Scholastic Notebook – 10/15/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 15, 2011 | 6:24 PM

Since the WPIAL formed Class AAAA football in 1980, only six running backs who played in Class AAAA rushed for more than 4,000 career yards.

But two of them reached the milestone on the same night Friday.

Mount Lebanon’s Luke Hagy and Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Damion Jones-Moore had big games in victories Friday night and also pushed past 4,000 yards.

Hagy had 255 yards and in a 14-3 victory against Bethel Park and now has 4,243 yards in his career. Jones-Moore had 163 yards in a 13-7 victory against Gateway and now has 4,043 yards.

"The most important stat to me is how many wins you have and a state championship," Jones-Moore said. "Getting 4,000 yards is great. It’s not done very often. If getting yards is what it has to be to help the team win, then that’s great."

What is interesting about Hagy is he reached 4,000 yards in only three seasons. He played on Mount Lebanon’s freshman team when he was in ninth grade. He then gained 907 yards as a sophomore and 1,981 as a junior.

Jones-Moore to Toledo

Jones-Moore made a verbal commitment last weekend to Toledo. He is the second Pittsburgh Central Catholic player to choose Toledo. The other is defensive back Juwan Haynes.

Central Catholic also has a former player starting at Toledo. Terrell Anderson is a senior outside linebacker for the Rockets.

Summit Rising?

Summit Academy is in decent position to make the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since it joined the league in 1998. Summit entered Saturday's game tied for second in the Allegheny Conference with a 3-1 record.

But the question is will Summit continue to win and make the playoffs, or will there be problems down the stretch like previous years when the Knights got into the meat of their schedule.

This is the fourth time in six years that Summit Academy was at least 2-2 after four games. In three of the previous six years, the Knights were 3-1. But in those three previous years that the Knights were at least 2-2 after four games, they finished 2-13 in the last half of the season.

Frazier Goes Up

There hasn’t been much talk about the Frazier Commodores this season, but they are having one of their best seasons in a long time.

The Commodores are now 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The last time Frazier won five games in a season was 1999.

Law Hurt

Quad Law, Ringgold’s talented senior quarterback, sustained an injured leg in Friday’s game and his status is questionable for Friday’s big game at Frankin Regional.

Beth-Center Hires Coach

The start of basketball practice is about a month away and Beth-Center just hired its new boys basketball coach. The school hired Gary Amos, a 2000 Beth-Center graduate.

Amos also is the head coach of the Bentworth boys soccer team.

Pittsburgh Central’s Other Successful Team

The Central Catholic football team has received plenty of publicity this fall – and rightly so. But the school’s boys soccer team also is having a terrific season.

Central Catholic has a 15-1 record in soccer and the only was to LaSalle, a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League. Central Catholic has a tremendous defense. It has allowed only six goals in 16 games.

Where Are They Now?

*  Montour graduate Christian Wilson is the No. 2 tight end for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Wilson (6 feet 3, 250 pounds) has four catches for 58 yards.

*  McKeesport’s Ty-Meer Brown, a redshirt freshman at the University of Connecticut, has moved into the starting lineup at defensive back. Brown made his first start last week against West Virginia. He has one interception this season.

Tags: Beth-Center, Frazier, McKeesport