Scholastic Notebook – 09/11/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 11, 2015 | 2:51 PM

Duane Brown’s sidekick is gone, but Brown’s game apparently still has a lot of kick.

Brown is a junior football player at Apollo-Ridge. A year ago, he and Tre Tipton were a one-of-a-kind one-two punch, as both played quarterback and some at receiver/running back. They were believed to be the first quarterback pair in WPIAL history to both rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.

Tipton is now at Pitt, but life is anything but the pits for Brown. At least after the first week of the season. Look at the statistical leaders for the WPIAL after Week 1 and Brown is the only one you will see in the receiving, rushing and scoring leaders.

In a 37-34 victory against Keystone Oaks, Brown rushed for 165 yards on 25 carries, caught nine passes for 147 yards and scored five touchdowns, and one two-point conversion.

Brown’s nine catches tied for the most on the opening weekend and his 32 points scored were the high in the WPIAL. His 147 rushing yards were the 11^th-best.

The versatility is not new for Brown. A year ago, he completed 48 of 88 for 929 yards, rushed 135 times for 1,216 yards and caught 14 passes for 194 yards.

Brown did not play quarterback the first week against Keystone Oaks. Apollo-Ridge left those duties to Kyle Fitzroy. But Apollo-Ridge has a big game tonight against Highlands and don’t be surprised if Brown lines up some at quarterback.

One-Two Punch

Clairton’s offense is explosive again, and how is this for a potent one-two punch on the opening night? In a victory against California last Friday, Harrison Dreher and Lamont Wade both carried the ball five times. The average yards gained between them was 23.5.

Wade rushed for 107 yards on five attempts and Dreher 128 yards on five carries.

Jake Times Two

Judging from the first week, there could be a hit show playing at Laurel High School this year. Just call it the Jake and Jake Show.

Laurel lost to New Brighton, 42-28, but the passing combo of Jake McDougal and Jake Wilson was impressive. McDougal completed 16 of 30 for 300 yards and Wilson caught eight passes for 161 yards.

Stairway to 700

One day after one of their favorite sons was released by an NFL team, Jeannette hopes to celebrate a milestone with its football team.

Jeannette is going after its 700^th victory Friday night when it plays host to Serra Catholic. Jeannette would be only the second team in WPIAL history to reach 700. New Castle is the other. What’s also noteworthy is that Jeannette will be only the 35^th team in the country to have 700 wins.

Meanwhile, former Jeannette sensation Terrelle Pryor was released Thursday by the Cleveland Browns. Pryor had been a quarterback, playing at Ohio State and a few other NFL teams. But he was trying to make the Browns as a receiver.

Inside the Numbers

* The top four leading rushers on the first weekend of the WPIAL season were all from Class AAA – Armstrong’s Zane Dudek, Hampton’s Matt Rech, Moon’s Noah Angelo and West Allegheny’s Terence Stephens.

* Penn-Trafford’s Brett Laffoon was the only quarterback from a Class AAA team among the top 13 passers on the first weekend.

Big Cross-County Invite

The first big cross-country meet of the season is Saturday when the Red White and Blue Invitational is staged at Schenley Park in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

A number of the top boys and girls runners will compete in the event, which has varsity and JV races. Beaver Falls’ Dom Perretta has decided to compete in the event. Perretta is one of the top distance runners in Western Pa. He won the Class A championship last year. But he has won state Class AA championships in the 800 and 1,600 as a sophomore and junior in track. He could be the first from the WPIAL to win both races three years in a row.

What’s interesting is that Perretta will compete in the Red White and Blue in the Class AAA race in order to get more competition.

The varsity races are Class AA-A boys (8:40 a.m.), Class AAA girls (9:15), Class AA-A girls (10:30) and Class AAA boys (11:10).

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Beaver Falls, Clairton, Hampton, Jeannette, West Allegheny