WPIAL Friday Night HighLights for Week Three

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 14, 2013 | 9:06 AM

Crazy…kooky…strange…horror. Those are all word that are usually associated with Friday the 13th. With a chill in the air, those words came to life on the football fields around Southwestern Pennsylvania with some strange results and some serious injuries. This jam-packed thriller of a night though also had plenty of heroes who swept in, kicked the 'villains' in the teeth and then rode of into the sunset without inside as they came up large in Week 3 of the WPIAL football season.

Joey DeFloria – Hempfield

With the number of teams near the top early on in the Class AAAA Foothills Conference, every win is big whether by surprise or if its expected. Hempfield was supposed to take care of business at home against Connellsville and Joey DeFloria made sure there would be no 'eye-brow raisers' in this one as he rushed for 279 yards with long touchdown jaunts of 72 and 70 yards, plus he returned a punt 60 yards for a score in a 27 point opening quarter as the Spartans knocked off the Falcons 42-28.

T.J. Holl – Seneca Valley

We are just a week removed from Labor Day, so Christmas is still more than three month away, however after the results from Friday night, Seneca Valley fans are definitly ready to Deck the Holls as they were dancing in the streets of Harmony. The son of head coach Don Holl, SV quarterback T.J Holl accumulated over 200 yards through the air and on the ground while throwing a touchdown pass to Eric Mrkonja and ctaching an 11-yard strike from Brad Hensler as the Raiders ended the North Allegheny Tigers 18-game winning streak and 32-game run against WPIAL opponents with a 20-6 victory in a Class AAAA Northern Eight Conference stunner.

Connor Slomka – Pine-Richland

After losing a tough one at home eight days ago, Pine-Richland was able to bounce back thanks to a huge game by a ram-tough running back. Connor Slomka rushed for 238 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 73, 35 and 4 yards to lead the high-scoring Rams to a 49-19 rout of the visiting Butler Golden Tornado in a Class AAAA Northern Eight Conference game that put P-R into a log jam for second place behind Seneca Valley.

Josh Schultheis – Mars

After a slow start with an opening night loss at home, Mars is back spinning in its correct orbit near the top of the Class AAAA Greater Allegheny Conference following back-to-back wins. Their second straight victory was fueled by running back Josh Schultheis, who rushed for 211 yards and scored on three short touchdown runs as the Fighting Planets blew open a tight game with 21 straight points in the third quarter en route to a 38-15 victory over the Little Indians of Indiana.

Chayse Dillon – West Allegheny

Last year, nobody was able to catch West Allegheny as their vuant 'wildcat' offense helped them win a WPIAL Class AAA championship. Now only three weeks into the 2013 campaign and again, everybody in the classification appears to be in 'chayse' mode in trying to catch West A. Chayse Dillon rushed for 191 yards and scored on touchdown gallops of 3 and 55 yards as the Indiana jumped up early and often to what would be an easy 43-6 triumph over the previously unbeaten Moon Tigers in a battle for a share of the first place in the Parkway Conference.

Collin Smith – Albert Gallatin

There have been many, many long, lean football season at Albert Gallatin High School where losing streak and one-win seasons became the norm. But this 2013 edition is not your brothers, your Dads or even your gran-dads Colonials.  Its to early to make playoff plans, but thanks to Collin Smith's 184 yards rushing and touchdowns runs of 10 and 4 yards, the Colonials sit with a winning record (2-1) through the first third of the season after a 28-14 win over the Trinity Hillers in a Class AAA Big Nine Conference matchup.

Shai McKenzie – Washington

Even a first half devastating knee injury could not keep one of the top running backs in the WPIAL off the 'hit' parade…now we can only hope is is able to hit the field again soon and do what he does best, perform. Shai McKenzie rushed for 198 yards on only SIX carries (22 yards per tote) with three touchdowns before leaving on a cart with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, but the extent of the injury remain unknown as the Washington Little Prexies cruised to a 66-10 Class AA Interstate Conference victory over the host Charleroi Cougars.

Koltan Kobrys – Fort Cherry

With a lot of people talking about Monessen and Brentwood being the biggest challenges to Clairton in the Class A Black Hills Conference, the only team tied with the Bears for the top spot after three weeks is Fort Cherry. it was another high octane performance for running back Koltan Kobrys, who rushed for 195 yards and scored on touchdown bursts of 32 and 6 yards, plus he scored three more times on touchdowns receptions of 5, 10 and 10 yards as the Rangers remained perfect at 3-0 following an impressive 49-33 win over the host Monessen Greyhounds.

Isiah Canton – Carlynton

The pro football Hall of Fame resides in Canton, Ohio and is a must see for football fans of all ages. Isiah Canton resides in the Carlynton school district and is now a must stop for Cougars opponents. Bishop Canevin tried Friday but could not do it as Canton rushed for 190 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns, including a 13-yard run that helped the Cougars pull away to a 37-12 victory over the Crusaders in a Class A Black Hills Conference tilt at Honus Wagner Field in Carnegie.

Santino Paris – Avella

Last year, Avella got off to a stunning start earl;y before fading late and just missing the playoffs by one game. now long suffering Eagles fans hope that history does not repeat itself as they are flying high again out of the gates. Avella quarterback Santino Paris hit on 15 of 19 passes for 248 yards and tossed four touchdowns, two each to Walter Kopko and Brian Gordon as the Eagles soared high over the host Mapletown Maples 41-6 to improve to 3-0 and 2-0 in the Class A Tri-County South Conference.

Tags: Albert Gallatin, Avella, Carlynton, Fort Cherry, Hempfield, Washington, West Allegheny