High school football notebook: Norwin defense among WPIAL’s best

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 26, 2017 | 4:30 PM

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Talk to coaches who have played Norwin and their first point of emphasis is defense.

Norwin (4-5 overall, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) is no knock-off of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens or 1985 Chicago Bears, but the playoff-bound Knights have taken plenty of pride in allowing the third-fewest points in WPIAL Class 6A (140).

They're mean run-stoppers with a knack for forcing quarterbacks into bad decisions.

Norwin plays at pass-happy Hempfield (1-8, 0-5) on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference and regular-season finale.

“We have had a couple games where teams have moved the ball against our defense, but we were able to keep them out of the end zone,” Norwin coach Dave Brozeski said. “We have made positive strides throughout the year. I am especially proud of the defensive players and coaches for the way they have responded throughout the year after a game that we had a subpar game.”

A tireless pass rush led by hard-hitting linebackers has produced 32 tackles for losses and nine sacks. And an athletic secondary has six interceptions.

Middle linebacker John Piekut is the bull-horn leader of the defense and leads the team in tackles with 88.

Senior Gage Luptak, who has 57 stops and probably more splash hits on Hudl, can play defensive end or middle linebacker.

Junior outside linebacker Gianni Rizzo, another pad-cracking force, has eight tackles for negative yards, and three sacks.

Junior safety Jayvon Thrift, who has scholarship offers from West Virginia and Pitt, has 64 tackles and an interception. His cousin, Tevin, a senior cornerback, was injured against Mt. Lebanon in Week 6 and has not played since.

While the offense has dragged behind some at times, the defense has helped the Knights hang around in just about every game.

“The players deserve the most credit for taking pride in the unit and striving to be prepared mentally and physically each week and then carrying out the game plan,” Brozeski said.

Norwin has 10 total fumble recoveries.

Back to the offense: sophomore quarterback Jack Salopek was injured during last week's game against Central Catholic and could be out this week.

Backup Brock Dieter, a senior, ran for two scores in his absence.

Kickstarters

A number of area teams have benefitted greatly from the play of their kickers this season. The greatest example is Penn-Trafford, which has record-breaking Nick Tarabrella.

The senior connected on a 27-yard field in the first quarter last week for his 16th career field goal (third of the season), breaking the school record held by Matt Loughane (2011-12).

Tarabrella also is the program record-holder for career extra points with 142.

“He has like 1,000 extra points for us,” Warriors coach John Ruane said with an easy chuckle. “He has been tremendous for us. He is so consistent so it's great to have him around.”

Ruane said Penn-Trafford can take chances in the red zone with Tarabrella there for a trust fall.

“He has really worked hard to be an elite kicker,” Ruane said.

Latrobe junior Nate Clair is another dependable leg: he has seven field goals, while Greensburg Central Catholic senior Ethan Slike has five field goals, and senior Dom DiFalco is 4 for 4 on field goals for Franklin Regional, including a 20-yard game-winner in overtime against Armstrong. He also has a make from 37 yards.

Junior Carter Breen has made three field goals for Norwin.

Playoff situation

The playoff picture in Westmoreland County is just about settled, so Week 9 will mainly be for positioning.

Derry and Greensburg Central Catholic are the last local teams with a shot at the postseason. Both face must-win scenarios.

Derry could go from playing for a share of the Class 3A Interstate Conference Friday to being out of the playoffs. The Trojans host McGuffey.

Greensburg Central Catholic needs to win at Springdale to have a chance at one of the two finals spots in the Eastern Conference or the wild card.

Penn-Trafford should secure the No. 1 seed in Class 5A if it wins at McKeesport, while Jeannette could be the top seed in Class A if it beat Clairton to take the Eastern outright.

Belle Vernon could get a top-2 seed in 4A.

Other Westmoreland qualifiers are Norwin in 6A and Franklin Regional in 5A.

Penn-Trafford, Belle Vernon and Jeannette will have home games in the first round.

Houseman out

Yough senior lineman Scotty Houseman is likely done for the season after having surgery to clean up a staff infection in his arm.

Houseman (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) has attracted some lower Division I and Division II college attention. He has offers from Seton Hill and West Virginia State.

Recruiting picks up for Gay

Division I attention is growing for Penn-Trafford senior John Gay IV, a standout running back and defensive back. Gay has an offer from Cornell, as a cornerback. And Penn State has presented him with a preferred walk-on offer, meaning he could join the team and try to earn a scholarship later.

Gay, who has rushed for more than 700 yards in the Warriors' three-headed running game, has scored in eight of nine games this season. He has a team-best 15 touchdowns and 90 points for Class 5A No. 1 Penn-Trafford (9-0).

Pass it on

Hempfield is quite an anomaly this season. The Spartans are 1-8 but have become one of the best passing teams in the WPIAL.

The offense is slinging it up and down the field, but a young line and defense has had growing pains.

Senior quarterback Justin Sliwoski, slowed early on by a shoulder injury, has bounced back to the tune of 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns — in only six games.

And his top target, senior tight end Braden Brose, has more than doubled his output from a year ago. He has caught 53 receptions for 765 yards and 10 touchdowns. Last year, he caught 21 for 306 yards and just four scores.

Appalachian series

The District 6 schedule for cross-over games Friday night between the Heritage and WestPAC conference is as follows: Portage at Homer Center; Windber at Northern Cambria; Ferndale at Penns Manor; Shade at Purchase Line; Meyersdale at West Shamokin; Blacklick Valley at United; North Star at Marion Center; Conemaugh Township at Saltsburg; and Conemaugh Valley at Blairsville.

All games start at 7 p.m.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner. George Guido contributed.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough