Trib HSSN Football Team of the Week 2022: Week 6

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, October 9, 2022 | 9:28 PM

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Marvin Mills knows a thing or two about winning big games.

The Aliquippa grad had spent the past few seasons as an assistant under Mike Warfield for the Quips before taking over as coach at Sto-Rox.

On Friday, the Vikings picked up their fourth straight win and registered their third straight shutout in a rout of Washington, 36-0.

The win clinched a WPIAL Class 2A playoff berth for Sto-Rox and moved the Vikings to within one more conference win of claiming the Century Conference championship.

“When I found out Coach (LaRoi) Johnson was stepping down as head coach (at Sto-Rox), what an opportunity it was there, so I threw my name in the hat,” Mills said.

Even though Sto-Rox was a senior-laden team that had won back-to-back Three Rivers Conference championships the previous two years and entered 2022 with high expectations, the start wasn’t smooth for the big green machine.

The Vikings lost in Week 1 to Class 2A top-ranked Steel Valley, 27-24, and then fell to Class 3A No. 2 Avonworth, 21-18, a week later.

But when Century Conference play began, Sto-Rox turned it up a notch. The Vikings have defeated Charleroi, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey and Washington by a combined score of 176-7.

The domination on both sides of the ball continued against visiting Washington, who entered the showdown ranked No. 4 in 2A with a 2-0 conference record and a 5-1 overall mark.

Sto-Rox jumped out to a 22-0 lead after one quarter on a pair of touchdown passes by senior quarterback Josh Jenkins and a 7-yard run by senior Emir Short.

Seniors Jaymont Green-Miler and Ameer Hibler scored their second touchdowns each in the second quarter to give the Vikings a halftime lead, and set the final score, 36-0.

“I thought our best practice all season was on Thursday,” Mills said. “Nobody was late. Nobody was asking questions about assignments. They really understood the gameplan.”

Jenkins finished the game completing 11 of 20 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns.

“I’m pretty sure they’re a good team, and I felt that we’re a good team as well,” Mills said. “Right now, I’m worried about our guys and what we do and how we do it, so we can finish the regular season strong and then start the playoff run.”

WPIAL Week 6 Honorable Mentions:

North Hills

Even though the competition was strong in those first four games, North Hills fans had to be disappointed as the Indians lost their 5A Northeast Conference opener to Woodland Hills, dropping their overall record top 0-4.

What a difference three weeks makes. Conference wins over Penn Hills, Fox Chapel and Shaler have bumped the red and white into first place in the conference with only one conference game remaining. Senior Cooper Thompson rushed for 102 yards and a score, plus he returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown as North Hills (3-1, 3-4) beat Shaler (1-1, 4-3) for a 10th straight time, 35-23

North Catholic

A 60-yard interception return for Hampton (1-2, 3-4) senior Eric Weeks was the only score of the game through three quarters of a key 4A Greater Allegheny Conference matchup at North Catholic with fourth place up for grabs. So while neither team could do much on offense, the Trojans turned to special teams to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Trojans junior Jack Fennell returned a punt 65 yards with 8 minutes left in regulation to tie the score, then North Catholic won it in overtime on a 19-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Kaden Sarver to junior wide receiver Gavin Kamody in a thrilling win, 13-7. The Trojans’ victory puts them alone in fourth place with a 2-2 conference record, 4-3 overall.

Freeport

It was No. 4 Freeport hosting No. 5 East Allegheny in a battle for first place in the Class 3A Allegheny Conference with the winner becoming the team to beat over the final three weeks. In the end, the Wildcats lost their bite after getting stung by the hosts late.

Leading 21-13 heading into the fourth quarter, Freeport added a couple of big insurance scores to win 35-13. Yellowjackets senior quarterback Gavin Croney scored on runs of 11 and 2 yards in the first half, then senior halfback Ben Lane iced it with fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 5 and 74 yards as Freeport improved to 2-0 atop the conference (tied with Deer Lakes), and 6-1 overall with the win that ended East Allegheny’s (1-1, 5-2) three game winning streak.

Burgettstown

High school football fans and media members were looking forward to the Week 8 clash between the top-ranked teams in Class A, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Bishop Canevin, in what looked like a game for the Class A Black Hills Conference championship.

The only problem is, nobody told Burgettstown.

Junior quarterback Brodie Kuzior threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior Corbin Harrison and scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run — all in the fourth quarter — as the Blue Devils came from behind Saturday night to stun the previously undefeated OLSH, 22-19 to move into a tie for second place and stay alive for a possible conference three-way tie.

2022 HSSN Teams of the Week

Week 5: Laurel Highlands

Week 4: West Mifflin

Week 3: McKeesport

Week 2: Ellwood City

Week 1: Bethel Park

Week Zero: Mars

Tags: Sto-Rox