High school football roundup for Aug. 25, 2023: Penn Hills tops Seneca Valley in battle of ranked teams

By: Tribune-Review
Saturday, August 26, 2023 | 12:41 AM

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Julian Dugger threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns as Class 5A No. 2 Penn Hills got off to a strong start with a 33-20 victory over Class 6A No. 5 Seneca Valley (0-1) in a nonconference game Friday night.

Amir Key added 108 rushing yards and a touchdown for Penn Hills (1-0).

Kai West had 95 rushing yards and a score for the Raiders.

Armstrong 49, Valley 16 — Colt Sprankle threw for 157 yards and three touchdowns as Class 4A No. 5 Armstrong (1-0) beat Class 3A Valley (0-1). Ian Olsen caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns for Armstrong.

Avonworth 35, Grove City 14 — Brandon Biagiarelli ran for 201 yards and a touchdown as Class 3A No. 5 Avonworth (1-0) beat Grove City (0-1) in nonconference play. Carson Bellinger tossed for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Baldwin 56, Brashear 0 — In nonconference play, Baldwin (1-0) blanked Brashear (0-1).

Beaver Falls 28, Blackhawk 7 — Datalian Beauford ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns as Class 3A No. 3 Beaver Falls (1-0) beat Class 4A Blackhawk (0-1).

Bentworth 42, Brownsville 6 — Vitali Daniels threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two TDs to lead Bentworth (1-0) over Brownsville (0-1) in nonconference play. Benjamin Hays added 184 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Bethel Park 33, North Hills 10 — Mitch Paschi caught five passes for 125 yards and a 38-yard touchdown from Tanner Pfeuffer as Class 5A No. 5 Bethel Park (1-0) beat North Hills (0-1) in a nonconference matchup. Pfeuffer threw for 182 yards while David Dennison added two rushing touchdowns.

California 37, Frazier 0 — California (1-0) shut out Frazier (0-1) for the nonconference win.

Canon-McMillan 14, Penn-Trafford 0 — Class 6A No. 3 Canon-McMillan (1-0) scored on two long plays in its shutout against Class 5A Penn-Trafford (0-1). Jayden Baxter returned a fumble 92 yards in the third quarter for a touchdown while Zachary Welsh ran for a 93-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Carlynton 45, Carrick 6 — Carlynton (1-0) snapped a 14-game losing streak when it defeated Carrick (0-1) in nonconference play.

Central Valley 36, Austintown Fitch, Ohio 35 – Quinn Connolly scored on a 14-yard TD pass from Steven Rutherford, and Mason Dixon added the 2-point conversion run in the final minute as Central Valley (1-0) slipped past Austintown Fitch, Ohio (0-1) for the nonconference victory. Rutherford had two TD runs for the Warriors.

Connellsville 48, Albert Gallatin 13 — Anthony Piasecki threw for 175 yards and four touchdowns to lead Connellsville (1-0) to the nonconference win against Albert Gallatin (0-1).

Cornell 20, Seton LaSalle 19 — Class A Cornell (1-0) slipped past Class 3A Seton LaSalle (0-1) in nonconference play.

Elizabeth Forward 37, Ringgold 0 — Ryan Messina threw for 99 yards and a touchdown as Class 3A No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (1-0) blanked Class 4A Ringgold (0-1) in a nonconference game. Jace Brown ran for 81 yards and a touchdown while teammate Charlie Nigut rushed for 55 yards and two TDs.

Ellwood City 27, Brentwood 26 — Elijah Palmer-McCane rushed for 161 yards and one touchdown as Ellwood City (1-0) held off Brentwood (0-1) in a nonconference contest. Cedric Davis threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns for Brentwood, which trailed by 13 points heading into the final quarter.

Fort Cherry 42, Northgate 6 — Matt Sieg threw for 70 yards and a touchdown and ran for 196 yards and three TDs to lead Fort Cherry (1-0) over Northgate (0-1) in nonconference play.

Freedom 25, Quaker Valley 7 — Matt Schultheis threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns to Cody Patterson to lead Class 2A Freedom (1-0) to a nonconference victory over Class 3A Quaker Valley (0-1). Patterson caught 11 passes for 156 yards. Tyler Welsh rushed for 203 yards and a touchdown for Freedom. Jack Diemert ran for 181 yards and Quaker Valley’s only TD.

Indiana 28, Freeport 14 – Trevor Smith threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns and Levi Porter had 96 yards rushing, 110 yards receiving and three scores as Indiana (1-0) picked up a nonconference win over Freeport (0-1).

Jefferson-Morgan 42, Chartiers-Houston 30 — Houston Guseman and John Woodyard ran for 105 yards each as Jefferson-Morgan (1-0) beat Chartiers-Houston (0-1) in nonconference play. Guseman ran for two touchdowns while Woodyard had one.

Keystone Oaks 7, Deer Lakes 6 — Dimajio Locante ran for 188 yards, including the game-winning 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, to lead Keystone Oaks to a nonconference victory. Derek Burk hit Wayne Love for a 30-yard scoring pass in the first quarter for Deer Lakes (0-1).

Knoch 45, Hampton 38 – Codi Mullen threw for more than 300 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Spencer, as the Knights (1-0) opened the season with a nonconference victory over Hampton (0-1).

Laurel 37, New Brighton 6 — Class A Laurel (1-0) took to the road to defeat Class 2A New Brighton (0-1).

Ligonier Valley 28, Springdale 14 – John Jablunovsky ran 21 times for 208 yards and three touchdowns to lead Ligonier Valley (1-0) to a nonconference win over Springdale (0-1). Brayden Layhew rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown for Springdale.

Mapletown 29, Avella 12 — In nonconference play, A.J. Vanata threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Mapletown (1-0) defeated Avella (0-1). Cole Jaworowski ran for both Avella touchdowns.

McKeesport 35, West Mifflin 7 — Kemon Spell ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns as Class 4A No. 3 McKeesport (1-0) defeated Class 3A No. 2 West Mifflin (0-1). Anthony Boyd added a pair of rushing touchdowns.

North Allegheny 61, Allderdice 0 – Tyree Alualu had two touchdowns as Class 6A No. 1 North Allegheny (1-0) downed Allderdice (0-1) in nonconference play.

North Catholic 49, Serra Catholic 42 — Jack Fennell ran for 171 yards and three touchdowns and returned an interception 39 yards for a score as Class 4A North Catholic (1-0) outlasted Class 2A No. 2 Serra Catholic (0-1). Quadir Stribling threw for 429 yards and five touchdowns for Serra Catholic, three of those TDs to De’reon Washington, who caught 13 passes for 193 yards.

OLSH 32, Shenango 10 — Vann Kavals threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 51 yards and another TD as OLSH (1-0) defeated Shenango (0-1) in nonconference play. Dereon Geer caught eight passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns while Ethan Gardner added two receptions for 103 yards and a 68-yard TD.

Peters Township 35, Fox Chapel 0 — Peters Township (1-0) held Fox Chapel (0-1) to minus-3 yards of offense and four first downs in its nonconference win. Nolan DiLucia threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns for Peters Township, which scored all its points in the first half.

Pickerington North, Ohio 35, Pine-Richland 14 — Defending Class 5A PIAA champion, No. 3 Pine-Richland (0-1), fell on the road against Pickerington North, Ohio (1-0).

Riverview 41, Beth-Center 20 — Landon Johnson ran for 237 yards and a touchdown to lead Riverview (1-0) to the nonconference win over Beth-Center (0-1). Carlo Buzzato added 164 rushing yards and three touchdowns for Riverview. Teagan Veatch ran for 156 yards and returned a kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown for Beth-Center.

Shady Side Academy 55, Summit Academy 0 — Carter Simko returned the opening kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown and later scored on a 25-yard pass from Devin Harris as Class 3A Shady Side Academy (1-0) shut out Class A Summit Academy (0-1). Harris threw for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Shaler 38, Butler 7 — Keegan Smetanka completed 20 of 23 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns to lead Shaler (1-0) to a nonconference win over Butler (0-1). Alex Teff threw for 119 yards and ran for Butler’s only touchdown. Shaler outgained Butler, 409 yards to 211 yards.

South Allegheny 28, Yough 14 – Cam Epps ran for 226 yards and three touchdowns to lead South Allegheny (1-0) to a nonconference victory. Julian Varrenti and Raidon Kuroda had touchdown runs for Yough (0-1).

South Fayette 42, Chartiers Valley 14 — In nonconference play, Nico Lamonde tossed for 127 yards and two touchdowns — both to Dom Monz — and ran for a score as South Fayette (1-0) beat Chartiers Valley (0-1). Monz caught five passes for 103 yards while teammate Nate Deanes rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns.

South Side 33, Hopewell 6 — Quarterback Brody Almasy ran for 151 yards and three touchdowns to lead Class A No. 3 South Side (1-0) to the win at Class 3A Hopewell (0-1). Ryan Navarra added 99 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

South Park 22, East Allegheny 16 — In nonconference play, Eric Doerue ran for 183 yards and one touchdown to lead South Park (1-0) over Class 3A No. 3 East Allegheny (0-1). Michael Cahill threw for 203 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Trinity 47, Perry 2 — Jonah Williamson threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown to lead Trinity (1-0) to the nonconference win against Perry (0-1). Andrew Durig caught three passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.

University Prep 26, New Castle 20 (2OT) — In nonconference play, University Prep (1-0) defeated New Castle (0-1) in double overtime.

Upper St. Clair 24, Norwin 21 — Ethan Heilmann hit Charlie Bywalski with a 6-yard-touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to lift Upper St. Clair (1-0) over Norwin (0-1) in nonconference play. Heilmann threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Tristyn Tavares threw for 213 yards and all three Norwin touchdowns.

Washington 49, Monessen 20 — Ruben Gordon ran for two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass as Class 2A Washington (1-0) beat Monessen (0-1). TyVaughn Kershaw rushed for two Monessen touchdowns.

Waynesburg Central 35, Carmichaels 0 — Jacob Stephenson threw for 143 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 100 yards and a TD to lead Class 2A Waynesburg Central (1-0) to the win at Class A Carmichaels to snap a 13-game losing streak. Breydon Woods added 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

West Allegheny 20, Moon 17 — Brock Cornell scored as time expired to give Class 4A West Allegheny (1-0) the win over Class 5A Moon (0-1).

West Greene 28, Cameron 24 — West Greene (1-0) picked up the nonconference road win at Cameron, W.Va. (0-1).

Westinghouse 28, Clairton 0 – Khalil Mitchell scored twice as Westinghouse (1-0) won on the road as it blanked Class A No. 4 Clairton (0-1). Lloyd Penn and TyJuane Abram also scored for the Bulldogs.