5 things to watch in Week 11: Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak could be 4th WPIAL coach to 300 wins

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 11, 2022 | 12:05 AM

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Twenty-seven years ago, Thomas Jefferson started the 1995 football season with a 15-0 win over Belle Vernon behind a first-year head coach named Bill Cherpak.

That was win No. 1.

Now, almost three decades later, Cherpak could celebrate a much bigger milestone this week that would put him in elite company. Cherpak can become the fourth coach in WPIAL history with 300 career wins if his Jaguars defeat Latrobe in a playoff game Friday night.

“Really?” Cherpak said. “Huh.”

His career record stands at 299 wins and 53 losses in 28 seasons, but the coach with nine WPIAL titles says he hasn’t kept count.

“Personally, I was never in this to see how many games I could win,” Cherpak said. “I guess it means you have some consistency in your program, the things that you strive for. … But I think any coach will tell you, we remember the wins, but a lot of times you remember the bad losses more.”

The three WPIAL coaches with more than 300 wins are Jim Render, Joe Hamilton and George Novak.

Render, the WPIAL’s all-time leader, won 406 games at Upper St. Clair, Uniontown and Carrollton, Ohio. Hamilton won 342 at Blackhawk, Hempfield, New Brighton and Midland. Novak, who coached Cherpak in high school, won 306 at Steel Valley and Woodland Hills. All three are retired.

No. 3 seed Thomas Jefferson (7-3) already defeated No. 11 Latrobe (7-4) once this season. TJ won 31-21 in Week 3.

The Jaguars were 3-3 at one point this year after consecutive losses to Belle Vernon and Laurel Highlands. They’ve won four in a row since, and Cherpak said he saw a much different team over the past month.

“Up until that point, it was like a comedy of errors,” Cherpak said. “Everything you could do wrong, we did wrong. Injuries. Penalties. Turnovers. You name it, we had it. After that game (against Laurel Highlands), we made some changes, on defense especially, and got some guys back (from injury).”

Thomas Jefferson earned a first-round bye in the Class 4A playoffs by defeating previously unbeaten McKeesport, 20-10, in the regular-season finale.

Rain in the forecast

If Armstrong coach Frank Fabian had his say, he’d move this week’s playoff games to a day with no rain.

At least in theory, the heavy rain forecast for Friday night will impact the Class 4A quarterfinal between No. 4 seed Armstrong and No. 5 McKeesport more than most, since one team likes to pass and the other likes to run.

“Both teams have to play in it,” Fabian said, “but I don’t think there’s any question they’re better suited for the type of weather we’re going to see. They’ve got two 1,000-yard rushers. I’m sure they’re fine with it. We’ve got a 3,000-yard passer, so we’re not.”

Armstrong quarterback Cadin Olsen, a Penn recruit, has thrown for 2,998 yards and 40 touchdowns. The River Hawks are one of the highest-scoring offenses in the WPIAL, averaging 40 points per game.

They can run the ball, but that’s not their preference. The team has rushed for 1,730 yards and 20 touchdowns.

“You spend all year putting an offense in,” Fabian said. “It’s not like you can change in three days. So, you just emphasize different parts of your pass game. Make sure you make timely throws, getting the ball out quicker, but we’re going to do what we’ve done.”

McKeesport, known for its run-heavy option offense, has two leading rushers in quarterback Jahmil Perryman and running back Bobbie Boyd.

The remnants of tropical storm Nicole, a rare November hurricane, were predicted to drop as much as 2½ inches of rain Friday on Western Pennsylvania.

“We don’t want to use it as an excuse,” Fabian said, “but with our style of play, it’s a concern. No doubt.”

Familiar faces

If Friday’s matchups feel familiar to you, you’re not alone.

There are 20 playoff games on the WPIAL schedule and 10 are rematches from the regular season. On the plus side, many of them were competitive the first time around. Six were decided by two touchdowns or less, including a one-point win by Mt. Lebanon over Central Catholic, 17-16, in Week 3.

Also relatively close were Laurel’s 28-22 win over Union, Thomas Jefferson’s 31-21 win over Latrobe, Bethel Park’s 27-14 win over Upper St. Clair, Pine-Richland’s 35-21 win over Woodland Hills and North Allegheny’s 35-21 win over Canon-McMillan.

The regular-season results from the four others weren’t so close. The most lopsided was a 52-0 win by Sto-Rox over Keystone Oaks. In the others, Elizabeth Forward topped Shady Side Academy, 42-21, Avonworth defeated Beaver, 29-3, and Aliquippa beat Montour, 33-0.

New kings of Class A?

Bishop Canevin won a WPIAL title last season for the first time in more than 30 years, and this fall the Crusaders earned their first conference title in more than a decade.

But one box remains unchecked if they want to be considered the new kings of Class A: The Crusaders have never beaten Clairton. The teams meet Friday night in a Class A quarterfinal at Dormont Stadium.

Bishop Canevin (10-1) is the No. 1 seed and Clairton (6-5) is No. 9.

Clairton is 6-0 all-time against Bishop Canevin, including a 28-18 win last year in the regular season. The Bears dominated WPIAL Class A for much of the past two decades, winning 10 titles since 2006.

Lawrence County rivalry

The Class A quarterfinal pairing No. 1 Laurel (9-1) and No. 10 Union (8-3) is believed to be the first WPIAL playoff matchup between two Lawrence County schools.

They’ll meet Friday at Shenango.

Other than New Castle, which won its 11th WPIAL football title in 1998, none of the six other Lawrence County schools has won a title in the past 40 years. Neshannock came close as the Class 2A runner-up in 2016.

Laurel won its only WPIAL title in 1980, Union won in 1959, and Ellwood City was WPIAL champion in 1925. Mohawk, Shenango and Neshannock have never won a title.

Wilmington won consecutive WPIAL titles in 1987 and ’88, but the Greyhounds later left the WPIAL for District 10.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.