Five things we learned from Week 8 of WPIAL football season: Gateway QB Walker measures up

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 21, 2017 | 5:21 PM

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The WPIAL's leading passer doesn't have the measurables to make Division I schools chase after him, but Brady Walker's other numbers are very impressive.

“He's skinny and he's not super big,” Gateway coach Don Holl said, “and I don't know that he looks great in person, but he completes. He's talented and he's smart and he's tough, all the things you could want. He's a great high school quarterback.”

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior leads the WPIAL with 2,520 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. He completed 17 of 33 attempts for 281 yards and three touchdowns in Friday night's 21-18 victory over McKeesport.

The victory left Gateway alone in second place in the Class 5A Big East with a chance to share the conference title if McKeesport defeats Penn-Trafford next week.

Walker threw two touchdowns to wideout Courtney Jackson on Friday and then delivered a 40-yard game-winner to Brandan Cain with 5:32 left.

“I couldn't have been luckier to have someone like him,” Holl said. “When you're an offensive guy and you can run an offense with that guy, I don't care what you're running, you're going to have a chance.”

Walker's best throw came with about 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Gateway was trailing by four points while facing a third-and-10 at its own 9-yard line. He avoided McKeesport's pass rush and connected with Jackson for a 51-yard completion that set up Cain's go-ahead score.

“I just escaped the pocket and saw my No. 1 receiver beat his man one-on-one,” Walker said. “I just launched it up and knew he would get it.”

The north controls the largest class

In Class 6A, the north still rules the south.

Combined, the top four teams in the Northern Seven went 11-1 in crossover games against the Southeastern Conference this season. The latest was Penn Hills' 42-21 victory over Mt. Lebanon on Friday. Penn Hills currently is the fourth-place team in the north, while Mt. Lebanon leads the south.

A year ago, all four semifinalists were north teams.

The south's best chance to break that embargo is likely Bethel Park. The Black Hawks were the only south team to defeat one of the four playoff qualifiers from the north. Bethel Park defeated North Allegheny, 35-15.

Mt. Lebanon lost this season to Pine-Richland, 53-29, and North Allegheny, 44-27.

A good team in Class 3A will be left home

The crowded wild card picture in Class 3A is coming into focus and Beaver likes what it sees this time. A year after missing the postseason on tiebreakers, the Bobcats should make the playoffs with a win over Beaver Falls in Week 9.

Beaver is guaranteed at least 500 Gardner Points and would add 110 more with a victory next Friday. A Mt. Pleasant win over winless Southmoreland would push the Bobcats' total to 620.

Only the top two teams in each conference advance plus two wild cards.

Shady Side Academy, the third-place team in the Allegheny Conference, is guaranteed at least 600. The most it could add is 20 more, 10 points each if Keystone Oaks defeats Seton LaSalle and Valley defeats Freeport. If both upsets occurred, then Beaver could be in trouble again.

If there's a Gardner Points tie, the WPIAL uses another tiebreaker formula that counts margin of victory. Shady Side leads Beaver in that tiebreaker.

In the Interstate Conference, South Park's victory over Elizabeth Forward made the math much closer. Elizabeth Forward is guaranteed at least 760 points, Derry 620, South Park 640. All three could finish above 700. McGuffey, which faces Derry in Week 9, has 460 points and would add another 150 with a win.

Deanes, Shoaf top two on WPIAL rushing list

There could be a battle for the regular-season rushing title.

Yough's Dustin Shoaf jumped to second among WPIAL rushing leaders with a 428-yard performance, setting a school single-game record in a 49-38 victory Friday over Southmoreland. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior has 1,647 yards on 255 carries this season.

He's 31 yards behind WPIAL rushing leader Lionel Deanes of Seton La Salle. Deanes, who has 1,678 yards, was held to 22 yards by Quaker Valley on Friday.

Maybe a Quips-Quakers rematch at Heinz?

Aliquippa and Quaker Valley share the same conference, but the two Beaver Valley teams could claim the top two seeds in the WPIAL Class 3A playoff bracket.

If all stays the same, undefeated Aliquippa (9-0) is a clear-cut No. 1 when the football committee assigns seeds on Oct. 30. But Quaker Valley (8-1) proved its strength Friday with a 42-7 nonconference victory over Seton LaSalle (7-1), which leads the Allegheny Conference.

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