Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Veteran QBs lead playoff teams

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, November 9, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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If there is one thing the three remaining WPIAL football playoff teams from Westmoreland County have in common, it is leadership under center.

Latrobe, Belle Vernon and Greensburg Central Catholic boast experienced quarterbacks who are just as threatening as runners as they are passers.

Those leaders could hold the key to quarterfinal wins.

For Latrobe (8-3), junior John Wetzel has emerged as one of the top dual-threat QBs in the classification, maybe the WPIAL.

He rushed for a brow-raising 244 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s impressive 39-7 win over perennial power West Allegheny, the Wildcats’ second straight first-round win.

Latrobe plays at No. 1 Aliquippa (9-0) this week in the 4A quarters.

“He is getting more opportunities,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “If (a pass play) is not there, he is willing to take off and run. I think he’s at his best when he’s scrambling.”

With standout senior receiver Ja’Tawn Williams drawing double coverage as teams look to blur him out of games, the running game has flourished.

Wetzel (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) has passed for 1,235 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions, and he leads the team in rushing with 1,038 yards and 15 TDs.

The school record for rushing yards in a season is 1,567 set last year by Robert Fulton.

Belle Vernon (8-1), the defending WPIAL and PIAA 3A champion and No. 1 seed, has senior leader Braden Laux running the offense.

A tight end commit to Eastern Michigan, Laux is a tough-yardage rusher, the perfect man for a sneak, but looking the part of a prototypical QB at 6-4, 215.

He is 65 of 106 for 1,050 yards and 12 TDs and has rushed for 118 yards and two scores.

Laux, who will lead the host Leopards against Deer Lakes (8-3) in a 3A quarterfinal at James Weir Stadium, can sling it around when needed. He threw for a school record 337 yards in a game this season.

He is coming off an injury to the pinky finger on his throwing hand. Leopards coach Matt Humbert said his team is as healthy as its been all season.

“Braden is a different kind of dual threat,” Humbert said. “Not only does he make a lot of pre-snap decisions at the line of scrimmage to hand the ball off or throw it, but him running the ball is (part of) the third-prong attack/approach to the game.

“He is a physical kid that will get 5 to 10 tough yards in a conflict situation.”

Another senior, Tyree Turner, leads Greensburg Central Catholic. Turner’s dual-threat tag is validated by his numbers: 74 of 135 for 1,249 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception and a team-high 600 yards rushing and 11 TDs on 89 carries.

GCC (8-3) plays Class A No. 1 South Side Beaver (11-0) on Friday.

“He’s our main general back there,” GCC lineman Cam Petrunak said. “When something goes wrong, he’s the first to pull us together and tell us all to take a breath and relax.”

GCC first-year coach JT Thompson appreciates Turner’s accuracy, poise and steady guidance.

“We have a running back by committee, but he and Samir (Crosby) are our best running backs,” Thompson said. “Tyree has shown the ability to run. He has stepped up huge.”

All three quarterbacks also are impact players on defense.

Wetzel is a terrific safety, Laux is disruptive at defensive end and Turner makes plays at corner or at linebacker.

Turner didn’t play defense last season.

USC offers Tatsch

Is Alex Tatsch good enough to play in the Pac-12? Southern California thinks so.

Of course, USC is headed to the Big Ten next season, but the Trojans like the junior likebacker from Latrobe.

They offered him a scholarship this week. Tatsch (6-3, 211) recently pulled offers from Maryland and South Carolina, pursuers who join Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others.

He is generating interest such as Quinton Martin of Belle Vernon did, with a rapid rate of interest.

Bye for now

Belle Vernon was the only local team with a first-round bye. The top-seeded Leopards (8-1) sat for a week, waiting to play in the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. But they didn’t sit dormant.

The Leopards are preparing for any situation, especially those they have not seen yet.

“It’s been a heavy focus on fundamentals and situational awareness,” Humbert said. “We threw a lot of different looks at the kids.”

Fralic Award

Organizers are taking nominees from coaches for the Bill Fralic Memorial Award, which recognizes the WPIAL’s best interior lineman.

Finalists — one from each of the six classifications — will be announced later this month at a news conference at Heinz History Center.

This is the fifth year for the award, named after the legendary lineman from Penn Hills who made his mark at Pitt and in the NFL.

Last year’s winner was Joe Enick of Penn-Trafford, who is a freshman at Central Michigan.

Recruiting

• Latrobe’s Williams, a senior playmaker on offense, defense and special teams, has a Division II offer from Clarion.

• Hempfield lineman Joe Dolinski (6-4, 288) picked up an offer from Frostburg State, a Division II program. On Dolinski’s Hudl highlights, he said he has not missed a practice or snap in three years.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Latrobe