High school football roundup: Quaker Valley tops Seton LaSalle to reach 1st WPIAL title game

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 10, 2017 | 11:21 PM

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The Quaker Valley football team made history Friday night.

Ricky Guss threw for 82 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 122 yards and two TDs to lead the No. 2-seeded Quakers to a 40-7 victory over Seton LaSalle (9-2) in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal game Friday night at North Hills.

Jordan Taylor ran for a 10-yard touchdown, and Ryan Jackovic caught two touchdown passes and Isaiah McNair also caught one for the Quakers.

Quaker Valley held Seton-La Salle to 86 yards of offense.

Lionel Deanes scored the Rebels' lone touchdown on an 8-yard carry, but the WPIAL's leading rushing was held to 54 yards on 21 carries.

Class 6A

Pine-Richland 49, North Allegheny 25 — Two weeks after No. 1 Pine-Richland (12-0) rushed for 600 yards against its rival, Rams quarterback Phil Jurkovec threw for 432 yards and five touchdowns in a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal victory over No. 5 North Allegheny (8-3) at Ambridge. Pine-Richland receiver Jason DeFrancisis caught four touchdowns on receptions of 52, 17, 25 and 46 yards.

Pine-Richland will play Central Catholic in the championship game Saturday at Heinz Field at a time to be determined.

Central Catholic 17, Penn Hills 8 — The No. 2-seeded Vikings (10-2) are headed to Heinz Field for the fifth consecutive season after a win over the Indians (8-4) in a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal at Fox Chapel. Troy Fisher threw for 144 yards, including scoring passes of 75 yards to Corey Thomas and 66 yards to Gavin Thomson. Fisher added 94 rushing yards. Johnathan Opalko contributed a 37-yard field goal for Central Catholic (10-2). Hollis Mathis threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rick Martin and finished with 107 yards through the air.

Class 5A

Gateway 28, McKeesport 21 — Derrick Davis' 8-yard run with 2:15 remaining gave the Gators the lead for good as they beat McKeesport in a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal at Norwin to advance to the championship game at Heinz Field against Penn-Trafford.

Brady Walker passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 84 yards and another score for No. 2 Gateway (11-1), which stopped McKeesport's last-gasp drive to avenge a loss from last season's semifinals. Davis caught eight passes for 95 yards and rushed for 50 yards.

John Harper rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns for No. 6 McKeesport (8-3), and Carlinos Acie added 106 yards on the ground.

Class 4A

Montour 35, South Fayette 27 — The No. 4 Spartans (9-2) upset top-ranked South Fayette after scoring three, fourth-quarter touchdowns in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal at West Allegheny. Montour quarterback Kavon Mormon threw for 212 yards and ran for 128 more. Brandon Lipford intercepted two passes in the fourth quarter and returned each inside the 5. The Lions (10-1) were led by Drew Saxton's 280 yards passing; he finished his career with 7,445 yards.

Class 3A

Aliquippa 14, Beaver 7 — At Central Valley, top-seeded Aliquippa (12-0) narrowly avoided being upset in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals when Xavier Harvey scored on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter to give the Quips the win over No. 5 Beaver (9-3). Aliquippa led 6-0 at halftime on Tyriq Jones' 3-yard run before Beaver took the lead in the fourth quarter when Brodie List hit Harrison Pontoli with a 26-yard scoring pass. Aliquippa will play Quaker Valley in the Class 3A championship.

Class 2A

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 35, Serra Catholic 14 — Zack Rocco threw for 112 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 61-yard score to lead No. 3 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (10-2) to a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Serra Catholic (7-5) at Hampton. The Trojans scored all of their points in the first half. Evan Honick threw for 180 yards in the loss.

Riverside 42, Avonworth 14 — Ben Hughes threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 4 Riverside (9-2) over No. 12 Avonworth (4-6) in the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals at Seneca Valley. Noah Harris added 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Riverside, which will play Steel Valley in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Derek Johncour and Park Penrod tossed for 117 and 133 yards, respectively, for Avonworth with each throwing a touchdown pass.

Steel Valley 42, Burgettstown 0 — Kameron Williams ran for 221 yards and the game's first four touchdowns to lead No. 1 Steel Valley (10-0) to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal shutout against No. 9 Burgettstown (7-4) at Dormont Stadium. Steel Valley will play Riverside in next week's semifinals.

Washington 54, East Allegheny 7 — In a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal matchup at Elizabeth Forward, Zack Swartz completed 9 of 10 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 2 Washington (11-0) to victory over No. 7 East Allegheny (7-4). Nick Welsh rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns for the Little Prexies while Isaiah Schoonmaker caught five passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Washington, which scored 34 points in the second quarter, will face Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in next week's semifinals.

Class A

California 43, Union 19 — Jelani Stafford ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns and Cochise Ryan added 109 rushing yards as top-ranked California (12-0) defeated No. 9 Union (8-4) in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals at Canon-McMillan. California's defense recorded eight sacks. Evan Pinkerton paced Union with 164 passing yards and a touchdown. The Trojans will play Imani Christian in the Class A semifinals.

Clairton 37, Carmichaels 12 — Tre'sean Howard ran for touchdowns of 21 and 47 yards, scored on a 68-yard punt return and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown as No. 2 Clairton (9-2) beat No. 7 Carmichaels (8-3) in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals at Charleroi. The Bears advance to play Jeannette in next week's semifinals.

Imani Christian 20, OLSH 12 — Tawan Wesley threw touchdown passes to Sam Fairley and Asante Watkins, and Watkins rushed for another score as No. 4 Imani Christian (10-2) earned a WPIAL Class A quarterfinal victory over No. 5 OLSH (9-3) at Chartiers-Houston.

Imani Christian will play No. 1 California in the semifinals Friday at a time and site to be determined.