Leechburg, Greensburg Central Catholic to battle for playoff seeding in Eastern Conference finale

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 | 5:18 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

A lot is on the line when Leechburg and Greensburg Central Catholic meet Friday in the Class A Eastern Conference finale for both teams.

With the playoffs set to start next week, both teams want to go into the postseason on a roll.

“It’s a huge game where the winner gets second place and most likely a home playoff game,” Leechburg coach Randy Walters said.

“We got them the first couple of years, and they got us the last couple. (GCC coach) John Thompson does a great job with that team. They have some really strong wins. It’s going to be a great game.”

Friday’s game at Leechburg’s Veterans Stadium is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Blue Devils hope to get back in the win column against the Centurions, who won last year’s meeting 42-7 and recorded a 48-21 victory in 2022.

GCC leads the all-time series 15-3.

Leechburg won a high-scoring affair, 55-37, in 2020, and was triumphant 31-27 in 2021 when the Blue Devils scored the winning touchdown with 46 seconds left on a jump pass from running back Braylan Lovelace to Logan Kline.

Leechburg got back on track Friday against Brentwood after its first loss of the season, a 44-7 setback to Clairton two weeks ago. The Blue Devils, who improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, took control early and led 28-7 in the second quarter before putting the game away in the second half.

GCC’s Thompson said his players are excited to get back on the field after not playing last week. Frazier called off Friday’s game, saying it had too many injuries and the decision was for the safety of the players.

Earlier in the season, a nonconference game with Apollo-Ridge was called at halftime because of bad weather with the Centurions leading 28-21. The game officially was ruled a no contest.

“That was disappointing across the board to not be able to play last week,” Thompson said.

“They put in all that work, game planned, watched film and prepared so well to go out on Friday night to get a win. We had a lot of momentum going, and the kids were feeling really good about themselves and how they were playing. But they have been able to refocus, and they know what’s at stake this week. It’s huge for seeding and all of that. One of our goals was to make the playoffs, and we’ve clinched that. But at the same time, we can control our own destiny to improve our resume. Leechburg being 8-1 right now, they are such a good football team. We’re excited for this opportunity.”

Junior quarterback Samir Crosby makes the GCC offense move with his arm and his legs.

He surpassed 1,000 passing yards (1,004) in the Centurions’ 51-0 win over Springdale two weeks ago and has rushed 106 times for 782 yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with his 14 TD tosses.

“Samir Crosby is as good of a player that there is in the conference,” Walters said. “He really makes that offense go. We have to really game plan for all that he can do.”

Junior Landon Honich has been Crosby’s top target in the passing game. He has hauled in 24 passes for 511 yards and eight touchdowns.

Thompson said it would be interesting to see where some of the numbers would be for his players had they had the six combined quarters lost against Frazier and Apollo-Ridge.

Walters said one of the biggest takeaways against Brentwood was the way the offensive line shook off the game against Clairton.

“The offensive line played extremely well last week,” he said. “We can still improve on some things, but they got back to doing what they are capable of doing. Clairton is a phenomenal football team. They have so much speed on defense. I take nothing away from them. But if you ask any of my offensive linemen, they will tell you they did not play well against them. There was a lot better communication (against Brentwood).

“There was a point in the third quarter where we stopped Brentwood, got the ball back and then ran the same play five times in a row. That was just my confidence in them. I told them to run it again, and (Brentwood’s defense) couldn’t stop it.”

With the line firing on all cylinders, the Leechburg offense rolled against the Spartans

Senior Jayden Floyd finished 17 of 20 passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He added six carries for 35 yards and a score.

Floyd’s passing numbers in the game put him over 1,000 for the season.

He now is only the third player in WPIAL history to have at least 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing in back-to-back seasons. The others to do it are current Fort Cherry quarterback Matt Sieg along with New Kensington native, Shady Side Academy graduate and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore.

Junior Tim Andrasy had a big game running the ball against Brentwood with 191 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Senior Jake Cummings caught 13 of Floyd’s 17 passes for 138 yards to go along with six rushes for 61 yards.

Thompson said the Leechburg offensive line stood out when watching film.

“For them, it starts up front,” he said.

“They are strong and well-coached. They move defensive lines back. They change the line of scrimmage. That pops out when you watch them. It gives their multiple weapons a lot of comfort to be able do what they do. We know we have our hands full on Friday.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Leechburg