Football player of the week: Charleroi’s Geno Pellegrini

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 2, 2018 | 7:33 PM

The long district win streaks keep on falling.

A week after South Fayette saw its 59-game regular season win streak snapped in a loss to Upper St. Clair, Washington had its 39-game regular-season victory march halted in a big way by Charleroi.

Cougars senior quarterback Geno Pellegrini did damage with both his arm and his legs in leading Charleroi to a stunning 64-33 triumph over the 2017 WPIAL champion Little Prexies, handing Wash High its first regular-season defeat since losing to Mt. Pleasant, 47-22, in October of 2013.

For his efforts, he is the TribLive High School Sports Network’s Football Player of the Week.

Pellegrini connected on 11 of 17 passes for 205 yards and five touchdown tosses of 45, 13, 10, 10 and 19 yards, with the final three scoring strikes going to Dakota Romantino.

“Geno is a leader that our team respects and believes in,” Charleroi first-year coach Lance Getsy said. “It didn’t surprise anyone on our team that he would compete the way that he did. He has responded very well to the different things that we are trying to do this year compared to years past. I think that he is doing great with understanding what we are trying to achieve with our different formations and plays. I was impressed with the way he ran the offense and the balance of run and pass.”

The Cougars jumped on the Little Prexies early thanks to 64-yard touchdown run by Pellegrini that got the offensive ball rolling for host Charleroi. Pellegrini ended up with 131 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

“Taking the first play from scrimmage up the middle of a defense that size and scoring set the tone of the game,” Getsy said. “Then, to get the ball back after a safety and to make a perfect pass to Legend Davis down the sidelines shows his versatility. Then, to come out in the second half and continue to run and make throws the way that he did shows his consistency. He makes it easy to call plays.”

Getsy admits while this was a big win for the program, his team will continue to take it one week at a time as he leans on players like Pellegrini to keep everybody focused.

“We are fortunate to have many seniors step up as team leaders, but Geno is definitely one that leads vocally, as well as by example. When we are having a bad practice, Geno brings the team in and lets them know that they have to start picking things up. We are able to do a lot of different things offensively because of him.”

WPIAL Week 1 Honorable Mentions

Jehvonn Lewis, Bethel Park

Bethel Park was one of nearly two dozen district teams that decided on a second scrimmage instead of a Week Zero game and apparently practice makes perfect. Jehvonn Lewis rushed for 328 yards and scored three touchdowns as he started the scoring on a 28-yard run and completed the night’s end zone action with a 77-yard run to pay dirt in the Black Hawks’ 41-20 wipeout of Woodland Hills.

Logan Shrubb, Keystone Oaks

It didn’t reach the heights of the epic Beaver vs. Keystone Oaks offensive show from a few years ago, but KO and Highlands still put on a scoring show for the masses. While Highlands quarterback Seth Cohen threw for 366 yards and wide receiver Johnny Crise had 10 catches for 301 yards, it was Keystone Oaks quarterback Logan Shrubb who stole the show with 200 yards passing and 216 yards rushing as the Golden Eagles edged the Golden Rams, 49-42.

Seth Morgan, Mt. Lebanon

Mt. Lebanon quarterback Seth Morgan and his offense got off to a slow start in the first half before exploding for big numbers in quarters three and four as the Blue Devils beat Canon-McMillan, 43-29. Morgan connected on 25 of 40 passes for 333 yards and threw four touchdown passes, plus he sealed the deal on the Class 6A conference opener victory with a 47-yard scoring run.

Zack Rocco, North Catholic

If high school football players were paid, North Catholic quarterback Zach Rocco would have been paid a full day’s wages in Week 1 for only a half day of work. Rocco was 11 of 14 passing for 297 yards and five touchdown passes of 44, 42, 33, 20 and 65 yards — all in the first half — as the Trojans cruised to a 41-7 triumph over Burrell.

Tyler Brennan, North Hills

In 2017, a North Hills loss to Fox Chapel cost the Indians a playoff spot when they finished one game behind the Foxes for fourth place in the Class 5A Allegheny 9 Conference. Now playing in the Northern Conference of 5A, Tyler Brennan helped tip the scales North Hills’ way with a big effort as he rushed for 270 yards and five touchdowns, including scoring scampers of 58, 65 and 45 yards in the Indians’ 42-24 win over the Foxes.

Bonus Mention, Jim Render

Jim Render was an athlete back in the day and has successfully coaches athletes for over four decades. How successful he has coached them was on display Friday when he became only the 30th coach in high school football history nationally to win his 400th game as head football coach when Upper St. Clair beat Peters Township, 16-14. It was a historic event that we may never see again as the average high school coaching career span continues to shrink.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.