Five things we learned from Week 6 of WPIAL football season

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 7, 2017 | 6:39 PM

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There's a new WPIAL favorite in Class 5A, again.

Penn-Trafford becomes the third team this season to hold the No. 1 spot in a WPIAL classification that maybe is the most balanced and certainly the most unpredictable. The Warriors (7-0) jumped to the top spot in the Trib rankings after their 20-13 victory over Franklin Regional and West Allegheny's overtime loss to now-No. 2 Upper St. Clair, 21-20.

West Allegheny, the defending WPIAL champion, went for the win in overtime but its two-point pass was intercepted. The Indians hadn't lost to a WPIAL opponent since 2015, a 17-game streak that ended Friday.

“We'll get better from it. We'll learn from it, and we'll move on,” West Allegheny coach Bob Palko said. “One game isn't going to make a season.”

Penn-Trafford's rise to the top spot is more remarkable when you consider the Warriors missed the playoffs last year. They're the only undefeated WPIAL team in Class 5A. Upper St. Clair's only loss this season was to Steubenville, Ohio, in Week Zero.

An opponent that could play spoiler is McKeesport, which was ranked No. 1 earlier this season. The Tigers face Upper St. Clair in Week 7 and Penn-Trafford in Week 9.

Lineman-sized rushers could become new trend?

Fox Chapel senior Micah Morris is listed at 6-foot-2, 243 pounds. California junior Jelani Stafford measures 6-1, 263.

The two running backs are bigger than many linemen, but they're among the most productive in the WPIAL this season.

Morris rushed 23 times for 195 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-23 victory over Hampton. Stafford scored four touchdowns in California's 42-7 win over Carmichaels.

Western Pa. could attack state 2A title on all sides

Could there be an all-West matchup in the state Class 2A championship this year?

It almost happened last season when Steel Valley won the title. District 6 champion Ligonier Valley, which enters into the “eastern” side of the PIAA bracket, lost in the state semifinals to Southern Columbia. LV is off to another strong start after Friday's 35-6 victory over Homer-Center.

The Top 6 teams in the PennLive state rankings are Southern Columbia, Steel Valley, Dunmore, Washington, Wilmington and Ligonier Valley.

Week 6 was a milestone week for WPIAL passers

South Fayette's Drew Saxton, Gateway's Brady Walker, Pine-Richland's Phil Jurkovec and Altoona's Braeden Burchfield all had reasons to celebrate Friday night. Remarkably, those four quarterbacks combined for 1,273 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Saxton and Jurkovec each joined the 6,000-yard club, a WPIAL list that now includes 11 names. Walker, who threw for 280 yards and six touchdowns, needs 59 yards to join them.

And then there's Burchfield, who celebrated his second consecutive 400-yard game. The Altoona senior completed 23 of 33 attempts for 471 yards, the most in the WPIAL this season. He also threw five touchdowns. A week ago, Burchfield passed for 417 yards. Only three other WPIAL quarterbacks reached 400 yards this season: Mt. Lebanon's Seth Morgan (459), Jurkovec (439) and Highlands' Seth Cohen (412).

Jurkovec didn't approach that total Friday but he was perfect, completing all 14 attempts for 244 yards and three touchdowns. The Notre Dame commit has 6,108 career yards.

Saxton has 6,223, and Walker has 5,951.

Burgettstown still perfect as schedule gets tougher

Week by week, surprising Burgettstown keeps proving itself against a Class 2A Century Conference schedule that's growing increasingly difficult.

The team's latest win was 34-22 over previously unbeaten Beth-Center on Friday night as Ryan Lounder passed for three touchdowns, and Nic Speer rushed for 135 yards and another score. The win improved No. 5 Burgettstown to 6-0.

The next three weeks bring conference matchups with Charleroi (6-1) and Washington (6-0), and a nonconference visit to Elizabeth Forward (5-1).

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.