‘Champs until proven otherwise:’ Penn Hills challenges Pine-Richland in No. 1 vs. 2 clash

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, September 7, 2023 | 11:04 PM

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Penn Hills is ranked No. 1 in WPIAL football, but Pine-Richland is the reigning conference, WPIAL and PIAA champion until someone takes those titles away.

That’s how Penn Hills coach Charles Morris sees the situation.

“They’re the state champs. They’re the WPIAL champs. I’ve got the old school mentality: In order to be a champion, you’ve got to play them,” Morris said. “They’re the champs until proven otherwise.”

No. 2 Pine-Richland (1-1) hosts No. 1 Penn Hills (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in a Northeast Conference opener for each.

Penn Hills won the regular-season matchup against Pine-Richland last season, but Pine-Richland went on to win everything else. So, for Penn Hills, this matchup isn’t about proving anything right now, Morris said, but rather a step toward whatever happens later in the year.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a measuring stick,” Morris said. “More so, you’ve got two quality teams that want to battle it out.”

A year ago, the Week 2 storyline was about Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne making his first return to Penn Hills, where he’d coached for five seasons. The Penn Hills players were motivated to face their former coach and won 33-28.

This year, there’s less buildup.

“Obviously, it’s more than just a regular season game,” Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne said. “But I think some of the emotion that was there last year isn’t there as much this year.”

He’s good with that, too.

Pine-Richland returns a number of starters from last year’s championship team, and the offensive line is still its strength with Wisconsin recruit Ryan Cory. But the team is breaking in two new quarterbacks.

Senior Kanan Huffman (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) and freshman Aaron “Oobi” Strader (5-10, 160) give the offense different looks. The Rams are coming off a 48-0 nonconference victory over Kiski Area in which Huffman threw for two touchdowns and Strader ran for one.

Bryce O’Brien also scored twice, and running back Ethan Pillar had a goal-line touchdown in the lopsided win.

“At this time last year, we were still trying to figures some things out,” said LeDonne, who then was in his first year. “We were still learning some of the systems and game-time speeds. Where this year, I think our guys are a little more comfortable with what we’re asking them to do.”

Still, having a conference game in Week 2 isn’t ideal for anyone, especially since it will shape the conference playoff race. Only two teams in each Class 5A conference are guaranteed postseason spots.

“It’s a big game, a big conference game, early in the year,” LeDonne said. “But at the same time, you try to keep the kids locked in on what we’re going out to do. We won’t put too much emphasis on it.

“Hey, we lost this game last year,” he added, “and then came around and ran the table.”

Penn Hills defeated Seneca Valley, 33-20, in Week Zero, and Norwin, 27-0, in Week 1. Pitt-bound quarterback Julian Dugger passed for a touchdown and ran for another in last week’s win. Running back Amir Key scored twice.

Morris said he saw positive signs in Penn Hills’ first two wins, but like any early season games, there’s room for improvement. Primarily, Morris said, he wants more discipline from his players.

“They’re competing for sure,” he said. “But we can always play better if we clean up some mistakes and eliminate some of the penalties. We need to play clean and efficient, disciplined football. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Rarely do teams start looking ahead to the playoff race this early in the season, but nobody would blame teams in 5A. Only eight teams overall make the playoffs.

“With the playoff format, you need to win conference games to set yourself up for success,” LeDonne said. “Look what Penn Hills did last year. A two-conference-loss team missed out on the playoffs.”

Penn Hills missed the playoffs on tiebreakers in Morris’ first year. That was disappointing ending for an Indians team that’s now heavy with seniors.

They want what Pine-Richland already had.

“If your goal isn’t to win a WPIAL and state championship, I think you’re going into it with the wrong mindset,” Morris said. “I don’t care who you’re coaching. You’re going in there with the mindset to win.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Penn Hills, Pine-Richland