Highway to Heinz – First Round Recaps

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 7, 2015 | 1:17 AM

The cones were removed and the pylons picked up as the ribbon was cut Friday at 7:30pm to open up the 2015 version of the Highway to Heinz. Like many motorists who have been frustrated by ramp closures to the Parkway recently, there was a logjam at the first exit as 32 teams were forced to exit. You can listen to any of the 32 archives on MSA Sports or check out any of the 32 recaps from the First Round of the WPIAL Football Playoffs.

A special thanks to Randy Gore, Kyle Dawson, Bob Orkwis, Scott Briggs, Mike Zappone, Paul Paterra, Mike Porembka, Rob Longo, Dennis Fischer, Bob Barrickman, Tony DePalma, Greg Warnock, Tom Hays, Adam Hoerner, Sean Meyers, T.J. DiStefano, Steve Nagler, Bob Gregg, Jason Tennant, Jon Fisher, Mark Schaas, Scott Majesky, Mark Uriah, Bobby Fox, Brian Mroziak, Rich Mastowski, Adam Gusky, Matt Vandriak, Sean Saputo, Mark Schaas, Rob Matzie and Lou Rood for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Woodland Hills Wolverines 41 – Hempfield Spartans 7
Miles Sanders and Jaymond Dunn each scored two touchdowns to lead the top seeded and number 1 ranked Wolverines (10-0) over the 16th seeded Spartans (3-7) 41-7 at the Wolvarena. Dunn started the scoring with a 64 yard punt return for a TD early in the 1st quarter. Dunn also caught a 15 yard Touchdown from Daron Cooper in the 2nd frame. Meanwhile, Sanders only carried the ball twice, but still rushed for 121 yards, as he scored on runs of 76 and 45 yards respectively. His backfield mate, Jo-El Shaw, only had 2 carries for 48 yards, but did catch a 15 yard touchdown pass from Cooper. Jayquan Smith capped off the Wolverines scoring with 1 yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter. Hempfield avoided the shutout with a 15 yard TD run by Don Washington late in the game. Woodland Hills will play 8th seeded and Southeastern Conference foe, Bethel Park, in the WPIAL Quarterfinals.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 34 – Kiski Area Cavaliers 26
Eighth seeded Bethel Park jumped out to a 28-7 lead on the ninth seed Kiski Area then withstood a furious Cavalier comeback that brought the score to 28-26 before prevailing 34-26 in an exciting first round WPIAL AAAA Football Playoff game.  QB Levi Matheny had the hot hand for Bethel Park going 9-16 for 131 yards and 4 touchdown passes in the game.  Three of those passes went to WR Charlie Davis and the fourth to TE Jake Dixon. RB Terron Murphy added 164 yards rushing for the Black Hawks. RB John Doleno added the other BP score. Kiski Area was led by QB Chad Kuhn who threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Tariq Grant accounted for the other two Kiski TD’s.  Bethel Park will move on to play top seeded Woodland Hills in the WPIAL Quarterfinals next week.  The two teams met in week two of the season with the Wolverines winning 28-23 at home.

North Allegheny Tigers 56 – Norwin Knights 17
Six ball carriers scored touchdowns for North Allegheny as the Tigers routed the Norwin Knights in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs on Friday night, 56-17. Senior Ijhad Bonner, who has typically played tight end on offense and hadn’t carried the football all season, rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns to spearhead North Allegheny to a 15-3 lead first quarter lead. The North Allegheny defense forced two turnovers in the second quarter, interceptions by Ethan Maenza and Riley Trueman, to short circuit two Norwin possessions. The NA offense converted those turnovers into touchdowns as Mike Pope rushed for a 3-yard score and Nick Provenzano plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown and a 28-3 lead with 3:52 to play before halftime. Late in the second quarter, Norwin struck for a touchdown when quarterback Nick Amendola tossed a 21-yard scoring strike to Anthony DelleFemine to trim the NA lead to 28-10 with 1:11 remaining before halftime. The Knights offense totaled 382 yards of offense and received the football to start the second half. However, Norwin went three-and-out and punted away their last chance to get back into the ballgame. The Knights struggled on third downs, converting only 1 of 9 attempts. Running on all cylinders, the Tigers offense expanded the lead with touchdown runs by Provenzano, Maenza and fullback Jake Longwell to give North Allegheny a 49-10 lead and invoke the mercy rule with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Norwin running back Kyle Turcovsky, who rushed for 158 yards, broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 49-17, Tigers, late in the third quarter. North Allegheny capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run by Alex Hays in the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 56-17.
Along with Turcovsky, Amendola also passed the century mark with 117 yards rushing. While the Tigers didn’t have a 100-yard rusher, they did have four players with 41 yards or more. Pope finished with 70 yards on seven carries, Maenza totaled 47 yards on six carries, and Provenzano ate up 41 yards on five carries. The Tigers rolled up 423 yards of offense with all but 18 yards coming on the ground. North Allegheny improves to 9-1 overall and advances to the WPIAL quarterfinals for a clash with the fifth-seeded Central Catholic Vikings next week. Norwin’s season ends with a 5-5 mark.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 49 – Upper St. Clair Panthers 0
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings scored the first 7 times they touched the football in the first-half and raced to an easy 49-0 victory over #12 Upper St. Clair at George Cupples Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Troy Fisher ran for two touchdowns and passed to Bricen Garner and Jacob McKee for two more scores as the Vikings outgained the Panthers in the first half 311 to (-4). Vinny Emanuele, Ronnie Jones and J. J. Younger also added scoring runs for the 5th seeded Vikings who improved to (9-1) on the season. Upper St. Clair ends the year at (5-5). The win puts Pittsburgh Central Catholic into the quarterfinals of the WPIAL AAAA Playoffs for the 12th consecutive season where the Vikings will get a rematch with Northern 8 Conference foe North Allegheny. The 4th seeded Tigers defeated Norwin in their 1st Round match-up and back in Week Three North Allegheny handed the Vikings their only loss of the season so far 24-17. The two teams will meet next Friday November 13th at a site & time to be determined.

Penn-Trafford Warriors 56 – North Hills Indians 7
Brett Laffoon threw for 5 touchdowns and ran for another as Penn-Trafford never trailed rolling to a 56-7 WPIAL opening round playoff win over North Hills. Laffoon threw touchdown passes of 12, 52, 43, and 39 yards to Tim Vecchio. He added a 17 yard touchdown pass to Tyler Bruno along with a two-yard touchdown run. Laffoon’s first touchdown pass came 8 plays after North Hills fumbled the opening kickoff, and P-T raced to 49 unanswered points. The Senior Quarterback completed 10-of-14 passes for 228 yards as the Warriors picked up their first win in 12 meetings against North Hills and now gear up for a Quad East rematch with runner-up McKeesport in the second round of the Quad-A playoffs.

McKeesport Tigers 48 – Seneca Valley Raiders 0
McKeesport (9-1) scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions on the way to this convincing victory. The Tigers exploded for 356 yards of offense in the first half averaging more than 12 yards per play in the half. This included a rare 101 yards passing for the Tigers. Khaleke Hudson paced the Tigers rushing attack with 120 yards on 12 carries. He scored two touchdowns giving him 24 for the season. Mark Cromerdie had eight carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Tymar Sutton had 96 yards rushing, and ran for a touchdown and threw for a score. Hank Royal led Seneca Valley (5-5) with 103 yard rushing. McKeesport advances to the WPIAL Quarterfinals to play Penn Trafford which beat McKeesport 21-7 in the third week of the season.

Pine-Richland Rams 42 – Penn Hills Indians 7
It took the defending WPIAL Quad-A champion Pine Richland Rams a little bit to get going, but once they did, it was all over for the Penn Hills Indians. Pine Richland jumped out to the early lead as sophomore quarterback Phil Jurkovec hit Brandon Humphrey, Jr. for a 56 yard scoring strike on the 4th play of the game – but Penn Hills would answer that score late in the first as Amil Frazier ripped off a 71 yard run to tie the score.  The Rams ended a tight first half when Jimmy Graff took it in from two yards out – and staked the home team to a 14-7 halftime lead.  The champs came alive in the third quarter holding the Indians to 3-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half, while scoring on all three of theirs. Graff added two more scores on runs of 14 and 28 yards, and then the Ram’s Jurkovec Express scored on a 13 yard pass – Phil to older brother Thomas.  The Rams led 35-7 going into the fourth, and added a 24 yard run from substitute tailback Don Bryant to cap the scoring. Pine Richland outgained Penn Hills 531 to 284, and Jurkovec, who has now thrown for over 2,000 yards and run for more than 1,000, was 17 of 26 for 270 yards through the air. Final score – Pine Richland 42 – Penn Hills 7.

Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 42 – Plum Mustangs 28
Friday’s WPIAL Quad A 11 versus six seed contest got off to a very quick start on the opening kickoff as the road team Plum Mustangs got a 100 yard kick return by Kevin Brown to open up the scoring in what turned out to be a back-and-forth contest down to the final whistle. Mount Lebanon was the one able to sustain the pressure of the opposing team’s defensive line and line backing core as both defenses were in the backfield seemingly every other play. The Blue Devils got two touchdowns through the air in the first half from Eddie Jenkins; one of the 47-yard kind to Patrick Moeller and the other of 35 yards to David Harvey, who also scampered for touchdown runs of 25 and two yards, respectively. For the Mustangs, Brown would score from 71 yards out on Plum’s first play from scrimmage offensively in the first half. Mt. Lebanon scored 23 unanswered points immediately following that run, including that Harvey run, a Jenkins 6-yard run, a safety defensively and a garbage-time pick-six for Eric Kraus. Plum’s final score came on a pass from inside the 10-yard line from Matt Goodlin to Jason Hubner. Plum, with the loss, finished the season 6-4, while Mt. Lebanon will move to the Quad A quarterfinals next Friday and play Pine-Richland after moving to 9-1.

WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

Central Valley Warriors 59 – Laurel Highlands Mustangs 14
The defending Class AAA champion and top-seed Central Valley Warriors scored twice in the first two minutes of the game and never looked back vs the #16-seed Laurel Highlands Mustangs. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Chris Callaghan hit Aris Tatalovich on a 71-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Kurt Reinstadtler would then score on a pick-six from 28-yards out. Central Valley would add a 60-yard touchdown reception from Callaghan to Reinstadtler, a 58-yard run by Kyle Vreen, a 9-yard run by Danny Santia, another Callaghan hookup from 46-yard to Tatalovich, a 34-yard run for Vreen and a 38-yard field goal by Brenden Jugan, all before halftime to take a 52-7 lead into the locker room. The two teams each scored a third quarter touchdown with the mercy rule having kicked in as the Warriors cruised to a 45 point victory. Lucas Boyle accounted for both of the Laurel Highlands touchdowns on runs of 30 and 5 yards as the Mustangs season ends at 5-5. Up next for Central Valley will be a Quarterfinals contest against 9th-seed Hampton.

Hampton Talbots 19 – Montour Spartans 14
The #9 seed Hampton Talbots advanced to the quarterfinals of the Triple A football playoffs for the second straight year with a 19-14 first round upset of the #8 seed Montour Spartans on Friday night at Montour’s Birko Stadium.  Hampton opened the scoring with a one yard run by Alex Bianco, followed by Luke Malingowski’s extra point, to lead 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.  Montour tied the gamee with 11 seconds to play in the first half as Randall Labrie connected with Tyler Carswell from 11 yards out, Nolan Hutter adding the point after.  Hampton scored its second touchdown on the opening drive of the third period as fullback Andrew Siford ran it in from the 19 yard line.  When the extra point was no good, the Talbots lead was six at 13-7.  The Spartans took the lead late in the third quarter when Tom Sylvester ran it in from five yards out and Hutter converting the point after, 14-13.  But Hampton’s defense forced a fumble midway through the fourth period allowing the offense to turn that into a three yard scoring strike from Ross Andersson to Clayton Kejas to make the score 19-14 as the Talbots failed on the two point conversion.  Hampton (7-3) will take on Central Valley next Friday at a site to be determined.  Montour ends its season at 6-4.

Mars Fighting Planets 17 – New Castle Red Hurricane 14
In a dramatic finish, Caleb Brake kicked a 19 yard field goal in the game’s final seconds to send Mars to the quarterfinals with the win at the Mars Athletic Complex. Brake also is a key member of the Planets’ soccer team, which will take on South Park at 2 pm Saturday for the WPIAL AA championship. After a scoreless first quarter, New Castle took the lead on a 1 yard run by Nick Treloar, capping a 16 play drive. The Planets answered with a 27 yard td pass from Sam Morrissey to Nathan Sablowski for a 7-6 lead at the break. Mars added to the lead in the third on a 29 yard run by Isaiah Johnson. New Castle came back later in the quarter on a 5 yard strike from Pat Minenok to Marcus Hooker. Giovanni Eggleston caught the two-point conversion to knot the game. Mars was able to start a late drive in the final five minutes to set up Brake’s winning kick. Johnson ran 27 times for 141 yards to lead the Planets, now 9-1. New Castle ends the season at 5-5, the Red Hurricanes have not won a playoff game since 2009.

Ringgold Rams 35 – Ambridge Bridgers 0
After a scoreless first quarter, Ringgold put three touchdowns on the board in the second period and the Rams coasted to a 35-0 win over Ambridge in a WPIAL AAA first round game Friday night at Joe Montana Stadium in Monongahela.  Running back Brenden Small scored on runs of 17 and 25 yards in the second frame while receiver Dalton Holt caught a 4-yard pass for a touchdown with just six seconds left before the half.  Small added his third touchdown on a 19-yard run in the third period and running back Chacar Berry, who had over 1,000 yards rushing in the regular season, added a score on an 8-yard scamper late in the period to finish the scoring.  The Bridgers, who were victimized by three interceptions, reached the Ram 2-yard line as the game ended.  Ambridge concluded its season at 5-5 while Ringgold will take a 9-1 mark into the quarterfinals against Mars.

Belle Vernon Leopards 36 – Chartiers Valley Colts 7
QB Mike Fine (8 for 84 rushing, 5 for 5 passing ) had 2 TD runs, a TD pass, and 2- two point conversion runs to lead Belle Vernon (10-0) to a 36 to 7 win over Chartiers Valley (4-6).  Derek Verkleeren scored on a 77 yard Kickoff return and caught a 5 yard TD pass from Mike Fine.  FB Ben Cole had a 1 yard TD run and Mike Semancik and Philip Taylor each had key interceptions.   QB Jake Collins lead Chartiers Valley by rushing for 130 yards on 15 carries and throwing for 216 yards, including a 13 yard TD pass to Joe Antonucci.  Belle Vernon will now face Franklin Regional in the quarter finals.

Franklin Regional Panthers 49 – West Mifflin Titans 7
Franklin Regional scored 42 unanswered points to break a 7-7 first quarter tie and defeated the West Mifflin Area Titans 49-7. Santino Birty rushed for 124 yards and three scores and threw for 154 yards and another touchdown to lead the Panthers. The Titans lone tally came on a 35 yard run by QB Karlyn Garner in the first quarter.

West Allegheny Indians 28 – Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers 8
Coming off a Week 9 loss and the No. 1 seed in Class AAA, West Allegheny had something to prove in the opening round of the WPIAL Football Championships against Hollidaysburg. However, it did not start according to plan for Indians. Hollidaysburg held stout defensively, only allowing a 40-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter that missed wide right. The Golden Tigers had a few chances to put points on the board, but two field goal attempts were blocked and a pass picked off in the end zone for a touchback. After a scoreless first half, West Allegheny scored on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter thanks to a 74-yard run by Terrence Stephens, and added another one late in the quarter for the Indians to go up 14-0. The second touchdown by the Bowling Green commit was a 15-yard scamper that capped off a 13 play, 72 yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock. From there, it was fellow senior Whitney White’s turn. White scored on a one-yard plunge to go up three scores, and sealed the fate of the Golden Tigers with a 43-yard interception returned for a touchdown with a little under two minute to play. Hollidaysburg did score a touchdown late in garbage time and converted a two-point attempt to make the final 28-8. West Allegheny moves on to face Thomas Jefferson, while Hollidaysburg’s era in the WPIAL ends, as the Golden Tigers will play an independent schedule to cut down on travel next season.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 42 – Armstrong River Hawks 7
Entering their first playoff appearance, things looked promising to start for the Armstrong River Hawks (formerly Ford City and Kittanning), when they quickly drove down field on the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars to take a 7-0 lead. After that, it was all Jaguars. Thomas Jefferson would go on to score 42 unanswered points defeating the River Hawks 42-7 thanks in part to great defense and the dual-threat running attack of junior running back Quinton Hill and senior Braden Pahanish. The two backs combined for over 400 yards rushing and the Jaguars defense held the WPIAL’s leading rusher Zane Dudek to just 39 yards. Despite the loss, Armstrong can hold its head high finishing the season 6-4 overall in the programs first season and it will return Dudek next season. Thomas Jefferson will look to add to its eight game winning streak next week when it faces the third seeded West Allegheny Indians in a rematch of one of last year’s WPIAL class AAA semi-final games. The Indians topped the Jaguars in that match-up 41-7 at Bethel Park.

WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

South Fayette Lions 63 – Burgettstown Blue Devils 6
All things considered, it took a while for South Fayette (10-0, 8-0) to get on the board against Burgettstown (5-5, 5-3) in what turned into a blowout. The Lions’ first possession actually ended with an interception in the end zone, but the Blue Devils made the mistake of trying to return it rather than take the knee. A bad bounce on a punt to South Fayette soon after ended with a Burgettstown recovery on the right side of midfield. The #16 seed could not take advantage of either opportunity, and the #1 seed led 28-0 by the time the first quarter was over, and then 42-0 at halftime. The reserves took over in the second half with the mercy rule in effect, and the Blue Devils got on the board midway through the fourth on a run by quarterback Brad McLaughlin. Offensively for the Lions, Drew Saxton completed 12 out of 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns while Hunter Hayes contributed 60 rushing yards on six carries and two scores. The two-time defending state champion played stifling defense, forcing punts at almost every turn, but forced no turnovers to the opponent’s credit.

Beaver Bobcats 45 – Mount Pleasant Vikings 24
The 8 seed Mt Pleasant Area Vikings and 9 seed Beaver Bobcats game Friday night at Viking Stadium was a tale of two halves; shootout in the first and total dominance by Beaver in the second. After long drive deep into Beaver territory on the opening drive, the Vikings would turn it over on downs. The next play Beaver QB Darius Wise would throw and interception to Keith Kalp, which would set up Chris Wagner on a 3 yd td run to make it 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff Darius Wise would return it for Beaver 85 yds tying the game 7-7. The Vikings added a Bradley Tait 28 yd fg to lead 10-7 after the 1st quarter.  The 2nd quarter would see both teams score twice. Mt Pleasant got on board first at 10:02  on a Kyle Halterman five yard touchdown run making it 17-7. Beaver would answer at 6:54 on a Darius Wise 14 yd TD run cutting the lead to 17-14. Mt Pleasant would respond on the ensuing kickoff as Kyle Halterman returned it 85 yards to extend the MP lead to 24-14. The Bobcats would get the last score of first half on a Darius Wise 14 yd touchdown run and Mt Pleasant would lead 24-21 at the half. It was all Beaver in the second half as the Bobcats scored four times and the Vikings would totally collaspe with four turnovers and no scores. The Bobcats had three scores in the 3rd quarter on two Darius Wise touchdown runs of 1 and 35. along with a Will Connelly 28 yard field goal making it 38-24 Beaver after three quarters. Last score of game for Beaver was midway through the 4th on a Darius Wise 32 yd touchdown pass to Landon Pontoli making the final score 45-24 in favor of Beaver. Darius Wise had four rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown. Beaver had 346 yards of total offense and Mt Pleasant had 361 yards. Beaver improves to 8-2 and takes on top seed South Fayette next Friday. Mt Pleasant season ends at 7-3.

Beaver Falls Tigers 33 – Apollo-Ridge Vikings 29
Duane Brown got Apollo Ridge off to a 7-0 lead with a 65 yard TD run on their first play from scrimmage. Two Neshaud Akins TD runs gave Beaver Falls a 14-7 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. After scores by both teams Apollo Ridge took a 21-20 half time lead on a 2 yard TD run by Duane Brown. Beaver Falls went up 26-21 on a 5 yard Derrell Carter TD run early in the 4th quarter. Then Apollo Ridge goes back up 29-26 with 3:15 remaining  only to see Beaver Falls score with 3 seconds left on a 4th and goal at the 5 yard line by Derrell Carter. Duane Brown had 200 yards rushing with 2 TDs for Apollo Ridge while Malik Shepherd and Derrell Carter both rushed for over 180 yards each for Beaver Falls who moves on to face Steel Valley I round number 2.

Steel Valley Ironmen 49 – New Brighton Lions 7
Steel Valley set the stage early in this game, scoring on an 11 play – 80 yard drive, and never looked back. The Ironmen had a dominating performance by junior running back DeWayne Murray, who ran the ball 22 times for 266 yards and 5 touchdowns (with 266 yards rushing, Murray surpassed over 4,000 rushing yards for his high school career). The defense played lights out, registering 8 sacks on New Brighton quarterback Justyn Francona, while adding 4 turnovers. The defense was led by Aujae Smith, who totaled 3 sacks for Steel Valley. The Ironmen move to 9-1 overall and will play Beaver Falls next week in the quarterfinals. The New Brighton season ends with an overall record of 5-5.

Aliquippa Quips 42 – Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 26
Sheldon Jeter threw three TD passes, two to Jassir Jordan and one to Antwan Brooks, as the Quips overcame significant injuries and offensive penalties to defeat Keystone Oaks in the first round of the Class AA WPIAL playoffs.  Kaezon Pugh rushed for 130 yards on fourteen carries before suffering a concussion late in the first half.  Pugh scored on runs of 4 and 74 yards.  The Golden Eagles hung with the 2nd-seeded Quips behind the arm and legs of junior QB Alex Smith.  Smith completed 18/31 passes for 237 yards and added 112 rushing yards and 2 TDs.  However, Smith did throw two 2nd-half interceptions which allowed Aliquippa to pull away.  Along with the Quips’ loss of Kaezon Pugh to injury, they also lost linemen Anwar Washington and Kenny  Rainey to leg injuries.  Rainey went out on the third offensive play of the night and would not return while Washington exited the game very late in the 4th quarter.  With the win, the Quips run their record to 10-0 and will now face the Seton-LaSalle Rebels in a neutral site game next week.  Keystone Oaks’ season finishes with a 5-5 record.

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 27 – Highlands Golden Rams 14
The offenses came out firing in the Class AA first round matchup between No. 7 Highlands and No. 10 Seton-La Salle, but ultimately it was the defense of the Rebels that proved to be the difference maker, as Seton-La Salle notched a 27-14 victory at Highlands High School. In just more than two minutes of play, the teams combined for three touchdowns, starting with a 30-yard Lionel Deanes touchdown reception on the Rebels’ opening drive. The Golden Rams wasted little time responding, though, as Jordan Lineburg took the ensuing kickoff 71 yards for a score. On the very next Rebels’ play from scrimmage, quarterback Nolan Abbiatici connected with Pitt recruit Paris Ford on a 54-yard touchdown strike. Highlands quarterback Brayden Thimons deadlocked the game in the second quarter, as his 17-yard run made it 14-14. In the third quarter, however, Ford came up with the decisive play of the game on defense, as he intercepted a tipped Thimons’ pass and took it 39 yards for the score. The Seton-La Salle defense held strong, as Deanes’ second touchdown late in the contest sealed the outcome. The Rebels triumph marks the second consecutive year that Seton-La Salle bounced Highlands from the postseason.

Washington Little Prexies 52 – Deer Lakes Lancers 7
Kurt Adkins ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns on just five first-half carries as Washington rolled to a 52-7 win over Deer Lakes.  Jordan West scored three times in the first half, and Isaiah Schoonmaker returned an interception 22 yards for a score as the Little Prexies (10-0) took advantage of great field position to lead 42-0 at intermission.  Zyan Wallace ran for a touchdown and Max Dragich kicked a 36-yard field goal before Hunter Burns powered in from five yards out to break the shutout.  Burns had 38 carries for 179 yards and threw a 29 yard pass to keep the Lancers (6-4) scoring drive alive. After forcing a punt on Deer Lakes opening possession, WHS got a 52-yard TD run from Adkins.  Burns fumbled on second down, Schoonmaker recovering at the DL 26.  Markel Pulliam found West on a deep crossing route for the touchdown.  A short Lancers punt set the Little Prexies up at the DL 30.  West scored from the one to make it 21-0.  Schoolmaker picked off Scott Kelly on the second play and sprinted from the near hashmarks to the far pylon for the touchdown. Following another punt, Adkins capped the Washington drive with a 30 yard scoring run, putting WHS up 35-0 and triggering the second-half running clock.

Freeport Yellowjackets 45 – McGuffey Highlanders 6
Ryan Weigold threw five first-half touchdowns to lead the Freeport Yellowjackets in a 45-6 win over the McGuffey Highlanders.  Jacob Sarver opened the scoring with a 29-yard field goal.  Then Weigold went on a tear, finding Dylan Hochbein on two scoring strikes (10, 63), Justin Brestensky (13), Brandon Hochbein (26), and Ian Miller (5).  The touchdown to Miller came with 10 seconds remaining in the half and put Freeport in front 38-0.  Wiegold’s total of 354 passing yards pushed his season total to a school-record 1,983.  He has thrown for 26 TDs. Marcus Czulewicz hit Nick Hayes on a 55 yard scoring strike to avoid the shutout.  McGuffey finishes the season with a record of 6-4.  Freeport (9-1) will play Washington (10-0) in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals.

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Clairton Bears 70 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 6
The Clairton Bears cruised to the quarterfinals with a 70-6 win over Carmichaels. The win was never in doubt as Clairton opened up a 38-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.  They led 62-0 at halftime, putting up 330 total offense yards in the opening half compared with Carmichaels’ 19 yards. The Bears held the Mighty Mikes to just 43 total offensive yards for the game.  Clairton’s Harrison Dreher scored 4 touchdowns with a punt return, an interception return, and 2 touchdown receptions. Quarterback Aaron Mathews was 6-9 in the first half for 123 yards and three touchdown passes.  Lamont Wade rushed for 113 yards on just 8 carries and scored two touchdowns. Tre’sean Howard added 2 touchdowns as well, and Noah Hamlin ran in a touchdown from 50 yards out.  The Mikes were able to break the shutout in the fourth quarter after they recovered a fumble on a high snap at the Clairton 4-yard line.  Shawn Dulaney was able to punch it in for the lone Carmichaels score. Clairton will move on to face Avonworth in the Quarterfinals.

Avonworth Antelopes 28 – Beth-Center Bulldogs 12
Avonworth responded to strong first half from host Beth-Center with 21 second-half points to score a 28-12 victory over the Bulldogs and set up a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class A title game. B-C (7-3) struck quickly thanks to standout senior running back Anthony Welsh, who broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run just 1:36 into the contest. Avonworth (8-2) blocked the PAT attempt to limit the Bulldogs to a 6-0 lead. The Antelopes trailed for most of the first quarter, but with 1:04 remaining in the opening period, junior Ryan Hunt surged through the middle of the Beth-Center defense for a 14-yard touchdown run. Senior Cole Pappas gave his team an early 7-6 edge with the first of his four successful extra point tries. The host squad struck back in the second quarter, as Welsh scored what wound up being the final touchdown of his illustrious high school career. The all-time leading rusher at Beth-Center found pay dirt from 22 yards out to swing the lead back over to the Bulldogs at 12-7. The PAT try failed. After B-C controlled the football for the majority of the first half, Avonworth flipped the script on its opposition and dominated time of possession over the third and fourth quarters. The Antelopes scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 7:30 left to play in the third when senior quarterback Zach Chandler scampered in from 12 yards out.Another Pappas kick gave the visitors a 14-12 edge. Avonworth rolled the dice by going for an onside kick following the go-ahead score, and the gamble paid off, as the Antelopes recovered the football in B-C territory. Less than two minutes later, Chandler found junior Garrett Day on a 25-yard pass-and-run with just over five minutes left to play in the third quarter. Another successful attempt by Pappas made the score 21-12. The finishing touches to the victory were put into place by freshman Nick Weiser, who scored from 31 yards out with just 1:43 remaining in the contest. Pappas closed the scoring with extra point number four of the evening. Chandler led his team both on the ground and in the air. He completed 14-of-26 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 65 yards and a score on 10 carries. Welsh piled up 188 yards and two scores on 28 carries in the loss. The Antelopes advance to play Clairton in next week’s quarterfinal round.

Frazier Commodores 33 – South Side Rams 32 in Overtime
Frazier picked its first playoff win since 1983 and the first for the Tri-County South Conference since 2010 by downing the South Side Rams 33 to 32 in overtime on Friday Night in Perryopolis.  The Commodores defense which entered the game giving only 31 points all season long got the scoring started as Hunter Patterson intercepted South Side Quarterback Robert Heberle 65 seconds into the game and returned the interception for a touchdown to give the Commodores an early 6 to 0 lead.  South Side would reel off 19 unanswered points as Cole Campbell, Quae’shawn Thompson and AJ Crider would score 1st half touchdowns for the Rams.  Frazier would answer before halftime as Hunter Patterson would throw a pair of Touchdown Passes to Hunter Broadwater and Damon Lovis to knot the game up at 19-19 halftime.  After recovering an onside kick to start the 2nd half, The Rams Quae’Shawn Thompson would score his 2nd touchdown of the night to give the Rams a 26 to 19 lead 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter.  Hunter Patterson would answer again for Frazier on a 24 yard touchdown run to tie the game up at 26-26 late in the 3rd quarter.  After a scoreless 4th period, the game headed to overtime.  Hunter Patterson scored first for the Commodores in the extra session on a 5 yard touchdown run, the extra point from Josh Cox gave the Commodores a 33 to 26 overtime lead.  Thompson answered back for South Side scoring his 3rd touchdown of the night to cut the Frazier lead to 33 to 32.  South Side Head Coach Glenn McDougal would roll the dice and go for the 2 point conversion and the win but Cole Campbell’s run was stopped short of the goal line and the Commodores remained undefeated on the season at 10-0 with the 33 to 32 overtime win over South Side.  Frazier will meet Shenango in the quarterfinals while the Rams season ends with a 6 and 4 overall record.  The Frazier win avenged a 26 to 12 win that South Side had over Frazier in the 1st Round of the WPIAL Playoffs a year ago.

Shenango Wildcats 23 – Springdale Dynamos 10
The Wildcats advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight year with the home win. Senior Hunter Waskin ran 18 times for 127 yards and a pair of scores. Shenango jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead. Waskin opened the scoring in the first on an 8 yard run and added a second 8 yard scoring run in the second, his 12th and 13th scores of the year. Jason Walace added his 9th touchdown on a 4 yard run late in the half. Springdale got on the board with a long drive, capped by a Logan Panza 27 yard field goal. The Dynamos recovered an onsides kick and drove deep, but turned the ball over on downs, Springdale was 0-3 on fourth down in the game. Dylan Kleckner kicked a career long 42 yard field goal in the fourth. Ben Sowinski added a yard run for Springdale, the Dynamos could not stop the Shenango rushing game and the Wildcats ran out the final 3:19. Shenango gained 261 yards on the ground. The Wildcats are noe 8-2 and meet Fraizer in the next round. Springdale ends the season at 5-5, the Dynamos got 106 yards from Sowinski on 21 carries. The junior finished with 1,011 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 35 – Union Scotties 7
In a WPIAL Class A first round playoff match up it was the #15 Union Scotties(4-3, 5-4) from the Big Seven Conference traveling to take on #2 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic(7-0. 9-0) champions of the Black Hills Conference in North Park at Lt. J.C. Stone Field. The Trojans came in as heavy favorites, with a balanced offensive attack lead by Senior QB Erik Taylor, who could not only throw the ball(1,300 yards passing during the regular season), but could also run the ball(496 rushing yards).  Throughout, the regular season the Trojan QB had multiple targets to spread the wealth to, but on this night it was about the Senior QB and his legs. After a 1st quarter dominated by Union. With multiple 3 and outs recorded by the Scotties defense and offense sustaining drives, but to no points.  A failed 4th down conversion by Union’s Senior QB Joe Gunnlate in the 1st quarter changed the tides. Trojans QB Erik Taylor took over the in the 2nd quarter rushing for 2 touchdowns(14,3) and handing the ball off to Khalil Weathers who punched in two of his own both of 1 yard.  Taylor’s rushing performance was good enough to eclipse the 100 yard mark.  However, his arm which produced atleast one touchdown in every game through the air this season was held in check. A bright spot came late in the 4th quarter for the Scotties.  After making the playoffs, for the first time since 2012 and coming off an 1-8 record last year, 4 year starter Jordan Best punched in a 1 yard score to end his high school football career. The Union Scotties finish the season 5-5 overall.  While, CW North Catholic will take on Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL Class A Quarterfinals.  This will be a rematch of the two teams 10/23 match-up where the Trojans won 20-0 at Mars High School.

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 35 – Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 28
The No.7-seed Bishop Canevin Crusaders ran past the No.10-seed Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions in a game on the ground, 35-28. As a team, the Crusaders ran for 391 rushing yards. Senior tailback Hasann Woodson led all players with 128 rushing yards on seven carries. Senior Quarterback Tommy Pellis compiled 126 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of which came in the fourth quarter. Bishop Canevin will take on No.2-seed Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic next week on Friday night in the Quarterfinals of the WPIAL Playoffs.

Jeannette Jayhawks 27 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 7
Jeannette came into the playoffs on a 3 game winning streak, but had to open the playoffs without one of their top offensive players.  Kareem Hall, who had put up over 1,000 yards in total offense on the regular season and led the Jayhawks in rushing (754 yards) and scoring (16 TD’s), suffered an ankle injury in Jeannette’s regular season finale.  The injury kept Hall out of the Jayhawks lineup, but the next man up, or men in this case, stepped up big time to help Jeannette knock off Chartiers-Houston at McKee Stadium.  The Buccaneers got off to a fast start, scoring on the first drive of the game just :29 seconds into the first quarter.  T.J. Johnston hit Tyrone Wormsley on a 65-yard touchdown pass to get the Bucs out to a quick 7-0 lead after Michael Cushma’s extra point.  Jeannette however would answer just over four minutes later, as Jefferson Jones, who was one of several Jayhawks taking carries in place of Hall, broke off a 44-yard touchdown run.  Swade Redman’s PAT tied the game at 7-7, which is the score the first quarter would end at.  The only score of the second quarter was a 26-yard TD run by Redman.  The PAT was blocked, but the Jayhawks took a 13-7 lead that held until the half.  But it’s the points that weren’t scored that hurt Chartiers-Houston the worst.  The Bucs had the ball 1st and goal twice inside the 10 yard line in the opening half, but came away with zero points as both times bad exchanges led to blocked field goals.  In the 3rd quarter, Jeannette put the game away.  The Jayhawks went 70 yards on the first drive of the second half, capped by Redman’s 4-yard touchdown run.  The 2 point try was no good, but with 8:11 left in the quarter, Jeannette led 19-7.  On the ensuing Buccaneers drive, Ryan Swinton would intercept a pass at the Bucs 40 yard line and return it to the 25.  On 3rd down from the 16 yard line, Giovanne Sanders would find Mark Wormack on a scoring pass, then Sanders would run in the conversion to make the score 27-7.  On the night, Jones and Redman combined for nearly 200 yards in total offense and 3 TD’s in place of Hall.  Chartiers-Houston was led by Johnston’s 125 yards passing, while Wormsley recorded 123 yards in total offense as well.  The Jayhawks improved to 9-1 with the win and will face #6 Neshannock in the quarterfinals.  It will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals, a game the Lancers won 46-32.  With the loss, the Bucs finished 2K15 at 5-5.  The loss was also Chartiers-Houston’s 11th straight playoff defeat, with their last win coming in the 1st round back in 2000.  This game was also the first ever meeting in football between these two schools.

Neshannock Lancers 49 – Bentworth Bearcats 13
Neshannock jumped out to a 14-0 lead before its offense touched the football. Mason Davison intercepted a screen pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game. Two plays later, Danny Welker raced 35 yards with an interception to put the Lancers up 14-0 just 1:41 into the game. After Frank Antuono hit Tyler Sear with a 42 yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, Robert Lindsey took a pick-six 39 yards to make the score 28-0 mid-way through the second quarter. Lindsey also scored on touchdown runs of 32 and 15 yards in the second half. Bentworth committed five turnovers and quarterback Josh Hughes was sacked eight times. Hughes threw for 204 yards in the game and one touchdown, a four-yarder to Ryan Nickeson with eight seconds left in the first half. The Bearcats final score came with less than a minute to play in the game when Ben Peternel, subbing for the injured Hughes, tossed a 12 yard t-d pass to Ty Mitchell. Neshannock (9-1) advances to the quarter finals to face Jeanette. Bentworth finishes its season at 6-4.