MSA Sports Top 25 WPIAL Stories of 2016 – #10 through #6

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 1, 2017 | 3:16 PM

It has become a tradition like no other…at least during the holiday season here at the MSA Sports Network. As we close out 2016 and another great high school sports year, we look back at some of the top stories from around the WPIAL in calendar year 2016. We continue our countdown with #10 through #6.

#10 – BLACK & ORANGE IS STILL GOLDEN

It was another championship winning season for Clairton and the end of an era for one of the top Bears in program history. Lamont Wade was not only one of the best players in the WPIAL, he was rated by scouting services as one of the top defensive backs in the country. Wade was a star at running back and defensive back and even played some at quarterback this year. Wade finished his career as the third-leading rusher in WPIAL history with 7,079 yards. He also tied former Clairton star Tyler Boyd for the WPIAL record for touchdowns scored with 117. This season, Wade averaged 13.3 yards a carry. He rushed for 2,368 yards. Meanwhile, Clairton ended up with another perfect 9-0 regular season and won a pair of playoff games before knocking off Jeannette for a second straight year in the district championship game. That win gave the Bears their 9th WPIAL championship in 11 years. But for the second time in two years, Clairton made it to the state finals only to lose to three time PIAA champion Bishop Guilfoyle.

#9 – PERFECT KNIGHTS

What a year is has been for the girls at Norwin High School. In the winter sports season, the defending champion Knights were a perfect 21-0 in the regular season before beating Gateway, Pine-Richland, Mount Lebanon and then North Allegheny in the WPIAL Quad-A Finals 63-57 for a second straight district crown and a 25-0 mark heading into the PIAA playoffs. After two more wins, the season ended in the state Quarterfinals with a loss to the Tigers of NA in a rematch of the WPIAL title game. Then this past fall, the Norwin girls soccer team ended the regular season with a 16-0-1 record. The Knights beat Penn Hills, Upper St. Clair and Fox Chapel to advance to the district finals where Norwin defeated Canon-McMillan 3-1 for a second straight WPIAL championship. The season ended though in the PIAA Quarterfinals with a loss to the Big Macs in a rematch of the district finals. Very similar endings to a pair of championship teams that won WPIAL crowns with a combined record of 45-0-1.

#8 – QUITE AND ENCORE

After coming so close to a perfect boys basketball season in 2014-2015 in which they won a WPIAL title and reached the state finals before losing to Conwell-Egan and ending up 29-1, Aliquippa followed up strong and was able to finish the job to conclude two of the most dominant back-to-back basketball seasons in district history.  The Quips ended the regular season 21-0 and knocked off East Allegheny, Washington and Greensburg Central Catholic before edging Lincoln Park for a second straight WPIAL championship. Aliquippa then beat four teams on the Road to Hershey to reach the state finals for a second consecutive season, however this time the Quips capped off a perfect 30-0 season with a PIAA championship after a 68-49 win over Mastery Charter North. The undefeated state crown marked only the 13th time in 97 years that a WPIAL boys basketball team won a PIAA title with a perfect record.

#7 – IN-ZANE SEASON

Armstrong running back Zane Dudek had a regular season for the ages as he set WPIAL rushing and scoring records. Dudek had the best season of any running back in WPIAL history. He set a WPIAL record for single-season rushing yardage with 2,955 yards on 291 carries and set a single-game record with 492 yards. He also broke the regular-season scoring record with 254 points, including 42 touchdowns. He finished his career as the WPIAL’s fourth-leading rusher with 6,977 yards rushing and scored 102 career touchdowns. In addition, he was an outstanding defensive back. Dudek wasn’t recruited much by big-time colleges. His only offer from a Division I-A school came from Kent State. But Dudek was recruited heavily by Ivy League and Patriot League schools and made a verbal commitment to Yale. Dudek helped the River Hawks win the 5-A Big East Conference, but in the River Hawks first playoff game, Dudek was injured on the first series and didn’t play the rest of the game. Armstrong’s season ended with a 38-20 loss to Gateway.

#6 – THE NATURAL

It might not be an overstatement to call Kirilloff one of the best baseball players to ever come out of the WPIAL. He was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins this past June, the 15th overall selection. He is only the fifth WPIAL player to ever be selected out of high school in the first round. He signed with the Twins and the slotted signing bonus for the 15th pick is just over $2.8 million. At Plum High School, Kirilloff was worth a lot also.  He was a four-year starter and was a tremendous hitter. But Kirilloff also was a top pitcher for the Mustangs, leading them to a 25-2 record this season. Their only losses were in the WPIAL Quad-A Finals to Norwin and in the PIAA Class AAAA Championship Game to Boyertown. For the season, Kirilloff hit .524 with a slugging percentage of 1.036. He had 16 doubles, five triples and four home runs. As a pitcher he was 6-1 with a 1.48 ERA. His only loss came in the WPIAL final.

Tags: Aliquippa, Armstrong, Clairton