Scholastic Notebook – 09/09/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 9, 2011 | 1:52 PM

Delrece Williams was a prolific runner at Steel Valley High School, but when he graduated from Steel Valley High School, he had to pass the baton to the next star tailback.

It turns out Williams didn’t have to go far to pass the baton. In fact, he didn’t even have to leave his house.

Dontez Williams, Delrece’s younger brother, is the new No. 1 tailback at Steel Valley – and apparently ready to have a big season. Dontez is a 5-10, 175-pound senior who rushed for 224 yards on 11 carries in Steel Valley’s 57-13 season-opening victory against Albert Gallatin.

He has a long way to go to catch Delrece’s yardage total of 2010. Delrece rushed for a WPIAL regular season record of 2,149 yards.

The funny thing is Dontez wasn’t supposed to grab the baton from his brother. Denzel Sherrill was supposed to be Steel Valley’s starting tailback. Dontez was slated to start at receiver. But Sherrill was injured in preseason camp and Dontez was moved to tailback.

Where is Delrece?

Delrece Williams is a freshman running back at St. Francis, Pa. He is one of two freshman running backs who were stars in the WPIAL last season. The other is Mars’ Austin Miele. But neither Williams or Miele played in the season opener against Wagner.

Honoring Namath

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath is in Beaver Falls this weekend, and the school and town have a number of ceremonies to honor one of their favorite sons.

Friday afternoon at 1, Beaver Falls will have ceremonies to name their practice field after Namath. The school doesn’t have a stadium to name after Namath. The Tigers play at Geneva College’s Reeves Field.

At 2 p.m., Namath will attend a pep rally at the school. Around 3 p.m., Namath will have a pregame dinner with Beaver Falls’ team, which plays rival Aliquippa tonight. At 7 p.m., Namath and other members of the 1960 and 61 teams will be honored before the game.

Saturday morning, Namath will be honored as a “Hometown Hall of Famer,” a national program honoring the hometown roots of the sport’s greatest players with special ceremonies and plaque dedication events in local communities.

Namath will be presented with his “Hometown Hall of Famer” plaque during a special ceremony at 9:45 a.m. at the Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls, where the plaque will live permanently to serve as an inspiration for local residents.

Attending the private ceremony will be community officials and representatives from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Larry Bruno Foundation which will induct Namath, fellow Beaver Falls graduate Jim Mutscheller and the foundation’s namesake, former Beaver Falls head coach Larry Bruno, into the inaugural Circle of Achievement at a special dinner on Saturday evening at Seven Oaks Country Club.

Mutscheller played in the NFL also.

Honoring the 2001 Little Prexies

Washington’s 2001 football team will be honored before Friday night’s game against Apollo-Ridge. The ’01 Little Prexies were undefeated and won WPIAL and PIAA Class AA championships.

New Digs

Charleroi will play its first home game in its new stadium Friday night. The stadium is at the school and has a seating capacity of 2,500. For 73 years, Charleroi played its games at a stadium in town.

Watson to Temple

There should be at least six seniors in WPIAL basketball this season who will sign with Division I colleges. The number is now up to three after Lincoln Park’s Devontae Watson this week made a verbal commitment to Temple of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Watson, a 6-foot-10, 200-pound center, also had scholarship offers from the likes of Duquesne, Robert Morris, Florida State, Dayton and a few others.

“Temple was there since day one his sophomore year,” said Lincoln Park coach Mark Javens. “They made it very clear he was their No. 1 guys. A couple of other teams in the Atlantic 10 basically said the same, but we went out there and visited this past weekend. He liked everything. He spent a lot of time with players and the coaching staff, and he’s 100 percent sure he wanted to go there.

“Not only do they want him to play, they need him to play. I think he’s going to have a good opportunity to play his freshman year

Watson averaged a triple double last year in helping Lincoln Park reach the WPIAL and PIAA Class A championship games.

The leading scorer on Lincoln Park’s team last year, Chaquille Pratt, is at Slippery Rock University.

The other two WPIAL players who already have made verbal commitments to Division I colleges are Highlands’ Micah Mason (Drake) and Plum’s Nolan Cressler (Cornell).

A Tiger to Watch

Kevin O’Brien. That is a name to watch in the upcoming WPIAL individual golf tournaments.

O’Brien is a junior at North Allegheny who has been posting some impressive scores lately. The most impressive was a 31 at Treesdale in recent match against Pine-Richland. That is is five-under-par and believed to be the best score ever in a high school match at Treesdale.

This past weekend, O’Brien won his first career International Junior Golf Tournament in Hershey, shooting a 71 on the last day of the two-day competition.

$53,000 Penalty

In Florida, a high school who recruits players or breaks other rules can be fined. One school was recently fined an incredible $53,000 for recruiting players, falsifying documents and letting six ineligible players play basketball last season.

Dr. Krop High School was fined the $53,000 by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

Where Are They Now?

Trinity graduate Andrew Sweat starts at linebacker for Ohio State and had a big game in the Buckeyes’ season opener last week. Sweat had a team-high six tackles, including two for loss. He also had an interception.

A few other WPIAL players are at Ohio State, but the only other player on the two-deep depth chart is Center graduate Evan Blankenship, who is the backup nose tackle.

Tags: Beaver Falls, Charleroi, Lincoln Park, Washington