High school notebook: New coaches at Quaker Valley, Penn Hills start 2-0

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 6, 2017 | 6:45 PM

As should be expected, WPIAL football teams with new head coaches haven't fared especially well early this season.

Combined, their record is 14-26.

But among those two dozen teams, there certainly are some bright spots.

Consider, Quaker Valley didn't have a head coach a month before kickoff, yet the Quakers are 2-0 and averaging more than 50 points under Jerry Veshio.

Penn Hills also is 2-0, under first-year coach Jon LeDonne, who has seen quick success since switching schools. His teams went 2-27 in three seasons at Shaler.

The other undefeated first-year coaches include Highlands' Dom Girardi and Knoch's Frank Whalen, whose teams are 1-0. Neither played a Week Zero game.

Penn Hills owns wins over Plum, 26-0, and Butler, 54-21. The Indians face undefeated Canon-McMillan (2-0) on Friday.

Veshio is a first-year coach in name only. Quaker Valley's track coach and former school administrator coached the football team from 1984-86. He was asked to coach again after John Tortorea resigned suddenly in early August.

The Quakers started this season with wins over Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 55-21, and McGuffey, 52-20. Their 107 points is the fourth most in the WPIAL this season, behind Imani Christian (120), California (116) and Beaver (111).

Quaker Valley travels Friday to Neshannock (1-1) before starting its Class 3A conference schedule in the Beaver Valley.

Pitching a shutout

Through two games, Aliquippa has yet to allow a point. The Quips shut out Week Zero opponent New Castle, 24-0, and then blanked rival Beaver Falls, 36-0, in Week 1.

New Castle was the WPIAL Class 4A runner-up last season. Beaver Falls was the state Class 3A runner-up.

Avonworth, Clairton and Riverview also haven't allowed a point, but none of the three played in Week Zero.

Save the date

The WPIAL has a date set for the four championships at Heinz Field, but the two at Robert Morris will be decided later. The Class 6A, 5A, 4A and 3A finals are Nov. 18 at Heinz Field, said WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley. That's the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The Class 2A and A finals will be Nov. 24 or 25, determined by Robert Morris' availability.

Kickoff collection

The Peters Township cheerleaders will be collecting money and donated items at Friday night's football game for hurricane relief in Texas. The Indians host Bethel Park at 7:30 p.m. The cheerleaders are asking for cleaning products, toiletries, plastic wear, paper plates, Ziploc bags, canned goods, cat or dog food, baby formula, diapers and baby wipes, feminine products, new underwear and socks, rubber gloves, bottled water and disposable facemasks.

A week ago, the cheerleaders collected three pallets of supplies and one pallet of animal food, Peters Township athletic director Brian Geyer said.

TV timeout

Two WPIAL football games will be televised this week.

WPNT (Ch. 22) The Point will televise the Class 6A Southeastern Conference matchup between Hempfield (1-1, 0-1) and Mt. Lebanon (1-1, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m.

Xfinity will make available the Allegheny Nine matchup of Upper St. Clair (1-1, 1-0) and Moon (1-1, 0-0) tape-delayed through on-demand. The video will be available to Xfinity customers Saturday.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Penn Hills, Peters Township, Quaker Valley