Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week for Week 6

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, October 25, 2020 | 9:51 PM

The victory in Week 7 for Clairton to seal the deal on another outright Eastern Conference championship came against a playoff-bound team and was historically significant.

But it was just another day at the office for senior running back Dontae Sanders.

For the fifth time in six games, Sanders rushed for more than 200 yards as Clairton rolled to a 45-10 triumph over Springdale.

“He’s just a very impressive player,” Clairton coach Wayne Wade said. “He dominates on both sides of the ball.”

Sanders carried the ball 16 times for 223 yards and scored on runs of 23, 56, 2 and 18 yards.

“His strengths are his power and speed when he runs the ball and his mental and physical toughness on defense,” Wade said.

What a difference a year makes. In a pass-happy championship run in 2019, Sanders was the team’s third-leading rusher with 553 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Now he is the lead horse on a Bears team primed for more gold. Wade says maturity on and off the field helped produce a big season for Sanders.

“He is bigger, stronger and faster this year,” Wade said. “He’s one of our team leaders and shows great leadership by doing things the right way all the time.”

Doing things the right way has produced 1,195 yards and 20 touchdowns in six games.

The victory Friday in front of the home fans at Neil Brown Stadium was historic for Clairton as it became the second school this season and the sixth overall to reach 700 victories.

“It was huge to reach 700,” Wade said. “To be a part of it both as a coach and a former player and for all of the others who played at Clairton, they can share in that record.”

The next night, the Bears found out they will be the top seed in the eight-team WPIAL Class A football playoffs and will host Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals.

“It’s always great to play the first round at home,” Wade said. “We played OLSH in the first round last year, so it’s a rematch.”

On their way to the school’s 14th district football title last year, the Bears blanked the Chargers, 41-0.

WPIAL Week 7 Honorable Mentions:

Cole Spencer, Pine-Richland

You could make the argument Cole Spencer should be Player of the Week or honorable mention just about every week.

The Pine-Richland senior quarterback has been great, but Friday, he was perfect.

Spencer connected on all nine of his passes for 228 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half as the Rams also remained perfect with a 58-14 whacking of Kiski Area.

Terrance Glenn, McKeesport

His numbers weren’t gaudy compared to some others around the district, but Terrance Glenn helped raise eyebrows in a Week 7 stunner in Class 4A.

Glenn rushed 12 times for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns as McKeesport stunned top-ranked and defending champion Thomas Jefferson in the Jaguars’ backyard.

The senior quarterback showed the Tigers were for real when he ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in a 20-14 upset of the Jaguars ending their 21-game win streak.

Logan Shrubb, Keystone Oaks

It was a good news, bad news night for Keystone Oaks in its regular-season finale against Hopewell at Dormont Stadium.

The good news: Senior quarterback Logan Shrubb rushed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, plus he threw for 104 as the Golden Eagles clinched second place in the Northwestern 6 and a playoff berth with a 52-34 triumph over the Vikings.

The bad news: Shrubb accomplished all that in three quarters because he spent the fourth quarter on the sidelines on crutches. The hope is he’ll be ready to go for the quarterfinals against South Park on Friday.

2020 HSSN Players of the Week:

Week 6: Ethan Dahlem, Upper St. Clair

Week 5: Jaedan Zuzak, California

Week 4: RaShawn Reid, Rochester

Week 3: Ryan Hubner, Plum

Week 2: Logan Shrubb, Keystone Oaks

Week 1: Devin Whitlock, Belle Verno

Tags: Clairton, Keystone Oaks, McKeesport, Pine-Richland