Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 2

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, September 17, 2020 | 5:43 PM

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Class 6A

No. 1 Central Catholic (1-0, 1-0) vs. Norwin (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Norwin Knights Stadium, North Huntingdon

Central Catholic is the top-ranked team in the WPIAL for a reason. Norwin had too many mistakes (penalties and turnovers) cost them against Hempfield. … Central Catholic quarterback Branndon Pezzelle tossed four touchdown passes, two to Eric Benson, against Canon-McMillan. … Norwin, which had trouble running the ball in 2019, rushed for 161 yards against Hempfield. Junior Dom Barca rushed nine times for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Seneca Valley (0-0, 0-0) vs. Hempfield (1-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Spartan Stadium, Hempfield

Seneca Valley hasn’t scrimmaged or played a game so far this season because of covid-19 concerns. Hempfield took advantage of Norwin mistakes to pull out a 28-14 win. … Bruising 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior running back Ethan West returns for the Raiders, who have six offensive and seven defensive starters returning from a 4-6 season. … Hempfield welcomed back senior Christian Zilli, who quarterbacked the Spartans to a victory. Zilli scored one touchdown and threw for another. He rushed for 83 yards and passed for 135 yards. Senior Mario Perkins scored twice in the fourth quarter to clinch the win.

Class 5A nonconference

Franklin Regional (0-1, 0-1) vs. Fox Chapel (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Fox Chapel Stadium, Fox Chapel

Both teams are coming off big losses to two of the top teams in Class 5A – Franklin Regional fell 41-7 to Gateway and Fox Chapel dropped a 53-7 decision to Pine-Richland. Pass defense was not good for either team as each gave up five touchdown passes. … Franklin Regional got a touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Brncic to Jeff Downs.

Class 4A Big eight

West Mifflin (0-1, 0-1) at No. 4 Belle Vernon (1-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon

Belle Vernon could not have asked for a better start to the season as the Leopards used a sound rushing attack, led by junior quarterback Devin Whitlock, and a hard-hitting defense to blank No. 2 McKeesport, 20-0. Whitlock ran for 239 yards on 18 carries in his debut as the starting quarterback, and scored on a 73-yard run. The defense was powered by middle linebackers Cole Weightman and Jack Bryer, who combined for 30 tackles. … West Mifflin struggled to move the ball and could not slow down mighty Thomas Jefferson in its opener, falling 52-0. Pitt recruit Nahki Johnson (6-3, 235) is one to watch at defense end. The Titans went 0-11 last year.

Class 4A greater allegheny

Knoch (0-1, 0-1) vs. Greensburg Salem (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Offutt Field, Greensburg

These teams haven’t meet since 2015 when both were in the Greater Allegheny Conference. Greensburg Salem has spent the past four seasons in the Big Eight. The Golden Lions need one victory to reach historic 700. Both teams dropped their conference openers, Knoch to Highlands, 39-7, and Greensburg Salem to Plum, 36-13. … Greensburg Salem running back Alex Briggs, who rushed for 621 yards as a junior, scored a touchdown and quarterback Hayden Teska tossed a 50-yard score to Cody Rubrecht.

Class 3A allegheny

Derry (0-1, 0-1) at Deer Lakes (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Lancers Stadium, West Deer Township

Both the Trojans and Lancers are seeking their first win of the season. Derry hopes to bounce back from last Friday’s 55-7 loss to Class 3A No. 2 North Catholic, while Deer Lakes looks to get on track after a 29-7 setback to rival Freeport. … Derry is under the tutelage of first-year coach and Trojans alum Vince Skillings, who played at Ohio State and was a 1981 NFL draft pick. Nick Detore threw 48 yards to Hunter Wack for Derry’s lone score against North Catholic. … Derry scored a 42-0 win over Deer Lakes last year and won 37-0 in 2018.

Interstate

Southmoreland (0-1, 0-1) at South Allegheny (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Glassport Memorial Stadium, Glassport

Southmoreland moved the football well through the air in its opener, as expected, but the Scotties took their seventh straight loss. They started 5-0 last season but lost their final six games. Quarterback Zach Cernuto passed for 209 yards and a touchdown, completing 13 of 28 attempts, and Anthony Govern caught a 47-yard scoring pass. He finished with six receptions for 122 yards. Mathew Rodriques kicked a 34-yard field goal for the Scotties. … South Allegheny was clipped by a touchdown at Mt. Pleasant in Week 1 as the Gladiators had trouble slowing down the Vikings’ running game.

Yough (1-0, 0-0) at South Park (1-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Eagle Stadium, South Park

Yough and rookie coach Chris Chunko won their season opener for the first time since 2016 with a big offensive outburst against Chartiers-Houston. With a noticeable push from his linemen, tailback Gamal Marballie ran for 256 and a TD on 27 carries. QB Tristan Waldier threw two touchdowns to his brother, C.J., who had 71 receptions last season. The Cougars again have a female kicker in Hannah Biros, who shared time with Josh Thomas. … South Park was led by Adam Johnson’s 93 rushing yards in its season-opening win over Southmoreland.

Class 2A nonconference

Ligonier Valley (0-1, 0-1) vs. Frazier (1-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Frazier Stadium, Perryopolis

Ligonier Valley tries to rebound from a 44-7 loss to a good Apollo-Ridge squad. Frazier opened some eyes by blowing away Charleroi, 34-0. … The young Rams were overwhelmed in their return to the WPIAL. Sophomore quarterback Haden Sierocky did complete 5 of 12 passes for 110 yards, including a 66-yard strike to Grant Dowden. … Rams coach Roger Beitel hopes to see improvement this week against Frazier and quarterback Brayden Boggs, who was 9 for 11 for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Class A eastern

Greensburg C.C. (0-1, 0-1) at Imani Christian (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Graham Field, Wilkinsburg

GCC began the season ranked No. 3 in Class A, but the Centurions were upended by Leechburg, 55-37, as the Blue Devils erupted for a big second half. Sophomore Amari Mack, who is from Jeannette, has a breakthrough opener. He had two 88-yard kick-return touchdowns and caught a 56-yard score. Mack had 312 all-purpose yards. Joe Blahovec and Danny Dlugos registered nine tackles apiece. Leechburg had three scoring plays cover 44 or more yards, including a pick-6 in the third quarter. … Imani Christian fell to Bishop Canevin, 18-12, in its opener last Saturday at Keystone Oaks’ Dormont Stadium.

No. 3 Jeannette (0-1, 0-1) at Riverview (0-1, 0-1)

Noon Saturday, Riverside Park, Oakmont

Jeannette gave top-ranked Clairton all it could handle before falling, 34-28. The loss was exhausting but may have revealed the Jayhawks’ offensive newfound identity with freshman quarterback Brad Birch throwing for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including two to senior James Sanders, who had eight catches for 152 yards. Sanders also intercepted a pass. Fourteen penalties plagued Jeannette, particularly pre-snap whistles. … Riverview allowed rival Springdale to build a commanding halftime lead and fell, 41-7.

Tri-County South

Bentworth (0-1, 0-1) at Monessen (0-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Monessen

Monessen could not get on track in its opener. Avella, which snapped an eight-game skid, converted a fake punt and had a 94-yard pick-6 by Tanner Terensky to seal the victory. The Greyhounds have a young roster and saw five freshmen play significant minutes last week. They were hindered by 20 penalties, a number of them coming before the snap. … Bentworth was tripped up by California, which put up 20 points after halftime and took advantage of some mistakes by the Bulldogs.

Nonconference

Latrobe (0-1, 0-1) vs. Mt. Pleasant (1-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Mt. Pleasant Vikings Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

These teams used to be rivals in the Keystone Conference. The Vikings are coming off a good win against a physical South Allegheny squad, 21-14, while Latrobe fell at Penn-Trafford, 48-14. … Latrobe was victimized by a couple big runs. It allowed runs of 99 and 75 yards for scores. Mt. Pleasant got two touchdowns runs from Peter Billey, who rushed for 107 yards, and a short running score from Aaron Alakson.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Bentworth, Central Catholic, Deer Lakes, Derry Area, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Imani Christian, Jeannette, Knoch, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Riverview, Seneca Valley, South Allegheny, South Park, Southmoreland, West Mifflin, Yough