CTK 2011 – PITTSBURGH CITY LEAGUE Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 2, 2011 | 2:51 PM

The City League has never looked this way before. It can best be described in one word. Small.

This is the smallest the City League has ever been as the league now has only eight teams. Schenley and Peabody closed, but there is a new program in the City League.

University Prep is a cooperative sponsorship of three schools – Obama, Science and Technolgy, and University Prep. Now here is where it gets real confusing. Those three schools will combine for all sports. In football, the team will be University Prep. In all other sports, though, the team will be called Obama. Univesity Prep is the Panthers and Obama the Eagles.

Got it? Alright, let’s take a look at the teams that make up the City League.

ALLDERDICE DRAGONS:

This could be one of Allderdice’s best teams in years. The Dragons have 17 returning lettermen from a team that went 6-2 in City League regular-season play and finished in second place. Do the Dragons have enough to win their first City League title since 1967?

Tyrique Jarrett is a 6-3, 320-pound senior lineman who has scholarship offers from Pitt and Cincinnati and a few other Division I colleges. You can’t miss him on the line. Another top linemen returns in tight end-defensive end Jay Barlow. They will be blocking for talented junior running back Patrick Ferguson, who led the City in rushing last season with 1,009 yards.

Allderdice has a new quarterback in 6-3, 215-pound junior Bishop Gethers. Center-linebacker Duke Mulvihill and fullback-lineback Jaylen Wilkins are two other top returnees.

The Dragons should also have a very solid secondary on defense, with the return of Sean Monroe William Graham and Kellen Irvin.

BRASHEAR BULLS:

There could be a team Bull-ing its way to the City League title this season.

Many believe the Brashear Bulls and Perry Commodores are the top two teams in the City this season, although some believe Allderdice is just as good, if not better than both. As for Brashear, coach Rick Murphy is loaded with experienced players as seven starters return on offense and nine on defense.

One of the top returnees is senior quarterback Adam Lynch (6-0, 175), who has been a starter since his sophomore year. He threw for close to 800 yards last season. Murphy also likes what he sees from running back-linebacker Joell Nesbitt and Tre Gaines. Gaines also was an all-City linebacker last season.

Manny Reed, Jamil Smith, Dom Patterson and Rick Gay make for a nice group of receivers. Reed, Smith and Patterson also will play defense.

Jawanza Bryant is back in the secondary. Keith Stover and Marlin Jackson are two top linemen while Deseaun Roberts returns at linebacker.

CARRICK RAIDERS:

The Raiders are coming off a 2-8 season, 2-6 in the City League. Carrick seems to have a nice group of receivers in Marlon Igles, Orlando Harvard and Zach Roche. Henry Myers, a 6-1, 185-pound senior, takes over as the starting quarterback.

Victor Yates is the starting tailback, while Ryan Gault and Troy Belke are back on the offensive line.

LANGLEY MUSTANGS:

The Mustangs are hoping to continue being competitive this season. They were 3-5 in the City League last year and 4-6 overall. Although they didn’t win a City League game two years ago, they were a playoff team in 2008.

Numbers often is a problem at Langley as the Mustangs usually don’t have a large amount of players. This year, one of the players is the best in the City League as 6-2, 220-pound senior Jaquan Green returns at quarterback. He threw for 1,086 yards last season.

Eric Montgomery and Christian Alexander hope to be capable running backs while Tray Eason leads the receivers group.

Langley also features one of the best linemen in the City in Eddie Johnson.

OLIVER BEARS:

Oliver finished 4-7 last season and represented the City League in the PIAA Class AA playoffs, where they made a quick exit after a 44-14 loss to Brockway.

Coach Tim Keefer likes his group of experienced linemen. A question mark is the skill-position players. One of the team’s top players is 5-7, 190-pound senior center-linebacker Josh Glover, who is in his fourth season as a starter. On the line, he has some big players surrounding him, most notably 6-8, 320-pound Justin Mitchell. Other linemen are Malik Cobb (6-1, 270), Tamlin Nesbit (6-2, 255) and Kenneth Mathews (6-4, 265). Cobb and Nesbit are sophomores.

Junior Shakeem Cox returns at quarterback, but Le’Andre Harrison also could see time there. Kevin Griffin and Mike Latham look to carry the running game.

PERRY COMMODORES:

A number of key players graduated from last year’s City championship team, most notably quarterback Greg McGhee, the City League Player of the Year. But Perry never seems to rebuild.

Darrelle Carson takes over at quarterback while Perry has some good-sized running backs in Curtis Edmonds (5-10, 200) and Robert Willie (5-11, 205). Nick Ertz is one of the top linemen.

Look for Perry to challenge for another City League championship.

UNIVERSITY PREP PANTHERS:

It’s hard to know what to expect from this new team, but you should know this. The Panthers have players who played for Schenley and Peabody last season. Schenley made the City League playoffs five years in a row and won the City title two yeas ago.

University Prep’s quarterback will be Dontae Forte, who was an all-City League selection last year while playing at Peabody. He also is a talented defensive end. Two of his top receivers are also former Peabody players – Brendan Duckett and Shennen Bingion.

Kevaun Frenzly and Jermaine Brown are two of the top running backs.

Overall, coach Lou Berry’s team definitely seems to have enough to be a playoff team.

WESTINGHOUSE BULLDOGS:

This once-proud program has won only 10 City League games in the past eight seasons. The Bulldogs will be challenged again this season as eight starters are gone on offense and defense.

But Westinghouse does have some new players, including senior fullback-linebacke Chavon Allen, who could make an impact after playing last year at Peabody. Sophomore Troy Smith takes over at quarterback.

MSA SPORTS PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1.  BRASHEAR BULLS
2.  PERY COMMODORES
3.  ALLDERDICE DRAGONS
4.  UNIVERSITY PREP PANTHERS
5.  OLIVER BEARS
6.  CARRICK RAIDERS
7.  LANGLEY MUSTANGS
8.  WESTINGHOUSE BULLDOGS

Tags: Allderdice, Brashear, Carrick, Langley, University Prep, Westinghouse