Westmoreland high school football notebook: Week 2 family affair for Bowens

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 6, 2018 | 11:21 PM

As Hempfield football coach Rich Bowen watched game film of Norwin earlier this week, his eyes kept wandering to the Knights left guard and then to their defensive end.

Same kid. His son, Aaron Bowen, plays those positions. Hempfield (1-1, 0-1) hosts Norwin (1-1, 0-1) Friday night at Spartan Stadium, and a father will coach against his son.

“I want him to play well, but I want us to win,” Rich Bowen said with a smile. “I’ll definitely find (No.) 55 (on film), but I am watching more than just him. I try to watch his film more closely on the weekends.

“The nice thing is my wife (Denise) will get to watch us both. She usually goes to the Norwin games. It’s an enjoyable week for all of us. We know how fast it all goes.”

Aaron Bowen is a two-way starter for Norwin, which fell from the TribLive HSSN rankings after a 56-14 loss to No. 2 North Allegheny. Norwin was No. 5.

Rich was able to attend that game last Friday because Hempfield played Saturday.

Hempfield was roughed up by another Class 6A power, Pine-Richland, 49-0.

“It’s a perfect chance for us to bounce back,” Aaron Bowen said. “It’s a conference game against our own caliber team.”

The Bowens have had different rooting interests before. Sean Bowen, a former Norwin quarterback, used to go against his father just the same.

“Aaron watched how Sean and I handled this week,” Rich said. “It’s not like I’m asking him for Norwin’s plays. When Sean played, it wasn’t like I was blitzing everyone or sending crossfire blitzes every time. And we won’t try to (double-team) Aaron all game.

“We have some fun with it but really don’t get into it too much. He’s playing well, and I’m proud of him.”

Remaley to play

Hempfield junior quarterback Blake Remaley said he will play Friday night after injuring his surgically repaired left shoulder against Pine-Richland.

Remaley had surgery on his left shoulder after suffering a torn labrum last football season. He could not play sports for six months.

He wore a sling and support tape on his shoulder during practice this week.

“I don’t want to miss this game,” he said. “I have been texting with some of the Norwin guys.”

Spotlight game

The National Athletic Association of Private Schools has tabbed Imani Christian (2-0, 1-0) at Jeannette (2-0, 1-0) as its national game of the week.

The NAAPS, located in Atlanta, looks to connect private and Christian schools from across the country through recognition, including national rankings.

What injuries?

Greensburg Central Catholic is 2-0 and has allowed seven points. And that’s without two key players. Senior receiver Bryce Kurpiel and junior running back Tom Voelker are out with injuries.

Kurpiel has a leg injury, and Voelker has a concussion.

“We’re pretty pleased to be playing so well without them,” GCC coach Aaron Smetanka said. “They do a lot for us. We just want to keep improving every week. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Derry is in a similar situation. The Trojans are down two key two-way players: Colton Nemcheck and Justin Huss have been out with leg injuries, but the team is 2-0. Nemcheck (knee) came back last week against Freeport.

Huss, who has a broken leg, could return next month.

Two down

A pair of local teams are not used to being 0-2.

Mt. Pleasant has not started with two losses since 2006, and Penn-Trafford’s last 0-2 start came in 2009.

Rams record

Ligonier Valley quarterback John Caldwell zipped a 55-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Aaron Tutino on the first play from scrimmage last Friday but didn’t stop there: Caldwell tossed five more scores to break Collin Smith’s single-game mark with six TDs.

The high-powered Rams rolled past Penns Manor, 48-8.

Dual-threat Dunlap

Penn-Trafford junior quarterback Gabe Dunlap has shown up twice on the 100-yard performers two weeks in a row.

Dunlap has thrown and rushed for more than 100 yards in consecutive games. Against Penn-Trafford in the opening week, he passed for 156 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 112 and another score.

Last week against Gateway, he threw for 151 yards and ran for 101 and a score.

“He can really move,” Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said. “That’s his thing, really. He can do both well for us.”

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Imani Christian, Jeannette, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Penn-Trafford