A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 10

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | 6:52 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Class 5A

First round

10-Fox Chapel (4-6) at 7-Upper St. Clair (6-4)

7 p.m. Friday, at Panther Stadium, Upper St. Clair Township

Winner plays: At 2-Penn-Trafford in quarterfinals Nov. 12, 7 p.m.

Fox Chapel returns to the WPIAL playoffs after a one-year hiatus. The Foxes are part of the postseason for the 13th time. Fox Chapel enters Friday’s game hoping to snap a three-game losing streak. The Foxes defeated Shaler and Kiski Area in conference play. They scored 28 points in a 42-28 loss to No. 1 seed Moon. Quarterback Collin Dietz has thrown for 1,296 yards and 12 touchdowns in 10 games but was injured last week against Pine-Richland. Zidane Thomas paces the running game with 849 yards and nine touchdowns. … Upper St. Clair, the Allegheny Six Conference runner-up to Moon, defeated South Fayette and Bethel Park to conclude the regular season. The Panthers’ also helped their cause with a win over playoff-bound Peters Township. Mateo Cepullio threw for a touchdown and ran for another in Friday’s 21-14 win over Bethel Park. Upper St. Clair is hoping to make the WPIAL quarterfinals for a third straight season. The Panthers have won seven WPIAL championships, the most recent one coming in 2006. … The teams last played in 2019, and the Panthers won that contest, 42-0.

Class 4A

First round

13-Plum (3-7) at 4-Hampton (10-0)

7 p.m. Friday, at Fridley Field, Allison Park

Winner plays: Winner of 12-Indiana (5-5)/5-Thomas Jefferson (6-2) in quarterfinals Nov. 12 (site and time TBD)

Plum is in the WPIAL playoffs for the 19th time, while Hampton is in for the 15th time. The game between Greater Allegheny Conference foes is a rematch of a 35-7 win by the Talbots from Oct. 8. … Plum overcame a challenging conference schedule and a forfeit loss to Mars to capture one of the five playoff spots from the conference. The Mustangs defeated Greensburg Salem, 30-27, last Friday in a winner-take-all matchup for the final playoff berth from the conference. Sean Franzi is just two passing yards away from 1,000 for the season. He has thrown 10 touchdowns. Eryck Moore also is approaching 1,000 rushing yards. He has 963 yards and nine touchdowns through nine games. … Hampton swept through the regular season averaging 38.1 points while giving up 11 a contest. The Talbots lost to Aliquippa in the quarterfinals last year. Brock Borgo and Christian Liberto each have rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. Joey Mayer, Matt DeMatteo and Jacob Premick also are featured in the run-first offense for Hampton. The Talbots are the No. 4 seed behind No. 1 Belle Vernon, No. 2 Aliquippa and No. 3 McKeesport.

Class 3A

First round

12-Ambridge (2-8) at 5-Freeport (5-4)

7 p.m. Friday, at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Winner plays: At 4-Elizabeth Forward (8-2) in the quarterfinals Nov. 12, 7 p.m.

Freeport is in the WPIAL playoffs for the 31st year, while it is the 12th overall postseason appearance for Ambridge. … The Yellowjackets won four of five to cap the regular season and secure the second-place position from the Allegheny Seven Conference. Freeport will play its first playoff game at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium. The last time the Yellowjackets hosted a playoff game was in 2015 in the finale at James Swartz Stadium. Freeport, which shut out Deer Lakes, 35-0, last Friday, has averaged 20.7 points and given up 16.9. Quarterback Ben Lane, a dual threat in the backfield for the Yellowjackets, has a team-best eight rushing touchdowns to go with three throwing scores. … Both of Ambridge’s wins this season came in conference play (Quaker Valley and Hopewell) as it secured the fourth-place spot in the Northwestern Six Conference behind Central Valley, Avonworth and Keystone Oaks. The Bridgers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2015 when they lost to Ringgold in the first round. Ambridge’s 35-9 win over Hopewell on Oct. 1 snapped a 28-game losing streak.

11-Burrell (3-7) at 6-Mt. Pleasant (5-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Viking Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

Winner plays: At 3-Avonworth (8-2) in the quarterfinals Nov. 12, 7 p.m.

A couple of teams that like to run the football will look to move ahead in the postseason. The question is, which one has more momentum? Mt. Pleasant stumbled to a 21-7 loss to South Allegheny to lose two of its last three to close the regular season, while Burrell clipped rival Valley, 19-14 for its third win on four games. A regular playoff team for the better part of the decade, Mt. Pleasant has not won a playoff game since 2014. Robbie Labuda and Aaron Alakson are key running backs, while quarterback Tyler Reese has shown duality leading the offense. … Burrell has not been to the playoffs since 2012. That year, it lost to Mt. Pleasant in the first round, 48-28. The Buccaneers, who began this season 0-6, haven’t won in the postseason since 2005. Against Valley, workhorse tailback Caden DiCaprio ran 36 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns. The Bucs have reached the playoffs 19 times in program history.

Class A

First round

13-Springdale (6-4) at 4-West Greene (8-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Kennedy Field, West Greene High School, Waynesburg

Winner plays: Winner of 12-Mapletown (6-4) /5-Rochester (7-2) in quarterfinals Nov. 12 (site and time TBD)

Springdale will compete in the WPIAL playoffs for the 19th time, while West Greene makes its sixth all-time WPIAL appearance. … The Dynamos were the last Alle-Kiski Valley team to qualify for the postseason as they topped Riverview, 35-0, last Saturday afternoon. The victory was Springdale’s third in four games after a three-game losing streak to the top teams in the Eastern Conference — Bishop Canevin, Leechburg and Greensburg Central Catholic. Quarterback Legend Aust threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns against Riverview, while Logan Dexter rushed for 111 yards and a TD and added three catches for 63 yards and a score. John Utiss also hauled in a receiving touchdown. … West Greene captured the Tri-County South Conference title with a 7-0 record. The Pioneers’ only losses in the regular season came to Cameron (W.Va.) and Burgettstown in their first two games. West Greene averaged 36.6 points through 10 games and gave up 15.2. Senior quarterback Wes Whipkey, in nine games, has thrown for 1,022 yards and 16 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Sophomore Colin Brady is at the core of the Pioneer offense with 140 carries for 1,333 yards and 20 touchdowns.

10-California (7-2) at 7-Leechburg (8-2)

7 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Field, Leechburg

Winner plays: Winner of 15-Monessen (4-6)/2-Cornell (7-2) in quarterfinals Nov. 12 (site and time TBD)

California is in the WPIAL playoffs for the 24th time in program history. The Trojans finished in third place in the Tri-County South Conference behind champion West Greene and runner-up Carmichaels. California won its final two games of the regular season (Monessen, Bentworth) by a combined 88-7. The Trojans averaged 33 points a game in the regular season. Quarterback Hunter Assad has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. Damani Stafford is 6 rushing yards shy of 1,000 for the season. He has 14 total touchdowns. … Leechburg’s run to the playoffs was filled with firsts. The Blue Devils clinched its first winning season since 1991, its first WPIAL playoff trip since 1988 and its first eight-win since season 1980. It also is the first home playoff game in the 75-year history of Leechburg’s Veterans Stadium. Quarterback Tommy Burke averaged 162.8 passing yards a game and totaled 15 touchdowns with a group of receivers led by Logan Kline (27 catches), Tyler Foley (26) and Eli Rich (26). Braylan Lovelace owns 1,313 rushing yards and a team-best 26 total touchdowns for a Blue Devils team averaging a Class A-best 45.4 points a game.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Ambridge, Burrell, California, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Hampton, Leechburg, Plum, Springdale, Upper St. Clair, West Greene