Friday Night HighLights – Week Six

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 7, 2017 | 9:32 PM

The second half of the regular season began with the feel of the start of the first half of the season. Unseasonably warm temps was music to the ears of the many fans who headed out to a local high school football contest. what also was surprising was the number of first wins registered on Friday. There were 14 teams with win-less records heading into Week Six and four of them pulled off surprise wins while several others came so close. One win teams or seven win teams, here are the top performers from a wild Week Six Friday around the WPIAL.

Braeden Burchfield – Altoona

Because they are located in the far east orient of the district and also because their record isn’t what they would like t=it to be, not a lot of attention has been paid to the offensive numbers being put up by Altoona…until now. Quarterback Braeden Burchfield connected on 23 of 33 passes for 471 yards and four long touchdown tosses of 53, 40, 76 and the game winning 10-yard strike to go along with a scoring run as the Mountain Lions edged the visiting Hempfield Spartans to end a five game losing streak in a 48-47 Class 6-A Southeastern Conference thriller.

Layton Jordan – McKeesport

The McKeesport flex-bone three-headed monster was running wild again in Vandergrift Friday night. And while Carlinos Acie (141) and John Harper (101) cracked triple digits on the ground, it was Layton Jordan claimed the crown. Jordan rushed for 222 yards and scored on three touchdown runs of 37, 3 and 16 as the Tigers won for their fifth straight Class 5-A Big East Conference game with a 48-13 triumph over the Kiski Area Cavaliers.

Brady Walker – Gateway

After being shut down for the first time all season in Week Five when Gateway fell to Penn-Trafford, a man named Brady was back to work and his team was back in the win column. Brady Walker was good on 20 of 27 attempts for 292 yards and SIX touchdown strikes of 13, 18, 21, 29, 2 and 11 yards as the Gators rebounded big time from being shutout with a 48-14 win over the host Plum Mustangs in a Class 5-A Big East Conference fray.

Micah Morris – Fox Chapel

Through four weeks, Fox Chapel was sitting at 1-3 in the Class 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference nad had their backs to the wall before mid-season. Back-to-back wins though have FC in control of their own postseason destiny again with the combined key losses by other teams on Friday and the running of Micah Morris, who rushed for 195 yards and five touchdowns as the host Foxes trotted to a 41-23 victory over the Hampton Talbots.

Reed Bruggeman – Chartiers Valley

One of the stunners of Friday night took place at Chartiers Valley High School as the hosts picked up their first win of the year while dealing a possibly lethal blow to the postseason hopes of visiting Moon. Reed Bruggeman played a huge role in the Class 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference upset as he hit on 10 of 16 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns, including a first half game tying 99-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Doyle as the Colts are win-less no more following a 32-13 victory over the Tigers.

Drew Saxton – South Fayette

In some cases with outstanding quarterbacks, they can put up some impressive numbers in one-sided victories. That was NOT the case for South Fayette pigskin passer Drew Saxton on Friday as he ended up 14 of 19 passing for 278 yards and four touchdowns of 60, 25, 2 and 5 yards as the Lions kept their regular season win streak alive with a 42-33 win over the host New Castle Red Hurricane in a Class 4-A Northwestern Conference dandy.

Mason Pascoe – Belle Vernon

You hear the term ‘trap game’ thrown around in sports, specifically in football. It indicates a team playing a team below them in the standings right before a big contest and being vulnerable for an upset as they are caught looking ahead. Belle Vernon made sure they there was no ‘Trinity Trap’ thanks to the running of Mason Pascoe, who gained 211 yards and tallied touchdown runs of 29 and 64 yards as the Leopards remained undefeated with a 28-21 win over the visiting Hillers to set up next weeks 4-A Big Nine Conference showdown with Thomas Jefferson.

Braydon Cameron – Mohawk

Sometimes you need a spark to get going on any given Friday night. In Week 6, it was Braydon Cameron who supplied the electricity to his Mohawk mates. Trailing 13-0 at the half, Cameron, who ended up with 223 yards on the ground, scored on a 2-yard run to get the ball rolling in the third quarter, then added a 9-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter to complete the host Warriors 27-13 Class 2-A Midwestern Athletic Conference victory over the New Brighton Lions.

J.D. Celaschi – Frazier

A promising season for Frazier has been a difficult struggle with six games and six losses. But a first win was captured thanks to quarterback J.D. Celaschi’s near perfect night. Celaschi was 7 of 8 passing for 152 yards and four touchdown tosses, plus he rushed for 125 yards and another score as the Commodores kept their playoff hopes alive in the Class 2-A Century Conference with a 46-6 victory over the host Brownsville Falcons.

Ben Jackson – West Greene

Middle and late season non-conference games can be challenging to coaching staffs and players alike knowing there are no playoff implications at stake. Don’t tell Ben Jackson of West Greene there was nothing to gain because he gained a lot, a league high 237 yards rushing and added a pair of touchdown runs from 49 and 6 yards out as the Pioneers picked up a rare fifth win of the season with a 47-14 conquest of the visiting Leechburg Blue Devils in a Class 1-A Non-Conference tilt.

Tags: Altoona, Belle Vernon, Chartiers Valley, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Gateway, McKeesport, West Greene