CTK 2012 – WPIAL AAA Big Nine Conference Preview

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, August 17, 2012 | 3:20 PM

The Keystone Conference and its futility in the postseason made the conference an easy object of many jokes over the past decade. But you can’t knock the Keystone Conference this year.

Why? Because it’s gone.

With the new WPIAL alignment, there are only three conferences in Class AAA now instead of four. The teams that were in the Keystone Conference were absorbed into the Big Nine and Greater Allegheny conferences.

The Big Nine loses Chartiers Valley, South Park and McGuffey. Chartiers Valley moved to the Parkway Conference while South Park and McGuffey dropped to Class AA.

Moving from the Keystone to the Big Nine are Albert Gallatin, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown. Here is a rundown of the Big Nine Conference:

ALBERT GALLATIN COLONIALS:

The Big Nine seems to be stronger than the Keystone. That’s not good news for Albert Gallatin. The Colonials were 0-9 last season and were outscored, 428-93. They have won only one game in the past two seasons.

But there is some hope for this year’s team because some players are back that got experience from last season. Senior Marty Dodson and junior Richie Ohler both saw some time at quarterback. Ohler was 20 of 52 for 267 yards and Dodson 20 of 66 for 346.

Also back is junior running back Collin Smith, who was the most productive player on offense last season. Smith rushed for 403 yards on 105 attempts and also led the team in receptions with 25 for 264 yards.

BELLE VERNON LEOPARDS:

Belle Vernon made the playoffs last year with a 4-3 conference record, which tied the Leopards for third place. They believe they will be even better this season.

Belle Vernon has some talented returning players, including an offensive lineman who has scholarship offers from schools across the country. Dorian Johnson is a 6-6, 290-pound senior who made a verbal commitment to Penn State earlier this summer, only to back out after the NCAA hit the school with NCAA sanctions. Johnson says Pitt and Ohio State are his top schools now, but he also will look at other colleges. Notre Dame and Alabama are among the other schools that have offered.

Finding a go-to player at running back will be a key. Leading rusher Ian Dobbins graduated. But Belle Vernon has a talented, young quarterback in sophomore Travis Snyder, who started last year as a freshman. Snyder completed 28 of 61 for 310 yards a year ago. Also, junior Austin Fields was a second-team all-conference offensive lineman a year ago.

On defense, Belle Vernon must replace standout linebacker Adam Cole, who was the conference’s defensive MVP a year ago.

ELIZABETH FORWARD WARRIORS:

Coach Mike LeDonne believes his team will be a serious playoff challenger this season after finishing 1-6 (2-8 overall) in the conference last season. Six starters return on both offense and defense.

The defense has one of the top linebackers in the conference in senior Rex Pearce (6-2, 218), who led the team in tackles last season and was second-team all-conference. Pearce will also play fullback.

Adam Oatman, a 6-1, 240-pound senior, leads a host of returning starters on the offensive and defensive lines. Other returning linemen on offense are Ben Guenther, Brandon Janicki, Jake Brown, Devin McDonough and Dylan Wisniewski. Back on defense are Max Strotman, Adam Smith and Damon Morris.

Ryan Wardropper could be the quarterback this year. a year ago, he rushed for 265 yards on 68 attempts. Bill Miles returns at receiver and defensive back. Jake Myers is one to watch at running back and defensive back.

LAUREL HIGHLANDS MUSTANGS:

The Mustangs made the playoffs in the Keystone last year, finishing 3-4 in conference and 4-6 overall. Four starters return on both offense and defense from that team.

Jake Kearns is a 5-11, 215-pound running back-linebacker and one of the team’s top players. Back on the defensive line are Zach Delpinto (5-10, 305) and Xavier Daniels (6-0, 210). Stephen Deli (5-9, 170) returns at linebacker.

The offense has Joe Pegg and Keith Liptock returning at receiver while Shane Guthrie and George Teslovich are back on the offensive line.

Quarterback play will be a key. Jake Riddell threw for 1,151 yards last season, but has graduated. Raphael Cannon (5-8, 160) is in line to take over at quarterback.

RINGGOLD RAMS:

Ringgold is coming off an excellent 8-3 season. The Rams also won a playoff game last year. But things will be tougher in the Big Nine, and what complicates matters is coach Matt Humbert’s team lost a number of key players to graduation.

The biggest loss was quarterback Quad Law, who threw for more than 500 yards last season, but also rushed for more than 1,000. The offense was centered around him. Overall, four first-team all-conference players graduated.

But the cupboard isn’t bare. Demetrious Louis was the team’s second-leading rusher last season, gaining 486 yards n 52 attempts. He also scored 13 touchdowns. Ringgold wasn’t much of a throwing team, but senior Joey Wall was the team’s leading receiver with 11 catches.

Finding a capable quarterback will be key, but so will improving a defense that gave up a lot of points to the good teams a year ago.
 

THOMAS JEFFERSON JAGUARS:

Some long streaks came to an end for Thomas Jefferson last year. The Jaguars’ loss to West Mifflin in the regular-season finale ended Thomas Jefferson’s 37-game conference winning streak. Then a 31-9 loss to Knoch in the WPIAL quarterfinals ended a streak of 13-consecutive semifinal appearances.

It’s not that Thomas Jefferson became a mediocre team last year. The Jaguars simply came a little closer to the pack. But when it comes to the Big Nine this season, Thomas Jefferson still has a good chance to end on top of the pack.

It looks like Thomas Jefferson and West Mifflin are the teams to beat in the Big Nine. Thomas Jefferson has holes to fill at quarterback and running back, where Dom Preston (QB) and Ryan Ruffing (RB) graduated.

But Thomas Jefferson always seems to find a tough, hard-nosed running back who gains lots of yards, and the Jaguars always seem to find a good athlete to fit at quarterback. A trio of running backs saw a little bit of work at running back last year.  Jake Farrell carried 18 times for 160 yards as a sophomore and Byron Minous 19 for 117, also as a sophomore. Austin Kemp carried 22 times for 159 yards last year as a freshman.

Thomas Jefferson has one of the best all-around players in the conference in receiver-defensive back Zach Schademan, who caught 49 passes for 807 yards a year ago and also was a talented defensive back.

Senior Pat Hall is one of the best linemen in Class AAA after making first-team all-conference a year ago. Lineman Matt Nagy and linebacker Austin Boyd also showed plenty of promise on defense.
 

TRINITY HILLERS:

Trinity has a new coach, who is one of the youngest, if not the youngest, in the WPIAL. Ryan Coyle takes over at Trinity for Ed Dalton, who left after 13 years to become McGuffey’s coach and athletic director.

Coyle was only 26 when he was hired. He is a Penn Hills graduate who has been an assistant at Penn Hills, Shaler and Mt. Lebanon.
Coyle inherits a team that has a number of returning players at skill positions. Jason VanKirk is back at quarterback after completing 50 of 100 passes for 872 yards a year ago. Also back are the team’s top two rushers. Kyle Dugan rushed for 422 yards on 65 attempts while Pat Frey had 388 on 76 carries.

Corey Hunsberger figures to be one of the best all-around players in the conference. He was first-team all-conference at defensive back a year ago, but also led the team in receptions with 13. Frey caught 12 passes.

Lineman Xavier Stevens, linebacker Evan McWreath and tight end Jared Deep are three other returnees.

Overall, Coyle seems to have enough experience and talent to earn a playoff berth in his first year.
 

UNIONTOWN RED RAIDERS:

Uniontown is new to the conference, but maybe a change of scenery will help the Raiders are two consecutive rough seasons.

Uniontown was 3-6 in 2010 and 2-7 last year. The Raiders were outscored last year by an average of 33-10,

Uniontown has the potential for a decent running game with junior Tristan Sandrosky, who showed potential last year, running for 254 yards on 66 carries.

Xavier Ellis saw some time at quarterback last year, along with Joe Superick, who has graduated. Ellis’ passing stats weren’t great, completing 14 of 33 for 302 yards. But he did rush for 227 yards on 47 attempts.
 

WEST MIFFLIN TITANS:

The Titans tied Thomas Jefferson for the conference title a year ago and figure to be in the thick of the conference championship race again. One of the main reasons is senior quarterback Derrick Fulmore (6-0, 180), who was first-team all-conference a year ago. Fulmore completed 39 of 88 for 700 yards and also ran for 422 yards on 68 carries.

West Mifflin will have to find a feature running back now that Shamar Greene has graduated. Greene rushed for 1,441 yards last season. James Wheeler and DiAngelo Mitchell are two running backs to watch. Mitchell also plays linebacker and is only a sophomore. He started last year as a freshman.

James Wheeler also is one to watch at running back.

Overall, five starters return on offense and three on defense. Tight end-defensive end Marcus Martin was first-team all-conference a year ago and could have a big seasons. Other returning starters are two-way tackle James Popa, center-linebacker James Keys, guard-defensive tackle Corey Samudosky and linebacker Colton Weber.

MSA Sports Predicted Order of Finish:

1.  Thomas Jefferson Jaguars

5.  Ringgold Rams

6.  Laurel Highlands Mustangs

9.  Albert Gallatin Colonials

Tags: Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward, West Mifflin