WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week One 2012

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, September 1, 2012 | 9:56 AM

It’s a new season so an introduction may be needed. every Saturday during the high school football season, we look back at some of the top performances from the previous night…thus the HighLights aspect of this column. Just having the lights back on Friday nights is a highlight for many, but these players (when hydrated) were shining bright in the first primetime contest of the 2012 campaign.

Mack Leftwich – North Allegheny

In his first year as a North Allegheny quarterback last season. Mack Leftwich was known as much for his toting the ball as he was for chuckin it on what would be another championship squad at NA. In Week One of his senior year, Mack the Knight showed he is a lot more than just a one trick pony. Leftwich completed 17 of 22 passes for 304 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and a scoring run on a warm night at Mount Lebanon High School in leading the top-ranked Tigers to a 39-14 victory over the Blue Devils in a AAAA non-conference matchup.

Mike Minjock – Peters Township

For the last couple of years, Peters Township would start the season beating up on Class AAA non-conference opponents before struggling once they got into Great Southern Conference play. New season…new conference name…new results. The Indians ran wild in their conference opener thanks to the work of Mike Minjock, who rushed for 247 yards on 19 carries, which included four long touchdown runs of 58, 51, 15 and 39 yards as the Indians cruised to a 40-12 victory over the Baldwin Highlanders in their conference opener.

Tony Delmonico – West Allegheny

NFL Films used to do a series called Fantastic Finishes in the NFL. If they would have showed up in Imperial Friday night, they could have added another one for their archives. In the first of many thrilling Parkway Conference contests this season, West A’s Tony Delmonico rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, plus he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Koester with 1.4 seconds remaining in the game to help the Indians score 14 points in the final 45 seconds of the game and win 31-27 over the still stunned Blackhawk Cougars.

Jon Nigro – Hampton

Hampton opened the season with a trek to Indiana High School and ended up beating the hosts at their own game – plenty of offense. Quarterback Jon Nigro brought his A game early with both his arm and his leg. He completed 18 of 22 passes through the humid night with a touchdown pass and a scoring run, plus he booted home six extra points and for good measure, a 30-yard field goal as the Talbots outslugged the Little Indians in a Greater Allegheny Conference opener 45-21.

Josh Schultheis – Mars

In a opening night showdown between Class AAA Top 10 teams with the winner expected to wear the label of team to beat in the Greater Allegheny Conference, visiting Mars was out of this world. Josh Shultheis led the way on the ground at Murrysville with 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including the fourth quarter game winner as he out rushed Franklin Regional’s Dane Brown by 4 yards, which happened to also be the margin of victory for the Fighting Planets in a 21-17 win over the Panthers.

Brett Brumbaugh – South Fayette

Over the course of the last few years, we have featured plenty of the big games antics from Christian Brumbaugh (South Fayette QB and 2011 graduate) and Luke Brumbaugh (Current Seton-LaSalle senior QB), now it’s time for hat trick as Brett Brumbaugh makes the HighlIghts reel. The sophomore signal caller for South Fayette had a strong 2012 debut as he hit on 10 of 13 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Lions to an easy 42-6 victory over the McGuffey Highlanders in AA Century Conference action.

Cole Bush – Burrell

All throughout the WPIAL on opening night, the buzz was about the new alignment and ALL of the 14 conference in each class coming out of the gates playing games that counted. In one of the few non-conference tilts, Burrell running back Cole Bush passed this ‘tune-up’ with flying colors. Bush rushed for 230 yards and scored five touchdowns, four of which came in the opening half as the Buccaneers hit the long road to Republic, Pa and came away with a 41-7 triumph over the Brownsville Falcons.

Shai McKenzie – Washington

In an early season Class AA Interstate Conference showdown between two teams expected to fight for the conference title and go deep into the postseason, it helped visiting Washington that they had a running back who was not Shy about making an early season statement. Shai McKenzie rushed for 211 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 44, 7 and 77 yards as the Little Prexies went to Greensburg Central Catholic High School and made a big splash in returning to the conference with a 28-7 victory over the Centurions.

P.J. Fumore – North Catholic

Most of the talk when it comes to North Catholic High School is the future and the new Bishop Wuhrl North Catholic High School that is being built out in Cranberry, however P.J. Fullmore says lets not talk about the future, lets talk about the NOW. The Now started off in a big way for Fullmore as he rushed for 265 yards and scored four touchdowns, three of which came in a Trojans dominated first half in a 40-21 victory over the host Apollo-Ridge Vikings in a Class A Eastern Conference opener.

Koltan Kolbrys – Fort Cherry

For the first time in school history, a Garry was not in charge on the Fort Cherry sidelines. While history was being made from the coaching aspect in the debut of Jim Shiel, history was repeating itself in other forms as a Rangers running back was enjoying a big game. Koltan Kolbrys ran for 250 yards and scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to open the scoring and a 4-yard touchdown pass from Matt Heslin that proved to be the game-winner in Fort Cherry;s hard fought 31-21 win over the visiting Carlynton Cougars in a Class A Black Hills Conference tilt.

Tags: Burrell, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Fort Cherry, Hampton, North Catholic, Washington, West Allegheny