A-K Valley H.S. football notebook: Freshman kickers delivers for Plum

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 2, 2021 | 6:13 PM

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Plum coaches put their faith in freshman Angelo Baleno on Friday at Highlands, and Baleno rewarded them.

The young kicker delivered a 38-yard field goal in crunch time of the fourth quarter to lift the Mustangs to a come-from-behind 23-21 victory over Highlands in Greater Allegheny Conference action. The kick capped a 10-play drive that started with 9 minutes, 52 seconds left in regulation.

“It was major kick; he has a bright future ahead of him,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said of Baleno after the game.

Baleno first got his chance to kick in Week 4 against Indiana. He was 4 for 4 on extra points and booted a 21-yard field goal.

After Baleno’s late field goal Friday, Highlands tried to mount a comeback of its own, but the Plum defense recovered a Golden Rams fumble to seal the win.

The Mustangs have won two in a row after a 0-4 start.

Raiders end streak

Riverview came into Friday’s Eastern Conference game against Imani Christian under the lights at Riverside Park riding a 15-game losing streak.

But the annual night game, with its festive homecoming atmosphere, saw the Raiders rise up and put an end to the streak with a 42-12 victory over the Saints.

It was the first time Riverview scored 40 or more points since Week 7 of 2017, when the Raiders recorded a 43-0 victory over Avella.

Toby Green and Jack Loughran each caught a touchdown pass from Ben Hower, who finished 5 of 8 for 64 yards.

Dean Cecere, who had been battling back from injury, ran for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries. He upped his season totals to 686 yards and six touchdowns.

Landon Johnson (1-yard run) and Justin Hart-Brown (fumble recovery in end zone) capped the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Lovelace runs wild

Braylan Lovelace, held somewhat in check last week against Springdale, broke out again in a big way Friday in Leechburg’s 53-7 rout of Jeannette.

The 195-pound junior tailback rushed 17 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns to help the Blue Devils improve to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Lovelace scored on runs of 80, 26 and 41 yards. His yardage total ranked third in the WPIAL this week behind Steel Valley’s Nijhay Burt (277) and Belle Vernon’s Jake Gedekoh (247).

Riverview’s Cecere was fourth (220).

Thomas Burke III was 7 of 10 passing for 201 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 1,376 yards and 13 TDs for the season.

Leechburg, No. 4 in the TribLive HSSN Class 1A rankings, heads into Friday’s conference clash with Class 1A No. 3 Bishop Canevin (5-1, 2-1) hoping for its sixth win, which would clinch the Blue Devils’ first winning season since 1991.

Back and forth

Knoch and Indiana traded scores throughout their Greater Allegheny Conference matchup Friday at Knoch Knights Stadium.

The Knights (2-4 overall) got the first score, a Gavin McGowan fumble recovery and 24-yard return in the first quarter.

Indiana’s Devin Flint scored his third touchdown in the fourth quarter to pull within one point, but Knoch held off the Indians, 27-26, to forge its way into the playoff mix in the conference standings. Keagan Fraser led the Knights with 130 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

Knoch is tied with Indiana and Highlands at 1-2. Hampton is 3-0, followed by Armstrong, Greensburg Salem and Plum at 2-1.

The Knights hope to even its conference record Friday at Mars (0-6, 0-3).

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: Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview