Trib HSSN May Madness: Sean Lee, Upper St. Clair vs. Jordan Whitehead, Central Valley

By: Don Rebel
Friday, May 8, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Friday and running through 9 a.m. Saturday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first-round matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Saturday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys. Round 1, Day 6:

Sean Lee vs. Jordan Whitehead is a very defensive matchup between two district athletes who are currently playing defense in the NFL and the May Madness version of Pitt vs. Penn State.

Sean Lee — Upper St. Clair Class of 2005

(Football, basketball)

• 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star team

• 2004 Associated Press Pa. Class AAAA first-team all-state selection and played in the Big 33 Classic

• Upper St. Clair was 31-4 in Lee’s three years as a starter, including a WPIAL AAAA title game trip in 2003

• In his senior season, the Panthers finished 11-1 as Lee rushed for 1,240 yards and 21 touchdowns with a robust 6.6 yards per carry average

• On defense in 2004, Lee registered 95 tackles and had four interceptions

• Lee also dominated in basketball, helping USC to a 75-12 record in his three seasons as a starter

• During his senior season, Lee averaged 21.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in helping Upper St. Clair win the 2005 WPIAL Class AAAA championship

• He was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2019

• Lee played linebacker at Penn State and currently is a linebacker in the NFL for Dallas

Jordan Whitehead — Central Valley Class of 2015

(Football, track and field)

• 2014 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Class AAA football player of the year

• 2014 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 all-star selection

• 2014 Pa. Football News Class AAA football player of the year

• Four-year starter on both offense and defense at Central Valley

• Whitehead was explosive with the ball in his hands, scoring 35 touchdowns his senior season with an average of 43.7 yards per score. He scored five ways — rushing, receiving, interception return, punt return and kickoff return.

• Also in his senior campaign, Whitehead had 97 tackles and seven interceptions in helping the Warriors to a 15-1 record while earning WPIAL gold and PIAA silver

• One of the most highly recruited cornerbacks in the country, Whitehead was ranked No. 1 in the state by Rivals.com

• A member of the track and field team, Whitehead ran the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400-meter relay for Central Valley

• Whitehead played college football as a cornerback at Pitt before moving on to become a defensive back in the NFL for Tampa Bay

Jordan Whitehead – @jwhite_333
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Sean Lee – @USC_High_School

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) May 8, 2020

Tags: Central Valley, Upper St. Clair