MSA Sports Friday Night HighLights for Week Eleven

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 12, 2016 | 12:27 PM

On Friday, we appropriately tipped our caps to all the veterans past and present who have served this great country of ours. So now, we look back to Friday and tip our cap one final time for the standouts of the various postseason gridiron contests from around the district. There were 16 WPIAL playoff games in all, eight of which determined the lineup for the four finals at Heinz Field and eight that decided the Final Four teams in the two smallest classifications. Whatever the case, here are the ten players who shined bright in leading their teams to the big house on the North Shore or into Semifinals Saturday.

Jack Cook – Seneca Valley

The sign of a good chef is one who can bounce back after a tough meal and deliver the ingredients needed for a wining dish the next time around. After losing big to North Allegheny in the regular season, Seneca Valley flipped the menu and delivered a championship bound dish thanks to quarterback Jack Cook who connected on 15 of 20 passes for 258 yards with a scoring run and two touchdown passes, including a 22 yards strike to Hank Royal in the final 90 seconds that was enough to lead the Raiders past the Tigers 28-27 in a Class 6-A Semifinals classic.

J.J. Younger – Pittsburgh Central Catholic

In a WPIAL Class 6-A Semifinals playoff game that featured over 500 yards passing by the two quarters, Max DeVinney of Pine-Richland and Tony Fisher of Pittsburgh Central Catholic, we will doff our cap in the direction of a running back. Central Catholic’s J.J. Younger rushed for 173 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 24 and 7 yards in the first quarter as the defending champion and top-seed Vikings amassed 49 points in the first half en route to a 63-34 triumph over the Rams.

Nick Ross – West Allegheny

On October 21st, Week 7 if you will, West Allegheny traveled to The Wolvarena in Turtle Creek for a Class 5-A Allegheny Nine Conference showdown for first place and promptly handed Woodland Hills their worst home loss ever to the tune of 53-13. The rematch was a much more competitive contest, but West A quarterback Nick Ross helped make sure the result would remain the same as he hit on 9 of 12 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in the Indians 35-7 Class 5-A Semifinals conquest of the Wolverines.

Quinton Hill – Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak was weary of playing arch-rival West Mifflin twice in only a three week span. Sure, TJ took care of business in the Week Nine battle for the Class 4-A Big Nine Conference championship game, but it was their most competitive game and a physical battle. Quinton Hill helped ease his coaches worries by rushing for 153 yards, scoring two touchdowns and surpassing the 4,000 yard rushing mark for his career to become the schools all-time leading rusher in the Jaguars 35-7 win over the Titans.

Geno Stone – New Castle

When the WPIAL Class 4-A postseason began, third place New Castle was more than a stones throw away from Heinz Field. So they decided on many Stone runs and picks instead and now they are North Shore bound. Quarterback Geno Stone rushed for 97 yards and scored all of his teams touchdowns on runs of 42, 4, 1, 23 and 2 yards, the final two in the fourth quarter sealed the deal, plus he picked off three passes in leading the Red Hurricanes to a 38-17 victory over the Ringgold Rams in a Class 4-A Semiifnals game for the ‘Canes first title game trip since 1998.

Avante McKenzie and Davion Jones – Aliquippa

Some teams can throw a good left jab and some can counter with a sweet right hook, but when you can deliver a lethal one-two punch like Aliquippa always seems to be able to do produce with a backfield pair that for the ninth year in a row, has the black and red title game bound.  Avante McKenzie rushed for 141 yards and scored two touchdowns while Davion Jones racked up 134 yards and two scores as the Quips ended the magical season of the Derry Trojans with a 46-20 win in a Class 3-A Semifinals game.

Derrell Carter – Beaver Falls

In what was expected to be a back-and-forth battle, Beaver Falls and Keystone Oaks lived up to that exact billing. KO would take the lead and BF would answer until the game was deadlocked at 21-21 in the fourth quarter of a Class 3-A Semifinals thriller. With under one minutes left in the game, Derrell Carter, who ended up with 180 yards rushing, tallied his final 7 yards on a scoring run with 20 seconds left to give the Tigers a 28-21 victory over the Golden Eagles for their first title game spot since 2008.

Frank Antuono – Neshannock

History was made Friday night at Butler High School when Neshannock scored 71 points, one more than three teams who held the WPIAL football playoff record of 70 points in the game. Quarterback Frank Antuono played a huge role in the record breaking performance with 13 of 17 passing for 257 yards and four touchdown tosses, plus he rushed for 127 yards on the ground with three scoring runs as the Lancers advanced to the WPIAL Semifinals for the fourth time in five years with a 71-28 win over the Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans in a Class 2-A Quarterfinals matchup.

Ben Hughes – Riverside

Riverside has enjoyed great success this season, finishing in second place in the very competitive Class 2-A Midwestern Athletic Conference with a physical aggressive defense. But in the era of record breaking offense, teams can not live on defense alone. Quarterback Ben Hughes did his share on the offensive side Friday as he connected on 10 of 13 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns tosses of 23 yards and 77 yards as the Panthers scored 21 points in the first quarter en route to a 21-7 Class 2-A Quarterfinals victory over the Freedom Bulldogs.

Lamont Wade – Clairton

You can run out of superlatives to describe Lamont Wade and all his achievements at Clairton. Now you can add ‘The Comeback Kid’ to his many accomplishments. Less than two weeks from having surgery, Wade played and dominated to the tune of 225 yards on the ground with three touchdown runs of 12, 50 and 96 yards, plus the cherry on his evening desert was a 101-yard interception return as the top-seed and two-time defending champion Bears started slow but finished strong in a 46-8 Class 1-A Quarterfinals win over the Fort Cherry Rangers.

Tags: Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Clairton, West Allegheny