WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Four – 09/23/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 | 9:50 PM

One third of the regular season is in the books and there are still a lot of questions to be answered. There were some big games in week three that seemed to indicate that 2015 might be wide open with regards to the teams with a chance to reach Heinz Field. That’s what makes this job so much fun. You see, you research, and you get a feel for history, and coaches, and programs but the bottom-line is you cannot really know what will happen when those kids go out there and take the field every Friday night. We do know it will be fun, and we also know MSA Sports will be the ultimate place for you to find out what happened, and how and, why it happened. More unbeaten teams will fall this weekend, it’s time to go Big Game Hunting!

AAAA Northern Eight Conference
#9 North Hills Indians (2-1)(2-0) vs Seneca Valley Raiders (1-2)(1-1) Friday September 25^th @ 7:30 PM @ Seneca Valley high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Rick Smith and James Dotson

The Indians bounced back from a week two loss to Plum by rolling Butler last week 35-7. In fact the Indians jumped a spot in the rankings up to number nine. Junior Nick Santucci ran for a pair of touchdowns in the win to give him five for the young season.

The North Hills defense has been rock solid allowing just 10 points per game on the year, and last week they put some points on the board as well when junior Nate Zimmerman scored on a 19 yard interception for a touchdown.

Senior quarterback Jake Elsayed has been very solid calling the signals for the Indians completing 27 of 42 passes for 373 yards and five touchdowns, he has thrown pair of interceptions.

Santucci is the Indians leading receiver and rusher for the year. He has 13 catches for 213 yards and 40 rushes for 167 yards on the season, he has also scored a team-high five touchdowns.

Watch for Brice Walker and Owen Davis to get involved in the passing game as well for North Hills.

Seneca Valley comes off losing a tough non-conference game against Norwin 35-27. The Raiders will rely heavily on junior dual-threat quarterback Jack Cook who has completed 56% of his passes (36 of 64) for 490 yards and five scores. He has also rushed for a Raider-high 324 yards and scored another three touchdowns on the ground.

Seniors Corbin Kessler and Cody Boozel each have eight catches on the season for a combined 226 yards. Boozel is a big tight end at 6’4’’ and 220 pounds and his athleticism casues match-up problems for opposing secondary units. Kessler is just a great athlete, he has also rushed for over a hundred yards and scored a team-high five touchdowns.

Junior running back Hank Royal will also contribute to the Raiders’ ground game with 117 yards on 27 carries for the season.

Seneca Valley has allowed 27.7 points per game for the year on defense, they need to improve on that number to get a win against the Indians.

Head Coach Dave Vestal says he knows what the Raiders need to do in order to knock-off the #9 team in the MSA Sports Top Ten – “Our football team must be physical this Friday against a tough, well-coached team like North Hills.  We must stop the run, control the pass, and get off the field on 3^rd down.  Our offense has been doing some nice things so far this season, but we must continue to improve.  Execution is key to our team’s success.”

AAA Big Ten Conference
#8 West Mifflin Titans (3-0)(3-0) vs #2 Ringgold Rams (3-0)(3-0) Friday September 25^th @ 7:30 PM @ Joe Montana Stadium on the campus of Ringgold high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Sam Hall and Andy Stanko

A battle of unbeaten top-ten teams in the Big Ten and neither of those teams is the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars, might be a first in my time at the Network.

West Mifflin and Ringgold and don’t forget Belle Vernon all have thrown their hats into the ring as a volunteer to become the new Kings of the Big 10 with the Jags stumbling to a 1-2 start. The winner here will get a big, leg-up on a conference title. If that winner is Ringgold, they will already have the Jags and the Titans in their rearview mirror as well.

This game will feature two of the premiere rushing attacks in the WPIAL and two running backs in the top-ten in all of the WPIAL as well.

Junior running back Tyree Russell for the West Mifflin Titans has the fourth most rushing yards in the WPIAL for the season with 498 yards on 53 carries he has also rolled for eight touchdowns on the ground. Russell though is not all the Titans have to offer, quarterback Karlyn Garner is a devastating rusher as well carrying 24 times for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Garner will throw as well completing 11 of 18 passes for 152 yards and a score. Junior fullback Maryce Johnson also gets in on the act averaging over nine yards per carry with 192 yards and a pair of scores in his 20 carries.

Ringgold will counter with some impressive rushing numbers of their own. The Rams senior running back Chacar Berry is eighth in the WPIAL with 418 yards rushing on 42 carries, that rounds to 10 yards per carry on the season for 10 touchdowns.

Brenden Small is just a sophomore but he is getting some big chunks and some big touches in the Ringgold ground game as well with 259 yards and four scores on the season.

Ringgold will throw it a little more that will the Titans, the Rams junior quarterback George Martin has completed 18 of 42 attempts for 343 yards and three scores and has not thrown an interception. Junior wide out Dalton Holt leads the Rams with six catches for 79 yards on the year.

Regardless of the passing games, this game will be won by the team that can establish their run game, and stop their opponents. It will be football at its’ finest.

AA Century Conference
#5 Steel Valley Ironmen (3-0)(3-0) vs #8 Seton LaSalle Rebels (3-0)(3-0) Friday September 25^th @ 7:00 PM @ Peters Township broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Paul Paterra and Lou Rood

Everybody in the Century of course looking up at #1 South Fayette, and with good reason as the two-time defending state champions have won 35 games in a row, but both the Rebels and the Ironmen are still to get a crack at the Lions in this 2015 campaign. One of them will likely be unbeaten when that happens.

Seton junior wide out and defensive back Paris Ford is special player, the four-star recruit is being courted by nearly two-dozen D-1 programs. For the season Ford has compiled some crazy numbers. He has seven rushes for 132 yards and two scores, he has 12 catches for 270 yards and four scores, he has piled up over 400 all-purpose yards, and has an interception on the season despite the fact that no opponent ever throws the ball anywhere near him.

Junior quarterback Nolan Abiatici has completed 18 of 39 passes for 356 yards and six touchdowns. Meanwhile, all sophomore running back Lionel Deans has done is become the second leading rusher in the WPIAL with 582 yards and six touchdowns on the year.

Rebel head coach Damon Rosol likes what he sees from his Rebels so far this year telling BGH, “Offensively we have a very nice one-two punch between WR Paris Ford and RB Lionel Deans. FB Liam Sweeney (73 yds 13 carries) and TE Billy O’Malley are the ultimate glue guys who help pave the way for those two to rack up yards and make big plays. Zach Devenney, Michael Martuccio, and Andrew Lease are all two way starters in the trenches, with all three of them starting off strong this year. Junior QB Nolan Abbiatici has made plays on the ground and through the air, getting better each game. We have a different look than traditional Seton La Salle offenses but feel that our players complement each other very well and collectively pose problems for defenses.”

Coach Rosol also knows that both his club and the Ironmen will be facing their stiffest competition of the season-to-date this Friday, “There is no doubt that this is a measuring stick game for both teams, seeing as how each of us have beat up on inferior opponents so far this season. Steel Valley has speed to burn at the skill positions, along with an OL-DL that gets off the ball and (they) are relentless in their pursuit.”

Let’s talk about those Ironmen led by senior quarterback Tre Earl Edwards and sophomore running back DeWayne Murray who is nothing short of a touchdown machine so far here in 2015.

Murray has scored ten touchdowns including three punt returns for touchdowns, of 60, 60 and 80 yards on the season.

Edwards can hurt you both ways with his running and his passing. He is completing well over 60 % of his passes and has thrown for four touchdowns on the season.

The Ironmen have been lock down on the defensive side of the football outscoring their opponents thus far in 2015 171-6, they are allowing a best in the Century conference and best in all of AA, 2.0 points per game coming into this game. If that holds up against Seton, the Ironmen will become one of THE teams to watch in AA.

A Black Hills Conference
#2 Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans (3-0)(3-0) vs Brentwood Spartans (2-1)(1-1) Friday September 25^th @ 7:30 at Brentwood high school broadcast on the MSA Sport Network by Rob Longo and Kyle Dawson

The Trojans have started the 2015 season in completely dominating fashion rolling to an average margin of victory of over 34 points per game. Their defense is allowing just a conference low 4.7 points per game. I guess that should come as no surprise under the tutelage of first year head coach former Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Jason Gildon.

North offensively though, has been super-impressive as well.

Senior quarterback Erick Taylor has completed 26 of 36, yes that is 72% of his passes for 510 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing three interceptions.

Senior Isaiah Harvin and junior Rashad Bolden have been the top two targets for Taylor, the duo has combined for 14 catches, 344 yards and four touchdowns on the year.

On the ground junior Mario Latronica is quickly emerging as a superstar. Latronica has scored five touchdowns to lead the team. He has also carried the ball 37 times for 319 yards.

Taylor is also capable of hurting you running the ball with 182 rushing yards to his credit on the season.

Brentwood meanwhile is in search of their identity this year for head coach Kevin Kissel. Coach Kissel knows this game is the perfect measuring stick after giving the other top dawg in the Black Hills, Avonworth a run for their money last week in a 47-30 loss. He tells BGH “The season has been a struggle at times, to be consistent. There have been times when we have played good, smart football. But the problems have been turnovers, penalties and not always playing sound fundamental football. We played one decent half last week vs Avonworth and then came out and did nothing in the second half. Hopefully we can put a whole game together soon. The game against (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic) N.C. is big ,as it is a conference game. North C. (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic) is a very good team and we will have to play our best if we hope to compete.”

Brentwood junior quarterback Ricky Gralish has shown signs of brilliance completing 26 of 50 passes for 292 yards and a pair of scores, but he has also tossed a pair of interceptions.

Junior wide out Dorian Bowie is the go-to receiver for Gralish with eight catches for 150 yards and a score.

On the ground, senior Pat Carr has toted the rock 36 times for 310 yards. That number has Carr on the front page of the WPIAL leaderboard and could be huge for the Spartans’ hopes of pulling an upset at home. The best thing Brentwood can do is get some long extended drives to keep North’s offense on the sidelines, Carr would be a big part of that goal.

Tags: Brentwood, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, North Catholic, West Mifflin