CTK ’16: 6-A Northern Seven Conference Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 17, 2016 | 12:04 AM

When the WPIAL made conferences for the new 6A classification, a big questions was where to put Pittsburgh Central Catholic? Competitive balance apparently wasn’t an issue for the WPIAL.

The WPIAL bosses put Central Catholic in the Northern Seven Conference – and essentially made the Northern Seven much stronger than the other 6A Conference (Southeastern). Central Catholic has played in the northern suburban conference before, but the WPIAL also put Penn Hills – an east suburban school – into the Northern Seven.

There were many who thought Central Catholic would be placed in the Southeastern to balance the competitiveness. With Central Catholic in the Northern Seven, that conference now appears to be much stronger – top to bottom – than the Southeastern.

The Northern Seven has Butler, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley and Shaler.

The Southeastern has Altoona, Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Hempfield, Mt. Lebanon, Norwin and Peters Township.

Here is a preview of the Northern Seven Conference:

BUTLER GOLDEN TORNADO

The PIAA contended that the creation of six classifications might help some teams be more competitive. But it doesn’t look like things will be any easier for Butler. The Golden Tornado has won only four games the past three years and only 36 since 2000. The team hasn’t had a winning record since 1997.

With Central Catholic, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny in the Northern Seven, it will be a monumental feat if Butler makes the playoffs, with only four from the conference qualifying. Butler will most likely have to beat out Seneca Valley, Penn Hills and Shaler.

Dallas Hays was a second-team all-conference linebacker and returns, as does lineman Kyle Heller, who was honorable mention. Brandon Fleeger saw considerable action at quarterback last season as a sophomore. Leading rusher Damien Pickett graduated, but Luke Michalek showed some promise last year as a sophomore at quarterback and receiver.

PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS

The Vikings are showing up everywhere in preseason national rankings. They have a number of starters back from last year’s team that went 15-1 and won WPIAL and PIAA titles. The Vikings have reached double figures in wins five of the past six years.

Central Catholic has a “Big 3” of seniors headed to big-time colleges. Both tight end-linebacker David Adams and lineman Kurt Hinish have committed to Notre Dame, while lineman C.J. Thorpe has committed to Penn State. Some scouting services peg Adams among the top five inside linebackers in the country.

But there could be a dozen players on this team who end up at Division I-A or I-AA colleges.

Running the offense for the second consecutive season is 6-5 junior QB Troy Fisher, who completed 101 of 182 for 1,431 yards last season.

Leading rusher Ronnie Jones has graduated, but the Vikings’ running game should be in good hands with halfbacks J.J. Younger and Justice Evans. Younger showed some good things last year as a backup, when he ran for 418 yards on 40 carries. Two years ago Evans played at Kiski Area as a sophomore before transferring to Central Catholic. He sat out last season after the WPIAL ruled him ineligible for transferring for athletic intent.

The offensive line is formidable, to say the least. All five linemen are headed to either Division I-A or I-AA colleges. Besides Thorpe and Hinish, Jake Hinish (Kurt’s brother) and Donovan Slater have both committed to Yale, which Jake Trautman has committed to Fordham.

Some of those linemen also play defense. The defense also features linebacker Tim Terry and end David Green, who both have I-A offers. Younger is a talented defensive back.

NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS

The Tigers tied for the conference title a year ago and were the only team to beat Central Catholic. The Tigers are a little short on experience this year but are still expected to be strong.

Five starters return on offense and five on defense. Quarterback Ethan Maenza might not be a big name, but look for him to be one of the top playmakers in 6A this season. He became the Tigers’ main QB last season after sharing time with Riley Trueman through part of the season. Maenza completed 52 of 106 for 875 yards and rushed 83 times for 834 yards.

The Tigers have two Division I players on the lines. Senior Josh Lugg committed to Notre Dame before his junior year and Griffin Sestilli is a Temple recruit. Mike Pope ran for 629 yards last year and also returns.

Also back is Niko Mermigas and some other players look to have breakthrough seasons to help put the Tigers near the top of the conference.

PENN HILLS INDIANS

The Indians will get northern exposure this year as they play in this north suburban conference. Penn Hills is coming off a disappointing 3-7 season after the Indians had some high expectations heading into 2015. Can Penn Hills measure up against the top teams this year? A year ago, the Indians started 3-3, but did not beat a team with a winning record. They ended the season with four straight losses to Bethel Park, Seneca Valley, Woodland Hills and Pine-Richland by a combined score of 137-51.

The Indians must improve on both sides of the ball. Two first-team and three second-team all-conference players graduated, but Rick Squires is a second-team all-conference choice who returns. He was all-conference at linebacker, but also is a talented receiver. Junior Julian Major is another talented receiver and has Division I offers.

Cam Tarrant returns at quarterback. He came on last season for Billy Kisner and completed 50 of 94 for 783 yards and rushed for 369 yards on 63 attempts.

PINE-RICHLAND RAMS

Pine-Richland, a WPIAL champ in 2014 and semifinalist in 2015, was hit hard by graduation. But the Rams still expect to be one of the top teams in Class AAAA. They open the season on the big picture. Pine-Richland plays at St. Edward’s, an Ohio powerhouse, on Saturday, Aug. 27. The game will be televised live by ESPN beginning at noon.

The main attraction at Pine-Richland this year is Phil Jurkovec, who threw for more than 2,000 yards and ran for more than 1,000 last season. He was heavily recruited and already has made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame.

Pine-Richland uses a number of receivers in its spread offense and Jordan Crawford figures to be one of the main targets this year out of the backfield. He caught 24 passes last season, but will also be one of the featured runners.

The defense will be led by linebacker Jesse Meckler, who led the team in tackles last season, and also defensive ends Neiman Novitski and Ryan Duran (first-team all-conference last year). Mark Weideman is one of the top returning lineman.

Another player expected to make an impact is transfer Grant Carrigan, a 6-7, 250-pound TE-DE who came from Weir High in West Virginia. Carrigan had scholarship offers from Kent State and Wake Forest, and was just offered by Pitt last Saturday.

SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS

In Dave Vestal’s first season as coach, the Raiders were respectable, going 5-5 and making the WPIAL playoffs. Vestal came to Seneca Valley after 14 years at Hopewell.

Seneca Valley should definitely contend for one of the playoff spots in the Northern Seven – and Jack Cook is one of the primary reasons. He had a nice junior season as the Raiders’ quarterback, completing 111 of 197 for 1,613 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also rushed for 429 yards on 83 attempts.

The offense certainly has a capable running back in Hank Royal, who rushed for 735 yards on 118 attempts last season. Shane Stadtfield was a second-team all-conference lineman.

One of the main objectives this season should be strengthening the defense, which struggled against the good teams last season.

SHALER TITANS

The Titans aren’t expected to be overly strong this year, but at least they don’t have “the streak” hanging over their heads any longer. Shaler broke a 34-game losing streak last year, which was the fifth-longest in WPIAL history.

Shaler hopes the improvement continues this season, although it will be hard to make the playoffs with only four teams qualifying from the Northern Seven. Hunter Zukowski is only 5-10, but he showed some promise at quarterback last season, completing 41 of 95 for 545 yards. On the lines, Austin Sites returns after a promising junior year.

Shaler opens the season at North Hills in a “Week Zero” game before playing host to Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

MSA SPORTS PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:

1.      Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings

2.      Pine-Richland Rams

3.      North Allegheny Tigers

4.      Seneca Valley Raiders

5.      Penn Hills Indians

6.      Shaler Titans

7.      Butler Golden Tornado

Tags: Butler