A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2024 Week 9

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 | 6:26 PM

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Class 5A Big East Conference

Kiski Area (4-5, 2-3) at 5-Woodland Hills (7-2, 5-0)

7 p.m. Friday, The Wolvarena, Turtle Creek

Last week’s results: Kiski Area 15, Plum 14; Woodland Hills 27, Franklin Regional 17

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Kiski Area has won three straight games after a 1-5 start and is in the running for a WPIAL playoff wild-card selection if the football committee appreciates the Cavs’ late surge. Kiski edged Plum last week on Austin Beck’s 31-yard field goal. Landon Kucic ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns. … Woodland Hills has locked up first place in the Big East Conference. Quarterback Cam Walter was injured in last week’s win over Franklin Regional, and Prince Tarrant stepped in. Scoop Smith, one of the WPIAL’s most dynamic players, ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a TD pass. … Woodland Hills holds a 13-3 edge in the all-time series. Kiski Area’s last victory was 20-4 in 1992.

Class 5A Northeast Conference

Plum (2-7, 2-2) at Penn Hills (5-4, 3-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Yuhas McGinley Stadium, Penn Hills

Last week’s results: Kiski Area 15, Plum 14; Penn Hills 27, North Hills 10

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Plum will need a victory at Penn Hills to keep its hopes alive for second place in the Northeast Conference. Pine-Richland has clinched first place, but in a three-way tie for second, a Mustangs win and a North Hills win would tie teams with Penn Hills with a 1-1 head-to-head record. Tiebreaker points then come into play. Penn Hills is +20, North Hills +12 and Plum +3. Once a second-place tie is broken, the remaining two teams will have to hope for one of the two Class 5A wild cards. … Plum QB John Nonnenberg threw for 118 yards and TD passes to Sloan Humphries and Darian Nelson last week. RB Nick Odom ran for 141 yards. … After an 0-3 start, Penn Hills has won five of six games, outscoring teams 206-88 in that stretch. Naytel Mitchell has run for nearly 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. … Penn Hills is 33-5 all-time vs. Plum. The Mustangs’ last victory came in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, 17-6.

Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference

4-McKeesport (5-4, 4-0) at Knoch (3-5, 2-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Knights Stadium, Saxonburg

Last week’s results: McKeesport 54, Indiana 0; West Mifflin 48, Knoch 21

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Knoch will face McKeesport for the first time and could use a victory to better its chances for a wild-card berth. The Knights have conference wins over Indiana and Hampton but lost to Mars and West Mifflin. QB Codi Mullen battled through injuries to run for 136 yards and two scores and threw a 55-yard TD pass to Ethan Rouleau last week. … After a 0-3 start, McKeesport has won five of six games with the loss coming against Class 5A No. 1 Upper St. Clair. The Tigers have outscored Greater Allegheny Conference teams 176-34. Anthony Cromerdie returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown, and Javien Robinson returned a fumble 23 yards for a score in last week’s win. Cromerdie, Penn State recruit Kemon Spell, Anthony Boyd and QB Brady Eastman have combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns.

Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference

Burrell (2-7, 2-3) at Deer Lakes (7-2, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Lancer Stadium, West Deer

Last week’s results: Imani Christian 60, Burrell 6; Deer Lakes 44, Valley 13

Last year’s meeting: Deer Lakes 33, Burrell 0

Burrell will try to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Highlands and Imani Christian and cap the regular season with a win. At 2-3 in the Allegheny 7 Conference, the Bucs cannot earn an automatic playoff bid but can hold out hope for a wild card with a win. RB Trey Coury scored Burrell’s lone touchdown last week. … Deer Lakes, already with a playoff berth secured, will bid for a homefield playoff game. Only conference first-place teams are guaranteed playoff home sites. If Freeport would upset Imani Christian and Deer Lakes would defeat Burrell, a three-way tie for the conference title would occur. Since the three teams beat each other in that scenario, the next tiebreaker would be points won or lost by, with a maximum of +10 and -10. Imani is +42, Freeport +33 and Deer Lakes +18. RB Zier Williams ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and Roman Smith added 75 rushing yards and a score in last week’s win over Valley. … Burrell is 25-9 in the all-time series against Deer Lakes.

Highlands (4-4, 2-3) at Valley (0-9, 0-5)

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

Last week’s results: Highlands 47, McGuffey 23; Deer Lakes 44, Valley 13

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Highlands has hopes of earned a wild-card selection in the Class 3A playoff race with a victory over Valley. Golden Rams QB Menage Lucas became the 21st WPIAL player to pass and rush for 1,000 yards in the regular season in the victory at McGuffey last Friday. Jeff Sinclair ran and passed for 1,000 yards with the help of three playoff games in 2008. Lucas has thrown for 1,140 yards and 15 touchdowns and run for 1,115 yards and 14 scores. Also last week, Montrell Johnson returned an interception 32 yards for a score. RB Darius Cherry ran for 142 yards and two scores. … Valley will try to avoid its first winless season since 2011. The Vikings are averaging 16.5 points and allowing 40.1. … Highlands is 18-13 all-time vs. Valley. The schools have played only once since 2015, with Highlands winning 41-6 in 2021.

1-Imani Christian (9-0, 5-0) at Freeport (7-2, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Last week’s results: Imani Christian 60, Burrell 6; Freeport 42, East Allegheny 15

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Imani Christian has clinched a playoff berth and is looking to lock up the top seed in Class 3A. The Saints have outscored opponents 406-78 this season and are averaging 45.1 points. David Davis caught a 46-yard TD pass for a touchdown last week and also returned a punt 49 yards for a score. RB Gabe Jenkins ran for 189 yards and three touchdowns. … The Yellowjackets also have locked up a playoff berth heading into Week 9. Freeport was sparked by a 90-yard kickoff return by Danny King and a 50-yard punt return by Amos Glenn last week. The Yellowjackets have won five straight games, outscoring opponents 195-67 in that span.

Class 2A Allegheny Conference

Apollo-Ridge (0-8, 0-5) at Ligonier Valley (3-6, 1-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Weller Field, Ligonier

Last week’s results: South Park 34, Apollo-Ridge 10; Steel Valley 53, Ligonier Valley 7

Last year’s meeting: Steel Valley 35, Ligonier Valley 0

These teams are looking to finish the season on a positive note. Apollo-Ridge has dropped eight consecutive games but has played well the past two weeks. The Vikings are trying to avoid their first winless season since 1997. QB Alex Clawson has completed 123 of 222 passes for 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns. Logan Schrock has 26 catches for 327 yards, and Gage Wingard 22 catches for 304. … Ligonier Valley has been on a string of winning a game and then dropping the next two. If that plays out this week, the Rams should win. All six losses have been to playoff teams. RB John Jablunovsky has rushed for 1,058 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. QB Bowie Schreyer has completed 41 of 86 passes for 702 yards and seven touchdowns.

Class A Eastern Conference

Springdale (0-8, 0-6) at Frazier (1-7, 0-5)

7 p.m. Friday, Frazier Stadium, Perryopolis

Last week’s results: Jeannette 42, Springdale 0; Greensburg Central Catholic 2, Frazier 0 (forfeit)

Last year’s meeting: Frazier 20, Springdale 14

Springdale will try to end a 15-game losing streak against Frazier, a team that had to call off last Friday’s game against GCC because of a lack of healthy players. Springdale was in that same situation Aug. 23 vs. Burrell. The Dynamos have only met the Commodores twice, losing in each of the last two seasons. … Frazier has been outscored 261-78 in Eastern Conference play. Derek Diamond scored on three touchdowns runs two weeks ago against Riverview.

Jeannette (6-3, 3-3) at Riverview (3-5, 2-4)

Noon Saturday, Riverside Park, Oakmont

Last week’s results: Jeannette 42, Springdale 0; Clairton 84, Riverview 0

Last year’s meeting: Jeannette 42, Riverview 22

Jeannette is trying to get into the playoffs, and a third straight win could go a long way. Nick Mendoza ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on only five carries last week, and Kymon’e Brown threw two TD passes and returned a punt for a score. … Riverview was the latest victim of Clairton’s air-tight defense. The Bears led 76-0 at the half, and the third and fourth quarters were shortened to eight minutes. The Raiders had 42 yards and two first downs and gave away eight turnovers. Riverview’s wins are against Valley, Springdale and Frazier. The Raiders have lost all 10 past games to Jeannette.

Nonconference

East Allegheny (1-8) at Fox Chapel (1-7)

7 p.m. Friday, Burke Stadium, Fox Chapel

Last week’s results: Freeport 42, East Allegheny 15; Shaler 35, Fox Chapel 19

Last year’s meeting: Did not play

Both teams are looking to cap the season on a high note after some tough losses. … East Allegheny went 1-5 in the Class 3A Allegheny 7. Damarjae Warren caught two TD passes from Cedric Mack last week. … Lincoln Burgess caught a pair of TD passes for the Foxes in last week’s loss to Shaler. … Fox Chapel hasn’t played East Allegheny since 1971. The two schools played each other from 1962-71, with East Allegheny posting a 6-3-1 record against the Foxes. The 12-12 tie came in 1967 when the school was known as Westinghouse Memorial High School.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.