George Guido: H.S. football season in A-K Valley provides plenty of highlights

By: George Guido
Tuesday, November 5, 2019 | 5:15 PM

Purchase Photo Options

And just like that, it was over. The 121st Alle-Kiski Valley high school football season came to a screeching halt with all three local playoff teams losing Friday night on the opening night of the postseason.

This season was better than 2018, however. One reason is four local teams had winning seasons, four more than last year.

Apollo-Ridge made the most marked improvement, going from two victories to seven. Burrell and Springdale went from two wins to six.

Kiski Area and Knoch exceeded the 300-victory mark in their school histories.

Fox Chapel coach Tom Loughran won the 200th game of his career, putting him in an elite category.

In other accomplishments, Southmoreland made the playoffs for the first time since 1979.

Cornell won a playoff game for the first time Friday, defeating California, 32-27.

Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa extended their WPIAL playoff appearance streaks to 25 consecutive seasons.

On the other hand, the Woodland Hills streak was stopped at 23 straight playoff seasons.

Without further delay, it’s time to pass out this year’s awards:

Most exciting game: Greensburg Central Catholic’s 42-41 victory over Leechburg in triple overtime. The Blue Devils had to score two touchdowns in 46 seconds to send the game into overtime. Jake Blumer scored all six Leechburg touchdowns. The Centurions had a freshman quarterback, Nate Dlugos, making his first varsity start. He threw the winning touchdown on a deflected pass on first-and-25 to win it.

Least exciting game: Imani Christian lost 70-6 to National Christian of Washington, D.C. The third and fourth quarters were six minutes long with a running clock.

Factoid of the Year: The first pass Highlands’ Johnny Crise caught was from Brayden Thimons. The last pass Crise caught was from Brayden’s brother, Chandler Thimons.

Willie Nelson Award (On the Road Again): Because Shady Side Academy forfeited a Sept. 27 game, Apollo-Ridge went 41 days without a home game.

Play of the Year: In the Burrell-Freeport game, the Bucs scored an overtime touchdown to trail Freeport, 35-34. Bucs coach Shawn Liotta went for two, and quarterback Alex Arledge found Zach Miller at the goal line for the 36-35 victory. Burrell didn’t make the playoffs, but the perception of Burrell football is suddenly different. With the Lower Burrell Flyers winning titles in two of the three youth football weight divisions, the varsity team’s future is brighter.

Toughest schedule: A tie between Fox Chapel and Kiski Area. Of the 11 games the Foxes and Cavaliers played, eight were against playoff teams.

Best move of the Year: Alex Arledge from Central Catholic to Burrell. All he did was rewrite the Bucs record book for passing, setting new records for single season yardage, completions and completions in a game.

Stat of the Year: Aliquippa won its 90th WPIAL playoff game Friday, defeating Elizabeth Forward, 27-7. The Quips are now 90-25 all-time in the WPIAL playoffs.

•••

Outlook for 2020

The upcoming offseason might be as exciting as the 2020 regular season. This is the biennial reclassification. The WPIAL might go to five or four classifications and slot teams into the PIAA playoffs like other districts do. The final decision might not be made until January, but if you have an extra $20 burning a hole in your pocket, bet on five classes. … Plum will be celebrating its 80th football anniversary next season with plenty of starters returning. The only question is which class the Mustangs will be in. Plum’s male enrollment is sliding from 461 to 395 under the new PIAA numbers. … Freeport could be in Class 4A with the male enrollment leaping from 228 to 273. … Ligonier Valley’s quest to join the WPIAL has several approvals needed. But if it occurs and the Rams are a 3A school, they could be playing in the conference with Burrell, Derry and Mt. Pleasant. If Ligonier is 2A, it could play against Valley, Apollo-Ridge and Southmoreland.