5 things we learned in Week 6 of H.S. football: ‘You can’t control the weather’

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, October 10, 2021 | 12:56 AM

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After rushing for 167 yards and two touchdowns on Friday, Mt. Lebanon running back Alex Tecza didn’t sleep well that night.

The senior was thinking about all the work to be done Saturday morning.

The Central Catholic vs. Mt. Lebanon matchup was one of three WPIAL games delayed Friday by thunderstorms and ultimately suspended until the next day. So, Tecza and his Blue Devils had an early-morning wake-up call Saturday for a restart that felt like a second game in less than 24 hours.

“It was definitely hard feeling that soreness and that pain,” Tecza said. “We were tired. We didn’t get a lot of sleep. I’m sure a lot of kids were focused on the game. At least myself, I know I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but we knew what had to get done.”

All three teams leading when the games were suspended went on to win.

The two other games suspended were Moon at Peters Township and New Castle at Beaver. They all were paused in the third quarter and resumed at that point on Saturday morning.

Mt. Lebanon’s players left the stadium around 10 p.m. Friday and had to report back at 7:30 a.m. Saturday for a 10 a.m. restart.

“It was different, very different,” Mt. Lebanon coach Bob Palko said. “It was unique, but I think the way our staff is and the relationship they have with the kids, I knew we would do the right things. That’s a delicate situation to be in. You worry about injuries and all that stuff.”

Lightning delays occur from time to time during football season, especially early in the schedule, but rarely are games suspended to a later date. However, if storms are slow moving like Friday’s, the lightning delay can easily last an hour or more.

According to WPIAL policy, “once play has been suspended, wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder is heard or flash of lightning is witnessed prior to resuming play.”

Each time there’s another flash, the clock restarts.

“You can’t control the weather,” Mt. Lebanon quarterback Joey Daniels said. “Mother Nature is just going to do her thing.”

Bethel Park tied for first

When divvying up credit for Bethel Park’s current success, coach Brian DeLallo includes some guys no longer on the roster. He credits last year’s seniors who battled through a winless season while sharing the field with 15 sophomores.

“A lot of why we’re winning this year is because of them,” said DeLallo, whose team is part of a three-way tie for first place in the Allegheny Six. “Those kids who were seniors on an 0-7 team, they could have very easily just cashed it in and said: ‘We’re going 0-for. We’re not making the playoffs.’

“They were a great example for those young sophomores who were learning. I have a lot of affection for that class that worked so hard for no wins on the field. I hope they know they’re a part of what’s going on this year.”

Bethel Park (4-3, 2-0) won for the third time in three weeks with a 27-7 victory Friday at South Fayette. Running back Troy Volpatti scored three rushing touchdowns and quarterback Max Blanc added a fourth.

The Black Hawks scored only 49 points last season — an average of seven per week — so DeLallo also made some offseason changes to his coaching staff.

“That was the first time in 20-some years that we didn’t make the playoffs here,” he said. “The office was down at times. I made an effort to bring in some guys. One, we needed younger guys. You need some young energy. And two, I fired myself as offensive coordinator.”

His new coordinator is Phil Peckich, who previously worked with DeLallo at Montour. That addition let DeLallo focus more time on defense and special teams.

The Black Hawks started 1-3 with losses to Mt. Lebanon, Canon-McMillan and Gateway. But since then they’ve topped Franklin Regional, 28-13; West Allegheny, 26-10; and now South Fayette.

Trio already playoff bound

It’s only Week 6, but it’s not too early to start thinking about the playoffs — especially if you’re Cornell, McGuffey or North Catholic. Those three teams are the first to clinch a spot in the WPIAL playoffs.

All three are guaranteed spots based on possible head-to-head tiebreakers. It’s not only how many teams they’ve beaten, but also who they’ve beaten.

For example, McGuffey has conference wins over Waynesburg (1-3), Charleroi (1-3) and Frazier (0-3), meaning the Highlanders can’t finish worse than fourth in the Class 2A Century. The top four teams in that conference qualify for the playoffs.

Closing door on Week 5

This was a good week for bounce-back wins.

A week ago, Seneca Valley, Penn Hills, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Bishop Canevin and Carmichaels all were licking their wounds after tough losses. Yet, all five regrouped in time to celebrate a quality Week 6 win.

Among them, Seneca Valley and OLSH both won in overtime. After losing 34-7 to Rochester last week, OLSH bounced back Friday to defeated Union, 37-36. Seneca Valley used double overtime Friday to defeat Canon-McMillan, 24-17, a win that soothed memories of last week’s 35-0 loss to Central Catholic.

The biggest one-week turnaround could belong to South Side. The Rams celebrated a 49-14 win over Carlynton one week after losing to Sto-Rox, 63-6.

Changes at the top

There’s a new No. 1 team in WPIAL Class 6A after Central Catholic’s loss to Mt. Lebanon.

That means only two preseason favorites remain atop the Trib HSSN football rankings entering Week 7: Central Valley in 3A and Clairton in A. However, while Central Valley (7-0) has been ranked first all season, Clairton (4-2) dropped from the top spot before returning to No. 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.