Upset by No. 7 seed, Derry looks to upset No. 2 Quaker Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | 5:27 PM

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As Derry coach Tim Sweeney talked to his team after practice Tuesday, he spoke about the lack of respect he felt the WPIAL gave his team and the Interstate Conference.

“It happened last year when they seeded us fourth, the worse possible seed, and they did it Monday when they seeded us seventh,” Sweeney said.

His answer for that snub: “Let's go show them who we are.”

Derry (9-1), which ended the regular season with eight consecutive victories, travels to Leetsdale Friday to battle No. 2 seed Quaker Valley (9-1) in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

The Trojans have been a different team since losing to Elizabeth Forward, 39-7. Derry, EF and South Park finished as tri-conference champions.

“Elizabeth Forward was a wake-up call for us,” Sweeney said. “They beat us in every facet of the game, and I was outcoached. We said we're not as good as we think we are, and we had to string some wins together and that's what we did.”

Since that loss, Derry has allowed 59 points, 28 coming in last week's win against McGuffey.

Derry senior quarterback Ryan Polinsky said the team expected to be back in the playoffs.

“We had that one let-up game, but it ended up where we expected to be,” Polinsky said. “After that loss, we realized that we needed to put in more work and effort into what we were doing as a team because we weren't really focused.”

Quaker Valley is having a similar season to the one Derry had in 2016.

Before the season, Quaker Valley lost its coach, John Tortorea, who resigned days before the first practice, and former coach Jerry Veshio took over. Veshio was out of football, other than coaching a semi-pro team, for 31 years.

Veshio said taking over so late could have disrupted the team, but it didn't.

“The players have been together for some time,” Veshio said. “They're a pretty tight-knit group.

“It's a pleasure to work with the coaches, and I've added a few things, and it's worked out well. I just tried not to mess things up.”

And while the WPIAL might not think Derry is one of Class 3A's top teams, Veshio does.

“They are a pretty good-looking football team,” Veshio said, “They have playmakers on both sides.”

The teams have beaten two similar opponents. Derry defeated Ellwood City (35-7) and McGuffey (48-28), and Quaker Valley defeated the Highlanders (52-20) and Ellwood City (28-0).

Their average margin of victory also is nearly identical: Derry (38.7-11.2) at 27.5 and Quaker Valley (39.3-12.1) at 27.2.

Quaker Valley's only blemish was a 22-7 loss to No. 1 Aliquippa.

Quarterback Ricky Guss is Quaker Valley's main weapon. He has completed 96 of 185 passes for 1,630 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 785 yards and 20 touchdowns.

His main targets are Isaiah McNair (37 catches for 676 yards and 12 scores) and J.T. Taylor (23 for 356 and 10 scores).

Derry uses a variety of running backs. Sharing the carries are Colton Nemcheck, Onreey Stewart, Shawn Broadway, Justin Huss and Justin Flack. Nemcheck leads the way with 654 yards and 13 touchdowns. Broadway is next with 651 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Stewart has gained 467 yards with seven scores.

Polinsky has completed 52 of 114 passes for 743 yards and seven scores. Huss and Flack are his main targets.

Derry surprised everyone last year by upsetting Central Valley in the opening round of the playoffs. Can the 2017 team do the same?

“The 2017 team of Derry football speaks for itself,” Sweeney said. “We're 9-1, and we're headed to the playoffs.

“Once you get into the postseason and playing in November, every team is tough, and we're anxious to tee it up Friday night.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Quaker Valley