Big Game Hunting for Week Five 2012

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, September 26, 2012 | 3:50 PM

We cruise past the halfway point this weekend of the WPIAL football season, and big-time matchups abound throughout many of the classifications. The time has come to make some hay if you find your club in a good spot. If your favorite team is in a hole, the time has come to make your move because time waits for no man or football team. We are starting to see huge games that will have monstrous impact on playoff positioning and in one case a game that will likely determine a section championship this week, so let’s hurry along and go Big Game Hunting.

AAAA Northern Eight
#7 Seneca Valley Raiders (3-1)(2-1) at #4 Central Catholic Vikings (4-0)(3-0) Thursday September 27th at 7:00 pm @ Fox Chapel high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Matt Vandriak and Josh Rowntree

The seventh-ranked Raiders rebounded in a big way from their lone loss of the season a week three setback at the hands of the top-ranked North Allegheny Tigers with a trouncing of Connellsville last week behind a monster performance from Forrest Barnes. The fourth-ranked Vikes meanwhile allowed their first three points of the season in their fourth straight win rolling Fox Chapel in week four.

That Vikings defense is really something to behold but, they are also about to face the best offense they have faced all year. The Vikes’ linebackers are a true great foursome for Terry Totten. Leo Loughrey, Niko Thorpe, David Urso, and Garret Vrbanic just don’t leave much room for anything for opposing offenses. They are all four fast, big, strong, and have a tremendous nose for the football.

Offensively the Vikes feature great depth at the running back position. Luigi Lista-Brinza, Riley Redman and Todd Coles are all great players and give the Vikes a lot of fresh legs to work with. Lista-Brinza has rushed for 283 yards, Redman 177, and Coles 173, Coles is averaging over nine yards per carry. J.J. Constentino, the junior quarterback has come on of late completing six of 14 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Shafer Swan is the leading receiver for the Vikings with eight catches for 106 yards.

But the fun part of this game to watch I think, will be a splendid Raiders offense against that Vikes defense. Seneca Valley is fast and experienced on offense and has a bunch of playmakers. Quarterback Jordan Brown is a tremendous dual threat. He has completed 37 of 74 passes for 499 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for another 252 yards and a score. Forrest Barnes is one of the fastest in pads runners I have ever seen in the WPIAL, on the year Barnes has 578 yards on 67 carries and he has scored 11 touchdowns for the Raiders this year. Jonathan Dorogy is a great two-way player for the Raiders, and their leading receiver with 14 catches on the season for nearly 200 yards.

AAA Parkway Conference
#4 West Allegheny Indians (4-0)(4-0) at #2 Central Valley Warriors (3-1)(3-1) Friday September 28th 7:00 pm at Central Valley high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WKPL FM 92.1 by Rob Matzie and Jim Frederick

Well what do you know? It’s another big time match-up of top-ten teams in the Parkway. This is a pretty regular occurrence. West A has been very solid this season, almost business-like in their four victories. They are not blowing teams out, but they just find a way to win every week for Bob Palko. The competition will take a big-time turn for the better this week as the Central Valley Warriors will provide a huge opportunity for West to prove they belong among the upper-echelon of teams in AAA.

The Indians will come at you from different angles and with different guys offensively but the theme is pretty much the same, pound it with the big guys up front and run, run, run that wildcat formation. The Indians average only 56.3 yards passing per game. Their forte is the ground attack where they rush it to the tune of over 270 yards per game as a team. Four different Indians have eclipsed the 200 yard mark on the ground this season led by Armonde Dellovade’s 316 yards and three touchdowns while  Tory Delmonicohas added 296 yards and five scores. Nick Halbedl has rushed for 201 yards and Chayse Dillon 266 in the Indians grind it out offense. The West A defense has produced seven sacks on the year led by a pair each from Zach Medved and Jordan Diven. That defense will be taxed by Robert Foster from Central Valley, and the Indians might get a little dose of their own medicine as well as Foster has shown up in the wildcat a time or two this season for Central Valley.

One thing for sure, no matter where he lines up; Foster will have the full attention of the West Allegheny Indians. He has earned it, the 6’2’’ 185 senior has rushed for 82 yards and four touchdowns while also having 22 catches for 350 yards and another three scores. He also punts, returns punts and kickoffs and has accounted for 24 total tackles on the year for the Warriors. Junior quarterback Nate Climo has completed 37 of 54 passes for 570 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground Jordan Whitehead and JaQuan Pennington have combined for 651 yards and seven touchdowns so don’t go to sleep on the Warriors ground attack.

Central Valley’s defense has done a great job getting the football back to their offense on the year with seven interceptions and five fumble recoveries contributing to the cause. For West A to pull the upset they will have to take care of the football.
AA Century Conference
#3 South Fayette Lions (4-0)(4-0) vs #6 Seton-LaSalle Rebels (4-0)(4-0) Friday September 28th at 7:00 pm at Baldwin high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and KDKA AM 1020 by Lanny Frattare and Bob Orkwis

Be careful if you are flying over toward Allegheny County airport Friday night because there will be a ton of air traffic to deal with. Good news for the Brumbaugh clan here as everybody gets to go to the same place on a Friday night. The Battling Brumbaugh’s will go at it at a neutral stadium and this will be a game that has the eye of everyone around the WPIAL.

South Fayette has been absolutely dominant through four week of the WPIAL season the Lions are scoring over 50 points per game and allowing only three points per game. That’s an average margin of 47 points per game, yes I did the math for you. Sophomore quarterback Brett Brumbaugh has been exactly what everyone expected for Joe Rossi’s team, spectacular. He is fourth in the WPIAL with 854 yards passing, he has competed 42 of 66 passes for 14 touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. That is an average of almost 13 yards per ATTEMPT, without a giveaway, extraordinary for any quarterback let alone a sophomore. Pitt recruit Zach Challingsworth is enjoying a monster senior season as the leading receiver for the Lions with 16 catches for 440 yards while scoring seven touchdowns on the year. Junior Conner Beck has been a great compliment to Challingsworth as the other wide receiver with 11 catches for 150 yards and a pair of scores. That aerial attack is impressive but that does not mean you can forget about the run game for the Lions, junior tailback Grant Fetchet has nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns on the year.

Challingsworth is a ball hawk in the secondary for South Fayette he will present a good challenge for his quarterback’s older brother, Seton-LaSalle senior quarterback Luke Brumbaugh.

The elder Brumbaugh has been just as fabulous in Seton’s offense as Brett has for the Lions. Luke has completed 38 of 73 passes for 751 yards and eight touchdowns also without throwing an interception. That’s a combined 139 passes and 22 touchdown passes without an interception for the Brumbaugh brothers, those figures are literally astounding, you would think there would be a tipped ball or a receiver fall down, something that would produce a turnover, just amazing work from these two guys.

Senior Louie Rotunda leads the Rebel with 14 catches for 346 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground the Rebels will rely heavily on sophomore Rick Mellick who leads them with 45 carries and 268 yards to go along with his six scores on the year. This is a huge rivalry game to begin with, throw in the perfect records and the fantastic quarterbacks who are brothers, and you wonder if Heinz Field might not have been a better neutral venue for these two teams to meet, come to think of it, it is not out of the question that that meeting might indeed take place in late November.

A Black Hills Conference
#7 Monessen Greyhounds (3-1)(3-1) at #3 Bishop Canevin Crusaders (4-0)(4-0) Friday September 28th @ 7:30 pm at Dormont Stadium broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Paul Paterra and Josh Rowntree

The Greyhounds are licking their wounds a little bit after getting taken out behind the woodshed by the Clairton Bears in week three. But Andy Pacak knows there is no time for reflection in the Black Hills. Monessen will need to forget about that loss very quickly as they hit the road in week five, or they will find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs in a very deep very tough Black Hills conference.

Chavas Rawlins will lead the ‘Hounds as he has done all year, both through the air and on the ground. Rawlins has completed 19 of 52 passes for 431 yards and four touchdowns for Monessen. He is also their leading rusher with 285 yards on 39 carries with eight scores on the ground.

Look for Clintell Gillespie to make a difference for that Monessen offense that struggled mightily against the Bears last Thursday. Coach Pacak will make sure his kids know that there is no shame in struggling against the Bears, the right frame of mind will be a big key against the Crusaders who will enter this game as a very confident football team.

Things seem to be falling right for the Crusaders this year, they got Imani Christian early and they get the Hounds coming off a very tough loss. But thing go your way when you make them go your way and that is Bob Jacoby’s team has done. Quarterback Nico DiPaolo has completed 34 pf 65 passes for 516 yards and four scores without throwing an interception. Wide out Mike Tambellini is DiPaolo’s favorite target with 17 catches for 311 yards and three touchdowns on the year. The Crusaders love to run the ball with Giovanni DeMarzo wracking up 84 carries already on the year that is a workhorse amount of carries behind a very good offensive line. DeMarzo has collected 410 yards and three touchdowns. This is a great game in the black Hills, I think this will be very evenly matched contest and the fact that the conference is so tightly grouped behind Clairton is going to make the Black Hills a lot of fun to watch down the stretch.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Central Valley, West Allegheny