Trib HSSN Football Player of the Week 2022: Week 2

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, September 11, 2022 | 7:00 PM

When it comes to finishing off drives in the end zone, Shaler senior running back Luke Cignetti enjoys them in all shapes and sizes, knowing it all leads to six points on the scoreboard.

“I’m more of a speed back myself, but those bellies and pulls and watching those guards crack someone, that’s a pretty good feeling watching the big boys up front lower the boom on someone,” he said.

Cignetti and his Titans teammates lowered the boom on previously undefeated Plum in Week 2, winning the 5A nonconference fray, 47-14.

Shaler blew open a 7-7 game after one quarter by scoring 40 unanswered points.

Cignetti rushed for 283 yards and scored five touchdowns on runs of 21, 33, 28, 10 and 1 yard. He now has 580 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in the Titans first three games.

“Luke is a quiet kid, but when he talks, his teammates listen,” Shaler coach Jim Ryan said. “When he runs, and he runs angry, his teammates follow.”

The win was the second in a row for Shaler (2-1), which will host another undefeated team in Week 3 when Hempfield (3-0) invades Titans Stadium.

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound running back and safety has not chosen a school for next year and will wait to see if he decides to continue his football career beyond this season.

WPIAL Week 2 Honorable Mentions

Amir Key – Penn Hills

The Week 1 Class 5A Northeast Conference opener between Pine-Richland and Penn Hills was celebrated for the return of coach Jon LeDonne to Penn Hills. In the end, the key to victory for the host Indians was the play of their junior running back.

Amir Key carried the ball 20 times and finished with 216 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 45, 2 and 71 yards and Penn Hills picked up a huge conference victory at home, 33-28. Key now has 462 yards rushing this season with six touchdowns in the Indians 2-1 start.

Chris Cibrone – Peters Township

Like a tasty baked good, the red-hot start for Peters Township quarterback Chris Cibrone has been delicious for Indians fans. While he dipped his toe in the quarterback waters last year behind Sam Miller, Cibrone has gone full splashdown on his three opponents this season, including Trinity in Week 2.

The junior connected on 18 of 34 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns on passes of 8, 35 and 23 yards as Peters Township improved to 3-0 with a 38-14 win. Cibrone is already nearing 1,000 passing yards for the season, having thrown for 879 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Landon Smith, Laurel

The big news coming into this Lawrence County nonconference football game between Mohawk and Laurel, centered around the visitors. After a two-plus week delay with its season in limbo during a hazing investigation, Mohawk got the green light to move forward and kick off the new season against one of the top teams in Class A.

The spotlight didn’t take long on Friday to shift from the visitors to the host team’s running back. Senior Landon Smith rushed for 261 yards on only 13 carries for a whopping average of over 20 yards per tote, plus he scored five touchdowns in a 49-7 Spartans win.

2022 HSSN Players of the Week

Week 1 – Cruce Brookins, Steel Valley

Week Zero – Conlan Greene, Penn-Trafford

Tags: Shaler