MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Eight

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, October 22, 2016 | 3:14 PM

While the weather outside was frightful (including a game postponed until Saturday), the play of some on the slick turf or the muddy grass was downright delightful as these WPIAL football players proved Eddie Rabbit correct as they all Loved a Rainy Night. Steady to heavy rain throughout the day and into game time did nothing to slow these guys from leading their team to victory in Week Eight.

Max DeVinney – Pine-Richland

Conventional wisdom is that on a rainy night, you go to your ground and pound attack. Conventional wisdom also says that when you lose one of the top quarterbacks in the state, your air attack is going to take a hit. So much for conventional wisdom. Pine-Richland signal caller Max DeVinney, in his third game filling in for the injured Phil Jurkovec, hit on 20 of his 34 passes for 364 yards and two touchdown tosses of 79 and 46 yards as the Rams beat the host Butler Golden Tornado 28-13 to gear up for its Class 6-A Northern Seven Conference battle fro second place vs North Allegheny next week.

Terron Murphy – Bethel Park

Nine days from Halloween, Bethel Park turned to its running game for a black and orange attack that made the short stay between a five hour round trip for visiting Altoona short and not so sweet. Success in the run game was led by Terron Murphy, who gained 206 yards with a pair of long touchdown runs of 69 yards in the second quarter and a score capping 67 yards in the third quarter in the Black Hawks 35-0 whitewash of the Mountain Lions that keep BP unbeaten in the Class 6-A Southeastern Conference and sets up a showdown for the conference title next week against Mount Lebanon.

Zane Dudek – Armstrong

Compared to some of the mind numbing numbers that the WPIAL’s leading rusher has put up this season, Zane Dudek’s Week Eight totals are somewhat modest. The Armstrong High School senior finished with a night high 237 yards rushing with three touchdowns on jaunts of 48, 78 and 36 yards, however all of that came in the first two quarters as Dudek turned spectator in the second half of hitsClass 5-A Big Nine Conference fray as the River Hawks earned a playoff berth with a 60-7 trouncing of the host Connellsville Falcons.

Carlinos Acie – McKeesport

Patience is a tough virtue to have, on or off the playing field. But patience paid off for Carlinos Acie of McKeesport in a playoff clinching showdown against visiting Gateway. Acie, who had only 19 carries through the first seven weeks of the regular season, the junior toted the ball 17 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns on runs of 8, 1, 65 and 20 yards to help erase a 14-0 deficit in the Tigers 34-19 victory over the Gators to remain in a tie for first place in the Class 5-A Big East Conference.

Kevin Brown – Plum

To quote the great Dave Parker, “when the leaves turn brown, I’ll be wearing the crown.” Well, it appears the motto for Plum on Friday night was, “when we give the ball to Brown, we’ll be scoring a touchdown.” Kevin Brown rushed for 210 yards and scored five touchdowns on runs of 8 and 18 yards in the first half, then scoring scampers of 15, 55 and 53 yards in the second half as the Mustangs galloped to a second straight Class 5-A Big East Conference victory with a 41-24 triumph over the host Latrobe Wildcats.

Nick Ross – West Allegheny

A few weeks ago, the big three of West Allegheny, Woodland Hills and Upper St. Clair were undefeated and had pulled away from the other six teams in the Class 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference. However after one-sided victories over the other two in Week 6 and in Week 8, West A proved who is boss, at least in the regular season. On Friday, quarterback Nick Ross was boss as he completed 6 of 11 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns on scoring tosses of 51 and 55 yards to Brandon Lipford as the visiting Indians cruised to a 52-13 whooping of the Woodland Hills Wolverines.

Micah Morris – Fox Chapel

Knocking on the door of Halloween, perhaps the best example of the Jekyll and Hyde team is Fox Chapel. After five weeks of this 2016 campaign, FCHS was 0-5 and had been outscored 191-52 with little to write home about from a statistical standpoint. However the Foxes are 4-0 since thanks to the running of Micah Morris, who has over 1,000 yards for the season and has doubled his first five week output in the last four wins, including 237 yards and a [pair of touchdowns on Friday in a 51-12 victory over the host Chartiers Valley Colts in Class 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference action.

Alex Smith – Keystone Oaks

All season long, Alex Smith has helped Keystone Oaks to first place with his strong right arm and also with his faster than you think legs. So with the rain falling at Dormont Stadium, Smith proved he can chuck a pigskin dry or wet with great effectiveness as he hit on 14 of 17 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns of 39, 46, 40 and 15 yards, plus he scored on a pair of touchdowns of 45 and 1 yard as the Golden Eagles clinched a Class 3-A Allegheny Conference championship with a 44-7 win over the Freeport Yellow Jackets.

Chris Pierce – Frazier

With high expectations coming into this season, Frazier stumbled out of the gate at 0-2 and hit the midway point with a 2-4 overall record. But sometimes, its not how you start, but how you finish, and the red and white are finishing large. Quarterback Chris Pierce enjoyed success through the air in the mud, hitting on 7 of 12 passes for 268 yards and four touchdown throws of 23, 81, 61 and 48 yards as the Commodores rolled to a 46-21 conquest of the host Bentworth Bearcats to secure a third straight win and a Class 2-A Century Conference playoff berth.

DeWayne Murray – Steel Valley

While we tip our caps each and every week to those individual that stand out on the WPIAL football stage every Friday night, the most dominant team in the district through Week Eight just might be Steel Valley. The top-ranked team in Class 2-A enjoyed another explosive day at the office with DeWayne Murray cruising to 204 yards on the ground five touchdowns on run of 5, 16, 2, 3 and 22 yards…all in the first half as the Ironmen improved to 8-0 and have outscored their opponents 460-59 as they destroyed the visiting Serra Catholic Eagles 72-7 in a Three Rivers Conference laugher.

Albert Gallatin Colonials AND Mohawk Warriors

The Mohawk Warriors had not won a football game since Week 8 of the 2014 season with 17 straight losses before ending their skid on Friday in a BIG way, with a 67-6 thrashing of Vincentian Academy. But the biggest Hazzah of the night goes to Albert Gallatin!!! The Colonials has amassed the 7th longest losing streak in WPIAL history with 31 straight losses before edging Uniontown 26-20, giving AG their first football victory since September 13th, 2013. The win was sealed when a long, game tying touchdown run by the Red Raiders was called back on the final play of the game.

Tags: Albert Gallatin, Armstrong, Bethel Park, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Keystone Oaks, McKeesport, West Allegheny