Scholastic Notebook – 10/07/2016

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 7, 2016 | 3:21 PM

It seems dual-threat quarterbacks are all the rage in high school football these days, from Western Pennsylvania to all around the country. Just take a look at the leading rushers in the WPIAL to see the effects that dual-threat QBs are having.

Among the top 25 rushers in the WPIAL, four are quarterbacks – and two of the top seven are quarterbacks.

Beaver quarterback Darius Wise is third in the WPIAL in rushing with 1,093 yards. Burrell’s Max Garda is seventh with 791. Wise is averaging 11 yards a carry.

After those two, McGuffey’s Marcus Czulewicz is 15^th with 702 yards rushing and North Allegheny’s Ethan Maenza 23^rd with 584 yards, and he missed a game with an injury.

Other quarterbacks who are racking up impressive rushing statistics are McKeesport’s Jayvaun Shears, Rochester’s Ian Kouba and Fort Cherry’s Ryhan Culberson.

Dudek Close to 6,000

Armstrong running back Zane Dudek has been close to unstoppable this season, and he is closing in on some records and milestones.

Dudek needs only 122 yards to reach 6,000 yards for his career. Only four others in the WPIAL have done that. Dudek also has 1,856 yards this season. The WPIAL regular-season rushing record is 2,149 yards, set in 2010 by Delrece Williams of Steel Valley.

Jurkovec Operation Successful

Pine-Richland star quarterback Phil Jurkovec will not play again this season because of a right thumb injury.

Jurkovec, a junior who already has committed to Notre Dame, injured his right thumb in last Friday’s game against Central Catholic. He had an MRI on the thumb earlier this week when it was revealed he had torn ligaments. Doctors decided surgery was necessary.

Jurkovec had surgery on the thumb today (Friday) and he tweeted on his Twitter account. “Surgery went well today!! Thank you to everyone who had me in their thoughts and prayers. The Rams will roll tonight.”

Recovery time for Jurkovec is expected to be eight weeks.

Taking over for Jurkovec will be Max Devinney, a 6-foot-3 senior who has been the backup to Jurkovec this season and last. He also was Ben DiNucci’s backup in 2014.

PIAA Rulings

There were several PIAA rulings on player eligibilities that were noteworthy over the past few days. The PIAA backed the WPIAL in a few rulings, but overturned the WPIAL in a few others.

Here are the rulings where the PIAA backed the WPIAL:

* Sisters Kari and Gabriella Karanikos were ruled ineligible to play at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic after transferring from North Allegheny. The WPIAL ruled them ineligible and the PIAA agreed.

* The PIAA ruled the WPIAL doesn’t need to re-hear the Romnn Shell case. Shell had transferred from Ambridge to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL. Shell had asked the WPIAL to re-hear the case.

Here are the cases where the PIAA overturned the WPIAL:

* Quran Powe has been ruled eligible to play for Keystone Oaks after transferring from Brashear. The WPIAL had originally ruled Powe ineligible. But Powe appealed to the PIAA and the PIAA ruled him eligible after a hearing Wednesday. Powe was an all-City League selection last year.

* The PIAA ruled Samuel Fairley and Asante Watkins eligible to play at Imani Christian, beginning next Friday. The PIAA had a hearing with the two Thursday. They transferred from University Prep to Imani Christian and the WPIAL had ruled them ineligible after they transferred only two days after Kenny Robinson was made eligible by the WPIAL. Robinson also transferred from University Prep to Imani.

PIAA Makes New Pitching Rules

It still must pass two more readings, but it looks like the PIAA has a pitch-count rule in place for baseball pitchers.

Previously, the PIAA and WPIAL pitching limitation rules were based on innings pitched. Under the new rule, a pitcher can throw a maximum of 100 pitches in a day and 200 in a calendar week.

If a pitcher throws 1 to 25 pitches, he does not need any rest.

If he throws 26-50, he needs one day of rest.

If he throws 51-75, he needs two days of rest.

If he throws 76-10, he needs three days.

If it passes two more readings, this rule will go into effect for the 2017 season.

Basketball Recruiting

Two of the top boys and girls basketball players in the WPIAL made college decisions in the past week.

Today, Lincoln Park senior guard Nelly Cummings announced on his Twitter page that he has committed to Bowling Green. Cummings was an MSA Sports all-Netters selection last year. Cummings is a 5-11 guard who averaged 23 points and four assists last season. He also made 64 3-pointers.

Cummings can play point guard or shooting guard.

Last Friday, Desiree Oliver, a guard on Penn Hills’ girls basketball team, committed to Temple. She chose Temple over George Washington and LSU.

Oliver also was an MSA all-Netters pick last year. She averaged 18, eight rebounds and six assists.

Eagles Soaring in Soccer

The addition of another classification in girls soccer appears to have helped Oakland Catholic immensely.

Oakland Catholic plays in WPIAL 3A. For years, Oakland Catholic played in the largest classification and was in a section with strong teams like Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Peters Township.

But with the addition of a fourth class, Oakland Catholic’s enrollment placed it in 3A. The Eagles are one of the few teams in the WPIAL with a perfect record at 13-0. The teams in Oakland Catholic’s section are South Park, Thomas Jefferson, Chartiers Valley, Ringgold, Obama, Trinity and West Mifflin.

In the past five years, Oakland Catholic never won more than 11 games.

Tags: Ambridge, Armstrong, Beaver, Brashear, Burrell, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Imani Christian, Keystone Oaks, Lincoln Park, North Catholic, University Prep