A-K Valley football notebook: Highlands gets rematch with top-seeded Imani Christian

By: Michael Love
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 4:26 PM

When the WPIAL football pairings for Class 3A came out last Saturday, Highlands players and coaches saw that there was the potential for a rematch with No. 1 Imani Christian in the quarterfinals.

But to get that chance, they had to take care of business against Southmoreland in the first round.

The No. 9 Golden Lions will get that opportunity against the Saints after they rolled past a shorthanded Scotties team in impactful fashion Friday with a 56-20 victory over the No. 8 seed.

Senior Menage Lucas suffered an ankle injury in the first meeting with Imani and had to leave the game in the latter stages of the third quarter. Now healthy, he is particularly excited to play Imani again.

With their offensive leader not at 100% and then out of the game, the rest of the Golden Rams still were able to battle the Saints down to the wire.

The Highlands defense made plays all over the field throughout the game. Imani needed a long screen-pass touchdown with five minutes left and a fourth-down stand with just over a minute remaining to quell a Golden Rams’ rally attempt for a 12-10 win.

Lucas, Highlands’ new all-time leader for total yardage — passing and rushing — in a single season, rushed 16 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns against Southmoreland and also completed 5 of 9 passes for 155 yards. Three of those passes went for touchdowns, two to senior Montrell Johnson and another to junior Jahmar Wright.

The six total touchdowns put him at 43 for the season: 21 rushing and 22 passing.

Senior Darius Cherry added 17 carries for 160 yards and a score against the Scotties. Despite a game missed because of injury, Cherry is approaching 1,000 yards rushing for the season. He now has 880 yards and 10 touchdowns on 123 attempts.

Johnson’s two TD receptions give him a team-leading eight, and Wright’s scoring catch puts him at six overall for 2024.

Yellowjackets moving on

Freeport not only returned to the WPIAL playoffs Friday after not qualifying last year but it made a statement with its 44-20 victory over Mt. Pleasant at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium.

The Yellowjackets led by 17 in the first half and pulled away in the third quarter to cement their place in the second weekend of the Class 3A tournament.

Junior Drew Ross accounted for five touchdowns — three rushing, one passing and another on a 42-yard interception return — and fellow junior Amos Glenn impacted the game with 21 rushes for 190 yards and a score.

The Freeport rushing attack finished with 282 yards on 38 carries. Ross ended the game 7 of 11 for 83 yards, and the defense held the Vikings off the board in the second half until there were three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Ross and coach John Gaillot noted how good it was for the team to be able to play one more game on its home field and to play as well as it did.

Gaillot said the focus was placed squarely on the game plan to defeat Mt. Pleasant and not on a potential quarterfinal trip to face No. 2 Central Valley.

But Freeport does get its shot at the Warriors at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Yellowjackets are just two years removed from the WPIAL semifinals. In 2022, Freeport received the No. 4 seed and a bye to the quarterfinals where it defeated West Mifflin, 42-6.

The next week, it ran into powerhouse Belle Vernon, which shut out the Yellowjackets, 42-0, on the way to the WPIAL title.

Floyd caps special season

Leechburg’s football season came to an end Friday with a 34-20 loss to No. 9 Cornell. It ended the high school career of quarterback Jayden Floyd, who put together one of the most productive seasons in the WPIAL.

During the regular season, he completed 104 of 158 passes for 1,226 yards and 10 scores and ran 97 times for 1,114 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a touchdown and had two interceptions on defense.

On Friday, he ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

Deer Lakes extends playoff streak

Deer Lakes made a third straight trip to the WPIAL playoffs this fall.

The Lancers, who have qualified just five times in program history, aimed to reach the postseason and earn a home playoff game.

They accomplished those feats but fell short of victory Friday in a 21-14 loss to North Catholic.

Deer Lakes finished 0-7 in 2020. Since then, the Lancers have a record of 24-20, including eight-win seasons the past two years.

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: Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Leechburg