Big Game Hunting – Week Five

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 28, 2017 | 4:32 AM

Playoff picture taking shape now with some new names getting into the mix. Joe Rossi and the South Fayette Lions keep rolling through another regular season. Joey Koroly at my alma mater etching his name into the record books. The real attention-getter last weekend was Pine-Richland. Sure no surprise that they won against then number three Bethel Park, but the manner in which they disposed of the Hawks was stunning. An easy lopsided game that was decided before the first half was over? The state of Pennsylvania in 6-A is officially on notice. #WOW as the tweeterers would say, (I think). Things got chippy in a battle between Imani and Jeannette, and the Saints have another tough one coming this week. So let’s Go Big Game Hunting!

6 A Northern Seven Conference:
#2 Central Catholic Vikings (4-1)(3-0) vs #1 Pine-Richland Rams (5-0)(2-0) Friday September 29^th @ 7:30 PM at Pine-Richland high school broadcast on 1320 AM WJAS and the TribLive High School Sports Network by Lanny Frattare and Sean Myers

The ease with which the Rams dispatched Bethel Park had people in every press box in the WPIAL shaking their heads Friday night. This was a Bethel team that had throttled their competition including North Allegheny prior to that game. Central has been perfect since a week zero loss in Erie, to Prep. But that loss seemed to somehow take the Vikings out of the minds of most pundits as a threat to the Rams in 6 A.

Terry Totten’s team gets their crack on the field regardless of what the experts think. Senior quarterback Troy Fisher is completing around 60% of his passes, Cam Laconi, Gavin Thomson and Khalil Weathers all are weapons in the passing game for the Vikings.

Jordan Rheingrover added a touchdown catch in last week’s 28-20 win over Seneca Valley.

As with many teams in 6 A this year the question won’t be, can you score? The question will be, can you score and manage in any way to slow the scoring machine that is Pine-Richland?

The Rams scored 54 points in the first half, on the road against a defense that had surrendered only four touchdowns on the season coming into the game.

Phil Jurkovec has completed 89 of 121 passes for 1470 yards and 12 touchdowns, he has also rushed for 239 yards and nine touchdowns.

Ray Falcone and Jason DeFrancisis each have 23 catches on the season.

Jordan Crawford is the leading rusher for the Rams with six touchdowns and nearly 300 yards rushing on the season.

Can the Vikes hang around? Or does what is starting to feel like a coronation march, continue?

5 A Big East Conference:
#2 Gateway Gators (5-0)(3-0) vs #4 Penn Trafford Warriors (5-0)(3-0) Friday September 29^th @ 7:30 PM at Penn Trafford high school broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network by Paul Paterra and Lou Rood

A battle of perfect teams on Friday, I am not certain but this seems rare to me over the last couple years. More so than it used to be prior to the switch to six classifications. Again I have not done the research on this, it is just a vibe, but I do think many times in four classifications from a mid-point to a late season I could sometimes do a BGH that featured all perfect teams. Hmm I don’t know maybe I’m just imagining things.

In any case these teams are perfect and this certainly seems like a battle for the Big East title, though McKeesport and Franklin-Regional both still get to play both of these teams before all is said and done.

Gateway quarterback Brady Walker has completed 70 of 107 passes for 1328 yards and 16 touchdowns while tossing just a single interception.

Isaiah Cameron and Courtney Jackson have each reached double digit in catches. Jackson has 26 catches for 663 yards and has scored 10 touchdowns. Cameron has 12 catches for 250 yards, he is also the leading rusher for the Gators with 454 yards on the ground. All told he has scored a dozen touchdowns on the year.

The Warriors are a little more reliant on the run than the pass so far this season, as a team they have over 1400 rushing yards versus not quite 600 passing yards.

Cam Lafoon has completed 39 of 69 passes for 595 yards and five touchdowns while tossing two interceptions.

His favorite target is Dimitri George who has more than twice as many catches as any of his teammates with 13 for 191 yards and a score.

On the ground John Gay has rushed for 525 yards and seven touchdowns, Caleb Lisbon has 405 yards and eight touchdowns. Lafoon gets in on the running game as well with 311 yards and a pair of scores on the year.

4 A Big Nine Conference:
#7 West Mifflin Titans (3-1)(2-1) vs #10 Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions (2-3)(2-2) Friday September 29^th @ 7:00 PM at Greensburg_Salem high school broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network by Matt Vandriak and Donny Chedrick

The Titans rebounded from a surprising loss to Albert Gallatin in week three with a thumping of Uniontown in week four. Greensburg-Salem enters this game on a two-game slide but those losses were against a pair of the top three teams in 4 A, Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon.

The Titans win in week four came without Howie Reed running the football, no word on whether or not he will be back in for this tilt against the Golden Lions. Reed is the leading rusher for West Mifflin despite no carries last week with 432 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the season. In his absence Parrish Parker got the bulk of the carries, Parker has had a solid season of his own now with 45 carries for 404 yards and six touchdowns.

Matt Schuster has completed 7 of 18 passes on the season for 148 yards and a pair of scores.

Zkkrah Patterson is the leading receiver for the Titans with four catches for 112 yards and two scores.

Greensburg-Salem quarterback Jacob Hoyle has completed 41 of 83 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns. Joey Williams and Kevin Braswell have combined for nearly 20 catches and over 200 yards on the season.

On the ground Hoyle is the leading rusher for the Lions as well with over 300 yards and three scores on the season. Aaren Putt has rushed for nearly 300 yards and has scored a team-high six touchdowns.

GS lost senior center Jake Wineman to injury for the bulk of last week’s loss to Belle Vernon. If he is unable to return the adjustment they will need to make up front will be very impactful on the outcome of this contest.

3 A Allegheny Conference:
Shady Side Academy Indians (2-2)(2-2) vs #8 Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles (3-1)(2-0) Friday September 29^th @ 7:00 PM at Dormont Stadium, the Chick-fil-A Robinson Game of the Week broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network by Sam Hall and Kyle Dawson

Keystone Oaks will try to rebound from last week’s non-conference loss against Beaver and stay in the hunt for the Allegheny title. The Indians are also looking to rebound from a loss dropping a tough one last week losing a 4^th quarter lead to fall to Freeport 24-17.

For Shady Side Academy quarterback Skyy Moore has thrown for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. Dino Tomlin has been his go-to guy for the most part, Tomlin has over 300 receiving yards and has scored five touchdowns on the season.

On the ground Moore has been the almost exclusive carrier of the football with 600 plus yards and ten touchdowns on the year. The rest of the team has combined for -18 yards rushing, that’s negative 18.

Keystone Oaks has been pretty balanced in their offensive attack this season. Quarterback Logan Shrubb has completed 47 of 99 passes for 543 yards and three touchdown passes.

His top two targets are C.J. Morrow (15 catches for 190 yards) and Mike Daure (11 catches for 122 yards). Daure is also the leading rusher of the football with 498 yards in 71 carries on the season, he has scored a team-high 11 touchdowns, no one else has scored more than once for the Golden Eagles.

2 A Midwestern Athletic Conference:
#6 Freedom Bulldogs (4-1)(2-0) vs #5 Riverside Panthers (3-1)(3-0) Friday September 29^th @ 7:00 PM at Riverside high school broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network by Cory Campano and Steve Nagler

Two of the three remaining unbeatens in the Midwestern tangle Friday night on THE NETWORK! Freedom has rattled off three straight since losing to Beaver in a non-conference game in week one. Riverside has also been perfect since their week one non-conference loss to Steel Valley. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic looms in the future for both of these teams so it is not a battle for the title, just yet, but a win here would surely be a big leg-up on a shot at the title.

Freedom’s Zach Rosa has completed 31 of 65 for 419 yards and three touchdowns, Rosa is also the team’s second leading rusher with 288 yards and four scores on the season.

Jason Norman leads the Bulldogs in catches (10) and receiving yards (173).

Kyle Borgman is the leading rusher for Freedom with 385 yards and three touchdowns. Cody Ross gets the tough yards in the trenches and has carried for 155 yards and a pair of scores.

Freedom lost this game in a hard-fought 18-10 match last year at home.

The Panthers quarterback is Ben Hughes, he has been remarkable in terms of accuracy and efficiency if not volume. Hughes has hit on 22 of 38 passes, nearly 60% and tossed for 459 yards and four touchdowns.

Austin Dambach (10 catches for 328 yards) is the leading receiver for the Panthers and with a half dozen touchdowns also their leading scorer.

On the ground, Noah Harris and LeMarcus Cleckley have combined to rush for 476 yards and nine scores for Riverside.

1 A Eastern Conference :
#6 Imani Christian Saints (3-2)(2-1) vs #1 Clairton Bears (4-0)(3-0) Friday September 29^th @ 7:00 PM at Neil C. Brown Stadium broadcast on the TribLive High School Sports Network by Sean Saputo and Greg Kuntz

The Saints are in the midst of a two-game losing streak and will not have five of their players for this football game as they were ejected late in last weekend’s loss to Jeannette. No word on who those players are, but Imani, like so many other 1 A schools has a tiny roster, five players is a very significant loss no matter who they are. That said, a little luster has been taken off this game, one a lot of people, including me had circled on the calendar.

Imani quarterback Tawan Wesley has completed 76 of 129 passes for 1409 yards on the season and hooked up for 18 touchdowns.

Rahmon Hart, Sam Fairly and Ray Jackson all have 20 or more catches, Fairly is tops in yardage (592) and scores (11).

The Saints have had great success running the football as well Asante Watkins has 51 carries for 535 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.

Clairton, has been number one in the TribLiveHSSN Top Ten all season long, and they just keep cruising along. The Bears Brendan Parsons has completed 29 of 51 passes for 425 yards and four scores.

Tre’sean Howard has three times as many catches as anyone else in a Bears uniform with 12 for 82 yards and he has totaled nine touchdowns. But, Devlin Clifford has 105 yards on four catches and, Leonard Robinson has 122 yards on just two catches.

Howard is the leading rusher for the Bears with 419 yards, Aaron Thompson has 294 yards rushing.

The Bears have been without Kijafi Fuqua due to injury for the first half of this season, now word yet on his estimated return, when, and if that happens, a very good Bears club will just get better.

Tags: Clairton, Freedom, Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Imani Christian, Keystone Oaks, West Mifflin