Chartiers Valley preparing for WPIAL playoff run
Chartiers Valley will not alter its philosophy in preparation for their first-round WPIAL playoff battle Oct. 30.
“Our program’s motto is ‘Make Today Count,'” CV head coach Dan Knause said. “We can’t talk about championships because we have to attack each day as a priority.”
The Colts relied upon that attitude to compile their first winning season since their players were between the ages of 4-6. CV’s 54-7 shellacking of Beaver coupled with Aliquippa’s 39-14 win over Montour propelled the Colts into the playoffs for the first time in five years.
The Colts were 3-1 in the Parkway Conference and 5-1 overall ahead of their regular-season finale against New Castle.
While both teams lost to Aliquippa, the Colts were able to knock off Montour in conference and add another critical non-conference victory over perennial power South Fayette.
“Our wins help prepare you for the playoff mindset,” said Knause.
Knause said facing New Castle readied his players because of the Hurricanes’ productive offense, which features a good mix of skill players and physical linemen. Plus, like all playoff teams, New Castle was well-coached.
“That is dangerous, particularly if we are not disciplined on both sides of the ball,” he said.
Anthony Mackey has dominated for the Colts throughout the 2020 season.
In CV’s 54-7 win over Beaver, Mackey completed 9 of 11 passes for 191 yards and threw a three-yard scoring strike to Jordan Demus. Mackey also rushed for two scores measuring five and three yards.
The Colts also rolled up rushing scores from Demus (13 yards), Sam Pocci (21 yards), Anthony Collura (15 yards), Gavin Owens (one yard) and Chris Beatty (eight yards). Jacob Salsberry kicked five extra points.
The Colts are set to look inward as they prepare for the grind of a WPIAL playoff run.
Knause said that certainly includes the loss to Aliquippa.
“When we reflected on that game, we focus on our self-inflicted mistakes,” he said. “Our players know they can compete with athletic teams.
“We always focus on ourselves,” he added. “So we need to be detail-oriented and work on fundamentals.”
Mt. Lebanon’s battle at Seneca Valley on Oct. 23 had playoff and seeding implications.
A win assured the Blue Devils the No. 2 seed and a possible rematch, hosting Central Catholic, in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs. Lebo beat the Vikings, 37-30, on Oct. 9.
However, a loss to the Raiders coupled with a Canon-McMillan win against Norwin would leave the Blue Devils out of the playoffs altogether due to a tiebreaker. Lebo lost to C-M, 24-17, on Sept. 18.
The Blue Devils previously trounced Norwin, 48-11.
In that win, Joey Daniels tossed two TD passes to Brendan Anderson as well as single strikes to Eli Heidenreich and Kade Capristo.
Alex Tecza (68 yards), Maurice Plummer (4 yards) and Cortland Peer (1 yard) all rushed for scores.