WPIAL Plays of the Week – Week 2

By: Bruce Markey
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 | 12:00 AM

For some teams, the second week of the WPIAL season was the final tune-up before conference play begins…While for others, they were playing conference contests where September victories are just as huge as late-October wins…Whether it was a highlight from a defensive battle or an offensive shootout…Here are the plays from Week Two that carried the most clout.

North Hills Indians 7 – Woodland Hills Wolverines 0
WPIT-AM 730's Alex Panormios and Rick Smith on the call

A couple of WPIAL Class AAAA top ten teams were locked up in an old fashioned pitcher dual, as North Hills and Woodland Hills went midway through the fourth quarter scoreless. That ended suddenly when Indians quarterback Steve Dutkowski hit Mark DeVita on a deflected 61-yard yard touchdown for the only score of the game in North Hills 7-0 whitewash of previously top-ranked Woodland Hills.

Montour Spartans 36 – Hopewell Vikings 29
WMBA-AM 1460's Tom Hays and Bruce Frey on the call

Through one-plus quarters, this Class AAA Parkway Conference contest turned into the Shell game as junior star running back Rushel Shell scored three long touchdowns and Hopewell led host Montour 20-0. But things started to turn around in the next two and a half quarters and the great comeback was finally capped when quarterback Dillon Buechel hit Devin Wilson for the duo's third touchdown hook-up of the game, a 46-yard pass with under a minute left in regulation, lifting the Spartans to a thrilling 36-29 win over the Vikings.

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 55 – Burrell Buccaneers 14
MSA Sports Ken Laird and Josh Rowntree on the call

Not all big plays have to come down to the wire. Sometimes, the key play isn't in the final minute, it's in the first minute. In an anticipated battle of Top Ten teams in Class AA, Matt McCann, known more for his running than throwing, hit Rico Canello on a 60-yard touchdown strike on the first play from scrimmage out of the wildcat formation that set the tone in the Golden Eagles 55-14 thrashing of the Buccaneers.

California Trojans 26 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 21
Greene County Sports Networks Jason Tennant and Bobby Fox on the call

This Class A Tri-County South early season bout was like a battle of heavyweights trying to end it early with back adn forth action and 41 points on the board…and that was all in the first half. Trailing by one point on the judges cards, California quarterback T.D. Conway hit the deciding blow when he found Josh Boothe on an 8-yard scoring pass midway through the final quarter as the Trojans remained unbeaten with a tough 26-21 win over the Mighty Mikes.

Tags: Burrell, California, Carmichaels, Hopewell, Keystone Oaks, Montour, North Hills, Woodland Hills