Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 7

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | 5:47 PM

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Class 6A

Norwin (1-5, 1-5) at No. 5 Canon-McMillan (2-3, 2-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Canon-McMillan Stadium, Canonsburg

Despite a big performance by senior receiver Connor Chrisman, Norwin dropped its second straight conference game, 48-12, to No. 2 Mt. Lebanon. Chrisman returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score and caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Nick Fleming. Tight end Tanner Krevokuch last week picked up a preferred walk-on opportunity from Pitt. The Knights are averaging a conference-low 16.7 points. … Canon-McMillan suffered its second straight setback when it fell to North Allegheny, 35-0. Junior unning back Ryan Angott is capable of big numbers. He ran for 261 yards and five touchdowns against Hempfield.

Class 5A big east

Woodland Hills (4-1, 2-1) at Latrobe (2-3, 1-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Latrobe

Woodland Hills is in position to return to the WPIAL playoffs after missing out last year for the first time since 1995. Junior quarterback Deontae Williams has been a key playmaker. Key pass-catching threats are seniors Armani Bailey and T’Rek Scipio. Junior Eris Seibles has been a workhorse in the backfield. Sipio and Williams had touchdowns last week in a 21-16 loss to No. 1 Gateway. … Latrobe struggled to punctuate drives last week at Franklin Regional in a 27-14 loss. Kyle Brewer had an 80-yard kickoff return and Drake Clayton scored on a short run.

Class 4A greater allegheny

Gbg. Salem (1-5, 1-5) vs. Highlands (3-3, 3-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights

Greensburg Salem has dropped its past four games. Highlands has won two in a row after losing three straight. Neither team qualified for the WPIAL playoffs. … The Golden Lions are dealing with injuries, including one to starting quarterback Hayden Testa. Greensburg Salem did score 21 points at Mars last week thanks to the running of Alex Briggs and Rashad Canady. … Highlands rallied from a 27-6 deficit in the third quarter to defeat Armstrong, 34-27. Brock White, who scored the winning touchdown, rushed for 203 yards and three scores. Quarterback Chandler Thimons has thrown for 1,104 yards.

Nonconference

Uniontown (0-2) at 4A No. 4 Belle Vernon (5-1)

7 p.m. Friday, James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon

Uniontown, which plays as an independent outside of the WPIAL, has only played two games on a slim, four-game schedule. The Red Raiders lost at Ringgold, 48-6, and lost 55-0 at Albert Gallatin, another independent. … Belle Vernon continued to roll over the opposition as junior quarterback Devin Whitlock produced five touchdowns three ways in a 56-14 win over Trinity. He had three rushing scores, one via pass and a third on a 77-yard interception return. Senior running back Dane Anden was injured last week and his status is unclear for this week.

Class 3A interstate

No. 5 Mt. Pleasant (4-2, 4-1) vs. South Park (3-3, 3-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Eagles Stadium, South Park

It’s a winner-take-all game between the Vikings and Eagles. The winner will probably qualify for the WPIAL playoffs as the second-place team from the Interstate Conference. Mt. Pleasant had its three-game winning streak snapped in a 16-14 loss to No. 3 Elizabeth Forward. South Park has dropped its past three games including a 14-7 setback to South Allegheny last week. … Mt. Pleasant gave up two big plays and missed a couple scoring opportunities in its loss to Elizabeth Forward. Leading rusher Pete Billey, who is nursing an ankle injury, played mostly on defense. … South Park’s losses were to EF (35-0), North Catholic (28-2) and South Allegheny. Running back Adam Johnson had the Eagles’ lone touchdown.

Southmoreland (3-2, 2-2) vs. No. 3 Elizabeth Forward (5-0, 4-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Forward

Southmoreland will try to keep its playoff hopes alive against the conference champions. The Scotties were off last week because of covid-19 at the school. Elizabeth Forward is coming off consecutive close winsover South Allegheny and Mt. Pleasant. … The Scotties need a big game from senior quarterback Zach Cernuto to pull off the upset. They also must finish drives. … Elizabeth Forward played without starting quarterback Evan Lewis, out for the season with a knee injury. Freshman Vernon Settles and senior Nico Mrvos shared the duties. Mrvos had 141 yards rushing, including a 70-yard touchdown run, and he threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Zach Boyd.

Yough (1-5, 0-4) at Brownsville (0-6, 0-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Redstone Field, Republic

Yough lost to Valley last week in nonconference play, 32-14, as the offense continued to stall. The Cougars made a switch at quarterback, starting sophomore Brendan Roebuck and moving senior Gamal Marballie back to running back. Senior receiver C.J. Waldier had 12 catches for 128 yards and brought a kick back 80 yards for a score. Marballie ran for 115 yards and a TD. … Winless Brownsville was supposed to play Southmoreland, but the Scotties shut down over covid-19 cases in the school district. Instead, it played West Greene and lost 53-12. The Falcons have given up 286 points, the most in Class 3A.

Class 2A allegheny

Shady Side Acad. (1-3, 1-2) vs. Ligonier Valley (3-3, 1-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Weller Stadium, Ligonier

Shady Side Academy snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Steel Valley, 42-16, last week. The Rams are playing their second home game of the season. They’ve played six teams from five counties, but none from Westmoreland County. … Shady Side running back Josh Castro rushed for 300 yards and scored four touchdowns against Steel Valley. … Ligonier Valley played its best game of the season by defeating Waynesburg, 42-7. QB Haden Sierocky rushed for two touchdowns and hit Matthew Marinchak and Miles Higgins for scores. Nick Beitel rushed for a career-high 172 yards and a TD.

Class A eastern

No. 3 Jeannette (5-1, 5-1) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (2-4, 2-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Centurion Stadium, Hempfield

Jeannette has won five consecutive games since opening the season with a loss to No. 1 Clairton. Greensburg C.C. has sputtered since a season-opening loss at Leechburg. … Jeannette quarterback Brad Birch threw for 283 yards and seven touchdowns in the first half against Bishop Canevin. Jeannette needs a decisive win against its rival to hopefully impress the football committee and get a home game in the playoffs. … Greensburg Central Catholic would make its season if it could upset the Jayhawks. Danny Dlugos rushed for two touchdowns and Joe Blahovec caught a TD pass from David Altimore in a 57-18 loss to Clairton last week.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Brownsville, Canon-McMillan, Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Highlands, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Shady Side Academy, South Park, Southmoreland, Uniontown, Woodland Hills, Yough