5 things we learned in Week 3 of H.S. football: Bishop Canevin joins Class A conversation

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 18, 2021 | 9:13 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Rebuilding a football program traditionally takes playbooks and practice, but Bishop Canevin coach Rich Johnson added tree pruners and paint brushes to his list.

He spent time sprucing up the practice field in his two years there.

“When everyone was in quarantine, me and my staff were down at the field trimming trees and bushes,” said Johnson, who also repainted a shed. “We feel like once you go down to the field, you’ve got to feel pride. If you don’t feel the pride, it doesn’t work.”

Now in Year 2, the Crusaders and their coaching staff are proud for reasons beyond their handyman skills.

Bishop Canevin is 4-0 for the first time since 2012 after Friday’s 13-10 conference win at Springdale. Longtime coach Bob Jacoby was in his final season the last time the Crusaders won their first four games.

Quarterback Jason Cross threw touchdowns to A’Zjaun Marshall and Xavier Nelson in Friday’s win. That victory was part of a reshuffling of the top-ranked teams in WPIAL Class A.

No. 1 Rochester, No. 2 California and No. 3 Springdale all lost.

As a result, Clairton returns to the top spot in the TribLive HSSN rankings and Bishop Canevin enters at No. 3.

“This was the win that we needed to build upon,” Johnson said. “Today we became a program.”

Bishop Canevin has hired four head coaches since Jacoby retired after the 2012 season, including a pair that lasted only one year apiece. Johnson, a first-time varsity head coach, says he’s trying to build a foundation with staying power.

In his first year at Canevin, the Crusaders went 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference. In the three years prior, the team finished 7-23 including a 1-9 season in 2019.

“Brick by brick,” is the team’s new motto.

“You can’t hear outside noise when you’re inside the construction zone,” said Johnson, sharing his analogy for ignoring any lingering doubters.

Familiar look to 6A

Can the divide between the haves and have-nots in WPIAL Class 6A be narrowed this fall?

So far, it doesn’t seem to be.

After one week of conference play, Mt. Lebanon, Central Catholic, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley are 1-0, with Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Norwin and Baldwin all 0-1. And it’s not only who won and who lost Friday night, but how they won. The combined score of the four games was 197-21.

The Week 3 schedule matched the top four teams from last year’s standings against the bottom four. The closest outcome was a 30-point loss by Canon-McMillan to Mt. Lebanon. The other scores were 61-14, 49-0 and 50-0.

The WPIAL’s largest classification has the fewest teams with only eight. However, five of the eight will qualify for the playoffs this season, so there are key games ahead.

Milestone win for Lions

South Fayette celebrated the 500th win in team history Friday when the Lions defeated Chartiers Valley, 28-14. Coincidentally, it came against Lions coach Joe Rossi’s alma mater.

Rossi is a 1993 Chartiers Valley graduate and his former high school coach, Gus Marquis, was on hand Friday to watch. CV coach Dan Knause, a 1996 graduate, also played for Marquis.

South Fayette’s all-time record stands at 500-379-39.

Not the result we wanted. Great Hs game and atmosphere. Congrats @rossisfcoach and @sflionssports Special moment pregame with our head coach from HS. The relationships this game builds is so special. #getbetter pic.twitter.com/jLw3Nta8uL

— Coach Knause (@DKnause5) September 18, 2021

South Hills strength

This had the makings of a down year for the Allegheny Six since last year’s top teams were all hit hard by graduation.

Well, maybe not.

In fact, undefeated Moon (4-0) is the top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 5A while West Allegheny (3-0), Peters Township (3-1) and South Fayette (3-1) all have three wins.

The conference showed its strength Friday when Peters Township defeated Penn-Trafford, 28-14; Moon topped North Hills, 38-7; and West Allegheny beat Shaler, 24-0.

All were nonconference wins over 5A opponents.

Turning the page

Has any team turned the page on 2020 faster than Steel Valley? The Ironmen are 3-0 with solid nonconference wins over Clairton, 14-12; East Allegheny, 34-0; and Keystone Oaks, 32-13.

Friday’s win included a 285-yard, five-touchdown rushing performance by running back Nijhay Burt. The senior scored on runs of 6, 2, 65, 6 and 70 yards.

Steel Valley went 1-5 last season. The team played only three conference games last fall because of cancellations and lost all three.

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.