Trib HSSN high school football don’t-miss matchups for Week 5

By: Don Rebel
Thursday, September 26, 2019 | 9:06 PM

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Class 6A conference

North Allegheny (4-0, 5-0) at Seneca Valley (2-2, 2-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Nextier Stadium

On the air: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Coaches: Art Walker, North Allegheny; Ron Butschle, Seneca Valley

Players to watch: Percise Colon, North Allegheny (Sr., 5-6, 165, RB); Gabe Lawson, Seneca Valley (Sr., 6-2, 190, QB)

Last week: North Allegheny 40, Mt. Lebanon 14; Seneca Valley 55, Butler 0

Four downs: 1. He is only 5-foot-6, but North Allegheny senior running back Percise Colon is coming up large on a weekly bases for the Tigers. He rushed for 145 yards and scored a pair of first-half touchdowns in a key win over Mt. Lebanon. 2. The Tigers have scored over 40 points in three of their last four games. Meanwhile, the NA defense is shining too, allowing no more than two scores in any of its five games. 3. Seneca Valley senior quarterback Gabe Lawson hit on 5 of 7 passes for 95 yards and scored on a pair of touchdown runs to help even his team’s 6A record at 2-2. 4. The Raiders scored a season-high 55 points in beating up rival Butler. SV was up 14-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at the half and 55-0 at the end of three quarters.

Extra point: North Allegheny edged Seneca Valley in Week 5 a year ago, 10-6. However the rematch in the WPIAL 6A semifinals raised some postseason eyebrows as the Raiders rolled past the Tigers, 31-14, to earn a trip to Heinz Field. Lawson threw for 161 yards and a touchdown and ran for 42 yards and a score in the upset win.

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Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference

Moon (2-0, 4-1) at Bethel Park (2-0, 3-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday, Bethel Park Stadium

On the air: WJAS-AM 1320 and TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Coaches: Ryan Linn, Moon; Brian DeLallo, Bethel Park

Players to watch: Dante Clay, Moon (Sr., 6-1, 175, QB); Jehvonn Lewis, Bethel Park (Sr., 5-10, 175, RB)

Last week: Moon 49, Chartiers Valley 18; Central Catholic 45, Bethel Park 14

Four downs: 1. Senior quarterback Dante Clay is molding into a real game breaker. Last week he threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 180 yards and three scores in Moon’s second straight conference win. 2. Moon is 4-1 overall for the first time since 2013. That year, the Tigers lost three of their last five games and fell in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs. 3. Last Friday was a tough night for Bethel Park, but senior running back Jehvonn Lewis made a splash with a 78-yard touchdown run and a 98-yard kickoff return for the Hawks. 4. In the 2017 season, the Black Hawks won their first three then lost in Week 4 to Pine-Richland before winning their final five games. An 8-1 regular season did not translate into postseason success as BP fell at home to Penn Hills, 30-28 in the 6A quarterfinals.

Extra point: In a rare meeting between the two schools last year, Bethel Park rolled past Moon, 38-14. Without an injured Jehvonn Lewis, Sean McGowan rushed for 202 yards and scored two touchdowns for the visiting Black Hawks.

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Class 4A Northwest Eight Conference

South Fayette (2-0, 4-1) at Blackhawk (3-1, 3-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Blackhawk High School Stadium

On the air: WKPL-FM 92.1 and at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Coaches: Joe Rossi, South Fayette; Zack Hayward, Blackhawk

Players to watch: Naman Alemada, South Fayette (Jr., 6-5, 200, QB); Marques Watson-Trent, Blackhawk (Sr., 6-0, 190, RB)

Last week: South Fayette 49, Hopewell 14; Blackhawk 29, Montour 21

Four downs: 1. It was a relatively quiet night for South Fayette junior quarterback Naman Alemada, who hit on 9 of 11 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns in the Lions’ 35-point win over Hopewell. 2. The defending champion Lions have won four straight games since losing to Upper St. Clair in Week Zero. The wins have been impressive with two weeks in a row of hitting 49 points and winning by a combined score of 190-41. 3. Senior running back Marques Watson-Trent of Blackhawk enjoyed another big game last week with 173 yards rushing and touchdowns jaunts of 56, 1 and 36 yards in an eight-point win over Montour. 4. The Cougars have won three straight games after losing their first two games to unbeaten Central Valley and Knoch.

Extra point: South Fayette has shut out Blackhawk in each of the last two meetings, winning 43-0 in 2017 and 21-0 last year. That loss by Blackhawk was their only defeat in the 2018 season.

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Class 3A Tri-County West Conference

Aliquippa (3-0, 5-0) at Hopewell (1-1, 1-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Tony Dorsett Stadium

Coaches: Mike Warfield, Aliquippa; Matt Weiss, Hopewell

Players to watch: Antonio Quinn, Aliquippa (Sr., 5-9, 190, RB); Jay’Von Jeter, Hopewell (Sr., 6-0, 170, QB)

Last week: Aliquippa 40, Beaver Falls 0; South Fayette 49, Hopewell 14

Four downs: 1. Senior running back Antonio Quinn only scored once for Aliquippa on a 25-yard run in the third quarter, but he ran wild through the Beaver Falls defense to the tune of 214 yards on the ground. 2. The Quips extended the longest current WPIAL winning streak to 10 games with their third straight shutout of Beaver Falls and the team’s second shutout of the season. 3. Hopewell lost by 35 to defending Class 4A champion South Fayette last week but avoided a shutout when senior quarterback Jay’Von Jeter tossed a third-quarter 25-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter. 4. The Vikings have five conference games remaining and while they will be heavy underdogs in a couple of them, if they can go 3-2 the rest of the way, they have a shot to make the WPIAL playoffs for the first time in seven years.

Extra point: Since these neighbors became Tri-County West Conference rivals three years ago, their head-to-head matchups have received mixed reviews. In 2016, Hopewell put up quite a battle before falling, 36-30. However, the last two years, it has been all Aliquippa as the Quips have outscored the Vikings in those two wins 119-3.

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Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference

Neshannock (3-0, 4-1) at New Brighton (2-0, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Oak Hill Stadium in New Brighton

On the air: WBVP-AM 1230, WBVP-FM 99.3 and TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Coaches: Fred Mozzocio, Neshannock; Joe Greco, New Brighton

Players to watch: Braden Gennock, Neshannock (Sr., 5-10, 170, RB); Nyasanu Greene, New Brighton (Jr., 6-2, 230, RB)

Last week: Neshannock 54, Shady Side Academy 14; New Brighton 28, Seton LaSalle 17

Four downs: 1. Neshannock and Shady Side Academy were tied 14-14 after one quarter last week before the Lancers completely dominated the rest of the way thanks to a 27-point second quarter en route to a 40-point victory. 2. Senior running back Braden Gennock rushed for 142 yards and scored three touchdowns as Neshannock cruised to a fourth straight victory of at least 20 points or more. 3. It was a tail of two halves in last week’s Class 2A nonconference battle between New Brighton and Seton LaSalle. The host Rebels led 17-0 after two quarters before the Lions roared to 28 straight second-half points to win by 11. 4. Junior running back Nyasanu Greene had a part in three of the Lions’ four second-half touchdowns last week as he caught scoring passes of 5 and 17 yards from Jackson Hall, then capped the scoring with a 49-yard touchdown run to help New Brighton avoid a second straight nonconference loss.

Extra point: These two teams are in a much better place with record of 4-1 than they were last year when they met in Week 5. Neshannock was 2-3 and New Brighton was 1-4 prior to the Lions’ 42-21 upset win on the road. That victory snapped a two-game win streak for the Lancers since the two schools became MAC foes in 2016.

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Class A Big 7 Conference

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (3-1, 4-1) at Laurel (2-0, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Spartans Stadium at the Leonard S. Rich Athletic Complex

On the air: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Coaches: Dan Bradley, OLSH; Brian Cooper, Laurel

Players to watch: Jaymar Pearson, OLSH (Soph., 5-10, 185, QB); Daniel Blank, Laurel (Sr., 5-10, 170, RB)

Last week: OLSH over Bishop Canevin 1-0 via forfeit; Clairton 33, Laurel 7

Four downs: 1. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart comes into this key conference matchup having won three straight and somewhat fresh after not playing last week because of a Bishop Canevin forfeit. 2. They were big shoes to fill, but so far Jaymar Pearson is getting the job done at quarterback for OLSH after taking over for the graduated Tyler Bradley (3,364 yards passing and 45 touchdowns in 2018). Pearson has hit on 28 of 48 passes for 476 yards and five touchdowns, plus he leads the Chargers in rushing with 327 yards and six touchdowns. 3. Laurel saw its seven-game winning streak dating to last year come to a screeching end last week when it lost on the road in a nonconference game to Clairton. The Spartans defense also saw their shutout run of four games in a row end. 4. Last Friday was a rough night for Laurel quarterback Will Shaffer, who connected on only 2 of 18 passes for 24 yards with one interception. Daniel Blank provided the only points for the Spartans with a 4-yard first-quarter run that actually put Laurel up 7-0 before Clairton took control with 33 unanswered points.

Extra point: Last year, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart hammered Laurel, 56-13, for its first victory in the short three-game series between the two schools. The Spartans beat the Chargers 24-13 in 2012 and 28-7 in 2013.

Tags: Aliquippa, Bethel Park, Blackhawk, Hopewell, Laurel, Moon, Neshannock, New Brighton, North Allegheny, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Seneca Valley, South Fayette