WPIAL Friday Night HighLights – Week Eight 2017

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 21, 2017 | 9:33 PM

Some of the performances below were critical for teams fighting for playoff positioning or just a berth into the district high school football playoffs. Others were just for old fashioned team and school pride as dreams of the ‘second season’ have been dashed this fall. Whatever the case, here are some of the brilliant performances from around the WPIAL on Friday night of Week Eight as the regular season continues to fade away while memories of these endeavors will last a long time.

Jake Cortes – Peters Township

It was a win-and-you’re-in game for Peters Township on Friday as they hit the road to neighboring Canonsburg to battle win-or-you’re out Canon-McMillan. For PT, desperate times called for an aerial attack guided by quarterback Jake Cortes, who completed 18 of 26 guided missiles for 337 yards (a sweet 18.72 yards per completion) and two long touchdown passes to Angelo Quarture of 72 and 80 yards that proved to be the difference in the Indians 28-14 triumph over the Big Macs that secured a WPIAL Class 6-A Southeastern Conference playoff both for both the Indians and the Norwin Knights.

Brady Walker – Gateway

The last time Gateway played a pivotal Class 5-A Big east Conference game a few weeks ago, they laid an egg on offense and on the scoreboard as they were blanked by still undefeated Penn-Trafford. If the black and gold failed that test, they passed with flying colors on their next big test Friday night…no, they literally passed the McKeesport test. Gators quarterback Brady Walker hit on 11 of 19 passes for 281 yards and tossed a pair of second quarter touchdowns before connecting with Brandon Cain on a 40-yard fourth quarter game winning scoring strike in a tough 21-18 victory over the visiting Tigers.

Dustin Shoaf – Yough

It was a game with little fanfare as both Yough and Southmoreland combined were 1-14 overall coming into their Week Eight Class 3-A Interstate Conference clash. But by the time the final whistle blew and horn sounded, it was a record breaking night for one of the visitors to Russ Grimm Stadium. Dustin Shoaf rushed for a school record 433 yards and scored on five touchdown runs of 15, 8, 10, 2 and 56 yards, plus for good measure he tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Russell Pytlak as the Cougars outlasted the Scotties ina wild and highly entertaining contest by a final score of 49-38.

Skyy Moore – Shady Side Academy

When you don’t control you own destiny down the stretch, its a big of a helpless feeling as you count on the help of others. Thanks to quarterback Skyy Moore, Shady Side Academy did their part, not they sit back and wait to see how the wild card battle in Class 3-A plays out. Moore hit on only 3 of 5 passes, but threw for 167 yards and two long touchdown passes of 88 and 77 yards, plus he rushed for 193 yards and scored on runs of 7, 38 and (gulp) 99 yards as the Indians closed out their Allegheny Conference schedule with a 35-6 trouncing of the visiting Deer Lakes Lancers to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Geno Pellegrini – Charleroi

Beth-Center and Charleroi both had clinched WPIAL Class 2-A playoff berths coming into their Week Eight contest, but that didn’t stop both teams from coming out and doing their best Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler imitation (Youtube it kids), throwing hay-makers back and forth until the hosts were left standing even if they needed help from the ropes to stay upright. Charleroi quarterback Geno Pellegrini hit on 10 of 21 passes for 314 yards and fired four touchdown passes of 73, 53, 70 and 49 yards as the Cougars clinched second place in the Century Conference and a home playoff game with a 49-44 thriller over the Bulldogs.

Mason Kelly – Frazier

See the above explanation about a classification taking five teams and not needing a lot of wins and yada-yada-yada. Frazier entered their Class 2-A Century Conference home game against Bentworth with a 1-7 overall record, yet by the end of the night, they were (believe it or not) celebrating a playoff berth. Mason Kelly enjoyed a huge night for the red and white as he rished for 215 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 67 and 29 yards as the Commodores thumped the Bearcats 39-18 to earn a ticket to ride on the 2017 version of the Road to Robert Morris University.

Lance Hill – Laurel

It has been a long season at Laurel with only one victory to show in the record book through seven weeks. But in a classification that takes the top five teams in each conference along with a sixth place wild card, sometimes only a couple of wins is all your need to sneak in to the postseason. Quarterback Lance Hill ran down hill for most of the night against New Brighton, rushing for 227 yards and three touchdowns while also hitting on 3 of 5 passes for 116 yards and an 84-yard scoring strike as the Spartans stayed alive for a wild card spot with a 49-14 beating of the Lions ina Class 2-A Midwestern Athletic Conference tilt.

Tawaun Wesley – Imani Christian

On a near perfect night for high school football in Western Pennsylvania with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60’s, Imani Christian quarterback Tawaun Wesley lived up the the sweetness of the evening. Wesley hit on 11 of 12 passes for 358 yards (my limited math skills force me to use the computer on my fancy phone to find out that’s an average 32.5 yards per hookup) and SEVEN touchdown passes of 3, 39, 59, 96, 21, 25 and 26 yards as the Saints keep marching toward the postseason by going all Mario Lemieux on the host Springdale Dynamos in a 66-16 Class 1-A Eastern Conference victory.

Zach Trusky – Bishop Canevin

After losing to Springdale at home in Week Seven and with only one conference game remaining, Bishop Canevin’s playoff hopes were on life support as they made the long trek east to Greensburg. But in Zach they Trust, or should I say in Zach they Trusk(y).  Taking many a direct snap from center, the diminutive Trusky rushed for 198 yards and five touchdowns on runs of 41, 24, 10, 10 and 5 yards as the Crusaders stayed alive and now must wait to see what happens in Week Nine since their Class 1-A Eastern Conference schedule is over after a 49-21 victory over the Greensburg Central catholic Centurions.

Nicholas Mundell – Carmichaels

While nobody is going to catch the juggernaut California Trojans in the Class 1-A Tri-County South Conference, second place and a home First Round playoff game was up for grabs Friday as streaking Fort Cherry hosted Carmichaels. Nicholas Mundell must really like his home cooking as he rushed for 214 yards and capped off his big night on the ground with a 22-yard fourth quarter touchdown that iced the Mighty Mikes 31-14 triumph over the Rangers that ended Fort Cherry’s six game winning streak and clinched the runner-up spot in the TCS for the boys from Greene County.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, Carmichaels, Charleroi, Frazier, Gateway, Imani Christian, Yough