CTK ’14: WPIAL AA Century Conference Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 17, 2014 | 10:19 PM

Some things are fresh, while others are the same-old, same-old in the WPIAL Class AA Century Conference on the brink of the start of the 2014 campaign.

First, the New Century. Nearly one-third of this ten team conference is new to the section. In fact, two teams are new to the classification as both the Carlynton Cougars and the Sto-Rox Vikings move up from Class A where the Vikings played in the last two WPIAL Single-A championship games. East Allegheny is also new to the conference, moving over from the Westmoreland/Washington County based Interstate Conference to the Allegheny County filled Century Conference, joining the likes of Keystone Oaks, Quaker Valley, Seton-LaSalle, South Allegheny, South Park, South Fayette and Steel Valley.

Now, the Old Century. South Fayette is coming off a golden 16-0 season and is expected to once again challenge for the conference and district championships, with stiff challenges coming from two familiar rivals in Seton-LaSalle and Quaker Valley.

Old or new, this years version of the Century Conference is the deepest of the four Double-A classifications and a tough one to predict.

Here is a look at the Century Conference:

CARLYNTON COUGARS:

Carlynton returns to Class AA where they finished 0-9 the last time they played in the classification in 2007. The move down to Class A was expected to be a boom for the Cougars program, however the last six years in Single-A produced no playoffs, no winning season and a combined record of 18-39.

But even though Carlynton is moving up and coming off a 4-6 season, a strong sophomore class and a new coach has brought enthusiasm and a positive outlook on this 2014 campaign.

One of those super sophomores is quarterback Courtnay Mickens, who brings a strong arm to his first year under center. A couple of good running backs will take some of the burden off Mickens as the Cougars rely on the one two punch of junior speedster Isiah Canton and sophomore power back Brandon Rogers. Canton rushed for 1,068 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore last year while Rogers added 155 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore Deandre Williams saw some time last year and will see time at slot back this season. Junior Shafique Patterson and sophomore Hunter Kephart are two big weapons on offense at wide receiver.

Senior Mike Griffin leads a young line that has plenty of size. The 6’2, 275-pound Griffin has added 2 inches and 35 pounds from a year ago. Joining him in the trenches are sophomores Antonio Munoz and Vadym Zhuravsky along with freshman Xavier Teagle. Leading the way on defense is senior linebacker Dale Rybacki who will also see time at tight end.

EAST ALLEGHENY WILDCATS:

East Allegheny has become the nomads of the WPIAL in Class AA. In 2011, the Wildcats were part of the Class AA Interstate Conference where they last made the postseason before moving in 2012 and 2013 into the Class AA Allegheny Conference. After finishing 5-5 and just missing the postseason by one game a year ago, district realignment has brought the Wildcats into the Century Conference.

Second year coach Dom Pecora hopes to build off of last year’s .500 season with the caveat of getting back into the playoffs in their new conference. A new face will guide the offense as junior Deon Smith takes over for the dynamic duo of Shabazz Washington and Kyle Whipple, who combined to throw for nearly 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. Smith connected in ho only pass attempt in 2013, hitting on a 20-yard touchdown toss. Junior Rocco Dunn will transform into the top target for the Wildcats. A year ago he had five receptions for 50 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wildcats leading rusher from a year ago returns in senior Taizjon Brown, who gained 982 yards on the ground and scored twelve touchdowns. Senior running back Rod Jones will also help in the EA ground attack.

A young but big offensive line will be led by a pair of underclassmen in 6’2, 230-pound sophomore Gino DePaoli and 6’2, 280-pound junior Sam Mikolay. Brown, Jones and senior Lamar Jones will play key roles on a Wildcats defense that allowed the tenth most points out of 35 teams in Class AA a year ago. 

KEYSTONE OAKS GOLDEN EAGLES:

When some coaches leave a job, they may travel across the county, the district or the state to get another gig. Not the case for Greg Perry, the long-time head coach at Seton-LaSalle packed his bags and walked right across McNeilly Road to Keystone Oaks where he hopes his vaunt passing attack reputation will help lift the low flying Golden Eagles to new heights.

Coach Perry has some experience under center as senior Kobe Phillippi is back after hitting on 92 of 160 passes for 1,028 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago. He also rushed for 154 yards and a pair of scores. Last year’s second leading receiver is also back senior Brandon Carroll, who caught 17 passes for 101 yards. Other top targets will be sophomore wide receiver Nick Hrivnak and junior tight end Leo Palmer.

Senior Jimmy Canello will lead the rushing attack. He led the Golden Eagles on the ground last fall with 422 yards and five touchdowns. Up front, Keystone Oaks is young; with the lone senior being center Brian Hazel; however there are high hopes for four juniors in Joey Kazalas, Zayne Jastrzebski, John Boulos and Kenyon Griffiths along with sophomore Tim Mazzarini.

While many of the above will also play on defense, some players to watch when the Golden Eagles are defending are junior linebacker Cody Cerminara, sophomore linebackers Devin Thomas and Dan Black. The feeling is if KO can stay healthy, they can compete in a tough conference and improve on their 2-7 mark from a year ago.

QUAKER VALLEY QUAKERS:

There was a time not long ago when a successful football season at Quaker Valley was registered with a win or two. Everybody tried to get the Quakers to be their homecoming game. But coach John Tortorea has helped turns things around to the point QV finished in second place last year and not only qualified for the playoffs, but beat New Brighton 29-15 to advance to the district Quarterfinals before falling 43-26 to Aliquippa. The old conference mutt has grown into a great dane.

Speaking of great Dane’s, Dane Jackson returns are quarterback for the Quakers. Jackson is a senior at Cornell High School, which has a cooperative agreement with Quaker Valley since the Raiders program folded a few years ago. QV opponents thought they were seeing double last year as Jackson did damage with his arm (66 of 113 passing for 975 yards and 13 touchdowns) as well as his legs (leading rusher with 1,111 yards on 118 carries and ten touchdowns).

Top target Chris Conlan is back. The senior had 29 receptions for 426 yards (14.7 yds per catch) and five touchdowns. The ground game will be manned by seniors Tre-won Marshall and Aaron Cunningham, who did as much damage as receivers as they did as runners in 2013. Marshall rushed for 544 yards with 14 touchdowns while catching 10 passes for 244 yards, an average of 24 yards per catch. Cunningham rushed for 447 yards and caught 16 passes for 97 yards last season.

Senior tight end John Bernard is another weapon on offense. Bernard had only five catches, but three of them went for touchdowns. He also handled some of the place kicking duties for the Quakers. 

SETON-LASALLE REBELS:

In 2013, Seton-LaSalle cleared all obstacles with the lone exception of South Fayette and the surprising Quaker Valley Quakers. The Rebels lost to the Lions in a battle for the conference title 45-3 in the regular season, then lost again to the eventual WPIAL and PIAA champions in a much more competitive contest 31-7 in the district Quarterfinals. Quaker Valley also tripped up the green and gold, 40-14.

The Rebels return several key players, but do so with a new coach. Former Seton-LaSalle assistant Damon Rosol replaces Greg Perry and takes over a team with high expectations.

Back are the teams leading passer in Tyler Perone (169 of 284 passing for 2,326 yards and 24 touchdowns), the team’s leading rusher in Ricky Mellick (4.9 yards per carry) and the team’s leading receiver in Danzel McKinley-Lewis (40 receptions for 791 yards and 11 touchdowns).

Other returning starters include senior wide receiver/safety Dequay Broadwater, senior wide receiver Matt Reinmund, junior running back/linebacker Liam Sweeney, senior tight end/linebacker Adam Ottauiano, senior defensive back Chad Murphy along with senior linemen Billy Jackson and Jacob Blahut.

The hope is that the experience returning combined with new blood such as juniors Nico Popa (DB/WR), Zach Devenney (OL) and Andrew Lease (OL/DE) along with sophomores Jacob Hinish (OL/DE) and Paris Ford (WR/DB) will help Seton-LaSalle clear the green machine hurdle that stopped them last year.

SOUTH ALLEGHENY GLADIATORS:

After the silver fox, head coach Pat Monroe led down trodden South Allegheny to a 7-3 mark, a third place finish and their first playoff game in two and a half decades in 2012, the follow up was a six game swing in the wrong direction as the Gladiators finished next to last with a 1-9 mark. Injuries hurt the team a year ago, but it allowed a lot of young talent to pick up some valuable experience heading into this campaign.

One of the big questions for the Gladiators heading into 2014 is who will fill the void of graduated quarterback Ty Cook, who threw for 850 yards and five touchdowns and was the team’s second leading rusher with 328 yards on the ground. He was also the SA’s leading scorer with six touchdowns. Three players are in the mix and may share time once the season begins. They are senior Mark Gobbie, junior Jonathon Mayrenik and sophomore Tyler Hinerman.

While there is a question mark under center, the other weapons on South Allegheny’s offense are rock solid with the running attack led by four-year starter DaVantae Johnson, who led the team in rushing a year ago with a 6.9 yards per carry average. Senior Curtis Moore is another valuable running weapon. He missed a lot of his junior season with an ankle injury. Two wide receivers that saw plenty of action a year ago are seniors John Perkins and Dylan Papson, both who will help any of the quarterbacks in the SA passing attack. Johnson, Moore, Perkins and Papson also are the four starting defensive backs. Senior tight end Mike Gobbie is another strong target for whoever the SA quarterback is.

The Gladiators have size and experience on both the offensive and defensive lines in seniors Seth Hitchins (6’3, 243), Zach Young (6’1, 275), Scott Kepple (6’0, 240) and Shane Neish (6’0, 260) along with junior Alex Morgan (6’1, 260). 

SOUTH FAYETTE LIONS:

How do you follow up on perfection? Well, if the Clairton Bears taught us anything on their historic run, you can go 16-0 and win a conference, WPIAL and PIAA championship again. That is what Joe Rossi and his coaching staff hope to do as an encore to a memorable 2013 season.

It helps when you have one of the best quarterbacks in WPIAL history returning. Brett Brumbaugh is a healthy senior season away from possibly becoming the all-time leading passer in District 7 history in which he could surpass the record set just last year by Sto-Rox graduate Lenny Williams. In 2013, Brumbaugh put up these mind-numbing numbers: he connected on 260 of 379 yards passing for 3,917 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Brumbaugh does have some experience targets back in MSA Sports/Kennywood Park Preseason All-Star senior tight end Logan Sharp, who was third on the team in catches last season with 30 receptions for 515 yards and five touchdowns. The three top wide receivers back are senior Ryan Schmider (12 catches for 102 yards in ’13), senior Roman Denson (7 rec for 53 yds) and junior Nick Ponivkar (7 rec for 121 yds).  Junior Hunter Hayes is also back for the Lions. He was the team’s second leading rusher a year ago behind the graduated Grant Fetchet with nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns.

One of the keys for South Fayette last year was the underrated line play, which was dominant on both sides of the ball. The Lions were hit hard by graduation in the trenches but do return 6’2, 230-pound senior lineman Anthony Davidson along with 6’2, 230-pound junior Zach Radinick.

Another MSA Sports/Preseason Kennywood All-Star was senior J.J. Walker, who will help Hayes at running back (332 yards and 19 touchdowns in ’13). He also will join forces with Sharp to form a formidable linebacking duo.

SOUTH PARK EAGLES:

The playoff drought finally ended for legendary coach Tom Loughran and South Park last season. The Eagles captured the WPIAL Class AA title in 2005 then went seven straight years without a postseason berth before finishing 5-4 and in fourth place last fall. Their playoff experience was short and not so sweet though as they fell to top-seed Aliquippa 41-0 in Round One. But getting that playoff taste again could help drive this year’s squad toward bigger and better things.

Senior Nick Scholle is back under center for the Eagles. The quarterback was injured at the start of the 2013 season, but took over to help solidify the position with both his passing and running skills. South Park has a trio of tailbacks they plan to use in senior Josh Coursey and juniors Adam Staudt and Ty Washington. Seniors Harry Zaremba and Ryan Mino are back at wide receiver with Mino also handling the kicking duties.

South Park has good size up from led by senior Ryan Podgorski. The 6’5, 265-pound offensive and defensive lineman is getting some Division I looks. He is joined in the trenches by seniors Kyle Durham and Stefan Savic (both 6’2, 260-pounds) along with Robbie Wolak (6’2, 295-pounds).

We will learn quickly about how good this Eagles team will be in 2014, as they begin the season at Seton-LaSalle, at Quaker Valley and home to South Fayette in the first three weeks.

STEEL VALLEY IRONMEN:

Close but no cigar was the mantra for Steel Valley a year ago as Rod Steele’s team finished 4-5 overall and in fifth place, just missing the postseason by one game. Hopes are high this fall for the Ironmen as they return seven starters on offense and seven on defense.

Leading the way is dynamic super sophomore Dewayne Murray, who is already getting looks from Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia. As a freshman last fall, Murray was first team all-conference with 1,488 yards and seven touchdowns. Backfield teammate Tremiere Redden is another standout tenth grader at tight end and linebacker.

A flip-flop will take place on offense. Connor Stevens threw for over 300 yard last year but will shift to wide receiver while Tyrone Freeman, a second team all-conference linebacker takes over at quarterback. Freeman rushed for nearly 400 yards last fall.

Other returning starters to watch for the Ironmen junior wide receiver/defensive backs Cameron Brookins, Earltre Edwards and Kennedy Smith, senior wide receiver/defensive back Rasheen Fuller, junior linemen Diego Lopez, Derian Smith and Logan Blazevich, senior lineman Vinny Steele and junior fullback/linebacker Elisha Hughes.  

Diamond standout Brandon Donovan, the winning pitcher in the WPIAL Class AA baseball championship game this past spring, will rely on his leg this fall as the senior will handle the kicking duties for Steel Valley.

STO-ROX VIKINGS:

Change is in the air at Sto-Rox this fall as the Vikings welcome a new coach in Jason Ruscitto as well as preparing for the new challenge of moving up in classification to Class AA. After four years dominating Class A with three straight trips to the district championship, the Vikings will try to continue to shine with plenty of new faces.

There are plenty of shoes to fill from the Vikings 12-1 team from a year ago, none bigger than those of the WPIAL’s all-time leading passer, Lenny Williams.  The Temple recruit threw for 2,709 yards and 34 touchdowns last year while also rushing for 551 yards and 12 touchdowns.

But quarterback is not the only position to fill for Sto-Rox as they return only two starters on offense and three on defense. A pair of senior receivers will be expected to deliver big plays in Craig Johnson (19 receptions for 340 yards in 2013) and Javelle Kirkland (10 catches for 247 yards and 7 touchdowns), who missed part of his junior season due to injury. Up front, senior Jesse Mayes and Brandon Gary are back to lead the line.

A pair of newcomers will help in the run game in senior running back/linebacker Jordan Lewis and junior running back/linebacker Will Huston. Junior Jordan Arnet at receiver/defensive back will also play a big role on both sides of the ball.

MSA SPORTS PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:

1.   South Fayette Lions

7.   Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles

8.   East Allegheny Wildcats

9.   Sto-Rox Vikings

10. Carlynton Cougars

Tags: Carlynton, East Allegheny, Keystone Oaks