Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 3

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 | 8:07 PM

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Class 5A Big East

1-Gateway (3-0, 0-0) vs. Franklin Regional (1-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Panthers Stadium, Murrysville

Top-ranked Gateway survived a scare at winless North Hills, winning 20-17. Franklin Regional bounced back from an overtime loss to defeat Connellsville, 40-0. … Gators kicker Cole Plaskon booted two field goals, including a 19-yard game-winner with 10 seconds left. Leonard Sherrod had a 54-yard interception return. Quarterback Brad Birch completed 13 of 27 passes for 61 yards. … Panthers senior quarterback Roman Sarnic scored two touchdowns and threw touchdown passes for 65 and 11 yards to Ayden Hudock. Senior running back Zach Bewszka rushed for 194 yards and a touchdown.

Norwin (1-2, 0-0) at Plum (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Mustang Stadium, Plum

Plum, which has scored just three more points (77) than it has allowed, sustained its first loss as Shaler toppled the Mustangs, 47-14. The Mustangs gave up 283 yards and five TDs to Luke Cignetti. … Norwin earned its first win, 27-13, over Fox Chapel, as Jackson Pons pulled in two touchdown grabs from freshman quarterback Tristyn Tavares, who threw for 168 yards and two scores. Liam O’Brien returned an interception 51 yards for a TD.

Class 4A Big Seven

Latrobe (2-1, 0-0) vs. 3-Thomas Jefferson (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Thomas Jefferson Stadium, West Jefferson Hills

Latrobe’s offense struggled against a physical Hempfield defense and sustained its first loss of the season, 49-14. Thomas Jefferson won its second consecutive game when it defeated neighboring rival West Mifflin, 38-0. The Jaguars opened the season with a loss in Ocean City, N.J. … The Wildcats started well against the Spartans as senior Kollin Stevens returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown. Later, it tied the score when running back Robert Fulton tossed a touchdown pass to Corey Boerio. Fulton was limited to 40 yards rushing. … Jaguars quarterback Brody Evans completed 13 of 20 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, two to Sean Sullivan (36 and 63 yards). Elias Lippencott rushed for 108 yards.

Class 2A Allegheny

Ligonier Valley (2-1, 0-0) vs. Apollo-Ridge (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Owens Field, Apollo

Ligonier Valley fell behind early and then saw a late rally by Greensburg Salem fall short in a 35-28 loss. Apollo-Ridge also lost for the first time this season, being run over by Deer Lakes, 43-7. … The Rams were led by senior Haden Sierocky with 160 yards rushing and sophomore John Jablunovsky, who finished with 155 yards on six carries. Both scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Broderick Schreyer was intercepted three times. … The Vikings, playing without injured quarterback Karter Schrock, got a touchdown run of 44 yards by Nick Curci, who finished with 115 yards on 17 carries. The teams split their previous meetings.

Derry (0-3, 0-0) at Yough (1-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Cougar Mountain Stadium, Herminie

Derry continued to show signs of improvement but remained winless. The Trojans have scored 31 points, and Yough has just 28. Watch running back Ahmad Ward, a power runner with speed. … Yough picked up its first win with a 14-0 shutout of Charleroi as senior Gavin Roebuck, who went from quarterback to wide receiver to running back, ran for a pair of touchdowns. The Cougars had not blanked an opponent at home since a 25-0 win over Uniontown in 2019.

Class A Eastern

Frazier (0-3, 0-0) at Jeannette (0-3, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, McKee Stadium

Conference newcomer Frazier brings a 13-game losing streak into the opener. The Commodores have been outscored 156-27 in three games. … Jeannette dropped a heartbreaker last week at Jefferson-Morgan, falling 27-26 in overtime. The Jayhawks missed an extra point that would’ve given them a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, then had an extra point blocked in overtime. Jeannette has started 0-3 in back-to-back seasons. The Jayhawks’ last 0-4 start was in 1993, the year the program picked up its 500th win.

Class A Tri-County South

Monessen (1-2, 0-0) at Bentworth (2-1, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Bentworth Athletic Field, Ellsworth

Monessen had a breakout game, thumping Frazier, 42-6, despite having five touchdowns called back by penalties. The Greyhounds scored 42 unanswered. Daevon Burke and Timothy Kershaw scored two touchdowns each, and Daniel Dozier threw three TD passes in the win. … Bentworth struggled to advance the ball and fell victim to the mercy rule in a 56-0 loss to Leechburg. Just four of the 28 rostered players are seniors.

Nonconference

Deer Lakes (1-2) vs. Greensburg Salem (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Offutt Field, Greensburg

Deer Lakes picked up its first win of the season with a shocking 43-7 victory against unbeaten Apollo-Ridge. Greensburg Salem won its second consecutive game of the season by holding off unbeaten Ligonier Valley, 35-28. This is the first meeting between schools. … Lancers junior wide receiver Wayne Love caught four passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns against Apollo-Ridge. … Golden Lions senior quarterback/safety Cody Rubrecht passed for 118 yards, rushed for 116 and had two interceptions, including a 90-yard interception return for a score.

Greensburg C.C. (2-1) at Class 2A 4-Washington (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Wash High Stadium, Washington

Greensburg Central Catholic put up 50-plus points for the second time this season in a 57-21 win over West Greene. The Centurions are averaging 42.3 points but are allowing 28.7. The Centurions have several offensive weapons, including running backs Jaydin Canady and Da’sjon Craggette, receiver Samir Crosby, quarterback Tyreee Turner and wideout Nate Dlugos. Turner was 11 of 13 for 197 yards and four touchdowns last week. … Washington was tripped up, just barely, by Serra Catholic for its first loss of the season, 35-34. Eddie Lewis ran 26 times for 208 yards and three touchdowns to power the Little Prexies.

Hempfield (3-0) vs. Shaler (2-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Titan Stadium, Shaler

Hempfield looks to open the season 4-0 for the first time since 1971. The Spartans are coming off a dominating 49-14 win at Latrobe. Shaler has won two consecutive games after a Week Zero loss at Butler. … Spartans senior running back Gino Caesar rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Jake Phillips, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 261 yards two touchdowns. Wide receiver Ian Tuffs had seven catches for 137 yards. … Hempfield’s defense must contend with Titans running back Luke Cignetti, who rushed for 283 yards and five touchdowns against Plum. Quarterback Keegan Smetanka tossed two touchdown passes.

Knoch (0-3) at Southmoreland (1-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Russ Grimm Field, Alverton

Knoch surrendered 30 points or more for the third time and remained winless with a 44-6 loss to Beaver Falls. The Knights gave up more than 200 rushing yards. A bright spot was Codi Mullen, who completed 15 of 35 passes for 186 yards, and Jack Murphy, who had seven catches for 113 yards. … Southmoreland picked up its first win under first-year coach Tim Bukowski, 28-14, over Derry. The Scotties, who trailed 7-6, scored their first points on a trick play as Kadin Keefer tossed to Caden Matthews, who threw a scoring pass to Wayne Richter. Tray Whetsel had two rushing touchodowns as the Scotties look to build a running attack.

Mt. Pleasant (2-1) vs. Valley (0-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Vikings Stadium, New Kensington

After opening the season with a loss to Greensburg Central Catholic, Mt. Pleasant bounced back with two impressive wins, which included a 50-28 victory against McGuffey. Valley has begun the season with three consecutive losses. It fell to Burrell, 30-27, on a late field goal. … Mt. Pleasant senior running back Robbie Labuda rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns, Lane Golkosky rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Cole Chatfield completed 7 of 14 passes for 176 yards. Tyler Reese had five catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. … Valley’s Xavier Wilson scored three touchdowns, and quarterback Tristin Goodwin threw three touchdown passes.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Bentworth, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Knoch, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Plum, Southmoreland, Valley, Washington, Yough