A-K Valley high school notes: Burrell hockey hopes to repeat strong first half

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, December 12, 2018 | 8:57 PM

Burrell began the second half of its PIHL Division II regular-season schedule Tuesday, and little changed from the first half of the year.

The Bucs’ 9-0 victory at McDowell marked their 11th in a row to begin the season, and most have come in lopsided fashion. All but three of their victories came by at least four goals.

The wins are getting more lopsided, too. Over the past six games, Burrell is outscoring opponents 46-9.

Burrell holds a two-game lead over Ringgold (9-2) in the Division II standings and has a league-high 79 goals, 21 more than its closest competitor. Junior Tyler Stewart has a league-high 25 goals and 40 points, and classmate Dylan Zelonka ranks second with 33 points, including 14 goals.

Should Burrell’s success continue, the Bucs could end up playing in the Penguins Cup final in mid-March at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Not bad for a team that brought its varsity program back in 2016.

Tournament time

Fresh off one difficult season-opening wrestling tournament, Valley will travel to another this weekend as the Vikings compete in Penn Cambria’s Panther Holiday Classic at Mount Aloysius.

Valley is making the trip for the first time. Coach Dane Johnson said he expects to see between 40 and 45 teams. Senior heavyweight David Schuffert, coming off a championship at last weekend’s Eastern Area Invitational Wrestling Tournament, and senior 170-pounder Noah Hutcherson, a runner-up at the Eastern Area, could see some of the most highly ranked wrestlers in the state in their weight class.

“I think it’s good for our guys because I’m not really a believer in going to (low-quality) tournaments,” Johnson said. “A mix of both (is good). When we wrestle some of our tournaments, it’s less competition, but we’re starting with two really strong tournaments this year.”

One potential big-time matchup for Valley could come at heavyweight, where Schuffert, the second-ranked Class AA heavyweight in the state, might see No. 1 Jake Ryan from Mount Union. Ryan finished fourth at the PIAA tournament last season, and Schuffert took seventh.

Burrell, meanwhile, is making its annual trip to Central Mountain High School for the King of the Mountain tournament, one that also brings together some of the highest-ranked teams and wrestlers in the state. Bucs wrestlers Bryan Gaul, Ian Oswalt and Trent Valovchik placed at the tournament last season.

A few other Alle-Kiski Valley teams opted for dual tournaments this weekend, with Kiski Area, Knoch and Plum taking part in the River Hawk Invitational at Armstrong and Highlands going to the North Hills Duals.

Kiski Area traditionally competes in the North Hills Duals, but after dominating the competition there in recent years, the Cavaliers opted for a different tournament.

Fit to be tied

The Burrell wrestling team’s opener came down to the narrowest of margins: zero.

The Bucs and Waynesburg Central were deadlocked at 33 team points through 14 bouts in their nonsection dual Dec. 7, thereby activating the PIAA’s tiebreaker criteria. And because Waynesburg Central won more individual bouts than Burrell, by an 8-6 margin, the Raiders earned an extra point and a 34-33 win.

Bello of the ball

Shady Side Academy’s Alex Bellinotti, a Lower Burrell native, is racking up football scholarship offers.

Bellinotti last week picked up an offer from West Virginia Wesleyan, the 11th he’s earned and the 10th since June.

The standout tight end/linebacker holds offers from Cornell, Culver-Stockton, Franklin Pierce, Lake Erie College, Moravian, Occidental, Seton Hill, Thiel, West Virginia State, West Virginia Wesleyan and Wooster.

As a senior, Bellinotti racked up 151 tackles, 12 sacks and seven forced fumbles and scored six touchdowns to help Shady Side Academy win the Class 2A Allegheny Conference with an undefeated regular season. He was an all-conference selection at tight end and linebacker as a sophomore and junior, when he played at Burrell.

Big get for Gillette

Highlands senior Noah Gillette starred on the football field and baseball diamond, and he chose the latter for college.

Gillette committed earlier this month to Pitt-Johnstown for baseball.

One of Highlands’ top players as a junior, Gillette batted .362 with five doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBIs. He also went 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA.

Tags: Burrell, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, Plum, Valley