WPIAL Plays of the Week – Week Ten 2015

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 | 6:26 PM

The 2015 WPIAL regular season for football has come and gone, and the commencement of the playoffs also meant the busiest week of the season on the MSA Sports Network. With coverage of all 32 first-round games, there were plenty of top plays from which to choose. The four that made the cut were all crucial in the outcome of some of the most competitive tilts of the postseason slate.

1. Beaver Falls 33, Apollo-Ridge 29

Beaver Falls was expected to perhaps be the top contender to unseat perennial powerhouses South Fayette and Aliquippa, but the Tigers got all they could handle from the Vikings. Duane Brown’s explosive plays put Apollo-Ridge in position for the upset for the No. 4 seed, but Beaver Falls drove deep into Vikings’ territory in the closing seconds. A bold move to go for the win, as opposed to the tie, paid off, as Derrell Carter found the end zone on a fourth-down play with just 3.5 seconds left.

WBVP-AM 1230’s Tom Hays and Jason Colangelo have the call of the decisive score to advance the Tigers to the quarterfinals:

2. Frazier 33, South Side 32

The playoff struggles of the Tri-County South Conference have been well documented, but the Commodores were still rewarded with a No. 4 seed in Class A by the WPIAL committee this year. It looked as though Frazier would go the way of its conference mates with another defeat, but Frazier went to overtime against the Rams. After Frazier scored and kicked the extra point, the Rams found the end zone, but elected instead to go for the two-point conversion. The Commodores’ defense, which has been among the best in the WPIAL all season, answered the challenge, stuffing Cole Campbell short of the end zone to score the win.

WMBS-AM 590’s Brian Mroziak and Steve Superick have the call of the game’s final play:

3. Mars 17, New Castle 14

While the Mars soccer team featuring Caleb Brake came up just short of the WPIAL Championship on Saturday, Brake was instrumental in the Fighting Planets football team moving on in the playoffs. Mars and New Castle waged in a tightly-contested affair, but the Planets drove the field in the final few minutes, and put their faith in the place kicker to seal the deal in the closing seconds. Brake’s field goal as time expired sailed through the uprights, allowing Mars to reach the quarterfinals.

WKST-AM 1200’s Ken Hlebovy and Rob Gregory provide the commentary for the winning kick:

4. Seton-La Salle 27, Highlands 14

In a rematch from the 2014 postseason, the Rebels and Golden Rams squared off in a battle of two of the most talented teams in Class AA. The outcome was the same as last year, however, as Seton-La Salle again captured victory. With the score deadlocked at 14-14 in the third quarter, Pitt recruit Paris Ford intercepted a pass and returned it 39 yards for the decisive score.

MSA Sports’ Sean Meyers and Brandon Showers call Ford’s pick-six that gave the Rebels a lead they would never surrender: