A-K Valley high school football notebook: Highlands’ Randolph equals WPIAL record

By: Michael Love
Saturday, September 2, 2023 | 10:54 PM

Aaran Randolph tied a WPIAL record Friday.

The Highlands senior dual-threat quarterback made his mark in the fourth quarter at Blackhawk to help secure the Golden Rams’ 33-20 victory and a 2-0 record.

With his team leading 20-13 in the final quarter and the offense backed up to the shadow of its own end zone after a crucial goal-line stand, Randolph took a first-down snap out of the shotgun, found some room to move and raced 99 yards for a touchdown.

There was no need to check the record books: There can be no scoring play longer than 99 yards.

Randolph’s name will be in the record books forever, alongside former Golden Rams player Justin Myers, who also recorded a 99-yard run against Franklin Regional.

Randolph finished Friday’s win with 12 carries for 265 yards.

He added a 33-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 10-yard scoring run in the third to give the Golden Rams a touchdown advantage.

Special special teams

Freeport’s John Gaillot often extols the virtues of being sound in all three phases with special teams being a crucial part of a winning game plan.

While the offense and defense made their marks in Friday’s 47-0 victory over South Allegheny, the Yellowjackets also did their part with some special team successes.

Avoiding South Allegheny’s dangerous returner Cameron Epps on the opening kickoff, Freeport’s Cole Troutman executed a pooch kick to perfection. It resulted in the Yellowjackets recovering the loose ball and converting the ensuing drive into points to set the tone.

Cyp Selinger returned a punt 36 yards for a touchdown in the first half. The punt return team blocked another punt, and Madden Wisnewski added to the fun by returning second-half opening kickoff 73 yards to the end zone.

The taste of victory

Three other Alle-Kiski Valley teams had that winning feeling for the first time Friday as Deer Lakes, Valley and Leechburg got in the win column after Week Zero losses.

The Lancers defended their home turf and mixed in the run and the pass to produce a 33-0 victory over rival Burrell. Derek Burk passed for 111 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, and Zier Williams led a rushing attack that fell 2 yards shy of 200 with 121 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Valley won at home for the first time since Week 7 of 2021. It prevailed in the battle of the Vikings, topping Apollo-Ridge, 18-7. Dorian Briggs caught two touchdown passes from Mason Simmons, and Tristan Goodwin sealed the win with a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Leechburg topped Summit Academy, 59-20, recovering from its opening two-point loss to rival Apollo-Ridge.

The Blue Devils came close to having three 100-yard rushers. Jake Cummings led the way with 115 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, Tim Andrasy added 15 carries for 107 yards and two TDs and quarterback Jayden Floyd rushed for 95 yards and two scores and also thew a touchdown.

Rushing Bucs

It’s no secret that Burrell is a running team.

On Friday against Deer Lakes, the Bucs had two drives — one in the second quarter and another in the third — that combined for nearly 16 minutes and featured just one pass out of 27 plays.

Burrell gained yardage on each drive, entering Deer Lakes territory on both after starting points of the 10- and 14-yard lines.

But the Bucs were not able to secure points on either. The first one ended on a fourth-down pass as the first-half clock expired. The second one concluded early in the fourth on a turnover on downs.

Burrell has no passing yards after two weeks.

Senior standout Devin Beattie was contained to 67 yards on 22 carries. His top run was 7 yards. He had 127 yards against Jeannette in Week Zero.

Bucs coach Shawn Liotta said his top three running backs are banged up. Senior Tristan Brothers left Friday’s loss in the first quarter and didn’t return, and Beattie didn’t finish the game unscathed and could miss Friday’s “Battle of the Bypass” rivalry game against Valley.

Senior Caden Garner went down in Burrell’s Week Zero loss to Jeannette. Liotta said Brothers (finger) will be out for a few weeks, and Garner remains out of the lineup.

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: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Leechburg, Valley