WPIAL Big Game Hunting – The Football Four-Pack – 11/23/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | 6:20 PM

Ahhh my favorite week of the year, no one will send me an e-mail claiming I chose the wrong game for Big Game Hunting. What an incredible night last Friday was huh? No one will soon forget all the thrilling football games during the semis in 2011. Plus they are all archived on the Network, you can go back and listen anytime! Saturday now has some serious shoes to fill, let’s hope the hits just keep on coming! Championship football all day long on your home for WPIAL Sports….let’s go Big Game Hunting!

AAAA #1 North Allegheny Tigers (12-0) vs #3 Upper Saint Clair Panthers (11-1)
Saturday November 26th 8:00 pm @ Heinz Field Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WBGG-AM 970 ESPN by Lanny Fratarre, Bob Orkwis and Josh Rowntree AND on the North Allegheny Sports Network by Randy Gore and Rick Meister

One thing is certain, after last week neither of these teams is going to be facing adversity for the first time. Both NA and USC played in and won heart stopping semi-final games which pushed them to the brink. All the credit in the world should go to Jim Render and Art Walker for having their respective clubs ready to deal with the issues they dealt with last Friday night.

This game is a rematch of a week three win for North Allegheny at home where they overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit to beat Upper Saint Clair 28-21. Upper Saint Clair gifted the Tigers four turnovers in that game. Vinnie Congedo scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground for North Allegheny. North Allegheny outgained USC 358 – 303 in total yards in that game, it will be interesting to see if that much offense is posted in this game.

The big question for all involved here is the health of USC quarterback / linebacker Dakota Conwell, and as of press time that is still very much in the air, but if he cannot go the Panthers appear to be just fine with junior Pete Coughlin steering the ship, he did not shy away from the bright lights at all in the semi-finals rushing for over 200 yards and passing for another 61. But make no mistake Conwell would be a welcome sight for all Panther fans, his 2072 all-purpose yards, 11 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing scores will be sorely missed if he does not play.

Regardless of who is at quarterback there will still be some oretty good talent around him for Jim Render’s Panthers. Zack Deitrick has rushed for 499 yards and ten scores while A.J. McGuire has 260 yards and a half- dozen touchdowns on the year.

At wide receiver Mike Wilcox is the go-to guy for either USC quarterback, Wilcox has 29 catches for 612 yards and a dozen touchdowns on the season, not a single other receiver for the Panthers has eclipsed the six catch mark, if they throw it, pretty good chance it is headed for Wilcox.

Defensively the Panthers only allowed 8.6 points per game this season, Bobby Tuttle leads them in tackles with 61 and sacks with three. Steve Gannon has a pair of interceptions to lead the Panthers in that category. Conwell if he cannot go might be missed more on the defensive side of the football than at quarterback.

North Allegheny capped the ultimate statement drive with a Nick Passodelis one yard run last week on fourth and goal with less than a minute remaining against Gateway to reach Heinz Field. That run by Passodelis was the 51st rushing touchdown of the year for the Tigers.

Art Walker has a trifecta of greatness in his rushing backfield with Passodelis (519 yards and 11 touchdowns), Alex DeCiantis (760 yards and 14 scores) and Vinnie Congedo (640 yards and ten touchdowns) all bringing their own special dish to the table. But make no mistake, that table is set by one of the best offensive lines in the WPIAL led by junior Pat Kugler widely regarded as one of the top recruits in the nation for the class of 2013.

Mack Leftwich will quarterback the Tigers and he has excellent numbers, completing 103 of 183 passes on the year for 1835 yards and 17 scores while only tossing six picks. He also likes to take his shots at the running game with another 472 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. The Tigers go “no-huddle” but they don’t always appear to be in a rush as they come to the line of scrimmage.

The Tigers also have a trio of great receivers with James Kleinhampl (30 catches 669 yards five scores) Greg Garrity (23 catches 394 yards four touchdowns) and Brendon Coniker (21 catches 346 yards and five touchdowns) and any one of those guys is a threat to go deep.

Defensively the Tigers do a great job swarming to the football and what they might lack in size they make up for with great team speed and some really smart, hard-nosed players. Kevin Clemens leads them with 80 total tackles while Jarred Lux seems to be everywhere and has 75. They like to get after the quarterback as well, Zack Luon has eight sacks on the year and Nate Nachazel has seven. In the secondary they have some serious ball hawks in Brandon Coniker and Jame Kleinhampl each of those guys has four interceptions on the year. 

North Allegheny will be searching for their second straight title and third overall while USC looks for their eighth championship and first since 2006.

AAA #3 Knoch Knights (12-0) vs #5 Montour Spartans (10-2)
Saturday November 26th 2:00 pm @ Heinz Field Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WKPL-FM 92.1 by Rob Matzie, Johnny Lee and Jess Levo AND on WISR-AM 680 by Scott Briggs and Dave Bacon

Questions surrounding an injury to a star will abound in the AAA championship game as well. Knoch had to come from behind with a late field goal drive to beat Franklin-Regional 9-7 in the semi-finals and they did so without the services of their start running back Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin who sat out the finish of that one with an ankle injury. If he plays and, how effective he is if he does, will have a lot to say about the Knights chances at getting their second WPIAL championship and first since 1978. Rumburg-Goodlin has been a huge part of that Knight offense all season long with 179 carries for 1351 yards and 18 touchdowns on the year.

If he cannot go there will be a big load on quarterback Ky Kenyon’s shoulders but he seems more than up to the task, on the season the senior has completed 56 of 116 passes for 1113 yards and 20 scores. He has a pair of really solid targets in Mac Megahan and Ben Tackett who have combined for over 700 yards receiving along with 17 touchdowns on the year.

The Knights defense has been stellar allowing a miniscule 8.2 points per game, they’re led by a great linebacker in Mike Cunningham, and a ball hawking secondary that has recorded 14 interceptions on the season, with no one defender having anymore than two of those. That secondary will be tested against one of the Best quarterbacks in the WPIAL.

Montour’s Dillon Buechel has great experience, talent and the numbers to match. He is enjoying a fabulous senior season and seems to get better with each “passing” week. On the year he has completed 139 of his 206 passes for 2130 yards and 35 yes, 35 touchdowns.

Buechel’s has a bevy of great receivers to choose from including Darren Massey, Devin Wilson, and tight end Aaron Reed. This group will have a big part of any chance the Spartans have at capturing their first title since 1964 when they got their fourth, talk about a long wait, wonder of Spartans fans will be sporting their “onje for the thumb” t-shirts?

Julian Durden continues to amaze running the football for the Spartans, he is a workhorse with 196 carries 1711 yards and 21 touchdowns. No other Montour player has rushed for 200 yards on the year, if they run it look for Durden to be doing the running.

The Spartan defense has some ball hawks as well. Wilson has four picks, while Massey and Sean Naylor have each chipped in with three interceptions of their own. Anthony Rippole is one of the best middle linebackers in the WPIAL, and Buechel leads the Spartans in sacks with eight on the season. 
 

AA #1 Aliquippa Quips (12-0) vs #2 Jeannette Jayhawks (12-0) 
Saturday November 26th 5:00 pm @ Heinz Field Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WKPL-FM 92.1 by Sam Hall, Dan Zangrilli and Josh Rowntree AND on WMBA-AM 1460/WBVP-AM 1230 by Jim Frederick, Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays AND on WLSW-FM 103.9 by T.J. DiStefano AND on WHJB-FM 107.1 by Don Conde and Jimmy Lee Santorella

These two clubs have won a combined 20 WPIAL championship games, the Quips have a even dozen, with their most recent coming in 2008, while the Jayhawks have eight championships the last being Terrell Pryor’s senior year in 2007.

Jeannette is led on both sides of the football by one of the top athletes in the WPIAL, Demetrius Cox. Cox has not chosen a college yet and he is being recruited by almost every major college program you can name and is widely considered one of the best defensive backs in the nation. He is doing it offensively for the Jayhawks this year both running and throwing the football.

The senior has completed 57 of 93 passes for 805 yards and nine touchdowns while only throwing a pair of interceptions all season long. He is also the leading rusher for Roy Hall’s team with 1180 yards on 114 carries and 22 scores.

His partner in crime is Jordan Edmunds, the junior fullback has 121 carries on the year for 860 yards and 13 touchdowns he also leads them in catches with 17 for 293 yards. Sophomore Mike Wise has really stepped up this season down the stretch for the Jayhawks, so much so that his teammates have taken to calling him “prime time”, look for him to be in the mix as the Jayhawks try to knock off the Quips.

Mikal Hall is in his third season as the starting quarterback for the Quips and about to start in his third WPIAL championship game at Heinz Field. So far he is 0-2 on the North Side and you know he is itching to get that monkey off his back. For the 2011 campaign he has completed 61 of 112 passes for 1296 yards and 16 touchdowns and in a stat that shows his experience only a single interception all season long.

Sophomore running back Dravon Henry has amassed 1203 yards and 18 touchdowns on 148 attempts this year, he is complimented nicely by another sophomore in Terry Swanson who has garnered 721 yards and eight scores of his own in 2011.

The Quips are very young for the most part but have a pair of very solid seniors playing receiver for them in Davion Hall and Kaylan Kenney, the two have combined for 35 catches and almost 900 yards receiving on the year. Henry also has four picks on the season for the Aliquippa secondary.

A #1 Clairton Bears (12-0) vs #2 Sto-Rox Vikings (11-0)
Saturday November 26th 11:00 am @ Heinz Field Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WBGG-AM 970 ESPN by Matt Vandriak, Mike Azadian and Jess Levo

Will the Bears get the competition they have been seeking in the Championship game? They have not had much during the regular season and playoffs to date and the streak now stands at 43 wins in a row for Tom Nola’s club. Clairton seeks their fourth straight WPIAL championship and ninth overall.

Get a ticket to see the Tyler Boyd scoring show, this kid is some kind of special he has rushed it 136 times for 1720 yards and has scored 38 touchdowns, he has also converted 12 two-point conversions for a total of 252 points on the year. That is more than 78 WPIAL football teams, including 19 playoff teams.
Capri Thompson has, like all the Bears had a great season as well the senior quarterback completes his passes at an impressive 67% on the year for 1392 yards and 11 touchdowns, he has also chipped in with 428 rushing yards.

Thompson has two of the fastest receivers in the WPIAL on the edge in Trenton Coles and Terrish Webb, put Boyd into that mix as well (wide out is his original position) and you have a corps of receivers that strikes fear deep in the heart of any defensive coordinator.

Carvan Thompson has been such a mainstay up front for the Bears it is astounding, the senior has started in every game since his freshman year.

There are no more superlatives for the Bears defense, they are simply the best, they are fast, they are strong, they are athletic, they are driven, they are fabulous allowing only 3.8 points per game, ‘nuff said.

The Rox were an offensive juggernaut headinginto the semi-finals but faced their first adversity of the season against the Bishop Canevin Crusaders. Ron Butschle has to have loved the way his kids responded coming away with a hard fought 12-10 win and a crack at the Bears in Heinz Field by doing so.

Quarterback Lenny Williams has thrown for 2051 yards and a host of touchdowns tossing to three of the best receivers in the WPIAL, all of whom are division-one recruits Mazette Geter, Dontex Ford and Deaysean Rippy, are total match-up problems for so many WPIAL teams, can they be that against the Bears?

The Vikings have a great runner in Josh Beverly who has been battling an ankle injury of late, his health will be very important to the Vikes chances, on the year he has over 1300 yards and has scored a total of 19 touchdowns on the year.

Rippy, Ford and Geter are huge contributors to that Viking defense and Kevin Hooper has three interceptions on the year, if that Viking defense can force a couple turnovers it will greatly enhance the chances of knocking off the number one team in the state.

Tags: Aliquippa, Clairton, Jeannette, Knoch, Upper St. Clair