WPIAL football player of the week — Week 7

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, October 13, 2019 | 9:10 PM

Coming off a loss to Beaver Falls last week that hurt its playoff chances and was its third loss in four games, Keystone Oaks needed a boost.

Junior quarterback Logan Shrubb turned out to be the wind beneath the Golden Eagles’ wings in Week 7.

“He has been this way for a few seasons now,” coach Greg Perry said. “We played really hard and had the lead in the fourth against a very good Beaver Falls team. We start a lot of underclassmen, and learning how to compete and finish takes time.”

Shrubb was responsible for 510 yards of offense in the Golden Eagles’ 42-14 win over host Deer Lakes in a Class 3A nonconference game that improved KO to 5-3 overall.

“It just seemed that Logan was getting stronger as the game went on,” Perry said. “He loves to compete and having control of the game.”

Shrubb completed 11 of 24 passes for 179 yards with two touchdown passes to Mark Hutchin. But he did most of his damage as a runner.

Shrubb rushed for 331 yards and scored on runs of 7, 3 and 66 yards.

“We felt going in we could run the ball against Deer Lakes, and our line played well,” Perry said. “We had a lot of possessions and ran a lot of plays.”

Defending Shrubb is a 50-50 proposition because he is nearly split in doing damage to opponents with his passing and rushing yards.

Now in his third year as Keystone Oaks’ starting quarterback, Shrubb has thrown for 1,145 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 1,157 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“Logan’s biggest asset is he loves to compete and be ‘the Man,’ ” Perry said. “Whether it’s in pickup basketball or a wing eating contest, he wants to own it.”

Perry is known as a quarterback whisperer with the success he has had in his years at Seton LaSalle and at Keystone Oaks.

“He is definitely the strongest quarterback I’ve had over the years,” Perry said. “His competitive nature is comparable to Bruce Gradkowski and his ability to take over games.

“He loves contact, which I always used to try and avoid with the other quarterbacks. Alex Smith was a good runner also but not as strong as Logan.”

Despite the overall success for the Golden Eagles, they need to pull off an upset and get some help in order to make the playoffs in the Tri-County West Conference.

Keystone Oaks needs to upset top-ranked Aliquippa on Friday and beat Waynesburg in Week 9, plus it needs South Park to lose both remaining games against Central Valley and Quaker Valley.

“We are excited to play the state champs Friday and, hopefully, give them a game,” Perry said. “Logan will have a lot to say about that outcome.”

WPIAL Week 7 Honorable Mentions:

Cole Spencer – Pine-Richland

The pride of the north spent his Friday night filling the South Hills air with completions and touchdowns.

In a key Class 6A battle for second place, the junior quarterback completed 19 of 26 passes for 308 yards and touchdown tosses of 9, 1, 15 and 55 yards.

Spencer also scored on a 6-yard run as the defending champion Rams kept their 6A regular season championship hopes alive with a convincing 41-0 win over Mt. Lebanon.

Jax Miller — Avonworth

Avonworth headed to East Allegheny for a big Class 2A Allegheny Conference battle for first place missing key elements to a team that was a perfect 7-0.

Miller rushed for 239 yards on 35 carries. The senior running back scored four touchdowns on runs of 1, 11, 10 and 14 yards as Avonworth remained undefeated and in first place with a 35-7 victory over the host Wildcats.

Zaier Harrison – Cornell

The Laurel at Cornell Week 7 game was like a playoff game a month early. The winner would keep its playoff hopes and Class A Big 7 Conference championship hopes alive. The loser would be all but eliminated.

Harrison made sure it was the Raiders who would survive and advance. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 266 yards, with seven of those completions going to Isaiah Langston for 204 yards.

The senior threw four touchdown passes and rushed for a score as the Raiders wiped out a 15-0 deficit to beat the Spartans, 33-21.

2019 Trib HSSN football players of the week:

Week Six – Naman Alemada, South Fayette

Week Five – Teddy Ruffner, Mars

Week Four – Ben Jackson, West Greene

Week Three – Ethan Dahlem, Upper St. Clair

Week Two – Matt Goodlin, Knoch

Week One – Eric Wilson, Sto-Rox

Week Zero – Ky’Ron Craggette, Connellsville