Alle-Kiski Valley high school football notebook: Leechburg gets back on high-scoring path

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 30, 2025 | 5:12 PM

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Leechburg left Apollo-Ridge’s Owens Field with a bad taste in its mouth after a close Week Zero loss to the rival Vikings that saw the home team rally with 13 unanswered points in the second half.

But the Blue Devils were able to use the 20-16 loss as motivation to come back and get into the win column after a 66-mile jaunt to Beth-Center on Friday night

Senior Tim Andrasy continues to step into the limelight for Leechburg, and the shifty and speedy running back put his talents on display in his team’s 58-6 victory.

He had a career night Friday behind his big and experienced offensive line. Andrasy finished with 31 carries for 310 yards and six touchdowns.

The yardage total was second in the WPIAL only to Blackhawk’s Brayden McCarthy, who rushed for 327 yards in a 50-27 loss to Beaver.

Andrasy produced a preview of what was to come as he took the opening kickoff of the game 92 yards to the house. Leechburg led 22-0 at halftime and rolled in the second half.

His six touchdowns were for 3, 10, 1, 4, 28 and 68 yards.

Nick Hilty finished the Blue Devils’ scoring in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard run. He rushed four times overall for 56 yards.

Leechburg is known for putting up big point totals in recent seasons. It hit for 54, 62, and 57 last year, scored 50-plus points twice in 2023 and rolled to 56 or more points six times in 2022 with a school-record 77 in a win over Springdale.

The Blue Devils seek a second straight win Friday when they welcome Serra Catholic to Veterans Stadium. The Eagles are hoping to get their ship righted after blowout losses the first two weeks to California (44-14) and Clairton (79-0).

Returning the favor

Freeport enjoyed a return to the WPIAL playoffs in 2024 and won eight games.

The Yellowjackets, however, got a jolt early in the season with a 21-7 loss to Derry.

Team members remembered that setback as they went into Friday’s rematch with the Trojans, and they made sure to make a statement.

Freeport put points on the board from its offense and defense in its 49-6 rout of Derry in front of a spirited home crowd.

Senior quarterback Drew Ross was an efficient 8 of 12 passing for 127 yards with TD passes to Owen Neistein and Amos Glenn. He also took an interception back 80 yards for a score.

Glenn scored twice with runs of 24 and 1 yards.

Luke Selinger capped the scoring with a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Derry had won three of the four previous meetings with the Yellowjackets, but it was not able to get much going Friday.

Freeport, now 2-0 having allowed just a single touchdown over the first two weeks, visits Quaker Valley on Friday for its final nonconference tune-up before Allegheny 7 play begins Sept. 12 at home against Deer Lakes.

Breaking through

Leechburg wasn’t the only Alle-Kiski Valley team to get into the win column after falling in Week Zero.

Fox Chapel, which lost to Allderdice, 30-7, last week, came back strong Friday as the Foxes players, coaches and fans had a lot to feel good about in a 48-14 home rout of Baldwin.

Senior quarterback Joe Geller put himself among the top passing performers in Week 1. He finished 9 of 13 through the air for 221 yards and touchdown passes of 48 yards to Nathan Johnson and 33 yards to Max Melocchi.

Johnson (7 yards) and Melocchi (1 yard) had TD runs earlier in the game, and Melocchi (1-yard run) and Brady Givens (6-yard run) capped the scoring in the second half as the Foxes racked up 316 yards of total offense.

Georgia commit Harran Zureikat put his kicking skills on display with field goals of 25 and 40 yards.

Fox Chapel hopes to keep the winning going Friday as it visits Knoch (0-2). The Knights are looking to get into the win column after losses the first two weeks to Kiski Area (21-0) and North Catholic (69-10).

Friday night highlights

Leechburg’s Andrasy, Freeport’s Ross and Fox Chapel’s Gellar were not the only Alle-Kiski Valley standouts who found themselves among the passing, rushing or receiving leaders after Friday games.

Burrell sophomore Antonio Perkins collected 154 rushing yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns in a 56-26 loss at Shady Side Academy that saw Bulldogs quarterback Javon Johnston complete 14 of 19 for 357 yards.

Perkins tallied scoring runs of 1, 6, 4 and 46 yards.

Deer Lakes senior Ryan Love was a workhorse again Friday as he tallied 29 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown in the Lancers’ 35-14 loss to South Park.

Teammate Dante Mangieri, a junior, threw for 168 yards (10 of 22). He connected with his brother, senior Luca Mangieri, for a 51-yard third-quarter touchdown.

Apollo-Ridge senior Alex Clawson completed 19 of 30 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings’ 35-22 loss to Jeannette. He also delivered a rushing TD on 12 carries.

Junior John Nonnenberg aided Plum’s cause with 165 yards and three touchdowns on 17 of 29 passing. But the Mustangs were not able to pick up a second win on the season with a 42-35 overtime setback to Latrobe.

Through his first two games, Nonnenberg is 23 of 37 for 397 yards with seven touchdowns against just one interception.

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.