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

By: Michael Love
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | 5:06 PM

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Class 5A northeast

Kiski Area (1-0, 0-0) at Penn Hills (0-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Saturday, Yuhas-McGinley Stadium, Penn Hills

Penn Hills won last year’s meeting in low-scoring fashion, 7-3, after the teams combined for 92 points in a 64-28 victory by the Indians in 2018. … In Kiski Area’s dramatic 36-35 season-opening victory over Connellsville on Monday, the Cavaliers rallied from a 35-17 second-half deficit. Quarterback Logan Johnson connected with Calvin Heinle on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds left. Heinle caught six passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Kenny Blake added 185 rush yards and a score on 18 carries. … This week will mark the first time since 1981 Kiski Area will play two games in a calendar week. That year, the Cavaliers tied Plum 14-14 on Labor Day night and then lost to Blackhawk four days later. … Penn Hills is hoping to dig out of an 0-2 hole after losses to North Allegheny (27-6) and rival Woodland Hills (26-7). Derrick Topeck rushed 13 times for 129 yards and the Indians’ lone score against the Wolverines

Nonconference

Fox Chapel (0-2, 0-1) at Moon (2-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Tiger Stadium, Moon Township

Moon and Fox Chapel have played five times with the Foxes winning all five meetings. The most recent matchups came in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. … The Foxes averaged 148 yards of total offense in losses to Pine-Richland and Franklin Regional. Senior quarterback Justin Rice owns two passing touchdowns — one to junior Colin Kwiatkowski and another to senior Ben Wilk — and a pair of rushing scores. … The Moon defense held North Hills to 128 yards of total offense and four first downs in Friday’s 17-0 victory. The Tigers collected 216 yards rushing against the Indians. Jeremiah Dean finished with 102 yards on 12 carries, and Dylan Sleva scored on runs of 1 and 7 yards.

Class 4A greater allegheny

Armstrong (1-1, 1-1) at Knoch (0-2, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Knights Stadium, Saxonburg

Armstrong, which moved down from Class 5A, is hoping to jump start its offense after being limited in a 17-0 loss to Hampton last week. Sophomore Caden Olsen has emerged as the leader at quarterback for the River Hawks. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-7 season-opening win over Indiana on Sept. 11. He tallied 112 passing yards last Friday. … Junior running back Keegan Fraser rushed for 102 yards on 19 carries in Knoch’s 13-12 loss to Greensburg-Salem but suffered an ankle injury late in the game and was helped off the field. He will not play this week. … Armstrong and Knoch last played in 2015, the first year for Armstrong football after the merger of Kittanning and Ford City and the last year of four classifications in the WPIAL. The River Hawks won, 41-15.

Highlands (1-1, 1-1) at Hampton (1-1, 1-1)

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

Highlands hopes to bounce back from last week’s heartbreaking 12-7 loss to Mars. The Planets scored the game winner in the final minute and converted a fourth-and-17 to set up the score. The Golden Rams defense held Mars standout rusher Teddy Ruffner to 95 yards on 26 carries. Brock White leads Highlands with 230 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 46 carries. Quarterback Chandler Thimons has five TDs and 360 yards through the air. … Hampton’s Christian Liberto had a big game in last week’s 17-0 victory over Armstrong with 174 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 34 carries. The Talbots’ win over the River Hawks snapped a six-game conference losing streak dating to Week 3 of last season. It was their first shutout win since a 28-0 victory at Knoch in 2015.

Plum (2-0, 2-0) at Mars (2-0, 2-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Mars Athletic Complex, Mars

Plum and Mars meet for the first time since 2009. The Planets lead the all-time series 4-2. The Mustangs last beat Mars in 1955, 32-0. … Planets standout running back Teddy Ruffner was limited to 95 yards on 26 carries against Highlands last week, but in the opener against Hampton, a 35-13 victory, he collected 261 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. Mars pulled out a dramatic 12-7 victory over Highlands with a late forced turnover, a fourth-and-17 conversion on its final drive and a winning score from Ruffner. … Plum is shooting for its first 3-0 start since 2015. The Mustangs averaged 42 points in wins over Greensburg Salem and Indiana. Mustangs quarterback Ryan Hubner was an efficient 9 of 11 passing against Indiana for 238 yards and four touchdowns.

Class 3A allegheny

Deer Lakes (0-2, 0-2) at Valley (0-2, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Valley Memorial Stadium, New Kensington

Deer Lakes and Valley will share the same field after playing in different conferences the past two seasons. The Vikings won the 2017 meeting, 26-20. … Senior running back Bruce Allman and the combination of freshman quarterback Derek Burk and senior wide receiver Nigel Rossman own touchdowns over Deer Lakes’ first two games. … Led by seniors Cayden Quinn (quarterback), Justin Hooper (running back) and Elijah Murray (tight end), Valley hopes to get its offense going again after being held to a single score last week against North Catholic. Hooper has 155 yards on 21 carries and 15 tackles on the season. … A Valley victory would tie coach Muzzy Colosimo with Art Tragesser for fifth place on the all-time Westmoreland County coaching victories list with 165.

Freeport (1-1, 1-0) vs. Derry (1-1, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Derry Stadium, Derry

Freeport stepped out of conference in Week 2 and dropped a 48-14 decision to Class 2A power Apollo-Ridge. Derry Area went on the road and came away with an impressive 31-7 win at Deer Lakes. Freeport defeated Deer Lakes 29-7 in Week 1. … Hunter Wack caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception for a score against Deer Lakes. He also caught a touchdown pass in a Week 1 loss to North Catholic. … After stunning Apollo-Ridge on the first play of the game with a 56-yard touchdown pass, Freeport’s offense was quiet for the rest of the game other than an 80-yard touchdown run by Ben Lane. The Yellowjackets finished with 133 total yards. Lane finished the game with 63 yards. Quarterback Vinnie Clark completed 11 of 13 passes for 142 yards in a Week 1 win against Deer Lakes.

Class 3A/2A nonconference

Burrell (1-1, 1-1) at Apollo-Ridge (2-0, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Owens Field, Apollo

The Bucs and Vikings meet after a two-year hiatus with the teams in different classifications and conferences. Apollo-Ridge won the 2017 matchup, 28-19, and captured three of the four meetings overall between 2014-17. Burrell leads the all-time series, 18-13. … Bucs junior running back Caden Dicaprio has been a workhorse over the first two weeks with 44 carries for 222 yards and a touchdown. … Apollo-Ridge coach John Skiba, who picked up his 54th coaching win against Freeport, now is two wins behind Apollo-Ridge all-time coaching leader Harry Rollinson. The Vikings racked up 489 yards of total offense against Freeport with 328 coming on the ground. Logan Harmon collected 162 rush yards and three touchdowns.

Class A eastern

Riverview (0-2, 0-2) at Clairton (2-0, 2-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Neil C. Brown Stadium, Clairton

Clairton’s Dontae Sanders carried the ball just six times in Friday’s 59-14 win over Leechburg, but he totaled 212 yards and four touchdowns. … The Bears lead the all-time series 20-13. Riverview last won in 2005, 24-14. Clairton is 73-3 in regular-season conference games since 2010. … The Raiders gave up an average of 48 points the first two weeks in losses to Springdale and Jeannette. With its top two quarterbacks out because of injury, seniors James Williams and Jackson Corey ran the wildcat for Riverview against the Jayhawks. Junior Anthony Mazur scored the Raiders’ lone touchdown with a run from 4 yards out in the fourth quarter.

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, Hampton, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Mars, Moon, Penn Hills, Plum, Riverview, Valley