Trib HSSN football players of the week for Sept. 7, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, September 7, 2025 | 8:29 PM

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Trib HSSN football players of the week – Joe Felitsky and Logan Schade

School – North Catholic

Class – Seniors

Height/weight – Felitsky: 6-foot-1, 175 pounds; Schade: 5-11, 165

Position – Felitsky, quarterback; Schade, running back, free safety

#Earned – The dynamic senior duo in the North Catholic offensive backfield was more dangerous Friday than the lightning that forced delays in several high school football games in Week 2. Blackhawk only wished it could have had a delay in an effort to quell the storm that Joey Felitsky and Logan Schade unleashed on the Cougars’ defense. The quarterback Felitsky was perfect, completing all 12 of his passes for 249 yards and four touchdown tosses, two to Preston Simko and one each to Tom Arth and Will Waskiewicz, plus he scored on a 6-yard run. Schade, the running back, carried the ball 20 times and rushed for 345 yards, an average of more than 17 yards per tote. Plus, he ended four of those carries in the end zone as North Catholic outslugged Blackhawk, 65-49, in a nonconference game.

Background – Both Felitsky and Schade hope to play football next fall when they continue their education in college. The two also excel in the classroom with high GPAs. While they only play football in high school, both played other sports when they were younger. Felitsky played baseball as a youngster and in his freshman year at Seneca Valley, but has focused on football since coming to North Catholic as a sophomore. Schade played ice hockey with his brother when he was young before switching to basketball and then, eventually, football. For the season, Felitsky has completed 50 of his 59 passes for 976 yards and 15 touchdowns already. Last year, Felitsky led the WPIAL in passing with 2,982 yards and 23 touchdowns. Schade led the Trojans in rushing last season with 530 yards and six touchdowns on 89 carries. In three games this season, he already has 857 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns on 53 carries.

What coach says – “His command of the offense stood out,” North Catholic coach Chris Rizzo said about Felitsky’s game on Friday. “He is not only making good decisions with the football in the air but also getting us into the correct run call at times; that’s a huge tool for us. The offensive line has been great in protection. When he has time, he is extraordinarily accurate.

“Logan has displayed good vision and patience this season as a runner,” Rizzo said about Schade’s big game against Blackhawk. “It is good to see some of that second level explosion show up on tape as well. Tip of the cap to the offensive line; they have played well thus far and have provided great running lanes, especially last Friday with some of the in-game scheme adjustments.

“Joey has a great understanding of the offense and really has a command over it,” Rizzo said. “I also think he has really improved his understanding of defenses as well. He can see and diagnose a lot pre-snap which has made him incredibly efficient with the ball. Logan has always been a talented player, but his understanding of our run offense allows him to be as explosive as he has shown. He has also really improved in pass protection; that is part of his game tends to go unrecognized.”

“Awesome,” Rizzo said when asked to describe the leadership skill of both players. “They have been both leaders by example as well as vocal leaders. Recently, when they were done going into the fourth quarter, they both were actively engaged with their backups on the sideline until the final snap. They were looking at the iPad in between series and going through the in-game adjustments with their position groups. That kind of stuff is great to see.”

“You saw flashes of it last season,” Rizzo said of his team’s dominance on offense. “Our offense as an entire unit has been locked into the challenge of maximizing our talent pool. When they play together, for one another, and take care of the details, I think we have always known they can be a special group. These two guys had big nights, but our wide receiver and tight end core are hustling downfield to throw blocks and the O-line has been solid in the run game and protection. Some of those big runs or passes don’t happen with the committed effort of all 11 men. It’s exciting to see them play for one another.”

WPIAL Week 2 Honorable Mentions

Ty Jansma – Canon-McMillan

In a Week 2 matchup between visiting South Fayette at 2-0 and host Canon-McMillan at 0-2, Big Macs junior quarterback Ty Jansma was determined to add the No. 1 to each team’s record. Jansma connected on 14 of 24 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, two to Ethan Campoli of 3 and 15 yards, and a 48 yard scoring strike to Roman Cimarolli as the Big Macs won their home opener over the Lions, 37-28.

Nate Desmond – Penn-Trafford

Penn-Trafford has become accustomed to close games going down to the wire in this young season. The Warriors opened the campaign with a three-point win over Norwin, and then knocked off Mt. Lebanon by a touchdown last week. When trailing host Moon on Friday heading into the final minute, the Warriors felt at home. P-T senior quarterback Nate Desmond hit on 15 of 26 passes for 241 yards and drove his team the length of the field before finding Landon Stikkel on a 15-yard TD as Penn-Trafford edged Moon, 25-24.

Amoni Ward – Ringgold

Ringgold finished the 2024 season with a record of 2-8. This year’s Rams squad has already matched that victory total one week into September. Ringgold senior quarterback Amoni Ward averaged 20 yards per tote when he carried the ball 12 times and gained 240 yards. He hit the 150-yard rushing mark in the first half when he scored on two long touchdown runs of 73 and 71 yards. He later add TD scampers from 13 and 15 yards as the Rams handed Yough its first loss, 40-0.

Aaron Walsh – Chartiers-Houston

Chartiers-Houston proved that it is better late than never as it came back Friday to improve to 2-1 overall. The fourth quarter point rally was orchestrated by senior quarterback Aaron Walsh. The Buccaneers signal called scored on four touchdown runs, with three coming in the final quarter on runs of 62, 62 and 5 yards. Walsh rushed for 286 yards and also scored on an 8-yard run and connected with Julius Livingston on a 8-yard TD pass as the Buccaneers stunned host Mapletown, 35-28.

2025 HSSN Players of the Week

Week 1 – James Armstrong, Hopewell

Week Zero – Gabriel Jenkins, Imani Christian

Tags: North Catholic