Friday Night HighLights – 10/29/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 29, 2011 | 10:17 AM

While we wake up to a white out (What the…?), it was a knock out delivered by these football players from the final Friday of the regular season. Whether their team was chasing down a conference championship or trying to wrap up a playoff spot, these players below came up large. As the regular season curtain slowly closes, we say ENCORE to these following performers from Week Nine.

Dakota Conwell – Upper St. Clair

In what turned out to be the championship game for the Great Southern Conference, one top player was very good while the other truly was great. While Mount Lebanon running back Luke Hagy once again went over 100 yards rushing with one touchdown, It was Upper St. Clair quarterback Dakota Conwell who stole the show, rushing for 276 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers cruised to a title clinching 42-6 victory over the rival Blue Devils.

Thomas Woodson – Gateway

While it was McKeesport quarterback Eddie Stockett who came into this Class AAAA Foothills Conference battle for second place and a home playoff game with all of the gaudy passing numbers, it was Gateway quarterback Thomas Woodson who delivered the ‘W’. Woodson was 10 of 13 passing for 145 yards and tossed a touchdown pass as the Gators took a big bite out of the Tigers with a 38-0 whitewash.

Jordan Brown – Seneca Valley

You can only control what you can control. Wise advice in general, but those words were probably spoken often by WPIAL coaches this past week. Seneca Valley players seemed to listen to that wise advice as they took care of business thanks to quarterback Jordan Brown, who hit on 14 of 19 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns passes plus a scoring run as the Raiders beat the rival Butler Golden Tornado 47-21 to finish in a tie for second place…only to lose the tiebreaker with Erie McDowell and start the postseason on the road.

Andrew Erenberg – Peters Township

When it came to the Class AAAA Great Southern Conference playoff picture this past week, there was a lot of talk that centered on a coin flip to decide the final two or final playoff spots. Peters Township running back Andrew Erenberg took that coin, flipped it into a fountain, made a wish and then went out and ran rough-shod over Canon-McMillan, gaining 172 yards and four touchdowns as the Indians earned a playoff berth with a 46-27 victory over the Big Macs.

Shamar Greene – West Mifflin

The streak is over! For six years and 37 consecutive games, nobody from the Class AAA Big Eight Conference has been able to hang with mighty Thomas Jefferson…until Friday night. Shamar Greene rushed for 190 yards and scored the game clinching touchdown on a 58-yard jaunt as the Titans earned a share of the conference championship and the top-seed out of the Big Eight with a 27-14 triumph over the Jaguars.

Dane Brown – Franklin Regional

In back-to-back showdown matchups against Ringgold and Greensburg-Salem in Week Eight and Week Nine to decide the top three spots in the Class AAA Keystone Conference, Franklin Regional proved they have a Great Dane leading the way on offense. After rushing for 221 yards the previous week, Dane Brown gained 183 yards on the ground and scored four touchdowns as the Panthers rolled to an undefeated conference championship with a 53-14 thrashing of the Golden Lions.

Rushel Shell – Hopewell

A lot of state and national records for the great Rushel Shell, not to mention his goal of winning a championship hinged on one thing…uhhh, winning in Week Nine and making the playoffs.  Shell helped make that happen with another big game as he gained 216 yards rushing and scored all four of Hopewell’s touchdowns…plus did some nice rare work on the defensive side of the ball as the Vikings beat the West Allegheny Indians 31-14 to clinch a playoff spot in the tough Class AAA Parkway Conference.

Luke Brumbaugh – Seton-LaSalle & Brett Brumbaugh – South Fayette

Ladies and gentlemen, I direct your attention to the middle of the football field where you are about to witness the Passing Brumbaugh Brothers! It was business as usual for Seton-LaSalle junior quarterback Luke Brumbaugh, who hit on 9 of 11 passes for 157 yards with a touchdown pass and a scoring run as they Rebels sealed the deal on a perfect regular season and a Class AA Century Conference outright title with a 49-14 triumph over the Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles. Meanwhile, it was the first varsity start for freshman Brett Brumbaugh at South Fayette and he did not disappoint. He was a near perfect 13 of 14 passing for 228 yards and two touchdowns as the South Fayette Lions eliminated the Quaker Valley Quakers with a 44-16 victory.

Lenny Williams – Sto-Rox

While Sto-Rox had already clinched the top spot out of the Class A Big 7 Conference, they were looking to win in Week Nine to win the title outright and finish unbeaten in the regular season. Roger that big time as quarterback Lenny Williams finished with 266 yards on 16 of 24 passing with two touchdown passes and a scoring run in the Vikings 29-0 triumph over the playoff-bound Cornell Raiders sealing the deal on the #2-seed over all in the Class A playoffs.

Jon Girvin–Northgate

Usually we showcase only the performances that led to a victory. Well, by the end of the night, they might not have won, but they were celebrating at Northgate High School.  Quarterback Jon Girvin had another big game, hitting on 14 passes for 285 yards and three long touchdown passes in the Flames 28-20 loss to the Avonworth Antelopes. However when the dust cleared on the tiebreaker points, Northgate was celebrating their first playoff berth since 2003.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Gateway, Hopewell, Upper St. Clair, West Mifflin