size as well as stop Isaac Ridinger and Isaiah Price. In a 29-15 win over Hampton in the Northern Conference opener, Riddenger rushed for 221 yards and Price galloped for 134 more and three touchdowns. He also caught a scoring strike from Jalen Price.
“Armstrong is big up front and complimented by a variety of good skill players,” Knause said. “We have to play mistake-free football and minimize our penalties. We have to have a physical week of practice to be ready for this game.”
South Fayette at New Castle
Both teams started conference action on positive notes. While the Lions dispatched Beaver, 35-7, the ‘Canes edged Montour, 17-11.
Jamie Diven tossed five scoring strikes to five different players: Peyton Tinney (35 yards), Nolan Lutz (16), Charley Rossi (16), Doug Brandy (22) and Mike Trimbur (17).
Diven finished with 10 completions on 13 attempts for 180 yards. Trimbur proved his top target, hauling in four passes for 47 yards.
The ‘Canes are led by four-year starter and team captain Devin Sams on defense along with all-conference linebacker Matt Senchak. Josh Thomason, who had 1,180 yards and 11 scores last season, is the team’s top offensive threat at running back.
“New Castle has tremendous athletes. We played against two of them in the past and they are now playing in the Big Ten,” Joe Rossi noted of the Hooker brothers, Marcus and Malik.
“We have to make sure we tackle well. Bring those guys down. Not give up the home run or make too many turnovers,” Rossi said. “If we do that, we have a good chance of winning.”
Mt. Lebanon at Butler
After dispatching Canon-McMillan, 43-29, Mt. Lebanon (1-1, 1-0) visits Butler. The Golden Tornado succumbed to Baldwin, 58-13, last week.
“Butler is big up front and is working to improve after a slow start,” Melnyk said. “Their defensive front appears to be the strength of their team.”
Against the Big Macs, Seth Morgan was one of Lebo’s strengths. The senior completed 25 of 40 passes for 333 yards for four scores. He also rushed for a 47-yard touchdown.
Lucas DeCaro grabbed eight of those aerials for 127 yards. Sam LaSota hauled in two scoring strikes of 8 and 66 yards. Tim Walters (41 yards) and Drew Vaughn (20) also caught TD passes. Vaughn also rushed for 101 yards, 74 coming on a TD scamper.
Casey Sorsdal kicked the extra points as well as a 25-yard field goal.
Defensively, Tommy McClain recorded three sacks and three tackles for loss. “He made several huge plays,” Melnyk noted.
For the Big Macs, John Quinque completed 15 of 29 passes for 217 yards and two TDs-8 yards to Blake Joseph and 13 yards to Littahari Alred. Drew Engel grabbed eight of those passes for 117 yards while Joshua O’Hare rushed for 134 yards and two scores measuring 29 and 12 yards. Josh Beyers kicked the extra points and David Cooper rushed for a 2-point conversion.
Despite some glitches, (Lebo was tied, 7-7, at halftime with the Big Macs), Melnyk was pleased with his team’s preparation and performance but noted the need for continued improvement.
“We put in a good week of work and it showed,” Melnyk said. “I was pleased with our tempo and improvement in several areas on offense and defense. We still have to improve. We need to correct our mistakes and take care of our business, not only for this week, but for the weeks to come.”
Woodland Hills at Peters Twp.
Peters Township (1-1, 0-1) looks to rebound from a disappointing loss, 16-14, to Upper St. Clair (2-0) when the Indians host Woodland Hills at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.
“We played our hearts out,” said T.J. Plack. “But we are going to get better. We are going to go 1-0 next week. That’s all we can do.”
Logan Pfeuffer did all he could do to rally the Indians from a 16-0 deficit when he tossed two scoring strikes of 57 and 47 yards to Josh Casilli at the 3:37 mark in the third quarter and Jackson McCloskey with 1:22 to play.
Pfeuffer completed 10 of 22 passes for 158 yards. Casilli caught four of those aerials for 75 yards. Ryan Magiske led all rushers with 35 yards on 10 carries. Adrian Williams had 26 yards on nine rushes and 15 yards on one reception. Brian Bruzdewicz kicked the extra points.
PT won the statistical battle, outgaining the Panthers, 209-182, on offense, but lost the special teams and turnover wars. USC picked off three PT passes, including a pair by David Pantelis in the first half. The Indians also committed 13 penalties for 135 yards.
“They are a very good team,” conceded Plack of USC. “But, we did turn the ball over and we did have some big penalties, especially in the first half, and we really couldn’t get things going.
“I thought our kids responded phenomenally in the second half, though,” Plack continued. “They are the type of kids that would do that. We came up a couple of points short.”