5 things we learned in high school football Week 8: WPIAL playoff hopefuls shake off early-season losses

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, October 21, 2023 | 9:12 PM

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Not only did Keystone Oaks lose three of its first four games, the Eagles also started the season by losing their best player to injury.

That misfortune could sink many seasons.

But count Keystone Oaks among at least a dozen WPIAL teams who endured some early losses, yet put themselves in playoff position by winning in October. In fact, the Eagles now control their playoff destiny after upsetting unbeaten Washington, 21-14, on Friday.

Washington entered Week 8 as the top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 2A.

“We’re kind of hitting our stride right now,” Keystone Oaks coach Steve McCormick said. “We had a few key guys hurt early that we’re getting healthy at the right time. I tell these guys, they have so much potential. They just haven’t had a chance to display it yet.”

Friday’s win was the fourth in five games for Keystone Oaks (5-4, 3-2). The team also fully welcomed back senior Clinton Robinson, a Syracuse recruit.

Robinson was slated to be the team’s starting quarterback before fracturing a wrist in July, and then he sustained a dislocating elbow playing defense in Week 1.

“We kind of had to reinvent ourselves a little bit,” McCormick said. “We really didn’t have a backup quarterback at that point, so we moved our running back to quarterback and totally rearranged what we did.”

Opponents now could see Robinson move around the offense. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound standout earned all-conference honors at defensive back a year ago, and this summer was a TribLive HSSN Preseason All-Star.

“He’s still wearing a brace (on his wrist), so we’re trying to get him comfortable and find his spot in the offense,” McCormick said.

Among the other teams that shook off early losses: Serra Catholic overcame an 0-4 start to clinch a playoff spot. Playoff-bound Gateway and West Mifflin shrugged off 0-3 starts. Kiski Area started 1-5, yet the Cavaliers control their own destiny after winning three of four. Laurel also was 1-5 and can earn a playoff spot with another win.

Brentwood began 0-7 but has won two in a row and would be playoff-bound if that streak reaches three. Chartiers Valley, Moon, Western Beaver, Beth-Center and some others also might prove that early-season losses don’t always spell doom.

“We have a really resilient group of kids,” said McCormick, a second-year coach at Keystone Oaks. “We have a lot of seniors. They watched the film. They know we haven’t played to our potential in some games. But each week we were making gains, and they saw that.”

2. Freshman nears WPIAL record

West Mifflin freshman Armand Hill came within a long run or two of breaking a WPIAL rushing record Friday in his ninth varsity game.

Hill ran for 495 yards, which stands as the second-highest single-game rushing total in WPIAL history. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound ninth grader carried 27 times and scored five touchdowns in a 42-7 victory over Hopewell.

The WPIAL record is 527 yards, set by Mapletown’s Dylan Rush in 2017.

“Mondo has been doing this since he was in youth ball,” West Mifflin coach Rod Steele said. “He does things you just can’t teach as a coach. You see the great ones, they have that natural ability to make people miss, can jump step, know when to put their pads down, know when to accelerate. He’s just that kind of talent.”

Hill’s workload increased in recent weeks as senior DelRon White worked his way back from injury. White handled some carries early in Friday’s win, otherwise Hill might’ve broken the record.

Hill added his first college offer last week from UNLV. His brother, Tyjier Williams, is a freshman wide receiver at IUP.

3. Quips’ Tracy goes 5 for 5

Aliquippa great Darrelle Revis once scored three ways in a five-touchdown game, but Quips senior John Tracy took that idea even further.

Tracy scored five touchdowns Friday, but he scored them five ways. He reached the end zone on an 11-yard fumble return, a 45-yard reception, a 2-yard run, a 45-yard punt return and a 71-yard kickoff return in a 53-0 win over Chartiers Valley.

The 5-foot-9, 175-pound running back forms a dynamic backfield tandem with Penn State-bound junior Tiqwai Hayes. Their rushing yards have helped the Quips win consecutive WPIAL titles and reach the state finals both years.

“He is so good that you can’t put it into words,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said. “I think he’s good because of Tikey, and Tikey is good because of him. They complement each other. There’s no selfishness. John just showed his athleticism on Friday.”

Revis’ memorable day came in the 2003 state final. The future NFL star took a punt return and a blocked field goal to the end zone and added three rushing touchdowns.

“Darrelle scored five touchdowns,” Warfield said, “but it wasn’t five different ways.”

4. Party like it’s 1999

Two WPIAL teams clinched their first conference titles in more than two decades with wins Friday.

East Allegheny won the Allegheny 6 title with a 14-13 overtime victory against Knoch. The conference title was the Wildcats’ first since 2000.

South Side claimed the Big 7 title by defeating Union, 49-15. The Rams hadn’t won a conference title since 1999.

5. Former colleagues clash

Pine-Richland’s Jon LeDonne and Woodland Hills’ Brian Tarrant coached together for nearly a decade but met Friday for the first time as rival head coaches. Pine-Richland won 28-0, leaving LeDonne with mixed feelings.

“It was tough,” he said of facing a friend and former defensive coordinator. “In pregame, we spent probably a half hour sitting and talking about it. He’ll rebound from this. He knows how. He’ll be OK.”

The two coaches won a state title together at Penn Hills in 2018.

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.