Scholastic Notebook – 11/19/2016

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 19, 2016 | 7:26 PM

When a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave D.J. Opsatnik another chance at a game-tying field goal in Friday’s WPIAL Class 5 championship at Heinz Field, Opsatnik took advantage, making a 34-yarder that sent the game into overtime.

West Allegheny eventually defeated McKeesport, 38-37, to win the title. But not only did that penalty give Opsatnik another chance to tie the game, it ended up giving him a future chance at the state record for career field goals.

Opsatnik is West Allegheny’s senior kicker. Had the Indians lost, Opsatnik would have been a little short of the state record. He finished Friday with 33 career field goals, two short of the WPIAL and state record. Bob Milspaw of Peters Township kicked 35 field goals in the 1990s. Milspaw also is tied for the state record.

Opsatnik will try to get closer to the record next Friday when West Allegheny plays Meadville in the PIAA quarterfinals.

While Opsatnik chases the WPIAL and state record, you have to wonder if he might hold some sort of record for field goals in WPIAL championships games? A senior, Opsatnik has four. Besides the one he made Friday, Opsatnik kicked three in a 2013 title game when Opsatnik was a freshman.

High Scoring

The 75 points scored in the West Allegheny-McKeesport game was close to the most in any WPIAL title game since 1915. The record is 82, set last year when Aliquippa defeated South Fayette, 44-38. Second is 79 points when Clairton beat Sto-Rox, 58-21, in 2012.

Working Overtime

Because of the way it ended and because of the excitement, the West Allegheny-McKeesport game might go down as one of the best in WPIAL history. At minimum, it was one of only five in championship history that went to overtime.

Remember, the WPIAL didn’t institute overtime for championship games until 1987. If a game was tied, the teams were declared co-champions. Since then, and before Friday, the four titles game that went overtime were: Central Catholic over Gateway, 35-34, in 2007; North Allegheny over Upper St. Clair, 28-21, in 2011; Burrell over Washington, 14-13, in 1995; Rochester over Monaca, 24-18, in 1998.

Fast Jaguars

Jaguars are supposed to be speedy, right? New Castle coach Joe Cowart said most people don’t realize the speed of the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars.

New Castle lost to Thomas Jefferson, 42-0, in the 4A title game Friday.

“They win in the trenches, but they win in a way different than other [Thomas Jefferson coach] Bill Cherpak teams have,” said New Castle coach Joe Cowart. “They win by imposing a great amount of speed that can be overwhelming to you. That’s what people done realize. Their speed at the point of attack and the second and third levels is really impressive.”

Father-Son Acts

Beaver Falls’ victory against Aliquippa gave Beaver Falls coach Ryan Matsook his first WPIAL title. Matsook’s father, Dan, also won three championships during his days at Rochester.

It’s not known how many father and son teams have won WPIAL titles, but it’s not many. The Matsooks have four. But they have to go a ways to catch the Walkers.

Art and Art Walker have 11 championships between them. Art the elder won six titles at Mt. Lebanon and Shady Side Academy. Young Art has five – two at Central Catholic and three at North Allegheny.

Attendance

The WPIAL did not have an exact number from Heinz Field, but the WPIAL said attendance for the four games at Heinz was about 17,500.

Looking Ahead

Glancing at the eight teams that were in the title games, you wonder what are the chances of them getting back to the title games next year?

In 6A Central Catholic loses a ton of talented players, including Division I college players. Only two starters return on offense, but one is quarterback Troy Fisher. Five starters return on defense, including end David Gree, who has Division I offers. Seneca Valley has four starters returning on offense and three on defense, but losing talented running back Jack Cook will hurt plenty.

In 5A, McKeesport was senior-dominated, but a few running backs return. For West Allegheny, five starters return on defense, and also returning on offense is fine running back Kenny White.

In 4A, Thomas Jefferson has only two returning starters on offense and four on defense, but one is Devin Danielson, one of the best linemen around. New Castle has seven starters returning on defense and Marcus Hooker returns at running back.

In 3A, Beaver Falls was senior-dominated, but QB-RB Malik Shepherd is back. Aliquippa was young defensively and five starters return on offense and defense, including running back Avante McKenzie, who rushed for 1,000 yards.

Tags: Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, McKeesport, West Allegheny