A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 3

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 | 8:08 PM

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Class 5A Big East

Norwin (1-2, 0-0) at Plum (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Mustang Stadium, Plum

Plum, which has scored just three more points (77) than it has allowed, sustained its first loss as Shaler toppled the Mustangs, 47-14. Eryck Moore and Keyonta Finley had rushing touchdowns in the loss. The Mustangs gave up 283 yards and five TDs to Luke Cignetti. … Norwin earned its first win, 27-13, over Fox Chapel, as Jackson Pons pulled in two touchdown grabs from freshman quarterback Tristyn Tavares, who threw for 168 yards and two scores. Liam O’Brien returned an interception 51 yards for a TD, and Christian Beck ran for a score.

Class 4A Greater Allegheny

Hampton (1-2, 0-0) at Kiski Area (0-3, 0-0)

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

Kiski Area opens conference play hoping for better results after nonconference losses to Plum, Pine-Richland and Laurel Highlands. The Cavaliers’ offense is averaging a touchdown a game. Kiski Area gained 120 of its 135 yards against Laurel Highlands last Friday on the ground. … Hampton hopes to right the ship after a pair of losses followed a Week Zero win over Knoch. The Talbots lost 48-9 to Class 4A newcomer and 2021 WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion Central Valley. Hampton is led by first-year coach Steve Sciullo, who coached at Deer Lakes from 2014-17. Senior quarterback Joey Mayer has thrown for 395 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

Class 2A Allegheny

Burrell (3-0, 0-0) at No. 3 Serra Catholic (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Eagle Stadium, McKeesport

After 51 years, the Bucs and Eagles will meet again, this time in the conference opener for both teams. Burrell and Serra played in the 1971 season opener with the Bucs winning 33-7. Serra was not a member of the WPIAL at the time. Burrell is averaging 29.3 points a game. In three games, Burrell has run the ball 144 times to just five passes. … Serra rallied past Washington, 35-34, last Friday for its second win after a Week Zero loss to Class 4A North Catholic. Quarterback Quadir Stribling finished 11 of 17 for 186 yards and three touchdowns against the Prexies. Amire Spencer (7-128, TD) and Elijah Ward (6-101) led the receivers, and Michael Schanck ran the ball 13 times for 82 yards and two scores.

Ligonier Valley (2-1, 0-0) vs. Apollo-Ridge (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Owens Field, Apollo

Ligonier Valley fell behind early and then saw a late rally by Greensburg Salem fall short in a 35-28 loss. Apollo-Ridge also lost for the first time this season, being run over by Deer Lakes, 43-7. … The Rams were led by senior Haden Sierocky with 160 yards rushing and sophomore John Jablunovsky, who finished with 155 yards on six carries. Both scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Broderick Schreyer was intercepted three times. … The Vikings, playing without injured quarterback Karter Schrock, got a touchdown run of 44 yards by Nick Curci, who finished with 115 yards on 17 carries. The teams split their previous meetings.

Class A Eastern

Springdale (0-3, 0-0) at No. 4 Leechburg (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Stadium, Leechburg

Leechburg will go for a third shutout in a row. Senior Pitt commit Braylan Lovelace broke out last Friday against Bentworth with 183 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries. … Springdale inched closer to its first win last Friday, falling at home to Summit Academy 18-14. Junior quarterback Chase Weihrauch remains week-to-week as he battles back from injury. Leechburg and Springdale now is the most frequently played rivalry among local schools. This is the 80th meeting between the Blue Devils and Dynamos, and Springdale leads the all-time series, 43-36.

No. 3 Clairton (0-3, 0-0) at Riverview (1-2, 0-0)

Noon Saturday, Riverside Park, Oakmont

Clairton is uncharacteristically winless after three weeks. All three setbacks were in nonconference play. But the Bears still are an Eastern Conference favorite and have made the WPIAL playoffs 16 years in a row. Senior Capone Jones is a threat to throw and run. … Riverview dominated Carlynton in Week 1, and came close to topping Northgate last week before the Flames came away with a 32-26 win. The Raiders tallied 298 rushing yards on 49 carries and got running TDs from quarterback Rocco Cecere (2), Johnny Bertucci and Carlo Buzzatto. Clairton has shut out Riverview the last six years, scoring 332 points in the process.

Nonconference

Deer Lakes (1-2) vs. Greensburg Salem (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Offutt Field, Greensburg

Deer Lakes picked up its first win if the season with a shocking 43-7 victory against unbeaten Apollo-Ridge. Greensburg Salem won its second consecutive game of the season by holding off unbeaten Ligonier Valley, 35-28. This is the first meeting between schools. … Lancers junior wide receiver Wayne Love caught four passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns against Apollo-Ridge. … Golden Lions senior quarterback/safety Cody Rubrecht passed for 118 yards, rushed for 116 and had two interceptions, including one returned 90 yards for a score. Markeece Walker recovered a fumble, and Kai Brunot and Keegan Young each had interception. Brunot ran for a touchdown.

Class 3A No. 4 Freeport (3-0) at Armstrong (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Nextier Bank Athletic Complex, Kittanning

The teams played for the first time last year, with the River Hawks winning 48-14. Freeport improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2015 with last Friday’s 61-7 rout of Quaker Valley. The Yellowjackets won their first four games in 2015 en route to a conference title, a 10-2 overall record and a trip to the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals. Freeport lost starting linebacker and running back Colton Otterman to a knee injury against the Quakers. The Yellowjackets have scored a special teams TD in each game this season. … Armstrong quarterback and Penn commit Cadin Olsen now is the leading passer in Armstrong County history with 5,242 career yards. Last week in the win over New Castle, 49-13, he threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns and added 66 yards and two scores on the ground.

Knoch (0-3) at Southmoreland (1-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Russ Grimm Field, Alverton

Knoch surrendered 30 points or more for the third time and remained winless with a 44-6 loss to Beaver Falls. The Knights allowed a pick-six score that went for 69 yards and gave up more than 200 rushing yards. A bright spot was Codi Mullen, who completed 15 of 35 passes for 186 yards, and Jack Murphy, who had seven catches for 113 yards. … Southmoreland picked up its first win under first-year coach Tim Bukowski, 28-14, over Derry. The Scotties, who trailed 7-6, scored their first points on a trick play as Kadin Keefer tossed to Caden Matthews, who threw a scoring pass to Wayne Richter. Tray Whetsel had two rushing touchdowns as the Scotties look to build a running attack.

Mt. Pleasant (2-1) vs. Valley (0-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Vikings Stadium, New Kensington

After opening the season with a loss to Greensburg Central Catholic, Mt. Pleasant bounced back with two impressive wins, which included a 50-28 victory against McGuffey. Valley has begun the season with three consecutive losses. It fell to Burrell, 30-27, on a late field goal. … Mt. Pleasant senior running back Robbie Labuda rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns, Lane Golkosky rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Cole Chatfield completed 7 of 14 passes for 176 yards. Tyler Reese had five catches for 133 yards and a touchdown of 63 yards. … Valley’s Xavier Wilson scored three touchdowns and quarterback Tristin Goodwin completed 8 of 17 passes for 79 yards and three touchdowns.

Class 5A No. 4 Upper St. Clair (3-0) at Fox Chapel (0-3)

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

The visiting Panthers might be seeking a little payback after the Foxes won last year’s WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game, 13-10. Upper St. Clair had won the previous 10 meetings between the schools before the 2021 postseason matchup. The Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 2018 when they started 4-0 en route to an 8-3 overall record and a trip to the playoffs. USC opened Allegheny Six play last week with a dominant 53-14 win over Baldwin. … Fox Chapel got on the scoreboard twice in each of the past two games but was not able to overcome either Plum or Norwin. Senior Christian Gaston and junior quarterback Ben DeMotte each rushed for a touchdown. Fox Chapel is averaging 165.4 total yards of offense through three games.

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, Armstrong, Burrell, Clairton, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Hampton, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Serra Catholic, Springdale, Upper St. Clair, Valley