WPIAL Plays of the Week – Week 3

By: Bruce Markey
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 | 12:00 AM

The winds of change are blowing as we start to see less of the sun…A quick look at the regular season high school football schedule shows we are now one-third done…Plays of the Week highlights come in sizes ranging from big to small…Offense, defense and special teams are all honored this week as we say goodbye summer and hello fall.

Shaler Titans 22 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 21
WBGG-AM 970's Rob Matzie and Johnny Lee on the call

A pair of 1-1 teams met in Shaler in a rematch of a 2009 WPIAL Class AAAA Quarterfinals contest won by Bethel Park 32-14. However after scoring and adding a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to take a one point lead, it was the Titans defense that sealed the revenge win as Sean Gavin picked off a Black Hawks pass in the end zone with less than a minute remaining to seal the deal on a 22-21 win for Shaler.

Laurel Highlands Mustangs 24 – Derry Trojans 20
WQTW-AM 1570's T.J. DiStefano and Matt Popchock on the call

Derry and host Laurel Highlands were locked up in a back-and-forth dandy Friday night to open up the new and improved Class AAA Keystone Conference schedule. Trailing by three, Mustangs quarterback Jake Riddell hit Matt Shull with a 30-yard touchdown pass that helped seal the deal on a 24-20 victory over the Trojans giving Laurel Highlands their first win of the season.

Freeport Yellowjackets 13 – Shady Side Academy Indians 10
MSA Sports Dan Zangrilli and Greg Kuntz on the call

Two teams expected to battle for the Class AA Allegheny Conference championship had both split their first two non-conference games. But in a contest that was supposed to be the first of the weekend on Thursday night but pushed back to the final game of Week 3 on Saturday night, the big play came early in the third quarter when Brendan Lynch rolled out and hit Derek Durand on a 72-yard scoring play that turned out to be the game winner in the Freeport Yellowjackets 13-10 win over the Shady Side Academy Indians.

Monessen Greyhounds 10 – Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 7
WANB-FM 103.1's Jordan Thompson and Mike Winland on the call

A share of first place in the Class A Tri-County South was at stake for visiting Monessen while host Carmichaels was just in search for their first conference victory of 2010. Deadlocked at 7-7 with only 28 seconds remaining, Cody Matush booted a 24-yard field goal to lift the Greyhounds to a 3-0 start in the TCS with a 10-7 hard fought triumph over the Mighty Mikes.
 

Tags: Bethel Park, Carmichaels, Derry Area, Freeport, Laurel Highlands, Monessen, Shady Side Academy, Shaler