A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 4

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 | 6:28 PM

Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference

Knoch (1-3, 0-1) at Armstrong (2-2, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, NexTier Bank Complex, Manor Township

The River Hawks went for the win last Friday against Hampton, but a 2-point conversion pass with 39 seconds left fell short in a 21-20 loss to the Talbots … Armstrong is led by the passing and rushing of 6-foot-5 quarterback Cadin Olsen, who threw for 117 yards and the late touchdown and added 93 rush yards and a pair of 1-yard TD keepers. The Riverhawks have lost two straight after topping Freeport and Deer Lakes to start the season … Knoch, which won its first game of the season against Deer Lakes two weeks ago, suffered a 34-13 setback to Greensburg-Salem in its conference opener last Friday. Keagan Fraser paced the Knights offense with 65 yards and a pair of 15-yard scores on 21 carries. Knoch finished with 131 rush yards overall … Armstrong won last year’s meeting, 34-7.

Mars (0-4, 0-1) at Plum (0-4, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum Borough

Mars is an uncharacteristic 0-4 after nonconference losses to North Hills, Shaler and New Castle and last Friday’s 22-7 conference-opening setback to Highlands. The Planets’ lone score against the Golden Rams came on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Rafael Bartley to Chris Dvorak to tie the game in the second quarter. Mars averaged 6.8 points through four games … Plum led Indiana late last Friday before the Indians got the game-winner in a 41-37 result. Santino Saccone threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Mustangs. Junior Eryck Moore and senior Logan Brooks returned from injury. Both scored TDs on long kickoff returns. Moore also tallied a touchdown catch, and freshman Darian Nelson and senior Samo Pitts added TD receptions … Plum won last year’s meeting at Mars, 49-21, in the first year for both teams in Class 4A.

Class 3A Allegheny Seven Conference

Valley (0-4, 0-1) at Deer Lakes (1-3, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Lancers Stadium, West Deer Township

Valley hopes to get its offense in gear this week. The Vikings averaged 3.8 points over their first four games, a daunting gauntlet of games against Hampton, Highlands, Shady Side Academy and North Catholic. The Vikings were limited to six yards of total offense in a 49-0 loss to North Catholic last Friday … Valley won last year’s meeting with Deer Lakes, 34-0 … The Lancers landed in the win column last week with a 49-0 rout of Derry. The victory snapped a 15-game losing streak. Deer Lakes led 25-0 at halftime and added on in the second half to leave no doubt. Cody Scarantine scored twice on a pair of 1-yard runs, and junior Conner Walker and senior Josh Jordan caught touchdowns from sophomore Derek Burk. Burk added a TD pass to senior Jake Thimons and finished 11 of 17 for 182 yards.

Class A Eastern Conference

1-Clairton (1-2, 1-0) at Riverview (0-3, 0-1)

Noon Saturday, Riverside Park, Oakmont

The Bears, 0-2 after losses to Steel Valley and Washington in Weeks 1 and 2, righted their ship last week with a 48-27 victory over Leechburg in their Eastern Conference opener. Clairton rose to No. 1 from No. 4 in the Trib HSSN Class A rankings … Clairton leads the all-time series with Riverview, 21-13. The Raiders last won in 2005. The most recent series started in 2014, and Clairton has outscored Riverview 420-6 over those seven games … Clairton senior quarterback Capone Jones is a dual threat for the Bears. He threw for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown against Leechburg and also tallied three touchdowns and 125 yards on the ground. Senior wideout Brooklyn Cannon is a big-play threat … Dean Cecere tallied Riverview’s lone score and finished with 102 rush yards on 16 carries as the Raiders fell to Jeannette 28-6 last Friday. Cecere leads Riverview with four rushing touchdowns.

4-Springdale (3-1, 0-1) at Leechburg (3-1, 0-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Veterans Stadium, Leechburg

Both teams will attempt to bounce back after each suffered its first loss of the season in conference openers last Friday. Springdale and Leechburg own the Alle-Kiski Valley’s oldest rivalry dating to 1932. The Dynamos lead the all-time series 43-35. Springdale won last year, 45-19, and has won 20 of the last 23 meetings … The Dynamos suffered a 13-10 loss in a defensive battle with Class A No. 3 Bishop Canevin. John Utiss scored the lone Springdale touchdown on a 5-yard run in the third quarter. He finished with 11 carries for 38 yards. The Dynamos are averaging 27.5 points through four games … Leechburg wasn’t able to contain Clairton in a 48-27 home loss. Despite the setback, the Blue Devils still own the top scoring offense in WPIAL Class A at 47.3 points a game. Thomas Burke had a big game in the loss with 360 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions. Eli Rich and Logan Kline combined to catch 12 passes for 209 yards. Each hauled in a TD toss from Burke.

Nonconference

Apollo-Ridge (0-3) at Burrell (0-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Buccaneer Stadium, Lower Burrell

Burrell leads the all-time series 19-14. The Vikings won last year’s meeting, 56-8 … Apollo-Ridge returns to game action Friday after having to cancel last week’s game with Freeport over quarantine issues. The Vikings are hoping to avoid their first 0-4 start since 2010. Apollo-Ridge hopes to have several players back in the lineup, including starting sophomore quarterback/defensive back Karter Schrock (leg) and starting junior running back/linebacker Nick Curci (illness) who missed the 33-7 loss to Greensburg Central Catholic on Sept. 10 … Burrell tallied 21 points in a 30-21 loss to East Allegheny. The Bucs had 21 points combined over their first three weeks. Senior Caden DiCaprio was the workhorse for Burrell against East Allegheny with 32 carries for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Bucs hope to avoid their first 0-5 start since their winless 2014 season.

1-Moon (4-0) at Fox Chapel (2-2)

7 p.m. Friday, James Burk Complex, O’Hara Township

Fox Chapel bounced back from losses to Peters Township and Hampton in the first two weeks with victories over Plum (31-13) and, most recently, Franklin Regional (13-9). The Foxes scored the game winner against the Panthers in dramatic fashion last Friday as Colin Kwiatkowski caught a 28-yard touchdown toss from Collin Dietz on fourth down with five minutes left. The TD throw was Dietz’s fifth of the season. Kwiatkowski joins teammate Jake DeMotte with a pair of touchdown catches … Moon maintained its Trib HSSN No. 1 ranking in Class 5A after its 38-7 victory over North Hills, then No. 4 in Class 5A, last Friday. The Tigers have averaged 31.5 points a game and given up just 8.5 a contest. Tyler McGowan threw for 142 yards and a touchdown against North Hills, while Ian Foster and Dylan Sleva combined for 167 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Taite Beachy is a main receiving target for the Tigers … Moon won last year’s meeting, 35-13. It was the first victory for the Tigers over the Foxes in six games between the teams.

Class 2A No. 2 Serra Catholic (4-0) at Freeport (1-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Freeport was supposed to play it’s Class 3A Allegheny Seven Conference opener, but Derry had to cancel because of covid-19 protocols. Serra was supposed to play a nonconference game against Carlynton, but the Cougars had to cancel for the same reason. … Freeport returns to action Friday after last week’s scheduled game against Apollo-Ridge was canceled because of quarantine issues with the Vikings. Yellowjackets quarterbacks have thrown for 370 yards and three touchdowns over three games, while the running game has accounted for 299 yards. Junior Jacksen Reiser owns a team-best 32 tackles. Senior Andrew Sullivan is second with 27 stops. … Serra Catholic is led by senior quarterback Max Rocco, who has thrown for 684 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the backfield, senior Machai Brooks-Dutrieuille has run for 331 yards. Senior Terrell Booth (292 yards) has been the top target at wide receiver.

5-West Allegheny (3-0) at Kiski Area (4-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Richard Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township

The teams played a nonconference home-and-home series in 2016 and 2017, and West Allegheny won both meetings, 47-0 and 31-7. The Cavaliers, 4-0 for the first time since 2002 when they started 5-0, hope to turn the tables on the Indians … Kiski Area averaged 38 points the past two weeks in wins over Latrobe (35-27) and Connellsville (41-7). C.J. Hepler has rushed 40 times for 282 yards and four touchdowns the past two weeks. The Cavaliers totaled 249 yards on 37 rushes against the Falcons, and Logan Johnson complemented the run game with 103 yards and a touchdown through the air to go along with rushing scores of 12, 11 and 3 yards … West Allegheny is making noise again after falling short of the playoffs in the truncated 2020 season. The Indians shut down Shaler’s offense last week for a 24-0 victory. Quarterback Gavin Miller completed 16 of 26 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown to Jashon Spencer. Nodin Tracy is a dual threat out of the backfield. He ran for 84 yards and two scores on 11 carries against Shaler.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Clairton, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Mars, Moon, Plum, Riverview, Serra Catholic, Springdale, Valley, West Allegheny