A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 6

By: Michael Love
Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 1:46 PM

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Class 5A northeast

Fox Chapel (2-3, 2-1) at Penn Hills (2-3, 2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Yuhas-McGinley Stadium, Penn Hills

The winner will get a leg up in the race for a WPIAL Class 5A playoff spot. … Fox Chapel has won two straight after an 0-3 start. Senior starting quarterback Justin Rice was out for the Foxes’ 28-24 win over Kiski Area last Friday, but junior backup Collin Dietz, making his first career start, threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns. Lorenzo Jenkins hauled in seven catches for a career-best 166 yards and three touchdowns. … Penn Hills bounced back from a 43-0 loss to Pine-Richland with a 14-7 win over North Hills. Dontae Pollard and Derrick Topeck combined for 93 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Penn Hills defeated Fox Chapel in conference play the past two years, including a 33-13 triumph at Penn Hills last year.

Shaler (0-5, 0-3) at Kiski Area (1-3, 0-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Richard J. Dilts Field, Allegheny Township

Either the Titans or Cavaliers will win their first conference game of the season. … Brock Wilkins carried the load for Kiski Area in last week’s 28-24 loss to Fox Chapel with 194 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. Senior tailback and Albany verbal commit Kenny Blake continues to battle his way back from an ankle injury and is day-to-day. The Cavaliers are second in the conference in points per game at 23.3. … Shaler is coming off a 53-7 loss to Pine-Richland. QB Dominic Ross threw for two touchdowns and ran for another but was picked off four times in a 36-21 loss to Fox Chapel two weeks ago. The teams split the last two meetings in the current conference series.

Class 4A greater allegheny

Highlands (2-3, 2-3) at Armstrong (3-2, 3-2)

7 p.m. Friday, ESS/NexTier Stadium, Kittanning

The Golden Rams got back on track last Friday with a 48-14 rout of Indiana. Highlands snapped a three-game skid. … Sophomore QB Chandler Thimons was 13 of 19 for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Brock White caught two touchdowns and ran for another. Wahkeem Roman (13), Tyrus Kerr (12) and Kyron Long (10) had double-figure tackle efforts. … Armstrong has won three games after going 1-9 last year. The River Hawks bounced back from a loss to Mars by breezing past Greensburg Salem last week, 40-0. Sophomore QB Cadin Olsen threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions against the Golden Lions. He has 1,357 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against just one interception in five games.

No. 3 Plum (5-0, 5-0) at Knoch (0-5, 0-5)

7 p.m. Friday, Knoch Knights Stadium, Saxonburg

Teams at opposite ends of the conference standings do battle for the first time since 2005. … The Mustangs, who will attempt to go 6-0 for the first time since 1976, kept pace with Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa with a 20-7 win over Hampton last Friday. Plum is one game ahead of Mars in the conference standings. Sophomore Eryck Moore has scored at least one rushing touchdown in every game. He has 468 yards and seven scores. The Plum offense is averaging 393 yards of total offense. Senior Preston Sunday recorded 22 tackles against Hampton. … Knoch is averaging the third-fewest points (9.0) in Class 4A. Only Laurel Highlands (7.2) and West Mifflin (7.8) have scored fewer. Gavin McGowan rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in last Friday’s 48-13 loss to Mars. Zane Inklovich caught a touchdown pass.

Class 3A allegheny seven

No. 2 North Catholic (5-0, 4-0) at Deer Lakes (0-5, 0-5)

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

The second-highest scoring team in Class 4A and the lowest-scoring team in the classification will do battle. … The Trojans kept pace with Central Valley atop Class 4A with a 28-2 nonconference victory over South Park last Friday. North Catholic junior quarterback Joey Prentice was 6 of 8 passing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Prentice added a pair of TD runs to give him 10 total touchdowns (five passing, five rushing) the past two weeks. … Deer Lakes freshman QB Derek Burk connected with sophomore Dylan Moore for the Lancers’ lone score in last week’s 44-6 loss to Burrell.

Nonconference

Valley (1-3) at Yough (1-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Cougar Mountain Stadium, Herminie

Valley is coming off a 19-6 loss to Derry. Muzzy Colosimo, the former Greensburg Central Catholic coach, will face back-to-back Westmoreland County teams for the first time since he left GCC. … Last week, four turnovers and a tough Southmoreland pass rush derailed Yough in a 24-0 loss. Quarterback Gamal Marballie passed for 116 yards but threw three interceptions. C.J. Waldier was held to five catches after pulling in 10 against Mt. Pleasant. The Cougars have dropped four straight. Freshman Tarek Crosby ran for a game-high 71 yards and caught five passes.

Class A eastern

Imani Christian (1-4, 1-4) at Springdale (4-1, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Memorial Stadium, Springdale

The Dynamos hope to bounce back from last week’s loss to Class A No. 3 Jeannette and keep pace in the playoff chase ahead of a clash with No. 1 Clairton next week. Springdale led Jeannette 21-0 in the second quarter and 28-24 in the fourth before the Jayhawks rallied. Dynamos junior QB Legend Ausk threw for 245 yards and three scores against three interceptions. Dmitri Fritch hauled in two of Ausk’s TD passes and finished with seven catches for 116 yards. … Imani Christian’s lone win came against Riverview, 48-25, on Oct. 6. The Saints were overwhelmed last Friday in a 64-0 loss to Clairton. Junior running back Raysaun Jackson leads Imani with four touchdowns. All four were rushing scores against Riverview.

Riverview (0-5, 0-5) at Leechburg (2-3, 2-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Memorial Stadium, Leechburg

A win Friday will be the 400th in the history of Leechburg football. Despite last week’s 35-13 win over Bishop Canevin, the Blue Devils will miss the WPIAL playoffs for the 32nd straight season. Victories in its final two games against Riverview and Imani Christian would give Leechburg its first winning season since 1992. With his 7-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rich against Bishop Canevin, senior quarterback Dylan Cook surpassed 1,000 passing yards for the season. … Riverview junior Dean Cecere leads his team with 402 yards and three touchdowns on 59 carries. Raiders quarterback Ryan Aber has connected with wideout James Williams for three touchdowns. Leechburg won last year’s meeting, 47-0.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Armstrong, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Highlands, Imani Christian, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, North Catholic, Penn Hills, Plum, Riverview, Shaler, Springdale, Valley, Yough