WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – 11/12/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 12, 2011 | 10:54 AM

This stretch of the Highway to Heinz could also be referred to as (excuse me basketball fans) The Road to the Final Four as each classification halved their remaining teams from eight to four. While we will take time to say so long to a couple of Friday Night HighLights mainstays, we salute the others players who were BIG factors in their teams moving on from Quarterfinals Friday to next week’s Semifinals Friday.

Damion Jones-Moore – Pittsburgh Central Catholic
In a very rare battle of four-thousand yards rushers, one back was good while the other was INCREDIBLE! Squaring off against Luke Hagy and his Mount Lebanon Blue Devils, Pittsburgh Central Catholic senior Damion Jone-Moore ran wild, rushing for 302 yards and scored on three long touchdowns runs, including a 75-yard jaunt that seemed to be the decisive blow as the Vikings beat back the Blue Devils 31-14 to remain undefeated at 11-0.

Curtis Lewis – Central Valley
Rarely do the defending WPIAL Class AAA champions rely on their passing game because while it is always good for big plays here and there, their ground attack usually has them far ahead that quarterback Curtis Lewis doesn’t need to flash his stuff. But when flashed….Quarterback Curtis Lewis was 10 of 13 passing for 275 yards against Ringgold, with two touchdown runs and a how-do-you-do 99-yard touchdown pass to the great Robert Foster as the Warriors remain perfect with a 44-28 beating of the Rams.

Dillon Buechel & Julian Durden – Montour
In what was expected to be one of the most competitive games on Quarterfinals Friday, Montour’s one-two punch on the ground and in the air allowed them to switch to cruise control on the Highway to Heinz. Quarterback Dillon Buechel was 12 of 19 passing for 175 yards and three touchdowns while running back Julian Durden rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown as the Spartans routed the West Mifflin Titans 31-7 to get their 2010 title game rematch with Central Valley.

Kevin Hart – Seton-LaSalle
When Seton-LaSalle coach Greg Perry takes the field, he says he does so with the best player on the field. That may or may not be true, but the one thing for sure is this Hart IS the excellence of execution. Kevin Hart rushed for 269-yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in this Century Conference rematch as the Rebels remained un defeated with a 21-13 victory over the South Fayette Lions that eliminates the first defending champion from the 2011 playoffs.

Demetrious Cox – Jeannette
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the most dynamic and athetlic quarterbacks in the district, however with Shady Side Academy signal caller Reggie Mitchell on the sidelines in street clothes, Jeannette’s Demetrious Cox shined on center stage. Cox rushed for 155 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 52, 53 and 9-yards, plus he tossed a 22-yard scoring strike to Shavonta Craft as the Jayhawks remained unbeaten with a 35-14 victory over the Indians.

Lenny Williams – Sto-Rox
While the other three Class A Quarterfinals games were dogfights, it was just another day at the office for Sto-Rox quarterback Lenny Williams and his talented teammates. Williams hit on 11 of 19 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns, including scoring tosses of 35, 49 and 56 yards, plus he scored on a two-yard run as the Vikings remained undefeated at 11-0 with an easy 40-0 rout of the once-beaten Brentwood Spartans.

Tyler Boyd – Clairton
We don’t see too many Clairton players on the HighLights only because most of the time coach Tom Nola is calling off the dogs by halftime. But this seconds round playoff match with Springdale turned into a dog-fight with Tyler Boyd claiming the biggest bite. Boyd rushed for 216 yards and scored three touchdowns including scoring runs of 46 and 55 yards as the Bears beat the Dynamos 34-20 to reach the Semifinals for a sixth straight year while earning their 42nd consecutive victory.

DeAndre Moon – Rochester
WPIAL astronomers have to be thrilled that for most of the regular season and for two weeks in the postseason, they have been able to witness a full Moon shining bright. It wasn’t easy, but DeAndre Moon led the way for Rochester, rushing for 145 yards and scoring three touchdowns, the first two in the opening quarter that gave the Rams an early lead, then the game-winning score in the fourth quarter in a 26-22 win over the very game Avonworth Antelopes.

Kevin Meches –Bishop Canevin
It has been a huge struggle for Bishop Canevin in this postseason against teams for the Black Hills Conference. However the bottom line is…they are still alive for the prize. With yards tough to come by against Fort Cherry, quarterback Kevin Meches was able to throw for 138 yards and hit Bobby Gustine on a 28-yard touchdown pass that turned out to be the winning score in a 16-6 win for the Crusaders over the Rangers as BC remains perfect at 11-0.

Rushel Shell – Hopewell  &  Luke Hagy – Mount Lebanon
You can probably count on one hand the Saturday morning over the last three years when one of these two did not make the HighLights as two of the best saw their scholastic football careers end Friday night. It was a pedestrian end for Hagy, who was held to only 112 yards and a touchdown as his Mount Lebanon Blue Devils lost to the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 31-14. Meanwhile, the great Rushel Shell left with a BANG! He gained 292 yards and scored all three of Hopewell’s touchdowns as the Vikings fell to the Franklin Regional Panthers 24-21. Shell set a new national record with 39 consecutive 100-yard games PLUS he became the PIAA state’s new rushing king with a final mark of 9,078 yards. Congrats to both on awesome high school careers!!!!

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Clairton, Hopewell, Jeannette