WPIAL Big Game Hunting: The Football Four-Pack – 09/21/2011

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 | 9:02 PM

Week four has the feel of separation week in the WPIAL, a bunch of great games on tap as we find out who is for real in 2011. Tough choices for the crew at Big Game Hunting please send all complaints to the official complaint department at drebel@msasports.net if your choice did not make the four-pack. Hey, you wanna make a decent fried-egg sandwich? You gotta crack some eggs…unless you buy those eggs that come shelled in a milk car—–nevermind. Monster week… put the egg sandwich down and let’s go Big Game Hunting! No, not an egg-separation week..just stop. 

WPIAL Class AAAA Big East Conference
#1 Central Catholic Vikings (1-0)(3-0) @ #3 Woodland Hills Wolverines (1-0)(3-0) 
Friday September 23rd 7:00 pm @ The Wolvarena in Turtle Creek Broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and KDKA FM 93.7 The Fan by Lanny Frattare and Bob Orkwis, also Broadcast on the WHSN by Adam Gusky

This game is always a showdown and being located at a place both of these teams sometimes call home only adds to the fun. Central has been a pretty consensus #1 from the pre-season in most media outlets around town. Woody High meanwhile was not expected to be quite as good as they are, sure you know the Wolverines are always going to be pretty solid, but after three weeks they have the look of a title contender despite losing a tremendous amount of talent to graduation from last season.

George Novak’s Wolverines are celebrating “25 Seasons of Pride” in the 2011 campaign and Coach Novak has been the head coach for all 25 of those seasons. This one appears to be yet another good one despite the graduation of loads of division one talent from last years club. Woody High has rolled to an impressive 3-0 start behind second year starter Pat Menifee at quarterback. Menifee has solid skill guys all around him in running back Jamiere Dutrieuille and wide receiver Shakim Alonzo, although no one in Turtle Creek is putting up huge numbers because they are playing in less than a half of football game at a time, as their games have been largely non-competitive. Alonzo has three touchdown catches and Dutrieuille has rushed for over 250 yards in about seven quarters of action.

Woody High’s defense is solid, as always. Senior linebacker Mike Caprara, a four year starter continues to add to his school record for tackles on a weekly basis, and Juwan Turner is a real monster up front on the defensive line.

The level of competition steps up as Central comes in with some serious offensive firepower and and great team speed as well. Perry Hills continues to be a threat both running and throwing the football for Terry Totten’s team. In a week three rout of Kiski Hills completed six of seven passes for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the season Hills is 22 of 40 throwing for 421 yards and five touchdowns including four to his favorite target, Maryland recruit Anthony Nixon. On the ground the Vikings have a great one in Damion Jones-Moore who has 412 yards rushing and eight touchdowns for the season. He is backed up by a great sophomore in Luigi Lista-Brinza, certainly destined to be a feature back next season.

Defensively the Vikes can hang with the best as well, allowing just over ten points per game. Gavin Sandige and Leo Loughery are an absolute dynamic duo at linebacker for Central. There secondary is fast and full of ball-hawks. The U.S. Army lists this as one of the top 50 high school rivalries of all time in the United States, with respect to all our fighting men and women we here at BGH think this is going to one heck of a battle at the Wolvarena.

WPIAL Class AAA Keystone Conference
Ringgold Rams (1-0)(2-1) @ #10 Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions (1-0)(3-0)
Friday September 23rd 7:00 pm @ Greensburg-Salem High School
Broadcast on WHJB-FM 107.1 by Don Conde and Jimmy Lee Santorella and on Trib Live Radio and MSA Sports Network by Ken Laird and Joanthan Whaley

Many, many people expect this to be the year the Keystone Conference has a breakthrough in the post season, we agree with that assessment here at BGH. Two of the reasons for that belief will go at it Friday night at Greensburg-Salem high school as the Ringgold Rams hit the road to face the Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions.

The Rams, under second year head coach Matt Humbert have become a great story out of the Keystone, after struggling for many years, Ringgold posted a perfect regular season in 2010 only to be ousted in the first round of the post season by eventual champ Central Valley.

The returning Rams are using that loss as motivation, and the new ones are learning fast. Senior quarterback Quad Law is one of the returnees and is off to a solid 2011 campaign, approaching 500 yards on the ground where he does most of his damage. Law has a very nice tailback in Demetrius Lewis, who takes over for Derek Fiore, (off to California University of Pennsylvania). The Rams also have a pounder in that backfield in Kennywood MSA pre-season all-star fullback Dom Affinito.

Coach Humbert says the importance of this game is not lost on his team, “They realize the magnitude of this game and it is a great test for us right now, but we just have to get better each week.” Said Humbert, who believes Friday night’s contest comes down to two simple things, “Who can stop the run, and limit their mistakes, will win this football game, and most football games for that matter.”

The Ram defense has been very solid, with Affinito a three year starter, leading the way at middle linebacker Ringgold has allowed a second best in the conference 11.33 points per game on offense this year. That defense will need to be ready as it faces a Greensburg-Salem offense that is putting up a second best in the conference 43.7 points per game on offense.

The unbeaten Golden Lions meanwhile remain perfect on the 2011 campaign for head coach Casey Cavanaugh in his seventh season. The Golden Lions have great depth and experience, Coach Cavanaugh’s club has nineteen seniors on the roster. They also have tremendous offensive balance that begins with senior quarterback Josh Falatovich, who can beat you with his arms or legs. Falatovich has completed 21 of 32 passes for 407 yards and five touchdowns, and he has not thrown an interception. For most quarterbacks that would be more than enough, but Falatovich also has 25 carries for 222 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Falatovich is not alone in the backfield, Mike Kizzie is a very talented senior running back with 61 carries on the year for 380 yards and eight touchdowns, toting the rock for an impressive 6.2 yards per carry average.

The Golden Lion defense is very nice as well led by a host of senior including Mike Nowicki in the secondary. Nowicki, a three year starter on both side of the ball returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown this year. Defensive end Waylon Fink had three sacks in one game and does a perfect job containing the edge.

Up front on both sides Greensburg Salem has Jared Thompson rolling, and they will get back Clem Pantalone this week after he missed the first three games with a leg injury. Coach Cavanaugh says focus will be the key for the defense against the Rams on Friday. “The key against Ringgold is being disciplined on defense, they have so many guys coming from so many directions” Said Cavanaugh. Coach also says his team is very excited to play a Ringgold team that beat them in a close game last year, and they are also delighted to be playing a home game for the first time this season. 

WPIAL Class AA Midwestern Conference 
#7 Ellwood City Wolverines (2-0)(3-0) @ #6 Beaver Area Bobcats (3-0)(3-0)
Saturday September 24th 7:30 pm @ Beaver Area High School
Broadcast on WBVP-AM 1230 by Jim Frederick and Tom Hays

Homecoming for a Saturday night special at Beaver High School and the Bobcats and Wolverines looks to be a great one in the Midwestern Conference Saturday night.

The Bobcats and 12th year head coach Jeff Beltz have been rolling to start the 2011 season. The offense is led by senior quarterback Christian Herstine (6’3’’ 170 pounds) who has been a head coaches dream to start 2011. Herstine has completed 14 of 28 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns, nice. Even better he has not thrown single interception all season long, that zero is a number that makes Jeff Beltz very happy. Herstine’s favorite target is fellow senior Justin Sosnowski who has caught six passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns on the year.

On the ground the Bobcats have piled up 712 yards rushing in their three wins. Junior Darian Bradley leads them in that category with 152 yards on 29 carries for a healthy 5.24 yards per rush average. Another junior, Anthony Fidurski (5’11’’ 190 pounds) has wracked up 147 yards on just eight carries this year including a pair of touchdowns, that math works out to over 18 yards per carry for Fidurski.

The offense has been good but the defense has been, well, so far, perfect…allowing not a single point in the 2011 campaign. Coach Beltz does not expect that to continue throughout the year but he does love his team’s focus. “They have, and you have to have, an ability to focus on what is right in front of them every week,” Says Beltz. “Just make the most of every opportunity, and we will be where we want to be.”

They are in a great place right now, having blanked Riverside, Freedom and New Brighton in consecutive weeks has them tied with Monessen as the only defenses in the WPIAL to have not allowed a single point on the year. Beltz runs a 3-4, and is getting splendid play from Fidurski and another senior in Trent Shanahan (6’2’’ 210 pounds) on the edge. In the secondary Herstine at free safety and yet another productive senior with tremendous athleticism in Kurt Lanctot (5’10’’ 175 pounds) have been a huge part of the three straight shutouts that have folks in Bobcat country just plain fired up.

Ellwood City and all-purpose player Kyle Crawford have had a splendid offensive beginning to the 2011 season. Don Phillips’ Wolverines are averaging an impressive 47.33 points per game on offense and have shown an ability to punch it in from anywhere on the field. Crawford and Alex Grymes and Anthony Punzell have combined to form a powerful running game and senior quarterback Bryan Graebing has been a force to be reckoned with as well.

That said the Wolverines seriously need to shore up on the other side of the football by the time Saturday night rolls around on the season they are allowing just less than 30 points per game on defense. That will not get it done as the competition level on their schedule takes a sharp turn upward beginning with Beaver. Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, and Riverside still lay ahead on the 2011 slate for Ellwood City.

If the Wolverines hope to continue the dramatic turnaround and tremendous improvement they have shown in the last two years under the tutelage of Phillips defensive improvement will be the key going forward. Linebacker Chritian Sarver is just a junior but he has the look of someone who could take a leadership role in the Wolverine defense and get it moving in the right direction. They will have to do it in a hurry if they want the three game winning streak to become a four game winning streak coming up this week.
 

WPIAL Class A Big Seven Conference
#2 Rochester Rams (1-0)(3-0) @ #3 Sto-Rox Vikings (1-0) (3-0)
Friday September 23rd 7:00 pm @ Sto-Rox High School
Broadcast on WBVP-AM 1230 by Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays

The Rams and the Vikings, most believe this will be the game that decides the Big Seven Conference championship and at BGH, we certainly think that is true. Both of these teams have come out of the gate in 2011 on fire. Both are scoring more than 40 points per game while allowing less than nine points per game on the year.

Ron Butschle is in his second year with the Vikings and wow doe she have a talented football team, three different Vikes will go on to play big time division one football. Marzett Geter will go to Pitt, Dontex Ford is headed to Syracuse, and Deaysean Rippy is still deciding amongst almost all the major college programs in the country. Throw running back Josh Beverly into that mix as well, because he performs at that level and sooner or later some college coach is going to realize it.

Beverly has 461 yards rushing in the Vikings first three games, and that is in limited duty as the Vikes blow everyone out of the stadium. Lenny Williams is doing very well at quarterback thank-you very much. Williams stepped in last year because of injury to Jordan Latimer and has performed so well he kept the job, last week he completed 14 of 18 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of Neshannock. The week before that Williams and Beverly combined to rush for 342 yards in a win over Carlynton. On the season Williams is 26 of 40 for 481 yards and six touchdowns.

The most impressive thing about the Rox though, is that defense. Coach Butschle has all that talent and he has it clicking perfectly, allowing less than six points per game on defense the bulk of which has come well after outcomes of games have been determined. Coach acknowledges this is a big game and the winner here is likely the conference champion but, says he does not need to overemphasize that to his team, “It’s the most important game because it is this week’s game” says Butschle. “But there is no question this will be a great measuring stick for our team, we lost a tough game to them last year, and we would like to return the favor”.

Geno Matsook is no stranger to big games and his Rams always seem ready to roll when they arrive. Rochester has already passed what some thought might be a big test for them as they handled Fort Cherry 34-12 in a non-conference game in week two on the road in McDonald.

The Rams rushing attack, as always, has been very excellent D’Andre Moon has 364 yards rushing and nine touchdowns through three weeks in the 2011 season. Junior Ben Richko has done a very workman-like job at quarterback for Rochy in place of the graduated Jasson Adamson. And while the Rams still are a running football team Richko does have the confidence of his team and head coach with a solid passing performance when the time calls for it so far in 2011, including throwing for 108 yards in week one. A junior quarterback throwing for over a hundred yards in his first start for a Gene Matsook coached team is akin to a passing prodigy. Look for that passing attack to be a part of what Rochy does to try and keep that fabulous Sto-Rox defense honest this Friday night.

The Rams by the way play a little defense of their own you know. Dalton Paxson heads up a secondary that held Fort Cherry phenom Tanner Garry to a 9 of 26 performance in week two.

Up front there is a lot of talent back for the Rams Todd Weischedel is a force on the offensive line. He was nominated for the Kennywood Park/MSA Sports Pre-Season team. Sayvon Norman, Tyler Beatrice, Brandon Scott and Josh Bullocks are all returning lettermen for the Rams…hmmm no wonder that run game is clicking on all cylinders.
 

Tags: Beaver, Ellwood City, Greensburg Salem, Woodland Hills