Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace passes 4,000-yard mark

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 15, 2022 | 8:07 PM

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Leechburg senior running back and Pitt commit Braylan Lovelace needed 217 yards against Riverview on Friday in an Eastern Conference matchup to become just the fifth Alle-Kisk Valley runner to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark for a career.

Lovelace accomplished that, and then some, against the Raiders, totaling five touchdowns and 279 yards on 18 carries in the 57-12 triumph.

He scored on runs of 57, 2, 20, 55 and 23 to help the Blue Devils improve to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

Leechburg, which has scored at least 56 points in all six of its victories this season, steps away from the conference next week against Shenango before finishing the regular season at Greensburg Central Catholic (6-2, 4-0).

The other four 4,000-plus rushers in the AK-Valley are Armstrong/Kittanning’s Zane Dudek (6,977), Riverview’s Lucas Heakins (4,276), Springdale’s Sean Dugan (4,252) and Valley’s Brandon Williams (4,214).

Showdown set

Highlands and Armstrong have been eyeing next week’s Greater Allegheny Conference clash for some time, but both knew they had to take care of business Friday before they could begin to worry about the other.

Take care of business they did.

The Golden Rams stayed undefeated — 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference — with a 56-7 rout at Kiski Area — while Armstrong upped its record to 7-1 overall, 4-0 in conference play with a 55-31 win against a Mars team improved from the 2021 season.

Highlands will host Armstrong at 7 p.m. Friday. The Golden Rams beat River Hawks last year 41-27 to start a three-game winning streak to close the regular season and clinch a playoff spot.

Friday’s game will decide at least a share of the conference title.

Against Kiski Area, Highlands senior quarterback Chandler Thimons passed for 141 yards and rushed for 109, and Aaran Randolph was a factor in three offensive areas with 113 yards on the ground, 80 yards receiving and 76 yards passing.

Landan Signorella caught a touchdown and returned an interception for a score.

Armstrong senior Penn commit Cadin Olsen was his normal productive self with 349 yards and four touchdowns on 19 of 25 passing. He threw two touchdowns to Isaiah Brown (six catches, 120 yards), and Cadin’s younger brother, Ian, caught four passes for 119 yards.

Freeport rolls

The Yellowjackets took another step toward what they hope is a conference title with Friday’s dominant 42-7 victory over neighboring rival Knoch at Freeport High School.

Freeport is 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the Allegheny 6 Conference. The Yellowjackets own the tiebreaker against East Allegheny (6-2, 2-1) if any such scenario is needed in the final standings, with their 35-13 win over the Wildcats last week.

They also are a game ahead of Deer Lakes (4-4, 2-1) with a game against the Lancers on Oct. 28 to close conference play.

Freeport visits Valley on Friday, Deer Lakes hosts Shady Side Academy and Knoch pays a visit to East Allegheny.

The Yellowjackets got four rushing touchdowns against Knoch: three from senior Ben Lane that covered 16, 10 and 30 yards and another from senior Zach Clark for 5 yards.

Senior Gavin Croney threw touchdowns of 28 yards to Clark and 14 yards to junior Brady Sullivan.

Big win

Apollo-Ridge kept pace for a playoff spot in the Class 2A Allegheny Conference with its 26-13 victory over Yough on Friday.

The Vikings improved to 2-3 in conference play and are tied for fourth place with Burrell and Imani Christian.

Imani owns the tiebreaker over Apollo-Ridge should that come into play, but Apollo-Ridge has yet to play Burrell. The Vikings and Bucs will do battle Oct. 28 at Burrell.

But Apollo-Ridge and Burrell have challenges directly in front of them next week as the Vikings take on Serra Catholic, and the Bucs visit Derry.

Burrell hopes to bounce back after Friday’s 48-0 loss to Class 2A No. 1 Steel Valley and a 29-15 setback to Ligonier Valley the week before.

Apollo-Ridge’s win over Yough snapped a two-game skid.

Senior Landon Harmon rushed for 58 yards and two touchdowns, senior Michael Fryer added 85 yards on 17 carries, senior Gage Johnston threw for 141 yards and tallied a rushing score and senior Jake Mull caught four passes for 131 yards.

Something has to give

One team will earn its first victory of the season next week when Kiski Area takes on Fox Chapel in a nonconference game at Kiski’s Richard Dilts Stadium.

The Cavaliers were not able to overcome the Highlands onslaught Friday in a 56-7 loss, and the Foxes still are looking for that spark after a 43-14 loss to Woodland Hills.

The teams were Class 5A conference foes in recent seasons with Fox Chapel getting the better of Kiski Area, 35-21, last year.

Cavaliers’ sophomore quarterback Carson Heinle, facing a quick and opportunistic Highlands defense, completed 9 of 15 passes for 108 yards. He tossed a 64-yard touchdown to freshman Andrew Finney in the first quarter.

The TD throw was Heinle’s seventh since taking over the starting quarterback job against Hampton in Week 3.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Leechburg