MSA Sports Big Game Hunting – Week One

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 | 1:51 PM

It is funny isn’t it? How every year near then end of summer the smell of freshly cut grass just starts to smell like football? Doesn’t smell like that in the springtime. I wonder how that works. I am glad it works that way, and I am delighted that it is time to crank up the Big Game Hunting for another WPIAL football season! The first of 16 Big Game Huntings is always determined by the four defending WPIAL champions. So let’s kick it off for the 2013 year it’s time to take a look at four big games for opening weekend!

Class AAAA – Non-Conference:

North Allegheny Tigers (0-0) (0-0) in Northern Eight vs Mount Lebanon Blue Devils (0-0)(0-0) in Southeastern Conference Friday August 30^th at 7:30 PM @ Carl Newman Stadium on the campus of North Allegheny High School. Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and the North Allegheny Sports Network by Lee Mohn and Rick Meister

There has been a lot of talk this summer that the three time defending champions of AAAA will become an also ran after Art Walker’s team was hit so hard by graduation. The Four-Pack is here to tell you to slow down on that talk a bit. Yes Leftwich and company are gone, but Art Walker is not, and his personal track record alone, makes the Tigers formidable year in and year out in AAAA. Plus with North Allegheny’s size the cupboard is rarely bare. Just because you don’t know about them yet does not mean there won’t be some amazing athletes on the field for the Tigers this season.

All-Conference wide out Elijah Zeise, a Pitt recruit returns and will be a big threat both ways. Who will get him the football? Cage Galupi, Jeff Clemens and Cory Cavanaugh are the leading candidates for the quarterback spot. The Tigers might have to rely on tough defense early while they get some offensive timing down to start the season. Zeise will be in the secondary and the line backing corps has a solid returnee in Layne Skundrich. There are some nice bloodlines at play for the Tigers, guys whose last names you will recognize, looking to have the impact on the team that their siblings had. Names like Coniker, Nachazel, and Zeise. Sean Idowu returns after rushing for 405 yards and four touchdowns last season, also back in the backfield is fullback Josh Bergman who ran for 344 yards and six touchdowns last season. Defensively Ryan Sullivan had 43 total tackles and a pair of sacks and returns at linebacker. While Elijah Zeise (three) and Idowu combined for four interceptions last year.

The Tigers open with a tremendous test in the Mount Lebanon Blue Devils. Lebo head coach Mike Melnyk begins his second year with a team that has a load of returning talent. Lebo, like North Allegheny has lost a great quarterback in Tyler Roth, and has a division returnee at wide receiver in Troy Apke. Apke caught 54 passes for 1048 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. But the Blue Devils have a few more players with significant experience returning for their club. In fact nearly half of their starters return. Look for dominating play up front on both sides of the ball from Alex Bookser a 6’6’’ 295 division one recruit. Jake Rolfsen returns in the backfield after rushing for 350 yards and a pair of scores last year.  Matt Hoffman (6’2’’ 230 pounds) and Andrew Rabeneck (6’2’’ 240 pounds) join Bookser up front and create what should be a very good corps on the all-important offensive line for Lebo.

The Blue Devils will look to improve on their 8-3 campaign that ended in the quarterfinals with a 32-13 loss to Seneca Valley.  One thing is certain they will be battle tested in a Southeastern conference that figures to be absolutely brutal this year. 

Class AAA – Parkway Conference:

West Allegheny Indians (0-0)(0-0) at Blackhawk Cougars (0-0)(0-0) Friday August 30^th at 7:30 PM  @ Northwestern Stadium in Darlington, Pennsylvania. Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WBVP-AM 1230 by Tom Hays and Jim Wilson

Blackhawk returns one of the top passers in the league this season in senior quarterback Chandler Kincaide who threw for over 2000 yards as a junior including 18 touchdown passes. Kincaide is headed to Akron next year, but the losses of leading receiver Alex Caratelli and leading rusher Cole Chiappialle will mean that Kincaide needs to put a little extra “zip” into the Cougars’ offense this year. Kincaide’s best target on offense could help create some match-up problems for defenses in the Parkway. Receiver Andy Podbielski, is big and strong (6’4’’ 235 pounds) but also fast and very athletic. Podbielski was not only a member of the MSA Sports, Kennywood pre-season all-star team he is also a Bowling Green recruit. Look for Austin Javens and Brendan Deluca to carry the bulk of the load on the ground for Joe Hamilton’s team.

On defense the secondary has some very solid young players including Javens , Cody Bain and Tyler Engle who last season combined for 157 tackles, a sack and three interceptions. Up front big Blaine Yeager figure to be a force again on both sides of the football.

West Allegheny will begin their defense of the AAA crown with a full house in the backfield. Quarterback Andrew Koester is back for his junior year after completing 56 of 119 passes last year for 907 yards and six touchdowns. Also back are senior running back Tory Delmonico, along with juniors Chayse Dillon and Armand Dellovade, the threesome combined for 2456 yards rushing and 28 rushing touchdowns in the Indians run to the 2013 AAA WPIAL title.

Jake Johnson was a tremendous defensive contributor in the Indians secondary last year with 39 tackles and an interception. Look for ,more of that from him plus a significant uptick in his offensive production with the departure of Zach Medved.

The talent is there for West Allegheny and when combined with the coaching excellence that is Bob Palko, you would have to place the Indians on any short list of potential AAA champions. It will be very interesting to see if Koester gets a few more opportunities to open up the offense a little in his junior season. If the Indians develop a solid passing game to go with what should be a very good rushing attack they will be very tough to slow down.  

Class AA – Non-Conference:

Aliquippa Quips (0-0)(0-0) in the Midwestern Conference  vs Ambridge Bridgers (0-0)(0-0) in AAA Parkway Conference Saturday August 31^st at 7:00 PM @ Carl Aschman Memorial Stadium on the campus of Aliquippa High School. Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WBVP-AM 1230 and WMBA-AM 1460 by Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays

Raise your hand if you don’t think the Aliquippa Quips are THE team to beat in AA this year. Now look around the room and note that NO ONE has their hand raised, NO ONE. This, despite the fact that; Aliquippa lost both their leading passer and their leading receiver to graduation. Yes that happened, you can look it up, both Malik Shegog and Hassahn Thompson have graduated, but make no mistake the Quips are absolutely loaded with returning talent on both sides of the football. This is a team that has already gone on record as saying that Heinz Field is not even their main focus this year, instead they have set their sights on a state championship that eluded them last season.

In the backfield Darrien Fields will take over for Shegog at quarterback but his main duties will involve calling the plays and handing off to a pair of returning 1000 yard rushers in seniors Dravon Henry and Terry Swanson. Henry rushed for 1857 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. While Swanson added 1421 yards and 21 scores on the ground.
The pair will be running behind one of the best offensive linemen in the WPIAL in Jaleel Fields who last year was 6’2’’ and 260 pounds.

Fields will also anchor the defensive line for Mike Zmijanac along with Donovan Cobb. As a team defense last year the Quips allowed a WPIAL low 6.4. points per game including a 36-0 blanking of the Bridgers in the opening week of the season.

It says here though, that the Bridgers are a much improved football team, and while they may not be ready to breakthrough against their biggest non-conference rival just yet, keep an eye on them in AAA.

Ambridge returns five players who were All-Parkway Conference honorees last season.

The Bridgers should be particularly tough on defense where the bulk of those stars are located.

Stephon McGinnis will move from wide out to take over at quarterback for the departed Nick Santiago.

Ambridge will need someone to step in and run the football as well McGinnis rushed for 278 yards last year and should get a bunch from the quarterback spot this season but, Kennel Washington has graduated as well.

In the trenches is where the strength lies for Ambridge Brett Balkovec (6’5’’ 295 pounds) and Sebastian Perez  (6’1’’ 373 pounds) will bring a literal and figurative load to bear on opposing lines, both are returning all-conference players. Senior linebacker and fullback Danny Zajac will call the defensive signals and also look to wear teams out pounding the football.

Class A – Black Hills Conference:

Clairton Bears (0-0)(0-0) vs Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers (0-0)(0-0) Friday August 30^th at 7:30 PM @ Neil C. Brown Stadium in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Paul Paterra and Lou Rood

Not one player on the 2013 Clairton Bears football roster has ever experienced losing a high school football game. The Bears carry a best-in-the-nation win streak of 63 games into the 2013 campaign. They have won four straight PIAA titles and five straight WPIAL Championships.

The load falls onto different shoulders in Clairton this season, the Bears have been hit very hard by graduation. The load falls to different shoulders yes, but remember Clairton has won so many lopsided football games over the streak, that many of the young players that are now being asked to step up and take more prominent roles already have a good deal of varsity experience under their belt. And Tom Nola’s Bears are strongest in maybe the most important area in football, the offensive and defensive lines. You don’t have to be as good as Tyler Boyd to run behind four returning starters up front.

Will Hampton, Dryan Davenport, Israel Melvin and Vance Gibson are all returning starters on the line for Tom Nola, and these guys will be the creators of the new offensive stars for the Clairton Bears. Ryan Williams and Aaron Matthews will both be big-time playmakers offensively for Da Bears, which positions they occupy has yet to be revealed by Tom Nola. Many pundits around the WPIAL are whispering that this is the season in which the Bears will falter and the streak will come to an end. I am not so sure, there is a lot of pride and a lot of skill, and a lot of mystique still going for this team. We just don’t know their names yet. To the rest of WPIAL Single A I say, prove it.

Terry Fetsko’s Chartiers-Houston Bucs put a scare into the streak last year in week one when they actually held a fourth quarter lead on the Bears down in Houston before falling 22-20.

Quarterback Kaleb Susko is back for his senior year after throwing for almost a thousand yards last season. Also returning is Susko’s favorite target, another senior 6’4’ Miles Williamson. Look for the extremely gifted Williamson to get as many touches as possible in a variety of ways. In the backfield keep your eyes peeled for multiple sets and multiple hands on the ball.

Coach Fetsko has a nice stable of running backs a mix of upper and under classmen that have a bunch of people down south excited for the upcoming season. Much will depend on how Susko goes in the spread option offense. That means the running back corps will be counted on heavily. David Kincaid and Jevone Hairston graduated after combining for 972 yards and four touchdowns last year and the Bucs third leading rusher transferred. That hole will be filled by Derek Hull, Dylan Briggs and a talented freshman that is turning heads by the name of Spencer Terling. How that group responds will have a lot to do with how the Bucs' season goes in 2013.

Tags: Aliquippa, Ambridge, Blackhawk, Chartiers-Houston, Clairton, West Allegheny