5 things we learned about WPIAL football in Week 3

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 15, 2018 | 8:57 PM

Another week brings another change at the top in WPIAL Class 2A, a classification that so far seems the most unpredictable.

Preseason favorite Washington lost to Charleroi in Week 1, moving Riverside to the top spot. But Riverside lost to Freedom in Week 2, moving Steel Valley to No. 1 in the Trib rankings.

On Friday, Shady Side Academy and standout quarterback Skyy Moore claimed the top spot by defeating Steel Valley, 56-36, in a convincing Week 3 victory.

Moore rushed for 160 yards and four touchdowns, and he passed for 274 yards and four more scores.

The senior threw a pair of 35-yard touchdowns to Billy Frohlich, and a touchdown each to Michael “Dino” Tomlin (70 yards) and Mason Tomlin (46 yards). His rushing touchdowns covered 2, 7, 15 and 31 yards.

Shady Side Academy (3-0, 2-0) leads the Allegheny Conference ahead of Steel Valley (2-1) and Avonworth (1-1). The Indians won’t face Avonworth until Week 9.

Shady Side was a Class 3A team last season and missed the playoffs by a game. But the program dropped to Class 2A in the WPIAL realignment and looks like a WPIAL title contender.

Rice on Wednesday became the latest school to offer Moore a scholarship. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder also plays defensive back. His list already included Buffalo, along with Albany, Brown, Columbia, Delaware, Duquesne, Fordham, Holy Cross, Howard, Lehigh, Maine, Richmond, Robert Morris and Yale.

Quips averaging eight TDs

Aliquippa is averaging a remarkable 56 points per game, which ranks best in the WPIAL. It’s only four games, but the Quips are on pace with some of the all-time great offenses.

Consider, when Jeannette and Terrelle Pryor set the WPIAL scoring record in 2007, the state-champion Jayhawks averaged 42.5 points over 16 games. And when Steel Valley won the state title in 2016, the Ironmen scored 806 points in 15 games – an average of 53.7 points per week.

Aliquippa (4-0) owns wins over McKinley Tech, 48-0, Waynesburg, 55-0, Quaker Valley, 59-6, and Montour, 62-0. The Quips visit rival Beaver Falls (4-0) on Friday.

Punting to MJ Devonshire certainly has helped Aliquippa’s cause. The standout senior returned another punt for a touchdown Friday, this time a 90-yarder. Quips quarterback Eli Kosanovich also threw six touchdowns to five different receivers.

‘Explosive’ Hardy hard to overlook

Penn Hills’ Daequan Hardy showed Friday night why Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and others are recruiting him.

The senior cornerback and receiver wowed with an 86-yard touchdown run and two interceptions, one he returned 43 yards to the end zone in a 36-15 victory at Mars.

The WPIAL’s 2019 recruiting class is strong at cornerback, starting with Aliquippa’s Devonshire and North Allegheny’s Joey Porter Jr., but Hardy is right there with them.

“He’s just so explosive and jittery and quick,” Penn Hills coach Jon LeDonne said. “He puts on a show when he has the ball in his hands.”

Hardy fumbled on Penn Hills’ second play Friday, a 23-yard gain. On his next chance, Hardy broke free for his long touchdown run.

“After that fumble, I was just thinking: ‘I’ve got to do better,’” Hardy said. “That was a lot better.”

A kick start for Week 3

Yes, kickers are football players. If you ask North Hills or Shenango, they’ll surely agree after Friday night.

The only points in North Hills’ 3-0 victory over Hampton came from a 23-yard field goal by Dan Wagner in the second quarter.

Shenango celebrated its first victory Friday night thanks to Aidan Johnston. The Wildcats’ kicker made a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter and added a 38-yarder in the fourth to defeat Serra Catholic, 35-34.

Northern teams hold 6A edge

The new-look Class 6A feels a little like the old Class 6A.

After Week 3, the top four teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification come from what used to be the Northern Seven: North Allegheny (3-0), Pine-Richland (2-0), Central Catholic (2-1) and Seneca Valley (2-1). South Hills contender Mt. Lebanon (2-1) came close to breaking through the northern dominance Friday, but the Blue Devils lost to Seneca Valley, 17-14.

Class 6A has only one conference this season, combining teams from the Northern Seven and Southeastern Conferences.

All four WPIAL semifinalists each of the past two seasons hailed from the Northern Seven: Pine-Richland, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Penn Hills last season, and Central Catholic, Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny in 2016.

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

Tags: Aliquippa, Central Catholic, Charleroi, North Allegheny, North Hills, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Riverside, Seneca Valley, Shady Side Academy, Shenango, Steel Valley, Washington