5 things to watch in WPIAL football Week 1: Teams roll with covid cancellations

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, September 2, 2021 | 8:52 PM

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If high school football teams were hoping covid shutdowns were left behind in 2020, this week shows they’re not gone yet.

In all, four Week 1 matchups were canceled. Scheduled games between Riverview and Chartiers-Houston, Beaver and Central Valley, Hopewell and Blackhawk, Butler and Erie High, and Westinghouse and Kirtland (Ohio) have been called off, in whole or in part, due to covid cases.

“I’m not surprised by it,” Central Valley athletic director Sam Cercone said of the cancellations. “Technically, I think it could have been worse because everybody’s opened up, which is the right thing to do. Kids need to be in school. But then with that, you have more chances (of exposure), I guess.”

Yet, after experiencing so many shutdowns last fall, coaches, players and school administrators have learned to be nimble in dealing with them. Blackhawk and Central Valley are a good example. The Beaver County teams are scheduled to play in Week 3. When both were left without an opponent this week, they scheduled a Week 1 matchup as well.

Central Valley will host Blackhawk at 7 p.m. Friday at Sarge Alberts Stadium. They may play twice in three weeks or make other arrangements before Sept. 17.

“I think the one thing we learned from this pandemic is don’t take the future for granted,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said, “because everybody realized that plug could be pulled at any time.”

For a time this week, the Warriors worried they’d be sitting idle Friday night.

“Obviously, 24 hours ago it wasn’t looking good,” Lyons said. “We found a couple of teams that were open but they flat out didn’t want to play us, for whatever reason. Luckily and thankfully, Blackhawk stepped up.”

Pa. vs. Ohio Showdown

A star-studded high school team from Columbus, Ohio, packed with future Division I recruits, is facing a WPIAL opponent this week. No, it’s not Bishop Sycamore.

Pickerington Central, which reached the Ohio state finals three of the past four seasons, will host North Allegheny at 7 p.m. Friday. The Ohio power was OHSAA Division I champion in 2017 and ’19 and was runner-up in 2020.

Nicknamed the Tigers, Pickerington (2-0) is ranked fourth in state rankings compiled by Cleveland.com.

“We were trying to get games in Ohio, West Virginia, New York or the eastern part of the state,” said NA coach Art Walker, whose team asked the WPIAL for open dates in Weeks 1 and 2. “It puts your guys in a position where we get to evaluate them. We’ll see where we’re at and where we need to improve.”

Pickerington’s biggest star is junior Alex Styles, a five-star recruit who’s ranked nationally by Rivals as the sixth-best prospect in the 2023 class. The 6-foot-5, 216-pound safety has Penn State, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame and Ohio State among his 18 offers.

Yet, he’s not the only player on the roster with a list of college options. There are three linemen in Pickerington’s senior class alone already committed to FBS schools: Cincinnati recruits Tyler Gillison (6-4, 245) and C.J. Doggette (6-2, 285) and Rutgers recruit Kwabena Asamoah (6-4, 300).

“There’s size and speed,” Walker said. “Their offensive line is gigantic. Their defensive line is big. Their defense is maybe the longest base defense we’ve faced in I couldn’t tell you how long.”

In Week 2, North Allegheny will host Mentor, another successful Ohio team.

Unofficial homecoming

It’s barely September, but Week 1 includes one unofficial homecoming game.

When Seneca Valley visits Pine-Richland at 7:30 p.m. Friday, a number of coaches will be standing on the opposite sideline from a year ago.

First, new Pine-Richland head coach Steve Campos was an offensive assistant at Seneca Valley for the past nine years. He was hired in June to lead the Rams after predecessor Eric Kasperowicz was ousted. When Kasperowicz left the school, so did his entire coaching staff.

Some of those assistants are now at Seneca Valley, including offensive coordinator Ryan Lehmeier. With Lehmeier running the offense, Pine-Richland went 48-5 in four seasons with three WPIAL titles and two state championships. Offensive line coach Tim Sasson also traded Pine-Richland green for Seneca Valley blue.

History lesson

The last time Penn Hills defeated Central Catholic, the Indians had a junior defensive lineman named Aaron Donald, and he returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown. That was Oct. 2, 2009, and Penn Hills won 30-7 at Carnegie Mellon.

The teams have met six times since, most recently in 2017, and Central Catholic has won them all. They’ll meet again Friday night at Dormont Stadium.

Central Catholic is 0-1 after a Week Zero loss to Philadelphia power Imhotep Charter. Penn Hills is making its season debut.

Friday night lights?

There are few Western Pennsylvania traditions better than football on Friday night, but Woodland Hills hasn’t had that yet this fall. The Wolverines will play on a Saturday for the second week in a row when they visit McKeesport at noon. The Tigers are holding their homecoming in Week 1.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.