CTK 2015 – Class AAAA Northern Eight Conference Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, August 17, 2015 | 12:03 PM

A team from the Northern Eight Conference has won the WPIAL Class AAAA championship five consecutive seasons, and last year’s title game was a matchup of two Northern Eight teams – Pine-Richland and Central Catholic.

The conference should be formidable again this season.

Many are pegging the Northern Eight to have three of the top six or seven teams in Class AAAA – Pittsburgh Central Catholic, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.

Central Catholic is extremely strong and many believe the Vikings have the top team in Class AAAA heading into the season. They might even appear in some national rankings. Defending WPIAL champ Pine-Richland most certainly won’t be as strong as last year, but the Rams still expect to be near the top of the conference. And then there’s North Allegheny, which never seems to have a down year under coach Art Walker.

Here is a look at the Northern Eight Conference:

BUTLER GOLDEN TORNADO

It hasn’t been easy for Butler football for the better part of two decades, and this year will be no different. The Golden Tornado can hope to battle for that fifth and final playoff spot in the conference, or possibly that wild card sixth-place team.

Rob Densmore is in his second season as coach. His first started off OK as the Golden Tornado was 2-2. But Butler lost its final five games against the big boys of the conference and finished 2-7. Offense was a problem in the final half of the season as Butler scored only 24 points in its final four games.

Butler didn’t have much of a passing game last year and it looks like the Golden Tornado will probably rely heavily again on a running game. Damian Prickett led the team in rushing last year with 560 yards on 129 attempts. Tim Vernick also showed some promise at times, rushing for 200 yards on 39 attempts.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS

The Vikings have played in the past two WPIAL title games and are a good bet to make it three in a row.

This team has talent everywhere and more than a handful of players are being recruited by Division I-A colleges. The Vikings are big – and they are experienced. The biggest question mark with the team is quarterback and the passing game. Central Catholic has had virtually no passing game the past few years.

Senior Mike Navarro is slated to be the quarterback. He completed 44 of 64 passes for 568 yards last year, but the Vikings were going with a “wildcat” formation in the final few games of the season, with Johnny Petrishen receiving direct snaps at quarterback.

Central Catholic looks to have a terrific defense. Scouting services rank Damar Hamlin the top defensive back in the state. The defense also includes two players who already have made verbal commitments to Pitt – lineman Rashad Wheeler and defensive back Bricen Garner. Two talented juniors on defense are lineman C.J. Thorpe and linebacker David Adams. Both have scholarship offers from Division I colleges.

Defensive back Ron Jones already has committed to Toledo.

On offense, Vinny Emmanuele returns at running back after rushing for 567 yards on 86 attempts a year ago.

FOX CHAPEL FOXES

It will seem a little stranger seeing Tom Loughran wearing the red and white of Fox Chapel. For 32 seasons, Loughran wore the blue and white of South Park. He was the Eagles head coach for more than three decades before stepping down and taking the Fox Chapel job. He won 185 games in 32 seasons and made the WPIAL playoffs 14 times. He won two WPIAL and PIAA titles.

He takes over a Fox Chapel team that made the playoffs last year as the No. 5 team in the Northern Eight and hasn’t finished above .500 since the 2002 season.

Fox Chapel lost some key players to graduation, so there should be no great expectations for Loughran’s first year. The biggest loss was quarterback Billy Urso, who threw for 1,666 yards. Finding a quarterback will most certainly be important. Tom Smith is back at receiver, where he was second on the team in receptions with 25 for 343 yards. He also was a second-team all-conference defensive back.

Leading rusher Carrington Vaughn also graduated, but senior Sean Chitamko and senior Darius Booker got some experience last year, with 105 carries between them.

NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS

The Tigers finished third in the conference the past two years after either winning or tying for the conference title four years in a row. It will be hard to keep Central Catholic from the top seat in the conference, but North Allegheny seems to have a reservation for a spot in the top three.

The biggest news concerning North Allegheny lately was that offensive lineman Josh Lugg is going to Notre Dame. He is only a junior, but had a number of major-college scholarship offers and committed to the Fighting Irish on Friday. Lugg is 6-7, 283 pounds. Although he has a scholarship to a big-time college, he has yet to start a game on the offensive line. He was a backup offensive tackle last year, but played some at tight end.

North Allegheny’s running game is blessed with the Pope this year. Mike Pope returns after rushing for 552 yards on 65 attempts last season. Also back is Nick Provenzano, who had 219 yards on 48 attempts. The Tigers also have Ethan Maenza at RB.

The lines lost some key players to graduation, but a few key players also return in Charles Sanders and Nick Burks. Griffin Sestili is a tight end who showed promise as a sophomore last year.

The quarterback spot will be handled by Riley Trueman.

NORTH HILLS INDIANS

The season started wonderfully for North Hills in 2014 as the Indians won their first four games. But when it came to playing the big boys in the conference, the Indians couldn’t measure up, finished fourth in the conference and were pummeled in the first round of the playoffs by Woodland Hills, 41-2. In the games against the three best teams in the conference (Pine-Richland, Central Catholic and North Allegheny), North Hills was outscored, 83-31.

North Hills certainly looks like a playoff team again, but how will the Indians fare against the power teams is questionable. Finding a quarterback will be key for third-year coach Pat Carey. Jake Bruder, last year’s starter, graduated.

The running game has potential. Nick Santucci rushed for 662 yards on 127 carries last year as a sophomore. The Indians will probably run plenty behind Jake Buccigrossi, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior who already has made a verbal commitment to West Virginia. Also back is senior tight end Owen Davis.

PINE-RICHLAND RAMS

Was Pine-Richland a one-year wonder, or does third-year coach Eric Kasperowicz have this program to where it can be among the top two or three in the conference every year? Maybe this year will answer that question.

There is no way Pine-Richland is as good as last year. The Rams simply lost too much talent to graduation, namely quarterback Ben DiNucci, who set a WPIAL record for passing yards in a season and is now at Pitt. But the cupboard certainly isn’t bare. Matt Hampson was a first-team all-conference pick a year ago. James Willard is a 6-4, 285-pound lineman who has some Division I colleges interested in him. Anthony Battaglia should be one of the better two-way players in the conference. He caught 35 passes for 561 yards a year ago.

Leading rusher Connor Slomka has graduated as well as the top few receivers. Developing a running back will be key, but so will the play of quarterback Phil Jurkovec. He is only a sophomore, but is an excellent athlete who stands 6 feet 4. Jurkovec started in basketball last season as a freshman and has loads of potential.

SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS

It’s a new era at Seneca Valley as Dave Vestal takes over as coach. He takes over after going 92-59 at Hopewell with one WPIAL title. He also made it to the WPIAL AAA final two other times before losing.

Vestal takes over a team that had high hopes for 2014, but was ravaged by some key injuries and finished 2-7. Will Vestal bring his run-oriented offense with him from Hopewell, or try to develop a new offense?

The top rusher, Mason DeHart, graduated. The top two receivers – Eric Mrkonja and DeHart – graduated. Quarterback T.J. Holl graduated. Some key linemen graduated.

It will be interesting to see how Vestal uses senior Corbin Kessler. He played a few games at quarterback last season after T.J. Holl was injured. Kessler completed 24 of 45 for 319 yards. But Kessler also is a receiver who caught 22 passes a year ago.

SHALER TITANS

The albatross hanging around the Titans’ neck is 31. That’s how long Shaler’s losing streak is now. One more loss and the Titans tie for the fifth-longest streak in WPIAL history. Four losses puts them in fourth. Another winless season moves them into second.

Jon LeDonne begins his second season as coach, with hopes to end the string of futility. But talk about a horrible way to start the season. Shaler’s first three games are against Pine-Richland, Central Catholic and Woodland Hills.

Improvement is needed on both sides of the ball. A year ago, Shaler was outscored, 408-80. In 2013, it was 415-119. In 2012, it was 395-81.

Shaler does have an experienced quarterback to possibly build things around offensively. Tyler Bocka started as a sophomore and completed 43 of 123 for 561 yards. Finding some capable running backs will be paramount. Pat Tavitas is back on the line after making second-team all-conference a year ago.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH IN THE NORTHERN EIGHT CONFERENCE:

1.      Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings

2.      North Allegheny Tigers

3.      Pine-Richland Rams

4.      North Hills Indians

5.      Seneca Valley Raiders

6.      Fox Chapel Foxes

7.      Butler Golden Tornado

8.      Shaler Titans

Tags: Butler, Fox Chapel