A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 1

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 | 5:59 PM

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Nonconference

Blackhawk (0-1) at Highlands (1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, at Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights

Blackhawk got on the board late in Friday’s 22-7 loss to neighboring rival Beaver Falls as quarterback Alex Prichard connected with Sam Stewart for a 22-yard touchdown. … Highlands topped University Prep for the second year in a row as Luke Bombalski was the star in the 34-12 victory. He carried the ball 23 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Landan Signorella and Brayden White caught TD passes from Chandler Thimons. Highlands is 1-7 all-time against Blackhawk. The one Golden Rams win came in 2017 at Beaver Falls, 49-12. Highlands lost playoff games to Blackhawk in 1997, 2007 and 2008.

Freeport (1-0) at South Allegheny (1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, at Gladiators Stadium, Liberty Borough

Freeport hopes to spoil the opening game at the new Gladiators Stadium. Freeport and South Allegheny will play for the first time. The Yellowjackets are 3-3 in their past six season openers. Freeport players rallied around senior linebacker Jacksen Reiser, who suffered a torn ACL in the team’s preseason scrimmage against Slippery Rock. Quarterback Gavin Croney helped the Yellowjackets get going with a TD pass to Zach Clark. … South Allegheny, in its 25-7 win over Yough, got scoring in a variety of ways, including a 15-yard TD pass from Eric Wehrer to Joseph Gamret, a 1-yard run from Dashawn Carter and a Benicio Hernandez interception return.

Knoch (0-1) at Indiana (0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at Andy Kuznieski Stadium, Indiana

The Knights hope to give first-year coach Tim Burchett his first victory with the Knoch football program. The Knights continue their season-long road trip as all games will be away from home while their stadium is refurbished. Knoch was not able to get its offense on track Friday in a 48-0 Week Zero loss to Hampton. The Knights won two games last year, and one was against Indiana, 27-26, in Greater Allegheny Conference play. … The Indians won the 2020 meeting 29-6. Indiana fell to Freeport, 28-8, Friday. The Indians’ lone score came on a 36-yard TD pass from Trevor Smith to James Mill.

Pine-Richland (0-1) at Kiski Area (0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at Richard Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township

Kiski Area and Pine-Richland spent the past two years as foes in the Northeast Conference. The Cavaliers and Rams played down to the wire last year at Pine-Richland with the Rams pulling out a 33-27 victory that knocked Kiski Area out of the WPIAL playoff chase in Class 5A. Both teams are hoping to bounce back after Week Zero losses, the Cavaliers against Plum, 35-14; and the Rams against Ohio’s Pickerington North, 42-0. Kiski Area and Plum were close before the Mustangs pulled away in the second half. Lebryn Smith and Dom DiNinno hooked up twice on touchdowns. DiNinno caught three passes overall for 109 yards, and Smith was 11 of 17 for 205 yards, the two TD passes and no interceptions.

Plum (1-0) at Fox Chapel (0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at James Burk Complex, O’Hara Township

Plum hopes to build on momentum gained from a 35-14 Week Zero victory over rival Kiski Area, and Fox Chapel seeks to recover from Friday’s 56-0 rout at the hands of Peters Township. The Mustangs racked up 322 rushing yards on 28 carries, an average of 11.5 an attempt. Senior Eryck Moore had 99 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, and sophomore Nick Odom exploded for 205 yards and three TDs on nine rushes. Junior Sean Franzi was 8 of 15 for 79 yards and a TD strike to Moore. … Fox Chapel struggled to get its offense going against Peters Township, totaling 82 yards on 45 plays. Of the 82 yards, 60 came through the air. Plum leads the all-time series 15-13-1. The teams last played to close the 2017 regular season. Fox Chapel won that game 42-14.

Riverview (0-1) at Carlynton (0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Honus Wagner Stadium, Carnegie

Riverview owned an early lead in its Week Zero game against Beth-Center last Saturday afternoon at Riverside Park in Oakmont, but the Bulldogs rallied past the Raiders for a 29-15 win. Landon Johnson led the way with 81 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. … Carlynton lost Friday, 14-0, to Carrick. Riverview coach Trevor George is a Carlynton graduate. The teams also played the past two seasons with the Golden Cougars winning 35-12 last year and 48-8 in 2020. The series is tied 2-2 with Riverview scoring wins in 2008 and 2009. Carlynton owns one of the longest WPIAL playoff droughts as it hasn’t qualified since 2001.

Springdale (0-1) at Northgate (0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at Alumni Field, Bellevue

Springdale, which entered the season with several players seeing their first varsity action after big graduation losses from last year, wasn’t able to get on the board Friday against Ligonier Valley in a 48-0 loss. The Dynamos turn to Northgate as they hope to give first-year coach Ryan Tempalski his first win as a head coach. Northgate leads the all-time series 7-5, but Springdale has won five of the past six meetings, including the last matchup in 2019, 55-14. … The Flames hope for a better defensive effort this week after surrendering 69 points in a 69-20 Week Zero loss to Fort Cherry. Northgate scored all of its points in the first half. Darius Fields scored twice on runs of 19 and 9 yards.

Valley (0-1) at Apollo-Ridge (1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, at Owens Field, Apollo

The matchup of the Vikings features a Valley team hoping to bounce back after a 42-7 Week Zero loss to Armstrong and Penn quarterback commit Cadin Olsen. Apollo-Ridge will attempt to build on momentum picked up with a 34-28 victory over neighboring rival Leechburg. The all-time series is tied 5-5 since the first meeting in 1986. The teams last played in 2019 at Valley with Apollo-Ridge winning 35-28 behind 344 yards and four touchdowns from graduate Logan Harmon. Friday, Apollo-Ridge racked up 530 yards of total offense, including 378 on the ground. It was led by 200 yards and two touchdowns from Nick Curci, a dual run-pass effort from Karter Schrock (149 run, 155 pass) and four catches for 127 yards from Jake Mull.

Leechburg (0-1) at Summit Academy (0-1)

12:30 p.m. Saturday, at Steve Sherer Field, Herman

Leechburg plays a rare Saturday game as it hopes to bounce back from a 34-28 loss at rival Apollo-Ridge. In his first varsity start, sophomore quarterback Jayden Floyd completed 13 of 18 passes for 151 yards and touchdown passes to Tyler Foley and Pitt commit Braylan Lovelace. The Apollo-Ridge defense held Lovelace to 56 rushing yards. Leechburg and Summit Academy have played several times in recent years as members of the Eastern Conference. The Blue Devils won last year’s meeting 43-8. … Summit was 0-10 last year after not playing the 2020 season because of covid. The Knights opened their season with a 49-0 loss to New Castle on Friday. They have lost 13 games in a row dating to 2019.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Blackhawk, Carlynton, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Indiana, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Northgate, Pine-Richland, Plum, Riverview, South Allegheny, Springdale, Summit Academy, Valley