Scholastic Notebook – 09/16/2016

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 16, 2016 | 5:32 PM

Fewer than 20 runners in WPIAL history have rushed for 5,000 yards in their career. But no one on the 5,000-yard list runs the football quite like Clairton’s Lamont Wade.

He averages a first down every time he touches the ball.

Wade went over 5,000 yards last week against Springdale. He now has 5,062 yards on 460 attempts. Before you go to your calculator, that’s 11.0 yards a carry. That’s phenomenal when you consider that is the highest yards-per-carry average of anyone who has gained 5,000 yards. The next best is Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh, who finished his career a year ago with a 10.4 average.

In two games so far this year, Wade is above his career average. He has 351 yards on 16 carries. That’s a whopping 16.7-yard average.

What’s interesting about Wade is he is being recruited by colleges across the country to play defensive back. He is rated by some scouting services as one of the top DBs in the country.

But the 5,000-yard club might have another member this week with a yards-per-carry average better than 10. Steel Valley’s Dewayne Murray has 4,753 yards and an average of 10.6 per carry.

A Titanic Runner

Four times in the past six years West Mifflin has had a running back finish in the top dozen rushers in the WPIAL during the regular season. Howard Reid looks like he might keep the trend going.

Reid is the fourth-leading rusher in the WPIAL with 459 yards on 35 carries. He has brought some attention to the offense on a Titans team that is making news with its defense. West Mifflin has not allowed a point this season. The only points given up by the Titans came on a safety.

We’re Talking Passing

* Penn Hills senior quarterback Cam Tarrant has caught the WPIAL by surprise, throwing for more than 1,000 yards in three games to lead the league. This Penn Hills passing attack seems built on balance.

Three Penn Hills players are among the top 25 receivers in the WPIAL. Julian Major has 18 receptions, Cam Jeffries 12 and Davion Stephens 11.

* South Fayette quarterback Drew Saxton has some pinpoint accuracy. A year ago, as a sophomore, Saxton completed 63 percent of his passes and threw for more than 1,900 yards. That completion percentage is quite an achievement for a 10^th-grader. But Saxton is even more accurate this year.

In three games, Saxton has completed 74 percent of his passes (42 of 57) and helped his team to a 3-0 record.

Two Transfers Ineligible

Imani Christian is back in WPIAL football after a three-year hiatus, and the Saints have been helped immensely by the addition of Kenny Robinson, who transferred from University Prep to Imani.

But Imani wasn’t so lucky in having two more transfers from University Prep.

Earlier this week, the WPIAL ruled Asante Watkins and Samuel Fairley ineligible to play at Imani after transferring from University Prep. The WPIAL ruled Watkins and Fairley transferred for athletic intent. Imani brought transfer paperwork to the WPIAL only two days after Robinson was ruled eligible after a hearing.

University Prep contested all three transfers. The school contested the two were recruited by LaRoi Johnson, a new Imani assistant coach who used to be an assistant at University Prep.

Smith to Duquesne

Duquesne University has landed another top WPIAL quarterback.

Keystone Oaks’ Alex Smith made a verbal commitment to Duquesne earlier this week. He is considered one of the best QBs in the WPIAL and threw for more than 2,000 yards last season.

Currently at Duquesne, the starting quarterback is senior Dillon Buechel, who was a star at Montour and one of the leading passers in WPIAL history. Buechel’s backup is redshirt freshman Brett Brumbaugh, who finished his career at South Fayette as the leading passer in state history.

The Other Tommy Lasorda

Tommy Lasorda is a legendary former baseball manager in the major leagues. A distant relative with the same name is making his mark in the WPIAL in two sports.

Tommy Lasorda plays baseball and soccer at Sewickley Academy. And he plays both well. This Lasorda was an all-section pick last season in baseball. Now he is performing like an all-star in soccer.

Lasorda has turned into a big goal scorer. He scored five goals in a game last week and had three more in a game last night. Sewickley Academy is 3-1 this season and Lasorda is one of the main reasons Sewickley Academy is the No. 3-ranked team in WPIAL Class 1A.

Tags: Clairton, Imani Christian, Keystone Oaks, West Mifflin