High school football roundup: Mapletown’s Rush runs into WPIAL record book

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 15, 2017 | 11:09 PM

Given his last name, Dylan Rush was born to run a football, and on Friday night, he did it better than anyone in WPIAL history.

The Mapletown running back ran 39 times for 524 yards and seven touchdowns, leading his team to a 48-32 win at Avella in a Class A Tri-County South Conference football game.

Rush broke the record of Armstrong grad Zane Dudek (492) set in 2016. He has rushed for 5,366 yards in his career.

Class 6A

North Allegheny 55, Shaler 7 — Turner White ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns as North Allegheny (2-2, 1-1) scored 48 first-half points on way to routing Shaler (0-4, 0-2) in the Northern Seven Conference. Ben Maenza added two rushing touchdowns and Dante Caputo scored on a blocked punt return.

Seneca Valley 35, Butler 0 — Gabe Lawson threw for 115 yards and a touchdown and scored on three 1-yard runs to lead Seneca Valley (1-2, 1-1) to the Northern Seven shutout against Butler (1-2, 0-2). Noah Mancusco rushed for 136 yards in the win.

Pine-Richland 43, Penn Hills 6 — Dawson Goltz scored on a 66-yard blocked field goal return and an 18-yard pass from Phil Jurkovec as top-ranked Pine-Richland (4-0, 2-0) defeated No. 5 Penn Hills (3-1, 1-1) in the Northern Seven Conference. Jurkovec threw for 176 yards while teammate Jordan Crawford ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Darrell Mason scored Penn Hills' only points on a 26-yard fumble recovery to cut the score to eight before the Rams scored four touchdowns in the third quarter.

Mt. Lebanon 24, Canon-McMillan 17 — Aidan Cain caught nine passes for 210 yards and touchdowns of 73 and 51 yards to lead No. 4 Mt. Lebanon (3-1, 2-0) over Canon-McMillan (2-2, 1-1) in the Southeastern Conference. Cain has caught 50 passes for 867 yards through four games this season. James Stocker threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns for the Blue Devils. Trejahn Lewis threw for 255 yards and two TDs for Canon-McMillan.

Peters Township 35, Altoona 7 — In the Southeastern Conference, Josh Casilli caught six passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns in Peters Township's win over Altoona (1-3, 0-2). Adrian Williams added 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Peters Township (3-1, 1-1).

Upper St. Clair 42, Baldwin 12 — Colin McLinden ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns to lead Upper St. Clair (3-1, 3-0) to the Allegheny 9 win against Baldwin (0-3, 0-3). Jack Hansberry threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns for Upper St. Clair. Mason Stahl paced Baldwin's offense with 130 passing yards and two TDs and 102 rushing yards.

Class 5A

Gateway 54, Armstrong 14 — Isaiah Cameron caught seven passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns as No. 3 Gateway scored four touchdowns in the second quarter on way to a victory over Armstrong (2-2, 0-2) in the Big East 9.

Brady Walker threw for 342 yards and five touchdowns and Isaiah Cameron ran for 103 yards and a touchdown and caught a 50-yard TD from Walker for another score for the Gators (4-0, 3-0).

McKeesport 60, Connellsville 7 — No. 5 McKeesport (2-1, 2-1) held Connellsville (1-3, 0-3) to just eight yards of offense in its Big East 9 win. The Tigers scored 42 points in the first quarter, including two rushing touchdowns each from John Harper and Layton Jordan. Harper finished with 91 rushing yards on three carries while Jordan ran for 76 yards on three attempts.

Moon 26, Hampton 24 — Nick Morrow's 21-yard field goal as time expired gave Moon (2-2, 1-1) the Allegheny 9 Conference win at Hampton (2-2, 2-1). Cole Konieczka threw for 186 yards and ran for a touchdown in the win.

Class 4A

Blackhawk 43, Indiana 13 — Kenny Gawley ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns to lead Blackhawk (1-2, 1-2) to the Northwest Nine win over Indiana (0-3, 0-2). The Cougars forced five Indiana turnovers. Luke Thomas threw for 220 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Highlands 24, Knoch 16 — The Golden Rams forced three turnovers and shut Knoch out in the second half to earn a Northwest Nine victory. One week after setting the school record for passing yards and touchdowns, Highlands quarterback Seth Cohen threw for 260 yards and three scores. Logan Crise had 149 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Golden Rams (2-1, 2-1). Jake Herrit rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and threw for another score for Knoch (1-2, 1-1), while Ivan Stapchuck added 102 yards.

Class 3A

Shady Side Academy 38, Apollo-Ridge 14 — Shady Side Academy quarterback Skyy Moore rushed for three touchdowns and 196 yards on 17 carries to lift the Indians past Allegheny Conference foe Apollo-Ridge (3-1, 1-1).

Moore scored on a 70-yard run in the first half and followed up with runs of 39 and 4 yards to lead Shady Side Academy (2-1, 2-1). Moore also was 3 of 7 passing for 65 yards. Apollo-Ridge scored first when wide receiver Bradley Milko recovered a fumble in the end zone to give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead.

Quaker Valley 45, Beaver 21 — Ricky Guss ran for three fourth-quarter touchdowns as Quaker Valley (4-0, 1-0) scored 30 points in the final quarter in its Beaver Valley Conference win against No. 5 Beaver (2-2, 0-2). Guss added 134 passing yards and a touchdown. Brodie List threw for 100 yards and two touchdowns for Beaver, which led 21-15 heading into the fourth quarter.

Ellwood City 28, Beaver Falls 0 — Ellwood City (1-2, 1-2) earned its first win since Oct. 23, 2015, in the Beaver Valley Conference.

Elizabeth Forward 41, Waynesburg 0 — In the Interstate Conference, Gavin Martin scored on a 49-yard pass from Zachary Benedek and a 72-yard punt return to lead Elizabeth Forward (2-1, 2-0) to the shutout at Waynesburg (0-3, 0-3). Benedek threw for 106 yards and two touchdowns while Brian Malloy rushed for two scores and Seth Andres ran for one TD and caught another. The Warriors scored all of their points in the first half.

Class 2A

Burgettstown 49, Bentworth 3 — In the Century Conference, Nic Speer ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns as Burgettstown (3-0, 2-0) scored all of its points in the first half as it won big at Bentworth (2-2, 2-1). Ryan Lounder added two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils, who are 3-0 for the first time since 2011.

Charleroi 34, Frazier 20 — In the Century Conference, Geno Pellegrini threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns to lead Charleroi (3-1, 1-1) to victory against Frazier (0-4, 0-3). Dakota Romantino added touchdowns on a 26-yard reception from Pellegrini and a 75-yard fumble return.

Neshannock 49, New Brighton 21 — Jared Staph threw for 212 yards and four first-half touchdowns to lead Neshannock (2-2, 1-1) to the Midwestern Conference victory against New Brighton (0-4, 0-3). Billy Presnar caught three passes for 149 yards and touchdowns of 80 and 57 yards. For New Brighton, Jackson Hall threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns, both to Caleb Shuler, who finished with seven receptions for 154 yards.

Riverside 39, Mohawk 0 — Austin Dambach caught five passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns in No. 4 Riverside's Midwestern Conference victory over visiting Mohawk (1-2, 1-2). Ben Hughes threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns for Riverside (2-1, 2-0), and teammate LeMarcus Cleckley ran for 126 yards and a 75-yard touchdown.

Serra Catholic 16, Avonworth 10 — Evan Honick's 39-yard scoring pass to JaQuae Jackson in the fourth quarter lifted Serra Catholic (3-1, 1-1) to the Three Rivers Conference win against Avonworth (1-2, 1-2). Jackson caught eight passes for 202 yards while Honick threw for 281 yards and two TDs. Derek Johncour threw for 174 yards for Avonworth, which led 10-0 at halftime.

South Allegheny 54, Carlynton 6 — Brandon Nolder completed 4 of 5 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns as South Allegheny (1-2, 1-1) gained 404 yards of offense in its Three Rivers Conference win against Carlynton (0-3, 0-2). Derrick Lockharrt caught touchdown passes of 99 and 61 yards — his only two receptions of the game — in the win.

Class A

OLSH 41, Western Beaver 6 — Richard Banks ran for two touchdowns and caught another as OLSH (2-2, 1-1) defeated Western Beaver (3-1, 2-1) in the Big 7 Conference. Rico Tate added scoring receptions of 36 and 57 yards from Tyler Bradley.

Rochester 48, Sto-Rox 16 — Mahlik Strozier ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Caleb Collins added 134 rushing yards and three TDs to help No. 4 Rochester (3-0, 3-0) defeat Sto-Rox (0-4, 0-3) in the Big 7 Conference.

Shenango 7, Northgate 6 — Maxwell Reamer found Jason Kraner with a 24-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and Shenango's defense made that hold up in its Big 7 win against Northgate (1-2, 1-2). Braydan Smiley ran for 109 yards for Shenango (2-1, 2-1) while Surron Adams rushed for 120 yards and Northgate's only points. Northgate went for two with three minutes left but failed the conversion.

Fort Cherry 33, Monessen 6 — Ryhan Culberson ran for 259 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 116 yards and another score to lead Fort Cherry (2-1, 1-1) over Monessen (1-3, 1-2) in the Tri-County South. Zachary Vincenti added 133 rushing yards and one touchdown each rushing and receiving for Fort Cherry. Cory Fleming threw for 182 yards and a touchdown for Monessen.

Aliquippa 50, Freeport 0 — The Class 3A No. 1 Quips scored 32 points in the first quarter and rolled to a nonconference victory over Freeport (2-1). MJ Devonshire caught a touchdown pass, ran for a score and had a punt return for a touchdown. Aliquippa outgained Freeport, 345-13, in the first half.

Central Valley 52, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 28 — Danny Santia ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns to lead Class 3A No. 2 Central Valley (3-1) to the win at Class 2A Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (2-2). Nathan Schad added 117 rushing yards for Central Valley. Zack Rocco threw for 285 yards and two TDs in the loss.

Freedom 19, Brentwood 14 — In nonconference play, Zach Rosa ran for 153 yards and one touchdown as Freedom (3-1) defeated Class 2A No. 5 Brentwood (2-2). Michael Trent threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and ran 13 yards for another score for Brentwood.

South Fayette 51, Uniontown 6 — Drew Saxton completed 11 of 13 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns to lead Class 4A No. 2 South Fayette (4-0) to the nonconference win at Uniontown (0-4). Johnny Beck added three touchdowns for South Fayette — two rushing and one on a 17-yard fumble return.

Union 26, Jefferson-Morgan 6 — Dylan Davisson ran for one touchdown and caught a 25-yard pass from Evan Pinkerton for another as Class A No. 5 Union (4-0) defeated Jefferson-Morgan (1-3) in nonconference play.

Washington 41, South Park 0 — Nick Welsh ran for 145 yards and a touchdown as Class 2A No. 2 Washington (3-0) blanked Class 3A No. 4 South Park (2-1). Isaiah Schoonmaker caught two scoring passes from Zach Swartz while Andre Jennings added two short rushing touchdowns.