5 things we learned in Week 2 of high school football

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 19, 2020 | 8:50 PM

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With Friday night’s win over Mt. Lebanon, a team Canon-McMillan hadn’t defeated in 12 years, the Big Macs bolstered their playoff chances.

Well, maybe.

At this point, just assuming there is a postseason is risky, but nobody can describe with certainty what the WPIAL playoff picture for Class 6A might look like. That’s because four games already are postponed in the largest classification with no clear way to reschedule.

The latest was Baldwin at North Allegheny on Friday.

If the regular season finishes without further interruption, Baldwin would be missing three conference games and North Allegheny two. Canon-McMillan, Mt. Lebanon and Seneca Valley missed one apiece.

How will the WPIAL choose playoff teams from an unbalanced schedule? The league hasn’t said.

“I am wondering what’s going to happen with some of the games that have been canceled and how they’re going to work that in,” Canon-McMillan coach Mike Evans said. “From what I understand, they’re going to look at the end of the season and try to figure it all out. That’s going to be a mess. But as coaches, you try not to worry about these things.”

Canon-McMillan defeated Mt. Lebanon, 24-17, for the first time since 2008. The Big Macs’ celebration is short-lived because Baldwin already canceled their game for next week.

There is no easy way to reschedule Class 6A games because the WPIAL has eight teams, and the regular season in seven weeks long. That means there are no open weeks or nonconference games to replace.

The WPIAL board in August decided games canceled over covid-19 concerns will be recorded as “no contest” rather than a forfeit. But in doing so, that will create uneven standings when the regular season ends.

The football committee will meet Oct. 6 to determine how playoff qualifiers are chosen.

“We’ve taken a wait-look-and-see attitude toward the season,” committee chairman Randy Rovesti said. “By that time, we’ll have to have something worked out.”

Class 6A had a six-team bracket in the past two seasons, but that’s expected to be reduced to four this fall.

Entering the season, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman stressed that schools shouldn’t be focused on the playoffs but rather on player safety. But now, with so much uncertainty, some teams can’t help but wonder.

QB tops 200 yards, twice

Who is the most underrated player in the WPIAL?

Keystone Oaks coach Greg Perry says without a doubt that’s Logan Shrubb, his dual-threat quarterback. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior had another night that’s worthy of attention.

Shrubb topped 200 yards rushing (231) and passing (226) Friday as Keystone Oaks defeated Steel Valley, 44-36. It’s not the first time he has had 200 and 200.

“He’s left under the radar because he doesn’t have offers,” Perry said. “All of the prognosticators talk about all of these other guys because they’re going to the Big Ten and the ACC. … He’s a freak athlete. He’s strong. He’s a good Friday night player, I’ll tell you that.”

The Golden Eagles improved to 2-0 and are ranked fourth in WPIAL Class 3A.

For his career, he has thrown for 4,838 yards and rushed for 2,540.

Sto-Rox bounces back

Talk about an emotional swing. In Week 1, eligibility issues forced Sto-Rox to forfeit their opener hours before kickoff. In Week 2, the Vikings knocked off the WPIAL Class 2A champion from a season ago.

Sto-Rox defeated Avonworth, 28-13.

“Kids really responded in the right way on the field and off,” Sto-Rox coach LaRoi Johnson said. “After covid and everything, there were a bunch of 15- and 16-year-olds out there just happy to play football.”

Good night for kickers

Two of the biggest victories were decided on winning field goals by Peters Township’s Andrew Massucci and Chartiers Valley’s Jacob Salsberry.

Massucci provided the final points in a 24-21 victory over Penn-Trafford on a 35-yard field goal with 4:39 left.

Salsberry faced added drama. Trailing by one point, he converted a 22-yarder with 17 seconds left to defeat South Fayette, 9-7.

Freedom moves on

Four days after coach Greg Toney resigned under unclear circumstances, Freedom celebrated a 21-0 victory over Riverside. Athletic director John Rosa was expected to lead the team for the remainder of the season.

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.