Gateway’s Majocha named Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 7, 2018 | 9:48 PM

Gateway quarterback Brendan Majocha put his own little spin on the “Midnight ride of Paul Revere.” You know, one if by land, two if by sea.

For Majocha in Friday’s battle of unbeaten teams for first place in the Class 5A Big East Conference between Gateway and Franklin Regional, it was 6 if by land and 6 if by air.

The top-ranked Gators flexed their muscles and routed the Panthers, 63-3.

“We knew going in that Franklin Regional has tough, athletic kids who are extremely well-coached, and we typically have closely-contested games,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “We felt like we could have some success last Friday but expected to have to battle for all 48 minutes to earn the win in their stadium. We made a lot of plays and had some good fortune and bounces and got on a roll.”

Majocha had a big game throwing and running with the pigskin.

The senior signal caller connected on 9 of 13 passes for 246 yards and three scoring tosses of 73, 18 and 26 yards, plus he rushed for 110 yards and scored three touchdowns, all in the first half as Gateway led 56-3 after two quarters.

“Brendan was outstanding against Franklin Regional. He has a great understanding of our offense, and of defensive schemes, and is an excellent decision maker,” Holl said. “Combine that with his athleticism, and it makes for a potent contributor to our offense and team. Brendan made a multitude of plays Friday night and really came up big in a big section game.”

Gateway is 7-0 and alone in first place in the conference with a 4-0 record.

For the season, Majocha has thrown for 1,579 and 24 touchdowns and has rushed for 628 yards and six scores.

“Brendan is committed to his work as a quarterback much the same as he is committed to his school work with a 4.0 GPA,” Holl said. “As such, he keeps getting better and better. He is very intelligent and coachable, a really good combination. He has played outstanding football.”

WPIAL Week 6 Honorable Mentions

Edward Tillman, Central Catholic

Youth was served Friday night for Central Catholic as it kept hopes alive for a quarterfinal-round home playoff game alive with a road win at Norwin. Sophomore running back Edward Tillman was a workhorse for the Vikings, as he carried the football 29 times and gained 330 yards with three touchdown runs and a scoring reception of 47 yards as the Vikings beat the Knights, 35-16, in a Class 6A contest that keeps Central Catholic within a half game of third-place Seneca Valley.

Logan Pfeuffer, Peters Township

The season of big hopes and title hopes continues at Peters Township this fall, except for now we are talking about football, not soccer. Quarterback Logan Pfeuffer hit on 14 of 19 passes for 308 yards and four touchdown tosses of 37, 61, 40 and 28 yards with the first three scoring passes going to Josh Casilli as the Indians held off Moon, 33-21, to keep their Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference championship dreams intact.

Dayln Brickner, Beaver Falls

One great turnaround story for Beaver Falls continued on Friday while a see-saw season for Keystone Oaks kept its course, as well. Tigers senior Dayln Brickner rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns, including runs of 36 and 40 yards, plus he threw a pair of scoring passes as Beaver Falls claimed a 41-21 victory over Keystone Oaks. The win keeps the Tigers in second place in the Class 3A Tri-County West Conference behind Aliquippa, while the loss hurt the Golden Eagles’ playoff hopes as they lost their third straight.

Ethan Moore, Quaker Valley

Two weeks ago, defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion Quaker Valley was in trouble with a 1-3 overall record. But the champs have evened things out with two straight wins and sit in third place in the Class 3A Tri-County West after a big game by quarterback Ethan Moore. The senior signal caller hit on 22 of 34 passes for 319 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and three scoring runs as the Quakers rolled to a 46-14 conquest of host Waynesburg.

Keinlein Ogletree, Clairton

In this video game era of football on all levels with points a plenty and offense and scores garnering all the headlines, sometimes a defense steps up and pulls the plug on the assault on district scoreboards. Junior Keinlein Ogletree of Clairton did his part as he picked off Imani Christian quarterback Israel Reed three times in the first half alone, plus he caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from teammate Brendan Parson, as the Bears remained undefeated with a 45-18 drubbing of the Saints in a Class A Eastern Conference showdown.

Bonus Mention — Jeannette defense into offense

Nobody came close to keeping Our Lady of the Sacred heart quarterback Tyler Bradley in check through Week 5 of the 2018 season. In six games before Friday’s Class A nonconference showdown with defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Jeannette, Bradley was 110 of 159 for 1,780 yards and 24 touchdown passes. But the Jayhawks’ Marcus Barnes and Jackson Pruitt turned defense into offense with interception returns of 57 and 85 yards to the house as Jeannette won the showdown of undefeated teams 28-13.

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

Tags: Beaver Falls, Central Catholic, Clairton, Gateway, Jeannette, Peters Township, Quaker Valley