WPIAL Week Ten Friday Night HighLights

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, November 4, 2012 | 3:16 PM

Call it what you want…the postseason, the second season, this big dance or the Highway to Heinz. Whatever you want to call it, there is no question the WPIAL Football Playoffs are Primetime. Here are the players that shined the brightest on the first night on the grand stage.

Tyler Roth – Mount Lebanon

There was a lot of excitement about Butler making the WPIAL football playoffs for the first time since 1998. However their stay in the postseason was short and not so sweet thanks to the aerial attack by Tyler Roth and Mount Lebanon. Roth hit on 20 of 27 passes for 288 yards and a pair of touchdown tosses as the Blue Devils blew away the Golden Tornado 31-7 in a Class AAAA opening round matchup.

Thomas Woodson – Gateway

When #2 battles #15, most expect a one-sided onslaught. However visiting Peters Township was able to find away to keep it close against Gateway, they just never found a way to slow down the host signal called. Quarterback Thomas Woodson hit on 15 of 23 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns of 25, 59 and 20 yards as the Gators advanced to the Class AAAA Quarterfinals with a 35-19 triumph over the Indians.

Zach Talley – Thomas Jefferson

After winning the Big Nine Conference championship, Thomas Jefferson RETURNED to the top of the WPIAL Class AAA brackets. In their First Round contest, TJ is proving the RETURNS are still coming. Zach Talley returned a kickoff 70 yards for a score, then later in the first half, returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown that were bookend scores for 28 unanswered points as the Jaguars pulled away to a 63-19 rout of the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers.

Elliot Taylor – Central Valley

No Robert Foster, no Nathan Klimo, no Jordan Whitehead…no problem for Class AAA #3-seed Central Valley. Well, actually it was a very BIG problem. Trailing wild card and upset hungry Belle Vernon 16-14 with less than a half-minute left in regulation, the host Warriors drove down for a game winning 22-yard field goal from Elliot Taylor, whose line drive kick booted the Warriors into the Quarterfinals with a 17-16 thriller over the Leopards.

Josh Schultheis – Mars

On the opening night of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs, a tenth grader put on a show that was out of this world. Mars running back Josh Shultheis rushed for 251 yards and scored four touchdowns on runs of 7, 25, 43 and 2 yards as the second-seed Fighting Planets turned what was expected to be a stiff opening round challenge into a casual walk in space as they routed the Blackhawk Cougars 45-21 to move on to Round Two. 

Shai McKenzie – Washington

With the gaudy yardage total, touchdown numbers and 15-yard per carry average, you could say one of the WPIAL's top running backs is turning Washington into Shai-Town. Shai McKenzie enjoyed another spectacular night at the office, rushing for 260 yards and scoring SIX touchdowns on runs of 83, 6, 41, 56, 14 and 28 yards as the Little Prexies pounded the Shady Side Academy Indians 47-12 in a Class AA First Round mismatch.

Darmian Rawl – Beaver Falls

Would an upset win over Central Valley in Week Nine give Beaver Falls the momentum they would need for success on the road in the postseason? Well after the first two and a half quarters Friday, the answer was a resounding No! But trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, Darmian Rawl and Beaver Falls came to life. Rawl ended up with 221 yards on the ground with a pair of touchdown runs as the Tigers came back to beat the Freeport Yellowjackets 28-14 in a Class AA First Round game.

Tyler Boyd – Clairton

It didn't take long, literally for Clairton to take control of this Class A First Round game, as they scored 26 first half points while possesing the ball for only 90 seconds. Once again, Tyler Boyd did most of the damage, rushing for 246 yards on only eleven carries, but six of those eleven touches ended up in the end zone as the Bears captured their 57th consecutive victory with a 58-6 squashing of the Frazier Commodores. 

P.J. Fullmore – North Catholic

A pair of old conference rivals, Bishop Canevin and North Catholic, met in the First Round of the Class A playoffs and it was with that backdrop that P.J. Fullmore decided to put on a personal show. Fullmore rushed for 221 yards and scored the games only touchdowns on scoring runs of 41, 2 and 4 yards as the Trojans blanked the Crusaders 21-0 to be the only Eastern Conference team to survive to the Quarterfinals.

Dante Marsick – Rochester

It was referenced several times in the regular season and the tune hasn't changed…Rochester running back Dante Marsick has a way of leaving his opponents…well, sick. Marsick broke the 200-yard mark in this Class A First round game with 204 yards on the ground while scoring one receiving touchdown on a pass from Ben Richko while rushing for three scores, including a 97-yard scamper as the Rams beat the Avonworth Antelopes for a second time this year in a 35-15 win. 

Tags: Beaver Falls, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Central Valley, Clairton, Gateway, North Catholic, Washington