WPIAL Class A football final capsule: Rochester vs. OLSH

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 16, 2018 | 1:21 PM

WPIAL Class A championship

No. 5 Rochester (11-1) vs. No. 3 OLSH (11-1)

11 a.m. Saturday, Heinz Field

On the air: KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh the CW-TV; 1230 AM, 1460 AM; TribHSSN.triblive.com

Coaches: Gene Matsook, Rochester; Dan Bradley, OLSH

Winner plays: The winner gets a bye in the PIAA quarterfinals and will play the District 5, 9 or 10 champion in the semifinals Nov. 30 or Dec. 1.

WPIAL titles: Rochester 8 (1921, ’91, ’92, ’98, 2000, ’01, ’02, ‘04); OLSH 0

How they got here: Big Seven runner-up Rochester defeated West Greene, 52-14, in the first round and No. 1 Jeannette in the semifinals, 27-0. Big Seven champion OLSH defeated Imani Christian, 60-6, in the first round and No. 2 Clairton, 27-7, in the semifinals.

Statistical leaders

Passing: R: Zaine Jeffers, 13-35, 311 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs; O: Tyler Bradley, 188-282, 3,059 yards, 42 TDs, 7 INTs

Rushing: R: Noah Whiteleather, 254-1,913 yards, 26 TDs; O: Austin Wigley, 147-817 yards, 22 TDs

Receiving: R: Whiteleather, 6-129; O: Richard Banks, 51-796 yards, 13 TDs

Notable: OLSH defeated Rochester, 37-8, when the teams met Sept. 14 in Big Seven Conference play. Rochester rebounded to win eight straight games, outscoring those opponents 320-84. … Bradley is the WPIAL’s leading passer through Week 11, with more than 3,000 yards and 42 touchdowns. He surpassed 8,000 career passing yards earlier this month. … Whiteleather and Darius Goosby have combined for 2,807 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns for the Rams. … OLSH started the season 6-0 before a 28-13 loss to Jeannette. … The Chargers allow a Class A-best 6.8 points per game and have posted four shutouts. They also average a Class-A leading 42.2 points on offense.

Probable lineups

Rochester

STARTING OFFENSE

LT, 70, Kadin Mersing, 5-11, 240, sr.

LG, 62, Caleb Smith, 5-9, 180, jr.

C, 55, Matt Bedekovich, 5-9, 153, so.

RG, 56, Tanner Shrum, 5-9, 205, sr.

RT, 53, Darius Coleman, 5-10, 185, jr.

TE, 5, Declan Eaton, 6-3, 205, sr.

WR, 3, Tyreek Sherod, 6-3, 175, sr.

WR, 23, Rashawn Reid, 5-10, 170, so.

QB, 12, Zaine Jeffers, 5-9, 175, jr.

RB, 4, Noah Whiteleather, 5-11, 180, sr.

RB, 7, Darius Goosby, 6-3, 205, sr.

FB, 8, Tanner Richko, 6-1, 175, sr.

K, 3, Tyreek Sherod, 6-3, 175, sr.

STARTING DEFENSE

DL, 7, Darius Goosby, 6-3, 205, sr.

DL, 56, Tanner Shrum, 5-9, 205, sr.

DL, 70, Kadin Mersing, 5-11, 240, sr.

DL, 33, Ricky Kirkland, 6-0, 225, jr.

LB, 5, Declan Eaton, 6-3, 205, sr.

LB, 8, Tanner Richko, 6-1, 175, sr.

LB, 2, Dah’vell Duke, 5-10, 180, sr.

LB, 24, Glenn Haskins, 5-10, 170, jr.

DB, 4, Noah Whiteleather, 5-11, 180, sr.

DB, 3, Tyreek Sherod, 6-3, 175, sr.

DB, 22, Parker Anthony, 5-9, 150, jr.

P, 3, Tyreek Sherod, 6-3, 175, sr.

OLSH

STARTING OFFENSE

LT, 56, Dom Cook, 6-0, 200, sr.

LG, 72, Nico Harken, 6-0, 235, so.

C, 64, Dan Farrell, 5-9, 210, so.

RG, 58, Logan Gregory, 6-0, 240, sr.

RT, 54, Eric Olexa, 6-2, 185, jr.

WR, 1, Ricco Tate, 6-3, 190, sr.

WR, 3, Andrew Schnarre, 5-8, 160, sr.

WR, 6, Richard Banks, 5-8, 170, sr.

WR, 15, Sig Saftner, 5-10, 170, sr.

RB, 2, Noah Campalong, 6-0, 205, sr.

(or) RB, 25, Austin Wigley, 6-1, 200, sr.

QB, 12, Tyler Bradley, 6-4, 205, sr.

K, 9, Ryan Gehring, 5-10, 140, fr.

STARTING DEFENSE

DE, 7, Jay Pearson, 5-8, 160, fr.

DE, 11, Brock Saftner, 5-10, 155, jr.

DT, 2, Noah Campalong, 6-0, 205, sr.

DT, 54, Eric Olexa, 6-2, 185, jr.

DT, 75, Damon Trombetta, 6-3, 285, jr.

LB, 45, Ryan Parry, 5-11, 175, sr.

LB, 30, Matt Gautner, 5-11, 170, sr.

CB, 25, Austin Wigley, 6-1, 200, sr.

CB, 15, Sig Saftner, 5-10, 170, sr.

S, 3, Andrew Schnarre, 5-8, 170, sr.

S, 6, Richard Banks, 5-8, 170, sr.

(or) S, 4, Bobby Brazell, 5-7, 140, so.

P, 3, Andrew Schnarre, 5-8, 170, sr.

*Check out a preview feature on the WPIAL Class 3A championship game and also tune in to Trib HSSN for a live audio broadcast.

Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bhartlep@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribHSInsider.

Tags: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Rochester