A-K Valley high school football notebook: Group effort helps Fox Chapel end losing skid

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 31, 2024 | 3:09 PM

Fox Chapel’s seniors were freshmen the last time they experienced a victory on the football field.

It was the 2021 WPIAL Class 5A playoffs when the Foxes upset Upper St. Clair in the first round.

A 20-9 setback in Week Zero extended the losing streak to 22 games.

But that is no more.

Fox Chapel was able to put it all together Friday in a convincing 38-7 victory at Baldwin.

Junior Hurran Zureikat gave the Foxes a 6-0 lead in the first quarter with field goals of 21 and 26 yards. Junior Max Melocchi extended the advantage to 13-0 with a 23-yard run in the second.

Fox Chapel went up 19-7 at halftime as junior Joey Geller ran one in from 9 yards. He later put one on the board as he scored on a 1-yard plunge as part of a three-score second half for the Foxes, who racked up 376 total yards and held Baldwin to 192, including just 9 yards on the ground.

Geller was an efficient 5 of 6 passing for 109 yards and the TD and added 13 carries for 30 yards.

Senior Victor Nernberg collected 122 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and Zureikat capped the scoring early in the fourth with a field goal from 35 yards.

Senior Cooper Hendren helped the Foxes cause with a pair of interceptions.

Fox Chapel hopes to make it two in a row Friday as it returns home to host Knoch (1-1) at 7 p.m.

Knights bounce back

Speaking of Knoch, the Knights were able to get that winning feeling for the first time Friday as they topped North Catholic, 28-17, at home.

Week Zero’s 42-7 loss to Kiski Area left a bad taste in their mouths, but coach Tim Burchett saw growth in his team after a positive week of practices.

Junior Colt Sprankle picked up his first win as Knights quarterback after coming over from Armstrong. He was 11 of 16 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown. He also ran seven times for 61 yards and a score.

Senior Codi Mullen collected 33 yards and two TDs on five carries and caught four of Sprankle’s passes for 79 yards and a score.

Senior Sam Skurka was the main running threat as he finished with 103 yards on 16 carries to go along with three receptions for 33 yards.

Senior Kaden Spencer contributed 33 yards on three catches.

Golden Rams give extra effort

Highlands went above and beyond the regular 48 minutes for the second straight home game to start the 2024 season.

Friday’s wild 53-52, three-overtime triumph over Elizabeth Forward at Golden Rams Stadium marked the first time in program history Highlands played consecutive overtime games.

The Golden Rams came up short in Week Zero against Armstrong, 38-37.

This time, going for 2 and the win was successful. After scoring from 9 yards in the third overtime, quarterback Menage Lucas ran in the conversion to cap the victory. He was mobbed by his teammates in the back of the end zone as the Highlands faithful went wild in celebration.

Lucas finished the game with three rushing touchdowns and another passing. His 300 total yards — 170 rushing and 130 passing — gives him 746 total yards of offense for the first two weeks.

He now owns nine touchdowns — six rushing and three passing.

Darius Cherry, who had just 3 yards on 10 carries against Armstrong, broke out Friday for 126 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

Highlands hopes to build on the momentum from the win as it visits New Castle on Friday to close out nonconference play.

Williams runs strong

Deer Lakes senior tailback Zier Williams found it tough sledding on the ground in Week Zero as he totaled just 38 yards on 20 attempts in the Lancers’ 28-7 win over Keystone Oaks.

He did contribute in that game with a rushing TD and one more through the air.

Williams was able to break out more Friday in a big road win over a South Park team ranked third in the Trib HSSN Class 2A rankings.

He collected 118 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 26 carries for the 2-0 Lancers, who hope to remain undefeated Friday at Derry in their final nonconference game before the start of Allegheny 7 play.

Senior quarterback Jake Fleischer was 11 of 17 for 90 yards and one touchdown passing and another rushing in his second varsity start.

Deer Lakes protected the football with no turnovers.

The Lancers are 2-0 for the first time since 2015 when they started 4-0 with wins over West Shamokin, Valley, South Allegheny and Shady Side Academy.

Leading the way

• Kiski Area’s Carson Heinle threw for the sixth-most yards in the WPIAL in Week 1 with 236 on 13 of 17 passing in the Cavaliers’ (1-1) 33-21 setback to Norwin.

He threw touchdown passes of 44 and 35 yards to Aven Shirley, who finished with six catches for 128 yards. Shirley was one of a select few in the WPIAL to surpass the century mark in receiving yards.

• Valley’s Zayaan Farron was third on the receiving list with six catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns Friday in a 38-36 loss to Riverview.

• That receiving leaders list included Riverview’s Alex Schultheis (five catches, 121 yards) and Plum’s Darian Nelson (five catches, 114 yards) in the Mustangs’ loss to Latrobe.

• Riverview kicked off its season Friday after opting to conduct a second scrimmage rather than play a Week Zero game.

Nicholas Heakins produced 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Valley against the Raiders. He added a 99-yard kickoff return for a score.

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.