Scholastic Notebook – 10/19/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 19, 2012 | 1:33 PM

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It’s not that playing three quarterbacks at Montour was ineffective. It’s just that coach Lou Cerro has scrapped the system, partly because of injury.

From the preseason through the first five games of the regular season, Cerro was using three quarterbacks, rotating Ryan Mihelcic, Tynan Greer and Max Rosinsky almost every series. Early in the season, Cerro used the word “crazy” to describe the strategy, but who could argue against the results. Montour was winning and scoring lots of points.

But Rosinsky sustained a labrum (shoulder) injury.

“Plus, the other were starting to separate themselves,” Cerro said. “So now we’re just going with two.”

If you put the statistics of all three quarterbacks together, they add up to one very effective quarterback.

Mihelcic is 39 of 55 for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns. Greer is 35 of 58 for for 545 yards and seven touchdowns. Rosinsky is 12 of 22 for 158 yards and one TD.

On the ground, Mihelcic has rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries, Rosinsky 91 on 17 attempts and Greer 58 on 17.
All told, the three are 86 of 135 (64 percent) for 1,458 yards and 18 touchdowns. On the ground, they have rushed for 268 yards on 54 attempts.

And Montour is 7-0 heading into Friday night’s showdown against West Allegheny.

Beaver Falls Falls by a Lot

Thursday night’s Beaver Falls-Aliquippa game was the 78th game in the series that dates back to 1920. There had never been a game between the two like this one.

Aliquippa crushed Beaver Falls, 66-7. It was the most points ever scored by a team in the series. The previous high was 56 in 2004.

Aliquippa is 8-0 this season and has forced the mercy rule in every game so far. That is an impressive statistic, but the Quips aren’t alone in their Class AA dominance. South Fayette is 7-0 and also has forced the mercy rule in all seven games. Under the rule, the clock runs continuously in the second half when a team gets ahead by 35 points or more.

Many are talking about a possible Aliquippa-South Fayette Class AA championship. Just going by statistics, it would have the makings of a championship game for the ages.

McKenzie Rings Up Yardage

While many people are talking about Aliquippa and South Fayette in Class AA, don’t overlook Washington. And mainly because of Shai McKenzie.

A junior running back, McKenzie is having a sensational year. He is averaging 12.1 yards a carry. He has 1,322 yards on 109 attempts and has rushed for at least 200 yards in four of Washington’s seven games.

Boyd Gets 4,000

Clairton’s Tyler Boyd surpassed 4,000 yards rushing last week and don’t be surprised if he ends up with more than 5,000 yards by the end of the season. Boyd is the second Clairton running back to reach 4,000 yards. Zaire Washington, a 2008 Clairton graduate, had 4,539.

Playoff Notes

* Butler has a decent shot at qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

* Ambridge is trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

* Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa have qualified for the playoffs for the 18th year in a row, the longest current streak in the WPIAL.

* South Fayette has a chance to go undefeated for only the fourth time in school history, but it would be the third time in four years.

* A change in conferences can have a big effect on a team. From 1999 through last year, California made the Class A playoffs all but once while playing in the Tri-County South. California is in the Black Hills Conference this season and is out of playoff contention.

Sophomore Impact

The WPIAL cross country championships are next Thursday at Cooper’s Lake Campground near Slippery Rock and here on MSA Sports. It has become clear that a sophomore is the to beat in the Class AAA girls race.

Shaler 10th-grader Brianna Schwartz keeps winning big invitationals. She won the Red White & Blue Invitational early in the season. She won the Central Catholic Invitational a few weeks ago. On Thursday, the Tri-State Coaches Association meet was held at Cooper’s Lake. Many of the top runners in the WPIAL compete in the event, which is considered the final tune-up for the WPIAL championships. Well, Schwartz’s motor is running just fine as she once again took first place.

Schwartz finished eighth at the WPIAL championships last year as a freshman.

On the boys side, an interesting story is developing with Allderdice’s Ean DiSilvio. This is the first year that some City League schools are competing in the WPIAL in some sports. One of those is cross country. DiSilvio was the top distance runner in the City League, but many questioned how he would fare in the WPIAL. Well, he finished third at the Tri-State meet and is now one to watch at the championships.

This is the first year that the cross country championships will have three classifications for both boys and girls. In the past, there were only two classes.

Where Are They Now?

Pittsburgh Central Catholic graduate Anthony Nixon is starting to have a major impact on the University of Maryland team. Nixon is only a true freshman, but is now starting at safety for the Terrapins. He had a team-high nine tackles in a victory last week against Virginia and was given a game ball for his play against Wake Forest.

Nixon is one of two true freshmen from Central Catholic starting for Maryland. Quarterback Perry Hills has completed 85 of 149 passes for 1,177 yards, an average of 196 yards a game. Maryland has a 4-2 record.

Tags: Aliquippa, Allderdice, Ambridge, Beaver Falls, Butler, California, Clairton, Washington