Trent, Veatch guided Brentwood to .500 record

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 16, 2017 | 11:00 PM

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Brentwood seniors Michael Trent and Austin Veatch proved to be one of the more daunting offensive combinations in the WPIAL this season.

Trent, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound quarterback, completed 141 of 268 passes for 1,826 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Trent's top performance of the season was delivered in the Week Zero against Carrick when he hit on 15 of 24 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark in passing five other times, including a 258-yard effort against Steel Valley in Week 9.

“My receivers did a nice job of getting into open space (this season), and my line gave me the time I needed in the pocket to do my job,” Trent said. “It's been a great ride. I'll have these memories of playing on Friday nights with my boys forever.”

The 5-9, 160-pound Veatch led the Spartans in receiving with 54 receptions for 848 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 15.7 yards per reception.

Veatch finished three games with seven receptions. He also caught six passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns against Carrick, and he scored four times against South Allegheny.

Veatch also was No. 1 in scoring on the team with 15 touchdowns. Along with his 12 touchdown catches, he scored twice on rushing attempts and once on an 87-yard kickoff return.

Seven other players nabbed passes for Brentwood. Evan Vickless, a senior running back, had 33 receptions for 313 yards and one score; Brendan Donnelly, a senior wideout, had 22 receptions for 280 yards and two scores.

Rounding out the Spartans' receiving corps were seniors Michael Folino (11-131), Kevin Brown (10-106) and John Gomez (8-117); junior Drew Wilson (3-45) and sophomore Ian Thomas (1-10). Gomez and Wilson caught one touchdown pass apiece.

Trent and Veatch connected on a 62-yard touchdown pass against Deer Lakes, and a 58-yard scoring toss against Carrick.

“Our strength was our passing game, for sure,” Veatch said. “When you have a sturdy offensive line like we had, a quarterback who makes good, smart throws, and a receiving corps that has a mentality that nobody can cover us — things worked out very well.”

Veatch, a three-year letterman with 4.59 speed in the 40, caught 30 passes for 618 yards as a junior, and ended his varsity career with 93 receptions for 1,605 yards and 23 touchdowns. He averaged 17.3 yards per catch for his career.

Veatch also accounted for 150 yards and two scores and 40 rushing attempts, giving him 998 yards in total offense.

Vickless led Spartans in rushing this year with 507 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries. He averaged 4.9 yards per rushing attempt.

The 5-10, 160-pound Vickless set a team record with a 99-yard touchdown burst against Carlynton in Week 8.

Brentwood's offensive and defensive lines were solidified in 2017 by seniors Tanner Wells, DeAngelo Brisco, Grant Davis, Jordan Mortimore and Dylan Pruni; junior Nick Czerwien, and sophomores Luke Bauer and Matt Veatch.

“I believe we had a successful season despite it coming to an early end,” Wells said. “Our strength was our togetherness. Despite a few tough losses, nobody got down on one another; we just kept pushing.”

Wells was a three-year letterman for the Spartans. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 255 pounds.

“Tanner is still growing,” coach Kevin Kissel said. “And he's a good academic student. He has a good upside.”

Brentwood finished with a 5-5 overall record after losing to Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 35-7, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.

“We had a decent season. It was up and down; I thought we'd do a little better,” Kissel said. “It was fun; we had a fun year. There were no major injuries.

“We had kids who had great seasons, but we had trouble running the ball.”

The Spartans tied for fourth place with Avonworth with a 3-3 record in the Class 2A Three Rivers Conference, behind Steel Valley (6-0), East Allegheny (4-2) and Serra Catholic (4-2). South Allegheny (1-5) and Carlynton (0-6) rounded out the standings.

“Every year, the goal has been make the playoffs and win the conference,” said Trent, who ran for 168 yards and three scores on 45 rushing attempts this season. “We achieved one out of our two main goals by making the playoffs.

“I would have to say our best game was against South Allegheny at their home field. We knew if we lost that game our playoff hopes were over, so we fought for all four quarters and ended up getting the ‘W' after putting together a scoring drive in the last few minutes.”

Brentwood finished with a 250-229 overall scoring edge this season, averaging 25 ppg while allowing 22.9 ppg. Along with Trent's 17 touchdown passes, the Spartans scored 17 times on the ground, and averaged 4.2 yards per carry.

Folino, who scored once on a 4-yard TD run, booted 23 extra points and one field goal in 2017, good for 32 total points.

The Spartans posted one shutout, blanking Deer Lakes, 40-0, in Week 5 in a nonconference game.

“We just had this fire and came out hot early and kept it rolling (against Deer Lakes),” Wells said. “Either it was the pregame rainstorm, or the fact that it was our last home game, that got us going.”

Defensively, Brentwood was sparked this season by Bauer on the line, and by Folino at his linebacking position.

“Luke was our best defensive player,” Kissel said. “He had an outstanding year defensively. He has a great motor; he's the kind of kid who just goes. And he's a dedicated kid. He had a good career ahead of him.

“Michael played middle linebacker all year. He played just about every snap. He had a good year.”

Veatch (first team) and Trent (second team) were all-conference selections at WR and QB, respectively. Vickless was named first-team all-conference at defensive back.

Wells (first team) and Bauer (second team) were all-conference selections on the offensive and defensive lines, respectively.

“I'll truly miss playing football as a Brentwood Spartan,” Wells said. “I couldn't be where I'm at today without my coaches and teammates. I'll always remember the fun times we all had and will truly miss being on the same team as them. I am, however, excited and ready to begin my next stage at the collegiate level.”

Veatch also was voted to the MSA Sport/Kennywood high school preseason football all-star team.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Brentwood