A-K Valley lookahead for week of Sept. 24, 2018

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 23, 2018 | 11:12 PM

Monday

Girls soccer

Freeport hosts Deer Lakes in a matchup between the team that won the last two Section 2-AA titles (Freeport) and the one that began the week in first place (Deer Lakes). The Lancers won their first five section games by a combined 25-6 margin, but they have yet to face Freeport this season.

Apollo-Ridge looks to rebound from a difficult loss to Deer Lakes when it hosts Highlands in a Section 2-AA game. The visiting Golden Rams are looking to snap a two-game losing streak as they attempt to gain ground in the playoff race.

Boys soccer

Fox Chapel takes on Penn-Trafford in a nonsection matchup of teams with playoff hopes in Class 4A. The Foxes began the week on the outside looking in of a crowded Section 1-4A playoff race, while P-T ranked third in Section 3-4A.

Tuesday

Girls volleyball

Freeport and Deer Lakes meet in their first of two Section 5-AA matches. The Yellowjackets beat Deer Lakes three times last season, the last coming in the WPIAL quarterfinals, but the Lancers hope to put a dent in Freeport’s 14 consecutive section titles.

Boys soccer

Deer Lakes and Shady Side Academy played to a 2-2 draw earlier this season, as the Indians rallied from a 2-0 deficit. The Lancers will attempt to earn a win in the Section 2-AA rematch with the defending WPIAL champion Indians.

Norwin and Plum played a thriller in their first Section 3-4A game of the season, with two late goals giving Norwin a 4-3 victory. Plum, which is trying to make a playoff push, will look to knock the first-place Knights off their perch in the rematch.

Boys golf

The WPIAL Class AAA individual semifinals will take place at two sites: Youghiogheny Country Club and Hannastown Golf Club. Fox Chapel’s Scott Bitar, Matt Mattioli, Gregor Meyer, Aidan Oehrle and Grant Thiele will compete for a chance to qualify for next week’s WPIAL championships at Oakmont Country Club.

Wednesday

Girls soccer

Springdale will take on defending Greensburg Central Catholic for the second time in five days when the Dynamos host the Centurions in a Section 1-A game. GCC won the WPIAL title last season.

Fox Chapel will face Butler in a key Section 1-4A game between teams fighting for playoff spots. The Foxes eliminated Butler in the WPIAL playoffs last season, but the Golden Tornado got a measure of revenge with a 3-2 victory in their meeting earlier this season.

Girls tennis

After singles players took the stage over the past two weeks, section doubles tournaments will begin across the WPIAL. Knoch’s Laura Greb and Brooke Bauer look to be a formidable tandem in Section 3-AA. They were the top two finishers in the section singles tournament. The top four teams in each section qualify for the WPIAL doubles tournament.

Thursday

Boys golf

The WPIAL Class AA golf individual championships will tee off at Allegheny Country Club. Burrell’s Tiger Hubbard and Marcus Pinchok and Leechburg’s Cole Villa will compete for a chance to make it to the PIAA championships.

Girls volleyball

In the first Section 5-AA match between Deer Lakes and Derry, the Lancers took the first set only to see the Trojans rally to win the next three. They’ll meet again for a rematch that could determine playoff positioning.

Boys soccer

Springdale and Avonworth played to a scoreless tie in their first Section 1-A game this season, and they’ll meet again to see if they can settle the score. The winner of this game would gain a significant edge in an attempt to win the section championship.

Burrell picked up a major victory last week by taking down Freeport, 4-1, and the Bucs will aim for another against first-place Deer Lakes. The Lancers won the first matchup, 3-0.

Friday

Football

Deer Lakes hosts Burrell in a Class 3A Big East Conference game that could prove pivotal for both. Both teams feature first-year head coaches in Tim Burk (Deer Lakes) and Shawn Liotta (Burrell), and both have the capacity for scoring a lot of points.

Coming off its first win of the season, Freeport faces the unenviable task of attempting to slow down Yough running back Dustin Shoaf, as the Yellowjackets host the Cougars in a Class 3A Big East game. Shoaf recently passed the 4,000-yard mark for his career. Freeport and Yough are vying for a playoff spot in the conference.

After falling to Penn Hills, Kiski Area will attempt to get back on track by hosting Hampton in a Class 5A Northern Conference game. One of Hampton’s assistants is Steve Sciullo, the former Deer Lakes coach.

Saturday

Football

Riverview visits Imani Christian in another difficult Class A Eastern Conference game. The Saints, last season’s WPIAL runner-up, feature one of the WPIAL’s most high-powered offenses with Ball State commit Rahmon Hart Jr., a Plum native, at wide receiver.

Apollo-Ridge travels to Shady Side Academy for an afternoon contest in Class 2A Allegheny Conference play. The Indians are ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and have a proficient offense with QB Skyy Moore and WR Dino Tomlin leading the way.

Boys soccer

An intriguing nonsection game will take place between Highlands and Springdale. The visiting Golden Rams are fighting for a playoff spot in Class AAA, while Springdale was WPIAL Class A runner-up last season and have one of the top defenses in the WPIAL this season.

Girls soccer

Kiski Area hosts Burrell in a nonsection match between teams that were WPIAL quarterfinalists in their respective classifications last season. This will be game one of a girls-boys doubleheader between the schools. The boys game will follow.

— Doug Gulasy

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph, Valley