Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week for 2022 Week 6

By: Don Rebel
Monday, October 10, 2022 | 5:11 PM

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When he is not in the weight room, on the football field or even at a baseball diamond, Mapletown senior Landan Stevenson enjoys hunting and fishing.

Those deer and fish have no shot if they put up as much resistance as opposing defenses do in trying to slow down the Maples running back.

A regular in rushing for over 200 yards in a game, Stevenson eclipsed the 300-yard mark Friday when Mapletown defeated host Jefferson-Morgan, 49-12, to remain in first place in the Class A Tri-County South Conference at 4-0 and undefeated for the season overall at 7-0.

“Landan runs, blocks and plays defense with a passion,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “Some of his runs, he was carrying three defensive players with him. He has a talent that is God-given, and if you could coach that, every team would have two or three players like him.”

In Week 6, Mapletown led 7-6 after the first quarter on a Stevenson 3-yard run.

The Maples then exploded for 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to take control. Stevenson scored on a 34-yard and 6-yard run before halftime then added an 8-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

For the night, Stevenson finished with 314 yards rushing on 35 carries and four touchdowns.

Is the amount of carries for the 5-foot-10, 160-pound running back starting to take its toll?

“It’s definitely a beating. I was really sore,” Stevenson said. “At the time, you don’t look at how many carries you have; you just get the ball and do the best you can do to help the team win. Surprisingly, my body’s holding up pretty good. I’m not too beat up, and the body’s holding up pretty well.”

Stevenson is 66 yards away from the 1,500-yard rushing mark but says he is just worried about the end result, which thus far has been seven wins in seven games.

In his freshman and sophomore seasons, the Maples finished with a total of two wins each year. Last fall, Mapletown won six games and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, losing in the first round to Rochester, 35-0.

The success for the Maples this season, their best start since 1968, has everybody in that Greene County school district buzzing with excitement.

The Maples close out the regular season with home games against Bentworth and second-place Monessen before visiting West Greene.

Stevenson has not decided on a school for next year in part because he’s not sure if he wants to play football or baseball at the next level.

His football coach believes he could definitely have success on the college gridiron.

“Anytime he gets the ball, he has a chance to break it,” Messich said. “When he picks a hole, he is full speed on his first step. I hope more colleges would look at him because he’s a great player.”

Week 6 Honorable Mentions

Brody Evans, Thomas Jefferson

In a week in which scholastic fans all around the WPIAL were asking what is wrong with Thomas Jefferson following Jaguars’ Week 5 loss to Laurel Highlands, the team’s third defeat of the season, quarterback Brody Evans and his fellow Jaguars answered that all is well in house that Cherp built.

Evans, a junior, connected on 20 of 29 passes for 340 yards and two touchdown tosses, a 70-yard scoring pass and a 14-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Sean Sullivan, as TJ coach Bill Cherpak and the Jaguars moved into a tie for second place in the 4A Big Seven Conference with a rout of the visiting Trinity Hillers, 45-10.

Ben Lane, Freeport

It was a showdown between two of the top five teams in Class 3A with the winner of the Week 6 contest becoming the team to beat in the Class 3A Allegheny 6 Conference. With a share of first place up for grabs between a pair of 5-1 teams overall, host Freeport decided there was only one lane to take to victory against East Allegheny.

Senior halfback Ben Lane carried the ball 19 times for 263 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 2, 5 and the exclamation point 74-yard scoring run to finish the scoring in the Yellowjackets’ 35-13 win over the Wildcats.

Elijah Palmer-McLain, Ellwood City

After losing its first two games this fall, the Ellwood City football team was carrying the burden of the WPIAL’s longest current losing streak at 27 in a row. That weight was lifted off the program’s shoulders when the Wolverines beat visiting Carlynton, 46-6, in a nonconference victory in Week 2.

Another long run of despair ended for Lincoln High in Week 6 when Ellwood City edged New Brighton, 18-13, to end a 26-game conference losing streak. Sophomore running back Elijah Palmer-McCaine rushed for 231 yards on 32 carries and scored all three Wolverines touchdowns as Ellwood City won its first conference game since Oct. 5, 2018.

2022 HSSN Players of the Week:

Week 5 – Jake Wolfe, Montour

Week 4 – Jaren Brickner, Beaver Falls

Week 3 – Jake Phillips, Hempfield

Week 2 – Luke Cignetti, Shaler

Week 1 – Cruce Brookins, Steel Valley

Week Zero – Conlan Greene, Penn-Trafford

Tags: Mapletown