A-K Valley don’t miss high school football matchups for 2021 Week 5

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, September 29, 2021 | 4:51 PM

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Class 5A Northeast

Shaler (2-3, 0-0) at Fox Chapel (2-3, 0-0)

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

The Foxes hope to bounce back after a 48-28 loss to Class 5A No. 1 Moon last Friday. The setback halted a mini two-game win streak (Plum, Franklin Regional). A 28-point second quarter for the Tigers broke open a tie game. Fox Chapel quarterback Collin Dietz threw for 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Dietz owns 659 passing yards and six touchdowns. Zidane Thomas rushed for two scores for the Foxes against Moon, giving him five rushing scores through five games. … Shaler has lost three in a row (Hampton, West Allegheny, Penn-Trafford) after a 2-0 start. The Titans took the undefeated Talbots to the limit (41-38) in Week 2. Quarterback Keegan Smetanka and running back Josh Miller pace the Titans offense. Smetanka threw for 227 yards and three TDs against Hampton, while Miller added 183 rushing yards and two scores on 20 carries. … Shaler owns a 2-1 advantage in the most recent series started in 2017. Fox Chapel won last year, 36-21.

Class 4A Greater Allegheny

Indiana (3-2, 1-1) at Knoch (1-4, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Knoch Knights Stadium, Jefferson Township

Knoch fell 49-6 to Armstrong last Friday. Keagan Fraser led the Knights running attack with 17 carries for 70 yards, and the team totaled 171 yards on 43 carries overall. Knoch only threw two passes against the River Hawks. The Knights are averaging 10.8 points a game and giving up 37.2. … Indiana fell to Greensburg Salem, 35-14, last Friday, snapping a three-game winning streak. The Indians, like Knoch, kept it almost exclusively on the ground. Devin Flint rushed for 130 yards and both scores on 19 carries while Zach Herrington added 128 yards on 18 attempts. … Indiana won last year’s meeting, 29-6.

Plum (1-4, 1-1) at Highlands (4-1, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights

Plum owns an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series, starting with a WPIAL playoff game at Valley in 1976 won by the Mustangs, 7-6. … Plum got into the win column for the first time in five games with a 29-0 win over Mars. Junior Eryck Moore paced the running game with 108 yards and his first two rushing TDs of the season on 15 carries. Sophomore Sean Franzi added 114 passing yards and a TD toss to senior Samo Pitts. The Plum defense limited Mars to 111 yards of total offense. The Mustangs hope to clean up 101 yards lost on 10 penalties against the Planets. … Highlands suffered its first loss of the season last Friday, 27-7, to undefeated Hampton. Sophomore Luke Bombalski kept up his strong season with 124 yards on 21 carries. He now has 637 rushing yards in five games. Quarterback Chandler Thimons scored his second rushing TD of the season against Hampton to go along with nine passing scores. Daniel Thimons leads the Golden Rams defense with 36 tackles and is tied with Bombalski with four sacks.

Class 3A Allegheny Seven

Deer Lakes (2-3, 2-0) at East Allegheny (2-3, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at Churchman Stadium, North Versailles

Deer Lakes has won its past two games by a combined score of 55-0. The Lancers topped Valley, 6-0, last Friday in the 500th game in school history. A lone score from Cody Scarantine in the third quarter was all Deer Lakes would need. Scarantine finished with 122 rushing yards. A fumble recovery from Jake Thimons set up the scoring drive. The Lancers have averaged 17.2 points over five games and have given up 18 a game. … East Allegheny hoped to make it two in a row after a win over Burrell on Sept. 17, but North Catholic topped the Wildcats, 31-14. Michael Smith threw for 114 yards and a touchdown to Mekhi Manor, while Nate Waleko returned a fumble for a score. East Allegheny is seeking its sixth straight trip to the WPIAL playoffs. … East Allegheny leads the all-time series, 7-3, including last year’s 35-0 win at Lancers Stadium.

Freeport (1-3, 0-0) at Valley (0-5, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Valley High Memorial Stadium, New Kensington

Freeport will play its conference opener after last Friday’s game against Derry was canceled because quarantine issues with the Trojans program. The Yellowjackets picked up a game against Class 2A No. 2 Serra Catholic. Freeport was limited to 104 yards of total offense with 79 of that coming from the running game. Senior Garrett King led the way with 43 yards on 10 carries. Junior Jacksen Reiser made 15 tackles, giving him a team-best 47 through four games. … Valley was shut out for the third time this season in a 6-0 loss to Deer Lakes last Friday. The Vikings have just 15 points in five games. Tristen Goodwin led Valley with 12 completions out of 17 attempts for 145 yards. … Valley leads the all-time series 10-6. Eleven of the 16 games have been decided by 11 points or less. … The Vikings’ 1996 team, the only one in school history to go undefeated in the regular season (9-0) will be celebrated before the game.

2-North Catholic (5-0, 2-0) at Burrell (0-5, 0-1)

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

North Catholic is riding an 18-game regular-season winning streak. The last team to hang a regular-season loss on the Trojans was Central Valley (35-14) in 2019. North Catholic has outscored opponents 201-31, including last Friday’s 31-14 win over East Allegheny. Quarterback Joey Prentice and running back Kyle Tipinski usually are at the center of the Trojans offense, and each did damage against the Wildcats with two rushing TDs apiece. … Caden DiCaprio again was a workhorse for Burrell as he totaled 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 24 carries last week in a 35-17 loss to Apollo-Ridge. That gives DiCaprio 642 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Ethan Croushore, also a member of the Burrell boys soccer team, kicked a 27-yard field goal. … North Catholic owns a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Bucs. The last win for Burrell was in 2003 by a 28-7 count.

Class 2A Allegheny

Summit Academy (0-5, 0-0) at Apollo-Ridge (1-3, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, at Owens Field, Apollo

Apollo-Ridge hopes to build on its first win of the season, a 35-17 victory over Burrell last Friday. The Vikings were back on the field after canceling their game with Freeport from Sept. 17 because of covid quarantine issues. Against Burrell, Nick Curci returned to action from illness that forced him to miss the Sept. 10 Greensburg Central Catholic game, and he totaled 150 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. He now has 205 yards and four TDs on 30 carries. Sophomore quarterback Karter Schrock also returned Friday from a leg injury and threw for 200 yards and a pair of scores. … Summit Academy has lost to Class 3A power Avonworth, Class 4A New Castle, as well as Leechburg, Springdale and Western Beaver. Raquiane Cosby and Corral Stanback are two to pay attention to on both sides of the ball for the Knights. … Summit canceled its 2020 season because of covid health and safety concerns. The Vikings won both meetings between the teams in 2018 (21-0) and 2019 (34-6).

Class A Eastern

Greensburg C.C. (3-2, 1-1) at Springdale (3-2, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Veterans Memorial Field, Springdale

The Centurions lost a close matchup with Bishop Canevin, 20-14, last Saturday. Tyree Turner led GCC with 145 passing yards. The Centurions own wins over Seton LaSalle (17-7) and Apollo-Ridge (33-7) and a forfeit win over Imani Christian. … Springdale is hoping to snap a two-game losing streak after a 3-0 start and avoid an 0-3 start to conference play. The Dynamos fell behind Leechburg, 34-8, last Friday before falling 41-22. Legend Ausk threw for two TDs against the Blue Devils and has 424 passing yards through five games. … GCC owns a 10-5 lead in the all-time series with Springdale. The Dynamos won last year’s meeting, 45-22, as part of a 4-0 start.

Imani Christian (2-2, 1-1) at Riverview (0-4, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, at Riverside Park, Oakmont

Riverview will host its annual night game Friday evening. It also will be homecoming. The Raiders are 10-8 in night games at Riverside Park since 2006. Riverview played a pair of night games in 2009, ‘10 and ‘11. Riverview hopes the evening atmosphere will bring good fortunes as it is off to an 0-4 start overall and an 0-2 mark in conference play. The Raiders fell to Clairton, 38-0, last week and were held to 46 yards of offense. Senior running back/linebacker Dean Cecere, who is battling through a sore knee, will play Friday. Cecere and Jordan Hart Brown each had an interception against Clairton, while Justin Hart Brown recovered a fumble. Toby Green and Anthony Tigano led the way with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. … Imani Christian, which had to forfeit a game to Greensburg C.C. from Sept. 17, bounced back last Friday with a 14-7 win over Jeannette. Raysaun Jackson and Malik Shannon each tallied touchdown runs in the victory. Imani Christian leads the series, first played in 2016, 4-1. The Saints won last year’s meeting, 48-25. Riverview’s win came in 2019 by a score of 21-10.

Leechburg (4-1, 1-1) at Jeannette (1-4, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, at McKee Stadium, Jeannette

Leechburg leads WPIAL Class A in scoring after five games at 46 points a game. The Blue Devils topped Springdale, 41-22, last week. Thomas Burke III threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns against Springdale, and he has 688 yards and six TDs over the past two games with 1,175 yards and 10 scores for the season. Tyler Foley paced the receivers with four catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. …The Jayhawks got a touchdown run from Tyler Horn in last week’s 14-7 loss to Imani. Horn has three of Jeannette’s five touchdowns this season. Jeannette didn’t score a point until Week 3 when it topped Riverview, 28-6. … Jeannette owns a 13-1-1 advantage in the all-time series with Leechburg. The Blue Devils won 9-6 in 1987. Leechburg has never beaten Jeannette at McKee Stadium, but it won WPIAL titles there in 1953 (Baldwin) and 1966 (Avella).

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, Burrell, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Indiana, Knoch, Leechburg, North Catholic, Plum, Shaler, Springdale, Summit Academy, Valley