Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for 2022 Week 5

By: Paul Schofield And Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 | 6:50 PM

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Class 5A Big East

Norwin (1-4, 0-1) at 5-Penn-Trafford (3-2, 0-1)

7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City

Norwin has dropped its past two games, both at home, to Plum, 42-13, and Woodland Hills, 35-0. Penn-Trafford is coming off a 28-17 loss to Hempfield. Penn-Trafford won the 2021 meeting, 35-14. … The Knights are led by junior wide receiver Jackson Pons with 19 catches for 324 yards and four touchdowns. The quarterback is Tristyn Tavares, who has completed 31 of 74 yards for 463 yards and four touchdowns. Penn-Trafford is led by quarterback Conlan Greene, who has rushed for 369 yards and five touchdowns while completing 60 of 111 passes for 714 yards and five touchdowns. Tommy Kalkstein rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown against Hempfield.

Plum (3-2, 1-1) at Franklin Regional (2-2, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Panther Stadium, Murrysville

Plum came back last week in the second half against No. 5 Gateway but fell 28-26. Eryck Moore-Watkins ran 26 times for 148 yards and scored three touchdowns, two on receptions. Moore-Watkins has rushed for over 600 yards. Plum will log a combined 32 total miles, round-trip, in consecutive games against neighboring schools. … Franklin Regional nearly made it three straight wins but dropped a 42-41 decision to Shaler in double overtime Saturday. Ayden Hudock scored the first two touchdowns, and the Panthers continued to get a push up front, but the defense could not get key stops late. Quarterback Roman Sarnic and tailback Zach Bewszka are a one-two punch out of the backfield. Watch linebacker Owen Sinclair on the defensive side. The Panthers beat Plum last year 41-12.

Class 4A Big Seven

Latrobe (2-3, 0-2) at Trinity (2-3, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Hiller Stadium, Washington

After a fast start to coach Ron Prady’s first season, the Wildcats have dropped three straight, including a 10-7 loss to Laurel Highlands. Defensively, the Wildcats had four sacks and a forced fumble against Laurel Highlands’ standout quarterback Rodney Gallagher but could not finish drives. Corey Boerio has been productive on both sides of the ball, and John Wetzel has been effective on roll-outs while also playing well at strong safety. Robby Fulton returned to form last week with 130 yards rushing and a touchdown. … Trinity fell to No. 1 McKeesport, 35-6, managing only a pair of field goals by Andy Palm against the hard-hitting Tigers. Trinity’s wins are against Chartiers Valley (0-5) and Connellsville (2-3). Andy Durig is the top rusher with about 300 yards.

Class 3A Interstate

South Allegheny (1-4, 0-0) at 3-Belle Vernon (2-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon

After a 25-7 win at Yough to open the season, South Allegheny has struggled, falling to Freeport (37-15), Imani Christian (22-7), East Allegheny (33-14) and Shady Side Academy (41-0). The Gladiators gave up 27 points in the second quarter last week. … Belle Vernon will plays its first conference opener in Class 3A. The Leopards also will play their third home game of the season. Quinton Martin returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown in last week’s 21-7 win over rival Thomas Jefferson. Jake Gedekoh had a touchdown run and caught a 50-yard scoring pass from Braden Laux as the Leopards snapped a two-game skid.

1-Elizabeth Forward (5-0, 0-0) at Southmoreland (2-3, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Russ Grimm Field, Alverton

Elizabeth Forward will open conference play on a roll. The Warriors have scored 42 points in three straight games after they put up 50 against West Mifflin. Last week, the Warriors piled up 35 first-half points and blanked Knoch, 42-0. Johnny DiNapoli scored on a 54-yard run, and Zion White threw scoring passes of 70 and 46 yards to Zach Boyd and Kelly Rush. Elizabeth Forward’s defense also is sharp. It is allowing just 8.4 points, the fewest in 3A. … After two straight wins, Southmoreland was tripped up by Deer Lakes, 9-0. The Scotties had not been shut out in the regular season since 2016. The Scotties reached the red zone six times but could not score. They have developed a nice rapport between quarterback Kadin Keefer and first-year wideout Ty Keffer. Keffer has 26 receptions and six touchdowns.

Greensburg Salem (3-2, 0-0) at Mt. Pleasant (3-2, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Mt. Pleasant Area Stadium, Mt. Pleasant

Both teams are coming off nonconference losses. Greensburg Salem fell to East Allegheny, 42-21, and Mt. Pleasant lost at Freeport, 24-6. The losses ended three-game winning streaks. Greensburg Salem won 34-6 in 2021. … Greensburg Salem quarterback Cody Rubrecht tossed touchdown passes of 25 yards to Christian Hostetler and 55 yards to Keegan Young. He also rushed for a touchdown and ran for 150 yards. He completed 7 of 21 passes for 142 yards. Mt. Pleasant running back Robbie Labuda rushed for 123 yards, and Garrett Eicher rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Class 2A Allegheny

Derry (0-5, 0-2) at Serra Catholic (4-1, 2-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Eagle Stadium, White Oak

The Trojans have improved on the field but not in the win column this season. Apollo-Ridge pulled away in the second half for a 49-14 win against the Trojans. After beginning the season with a loss to North Catholic, Serra has posted four consecutive wins, including a 47-12 thrashing of Imani Christian. … Derry quarterback Blake Revoir tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Roman Darazio, and Mason Beeman threw a 3-yard strike to Jordan Flack. Serra quarterback Quadir Stribling connected on four touchdown passes to Amire Spencer for 16, 40, 52 and 15 yards. Stribling also scored on a 5-yard run, and Spencer had nine catches for 190 yards.

Ligonier Valley (3-2, 1-1) at Yough (2-3, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Cougar Mountain, Herminie

Both teams try to rebound from their first conference losses. Ligonier Valley fell to No. 1 Steel Valley, 48-0, and Yough saw its two-game winning streak end with a 42-6 loss to Burrell. This is the first meeting between the schools. … Ligonier Valley will try to utilize the running trio of Haden Sierocky (489 yards, 6 touchdowns), John Jablunovsky (356, 4) and Duncan Foust (162, 1). Broderick Schreyer is a capable passer, completing 21 of 47 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Gavin Roebuck has rushed for 361 yards and five touchdowns while completing 25 of 45 passes for 258 yards. J.J. Waller has nine catches for 65 yards, and Blake Ulander has seven catches for 57 yards.

Class A Eastern

3-Clairton (2-3, 2-0) at Greensburg Central Catholic (3-2, 1-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Centurions Stadium, Carbon

Clairton is beginning to find its footing again, and that is bad news for opponents in the Eastern. The Bears started 0-3 for the first time in over four decades — losses to sound competition in Westinghouse (40-8), Washington (48-20) and OLSH (28-13) — but rebounded with wins over Riverview (54-0) and Leechburg (20-13). Against Leechburg, Capone Jones ran for 161 yards and a touchdown and threw for 106 yards and another score. The Bears held Blue Devils star Braylan Lovelace under 100 yards rushing. … Averaging over 60 points in three wins, Greensburg Central Catholic has a high-powered offense with a number of weapons around quarterback Tyree Turner. GCC beat Springdale, 69-6. The Centurions are averaging 44.6 points. Running back Jaydin Canady and lineman/linebacker Ryan Kimmel have been resting injuries but are expected to play Friday. Freshman Samir Crosby is a fast-rising talent on both sides of the ball.

Jeannette (1-4, 1-0) at Riverview (2-3, 1-1)

Noon Saturday, Riverside Park, Oakmont

Jeannette could not get its second straight win despite nearly 300 yards of offense in a 24-20 loss to Charleroi. The Jayhawks gave up 333 yards in their seventh straight road loss. Payton Molter passed for 147 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 78 yards and a score. Jesse McCurdy had a team-high 10 tackles and a sack. … Riverview, which has been playing Saturday games for decades, broke a two-game losing streak with an 18-6 win over Frazier, the team Jeannette beat 60-14 two weeks ago. Rio Stotts scored two touchdowns for the Raiders, one a 13-yard pass from Rocco Cecere. Stotts ran 16 times for 90 yards. Carlo Buzzatto had nine tackles.

Class A Tri-County South

West Greene (1-4, 1-1) at Monessen (3-2, 2-0)

7 p.m., Friday, Memorial Stadium, Monessen

West Greene ended a four-game losing streak by defeating Bentworth, 49-33. Monessen has won three consecutive games, including a 28-20 stunner against California. Monessen also defeated Bentworth, 49-9. … Running back Colin Brady has rushed for 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns. He scored five touchdowns against Bentworth. John Lampe rushed for 142 yards, and Seth Burns had five catches for 119 yards. Daevon Burke scored three touchdowns on runs of 1, 14 and 8 yards, and TyVaughn Kershaw added a 6-yard touchdown run for the Greyhounds against California.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Clairton, Derry Area, Elizabeth Forward, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Plum, Riverview, Serra Catholic, South Allegheny, Southmoreland, Trinity, West Greene, Yough