5 things we learned from Week 1 of high school football

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 1, 2018 | 10:42 PM

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Before the lightning, Dustin Shoaf was electric.

The WPIAL’s regular-season rushing champ from a year ago ran for 299 yards on 12 carries and scored three first-half touchdowns for Yough before a thunderstorm forced a long halftime delay Friday night.

But Shoaf has company at the top.

Eight WPIAL running backs topped 200 yards rushing in Week 1 including a remarkable 328 yards from Bethel Park’s Jehvonn Lewis on 30 carries. Lewis had touchdown runs of 28, 39 and 77 yards in a 41-20 victory over Woodland Hills.

Not to be outdone, the longest of Shoaf three touchdowns was an 84-yarder in 42-30 win against Uniontown.

WPIAL quarterbacks are setting records almost every year, but not everybody has a pass-first mindset.

North Hills’ Tyler Brennan rushed for 270 yards Friday, West Mifflin’s Parish Parker had 245 and South Side Beaver’s Jake Botkin had 220. Mars’ Garrett Reinke and Keystone Oaks’ Logan Shrubb each had 216, and Steel Valley’s Todd Hill added 206.

After two weeks, Shrubb’s teammate at Keystone Oaks, Michael Daure, leads the WPIAL with 426 yards and 10 touchdowns on 58 carries. Daure had 177 yards Friday.

Shoaf is second with 413 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries.

2. ‘An old school guy’

Yes, Jim Render is an old-school coach.

The winningest coach in WPIAL history celebrated his 400th career victory Friday night following Upper St. Clair’s 16-14 win over Peters Township. But just because he’s old-school doesn’t mean his team is stuck in the past.

In fact, USC revamped its defense this season, switching to an aggressive scheme meant to force more turnovers.

“Everyone thinks he’s an old-school guy, but he finds new things,” senior safety Antonio Orsini said. “He’s exciting. Every day’s a journey.”

So far, the USC defense has five interceptions in two games. That includes an interception by Orsini in the fourth quarter Friday that shifted momentum.

“We’ve adopted a new philosophy,” said Render, who changed defensive coordinators this season after his previous assistant retired. “We adopted some things from Pine-Richland and Steubenville, quite honestly. I think my staff and our players bought into it. It’s based a little more on speed and stuff like that.”

Render’s record is 400-138-6 in 49 seasons, but the old-school coach is still open to new-school ideas.

“I guess I am,” he said.

3. Kick it out of bounds?

Here’s a piece of advice for WPIAL coaches in Class 3A: Don’t punt the football to MJ Devonshire.

Sure, that’s easier said than done, but the Aliquippa senior already has returned four punts for touchdowns this season. He had three in Friday’s 55-0 victory over Waynesburg, returns that covered 64, 51 and 62 yards.

In Week Zero, Devonshire had a 37-yard punt return touchdown against McKinley Tech of Washington D.C.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound wide receiver and defensive back is one of the top seniors in the WPIAL. The four-star cornerback recruit lists scholarship offers from Ohio State and Michigan State along with Pitt, WVU and others.

There’s no doubting his speed. He won WPIAL Class AA track titles in the 100 and 200 meters this past spring.

4. Class 2A shows depth

There’s a new top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 2A after Charleroi accomplished something that hadn’t been done in five years. Charleroi handed Washington its first regular-season loss since Oct. 11, 2013, snapping the Prexies’ 39-game streak with a 64-33 victory Friday.

Charleroi quarterback Geno Pellegrini passed for 205 yards and rushed for another 119 in the win. Teammate Brayden Mihalcin added 169 rushing yards for first-year coach Lance Getsy.

Washington’s loss lifts preseason No. 2 Riverside (1-0) into the top spot in the Trib rankings , but there’s a solid list of challengers just behind the Panthers. Among them, Avonworth and Steel Valley have both started strongly in the Three Rivers Conference .

5. Bouncing back in Beaver County

Is there a resurgence in Beaver County?

Beaver Falls and Blackhawk, next-door neighbors with championship-winning pasts and young coaches, are each off to a 2-0 start.

Combined, the two teams went 3-15 last year.

Blackhawk (2-0, 1-0) defeated Knoch, 48-12, on Friday and remained perfect under first-year coach Zack Hayward. The Cougars also own a 21-7 win over Tri-County West opponent Central Valley.

A year ago, Blackhawk lost to Knoch, 39-13, and finished 2-7 overall.

Beaver Falls (2-0, 1-0) stayed undefeated Friday with a 48-31 win against South Park. Coach Nick Nardone is in his second season leading the Tigers.

With two early wins, Beaver Falls already has surpassed last year’s wins total from a 1-8 season.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.