WPIAL Big Game Hunting – Week Three – 09/16/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 16, 2015 | 5:21 PM

Time is inexorable, I know that, but nonetheless I find myself wanting to slow things down once the WPIAL football season begins. For a lot of reasons, to give myself more time to prepare for my game, to be able to have a little extra time to enjoy what is for me the best time of the year, to slow the inevitable cold-weather from getting here and, to lengthen the deadline to get Big Game Hunting into the Boss. I don’t have to tell you how he can be when you get on his bad side. Time goes by fast, and the older you get the faster it goes. Week three is here and I am almost ready with my pre-season Big Game Hunting. Speaking of time, how long has it been since the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars started a season 0-2? Twenty years is the answer to that question, the Jags want the time between games to go fast right now. A BGH shout-out to the Jeannette Jayhawks who got their 700^th win in team history last week by defeating Serra Catholic. Yes, that was Chix Picks you saw dancing in the streets of Jeannette all weekend long, and she did not know it was number 700 until Monday morning. 700 wins, now that took some time, congratulations Jayhawk Nation. For now though, there is no time, we have to go Big Game Hunting immediately.

AAAA Southeastern Conference
Bethel Park Black Hawks (0-2)(0-2) vs #5 Upper Saint Clair Panthers (2-0)(2-0) Friday September 18^th @ 7:30 PM @ Upper Saint Clair high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Sam Hall and Adam Hoerner

The Hawks are 0-2 yes, but their losses are to #1 and #2 in the MSA Sports Top Ten, and they gave both Central and Woody High great games. Bethel trailed Central 7-6 to start the fourth quarter in week one. They played right with Woody High last week and got burned by turnovers in falling 28-23

The Panthers are back in a big way. After suffering through their first losing season since 1979 last year USC has started 2-0 and quickly re-assumed their usual Top-Ten status. After blanking Penn Hills in week one the Panthers rolled on the road at Peters 34-14 last week.

This Friday’s game highlights one of the best rivalries in the WPIAL. One Upper Saint Clair senior told me this week, that while the Panthers feel competitive with Mount Lebanon, they hate Bethel Park. All you need to do this week to confirm that is watch the back-and-forth between the two student sections on Twitter this week. It is worth the price of a ticket by itself.

Levi Metheny finished the Woody high game only playing on the defensive side of the ball, look for the senior to return to his quarterbacking duties this week and to be taking a little better care of the football. Metheny on the season has completed 26 of 49 passes for 332 yards and a pair of scores but he has also tossed three interceptions. Turnovers killed the Hawks against Woody, they could do the same against the Panthers.

Charlie Davis is a big-time threat catching the ball for Bethel with eight catches for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns, he is also a monster ball-hawk in their secondary. If you lose track of the ball just find Charlie he will be right beside it.

On the ground Terron Murphy is developing into the perfect back for the Hawks system. Murph has 24 carries for 102 yards and a score on the season.

The Panthers defense is allowing just seven points per game on the year. They will always be in the right spot.

Offensively junior quarterback Jackson Geisler and junior running back Tom Vissman are getting things done for Jim Render. Geisler has completed 9 of 17 passes for 186 yards and a p[air of touchdowns, while Vissman has totaled 22 carries for 201 yards and four scores.

This will be a battle in the trenches type of football game matching up two of the best coaches in the game today.

AAA Allegheny Conference
#4 Mars Planets (2-0)(2-0) vs #7 Franklin Regional Panthers (1-1)(1-1) Friday September 18th @ 7:00 PM @  Franklin Regional high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and AM 1320 WJAS by Bob Orkwis and Gero Von Dahn

Both of these teams might have gotten caught looking forward to this game a little bit last Friday night.  Mars got everything they could handle but pulled out a home win over Armstrong 31-27, while the Panthers of Frnklin Regional went for the long drive to Hollidaysburg and got knocked off 21-17.              

The Panther rely on a great dual threat offensively in senior quarterback Santino Birty who has rushed for a team-high 134 yards, scored a team-high two touchdowns and completed 11 of 25 passes for 258 yards and three more scores.

Adam Grajewski and Bradley Lucas are the top targets for Birty when he throws. The duo has combined for a half-dozen catches and nearly a hundred yards, with Lucas averaging 20 yards per catch on the year.

On the ground besides Birty look for senior running back Jake Ross to get the bulk of the work.

Mars seems to always have a magical running back waiting in the wings, and junior Isaiah Johnson is stepping up to take his turn. Johnson in a pair of wins has carried the ball 51 times already for 247 yards and four scores.

Also keep an eye on senior wide receiver Eli Brooks who is a playmaker, the Planets leading receiver has seven catches for 138 yards and has scored four touchdowns of his own. Nate Rosswog, another senior wide out for coach Heinauer is very capable of hurting you running or catching the ball, this combination makes the Planets a very tough team to defend.

AA Midwestern Conference
#3 Beaver Falls Tigers (2-0)(1-0) vs Beaver Bobcats (2-0)(1-0) Friday September 18^th @ 7:30 PM @ Gypsy Glen Stadium at Beaver high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network and WBVP-AM 1230 by Bob Barrickman and Kerry Lacey

Beaver needed overtime to get by Quaker Valley last week 21-20 they rolled in a non-conference week one win over Brownsville 35-14.

The Bobcats will go as far as junior quarterback Darius Wise takes them. Coming off a sophomore year in which he rushed for 818 yards Wise takes over at quarterback for Zach Royba. Wise has completed 14 of 35 passes for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has also been the leading rusher for the Bobcats on the season with 261 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.

Junior Te’Vierre Williams has taken on some of the role that Wise filled last year for the Bobcats and has shown to be a big threat both running and receiving. For the season Williams leads the Bobcats in catches with six, and is there second leading rusher behind Wise with 144 yards on 14 touches.

The Bobcats will likely try to grind this out on the ground but if they need a big play keep an eye on senior wide out Chase Mamone, he only has four catches but gets some big yards, he is averaging over 23 yards per touch.

The Tigers have been dominant is starting 2-0 mercy-ruling both Freedom and Southmoreland. Their defense has only allowed seven points on the season to date. You’re going to win a lot of games if you give up just 3.5 points per game.

Beaver Falls offense is led by a pair of super-sophomores. Quarterback is 8 of 14 for 190 yards throwing including a pair of touchdowns. Malik Shepherd looks like he is really going to be special. He does everything. He is 2 of 4 throwing, has a 39 yard catch and leads the team in rushing with 167 yards on just 11 carries. He is averaging over 15 yards per carry, and has scored four points after touchdowns on the year.

Talk about your “Big Play” guys, junior Derrell Carter is the definition. He has four catches for 141 yards on the season. He is averaging over 35 yards per catch and over 10 yards per rush on the year. He also leads the team with a pair of touchdowns.

A Tri-County South
#8 Frazier Commodores (2-0)(2-0) vs Bentworth Bearcats (2-0)(2-0) Friday September 18^th @ 7:00 PM @ Bentworth high school broadcast on the MSA Sports Network by Ken Laird and Greg Kuntz

A rare appearance in BGH for the TCS, Welcome friends. These two teams have both been dominating in starting out 2-0 in the TCS this year.

The Commodores have yet to allow a single point on the season. As great as their defense has been the real headline for Frazier is senior quarterback Hunter Patterson. It is difficult to imagine how the youngster could be any better. He has completed 11 of 13 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception.

In addition to that Patterson is by far the leading rusher for Frazier with 192 yards on 11 carries, he has also scored a team-high five touchdowns.

Junior wide out Damon Lovis leads the Commodores with 6 catches for 118 yards he has scored three touchdowns.

Aside from Patterson on the ground running backs Brennan Raygor and Lucas Klorczyk have combined to rush for over 130 yards on a dozen carries.

Bentworth will get their toughest test of the season after rolling Carmichaels and West Greene to start the year perfect.

The Bearcats have used two quarterbacks with juniors Riley Nickerson and Josh Hughes each throwing a bunch. Nickerson is 11 of 23 for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Hughes compliments that with 16 of 26 for 172 yards and four scores.

Noah Peternel is into double digits with 10 catches for 145 yards and a score. He is a shifty sophomore for people to keep their eyes on.

Senior Ethan Tush is doing the bulk of the work in the Bearcat ground game with 32 carries for 253 yards in a couple weeks of work.

Tags: Beaver, Beaver Falls, Bentworth, Bethel Park, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Upper St. Clair