Trib HSSN football player of the week for 2023 Week 2

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, September 10, 2023 | 9:21 PM

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Montour senior quarterback Jake Wolfe huffed and puffed and blew away the Lions.

He also threw and ran through and around South Fayette in leading his Spartans to a nonconference victory in a battle of undefeated teams, 42-35.

“He has really embraced the new offense and has taken a big leadership role on the team,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said. “He is taking the proper reads, and having some athletes to throw to helps as well.”

This big bad Wolfe had some monster numbers Friday: He completed 17 of 27 passes for 273 yards and a 51 yard touchdown to David Batch. The senior also ran for 170 yards on 29 carries with four touchdowns on runs of 1, 3, 10 and 6 yards, the last being the winner in the fourth quarter.

So how many of his runs were designed, and how many were impromptu?

“He knows when to tuck the ball and run when nothing is open,” Cerro said. “We have designed run plays for him, and he truly likes to run the ball. It gets him in the flow of the game.”

The flow of this Week 2 game had Montour playing from behind for most of it.

The Spartans trailed the Lions early in the third quarter when Wolfe led the comeback with three of his four touchdown runs. Montour scored the game’s final 24 points.

“He has really taken over the team and has put them on his shoulders,” Cerro said. “He’s a leader in the classroom with a 4.3 GPA, he’s a good basketball player and really a good athlete overall. He worked real hard in the weight room in offseason to take the pounding he may take.”

After a 3-0 start, Montour has surfaced as a team to watch as it prepares to open Parkway Conference play Friday with the tough task of a trip to Heinz Field in Aliquippa to battle the defending WPIAL champion Quips.

“Aliquippa is the standard,” Cerro said. “They are a great football team and well coached. We respect all that they do. We will go into The Pit with some confidence, but if we are not ready to play, we will be in for a long night.”

WPIAL Week 2 Honorable Mentions:

Payton Wehner, Central Catholic

On Friday, Gesling Stadium at Carnegie Mellon became Payton’s place. The senior quarterback completed 17 of 20 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns — two to Vernon Settles — and scored on touchdown runs of 26 and 4 yards as the Vikings remained unbeaten with a wild win over Bethel Park, 62-46. A tip of the helmet to the Black Hawks Tanner Pfeuffer, who threw for 289 yards, and Ja Vaughn Moore, who ran for 213 yards.

Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford

We might have discovered the road to success for Penn-Trafford this fall: Run Tasso Whipple. A lot. The junior running back carried the ball 20 times in the first two weeks for 38 yards as the Warriors scored only seven points and lost to Canon-McMillan and McKeesport. On Friday at Woodland Hills, Whipple carried the ball 27 times and rushed for 215 yards two touchdowns, plus he caught a 22-yard scoring pass from Johnny Lovre as the Warriors edged the Wolverines, 28-26.

Sam Meyers, Shenango

Shenango split its first two games against OLSH and Western Beaver with their senior quarterback throwing only one pass in those games. Meyers exploded on the scene Friday for the Wildcats, as they edged visiting Riverside, 24-19. Meyers connected on 16 of 26 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns — 20, 73 and 5 yards — all targeted to senior wide receiver Colton Fedrizzi, who ended up with a league high 167 yards on nine receptions.

2023 HSSN Players of the Week

Week One: Bruce Giles, Connellsville

Week Zero: Cameron Epps, South Allegheny

Tags: Montour