WPIAL Football Playoff First Round Recaps 2014

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 1, 2014 | 1:57 AM

‘Taking care of business, every day. Taking car of business, every way.’ With apologies to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that might have been the theme for the top seeds Friday night as 22 of the 24 Top Six seeds produced victories of various degree and advanced as expected past the First Round and on to the district football Quarterfinals. Here are recaps from the opening night of the 2014 version of the Highway to Heinz.

A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Sean Meyers, Dennis Fischer, Adam Gusky, T.J. DiStefano, Mark Uriah, Bob Gregg, Lou Rood, Mike Sackley, Jason Tennant, Kyle Dawson, Cory Campano, Steve Nagler, Adam Hoerner, Brian Mroziak, Rob Longo, Charlie Weston, Josh Rowntree, Bobby Fox, Bob Orkwis, Randy Gore, Rob Matzie, Rich Mastowski, Scott Briggs, Nick Farrell, Bob Barrickman, Jason Colangelo, John Smathers, Don Conde and Mark Schaas for their help on these recaps!

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Pine-Richland Rams 63 – Connellsville Falcons 6 
QB Ben DiNucci completed 11 of 13 passes for 188 yards. and two Touchdowns, both to Earnest Williams(30 & 6 yards), to lead the #1 seed Pine Richland Rams (10-0) to a 63-6 win over the #16 seed Connellsville Falcons (3-7).   Running back Connor Slomka rushed for 53 yards and 4 Touchdowns on 8 carries.  Jim Graf and Saigion Simpson both had touchdown runs of 24 and 64 respectfully and Michael Merhaut returned a punt for a 55 yard TD. Connellsville’s Braden Hone scored a 3 yard TD run, which cut the Pine Richland lead to 14-6 with 6:05 remaining in the 1st Q,  but the extra point was blocked.  Adams Napotnik kicked all of Pine Richlands Extra points.  Pine Richland(10-0) will now go on to face Altoona (8-2) in the Quarter finals.

Altoona Mountain Lions 27 – Bethel Park Black Hawks 17
After Bethel Park scored two touchdowns in the last 3 minutes of the first half, Altoona grabbed momentum back with two quick scores early in the 3rd quarter and won, 27-17. Levi Metheny threw a 75 yard touchdown pass to Alex Minton to tie the game after being pinned at their own two yard line. After a three and out, the Blackhawks scored again with six seconds left in the half to take the lead. It took two plays from scrimmage for Eli Mencer to score his second touchdown of the game in the 3rd quarter for a 14-14 tie. That traveled 44 yards. Mencer finished with over 200 yards and scored a game clinching touchdown with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter. Bethel Park had a 4th and 1 at their own 37 yard line after Altoona tied the game at 14. The Blackhawks were denied and Altoona took the lead with a Devin Miller to Sean Steve 16 yard touchdown pass. With 6:19 left in the 3rd, Altoona took the lead for good. Matt Monte hit a 31 yard field goal with one second left in the third to cut Altoona’s lead to 21-17. The Mountain Lions won their first WPIAL playoff game in history. The Lions had played in the WPIAL championship in 1969 and lost to Gateway. Altoona will now play AAAA #1 seed Pine Richland next week.

Plum Mustangs 17 – Penn Hills Indians 6 
Plum turned in a complete effort in all three phases of the game, as the No. 13 Mustangs upset fourth-seeded Penn Hills Indians 17-6 in Class Quad-A first round action. Plum’s defense held the potent Penn Hills offense in check, and the Mustangs forced a fumble that they recovered deep in Indians’ territory in the second quarter. Subsequently, Plum took the lead on a 6-yard run by Zach Martin. After Penn Hills cut its deficit to one point, the Mustangs regained command with a late touchdown just 12 seconds before halftime. Plum’s defense was unrelenting in the second half, as the Mustangs secured their spot in the quarterfinals.

McKeesport Tigers 35 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 10
Khaleke Hudson and TyWann Smith each scored 2 touchdowns as the 5th seeded Tigers defeated the Blue Devils at Weigle-Schaeffer Stadium. Mt. Lebanon lead 3-0 before Hudson scored on a 23-yard run midway through the second quarter to give McKeesport the lead. Hudson intercepted an Eddie Jenkins pass late in the first half and scored on a 2-yard run with no time remaining to put the Tigers up by 11 points at the break. Tymar Sutton added a 29-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter before Joey Stabile brought the Blue Devils to within 21-10 early in the fourth. Smith answered for McKeesport :44 later on runs of 31-yards and then scoring from 33-yards to make the score 28-10. Smith scored on a 1-yard TD QB sneak for the games final points. Hudson, who came into the game with 1,455 yards rushing, carried 21 times for 103-yards and now has 24 rushing touchdowns on the year. Mt. Lebanon ends the season at (5-5). McKeesport improved to (9-1) with the victory and the Tigers get a rematch with 13th seeded Plum next week in the quarterfinals. McKeesport defeated Plum 20-3 in Week Seven during the regular season.

Penn-Trafford Warriors 40 – Fox Chapel Foxes 13 
The Penn Trafford Warriors survived a first half scare overcoming a 10 point deficit in the first half to defeat Fox Chapel 40-13 in the first round of class quad A playoff action.
The Foxes took advantage of a PT opening drive interception and drove 79 yards in 16 plays to take a 7-0 lead at the 4:27 mark of quarter 1 on a 5 yard Carrington Vaughn run. PT answered with a field goal of 23 yards by Casey Aungst to trim the lead to 4 at the 1:35 mark. Fox Chapel increased the lead to 10 at the 10:05 mark left in the first half on a 2 yard run by Darius Booker, but PT would cut the lead to 3 at the half just a little over one minute later on a 38 yard pass from Brett Laffoon to Tim Vecchio. Penn Trafford would score 4 touchdowns in the second half to seal the first round victory. PT took the lead for good at the 9:10 mark of quarter 3 as Devin Austin scored his first of 3 third quarter touchdowns on a  48 yard run. Austin scored on a 7 yard run and a 13 yard shovel pass as the Warriors led 31-13 at the end of 3 quarters. PT would add a 29 yard run by Jonah Lisbon in the 4th quarter and a safety on the games final play earning a hard fought 40-13 win over Fox Chapel and a quarterfinal matchup against #7 seed North Allegheny on Friday, November 7th.

North Allegheny Tigers 24 – Upper St. Clair Panthers 0 
Seventh-seeded North Allegheny churned up 262 yards on the ground and held Upper St. Clair to 78 total yards en route to a 24-0 victory in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs.  The Tigers dominated the Panthers from the outset, marching the opening possession 67 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown.  NA capped the drive on an 18-yard touchdown pass by Jeff Clemens to tight-end Paul Blendinger for a 7-0 lead.  Blendinger was also a force on defense, collecting 5.5 tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks.
North Allegheny culminated a 93-yard march in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Josh Bergman to increase the lead to 14-0, Tigers.  Kicker Seth Mancuso added a 35-yard field goal with 4:17 to play in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead at the half. North Allegheny put the game away with its first possession in the second half, capping a 58-yard drive on a fantastic play by sophomore receiver Ethan Maenza.  On a 4th and 6 from the Upper St. Clair 34 yard line, Maenza accepted a reverse toss from Michael Pope and sprinted down the left sideline, hurdling a defender at the 5-yard line, narrowly stayed inbounds, and dove into the end zone for a highlight reel touchdown.  The Maenza touchdown brought the final score to 24-0, Tigers. North Allegheny improves to 8-2 on the season and will advance to the quarterfinals to face the second-seeded Penn-Trafford Warriors.  Upper St. Clair finishes with a rare losing season at 4-6.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 42 – Norwin Knights 7
In the opening round of the WPIAL football playoffs, Pittsburgh Central Catholic did what they do best…run the ball and play defense as they eliminated Norwin 42-7 at Cupples Stadium on the South Side of Pittsburgh. After a Michael Navarro 1-yard run point the defending champs up early, John Petrishen returned a punt 67-yards for a Vikings touchdown to make it 14-0 after one and a possible rout was on. But the Knights cut the lead in half on Nick Amendola’s 12-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Norwin would get no closer though as Vinny Emanuele scored on a 4-yard run in the second and a 22-yard run in the third to make it 28-7 Central Catholic after 3. Ronnie Jones scored on an 84-yard run and Cullen Buckley returned a fumble 4-yards to the house to close out the scoring in the fourth quarter. Norwin finishes its turnaround season at 5-5 while Pittsburgh Central Catholic improves to 9-1 with the win. The Vikings now get a rematch of last years title game with Woodland Hills in the district Quarterfinals.

Woodland Hills Wolverines  41 – North Hills Indians 2 
The Woodland Hills Wolverines advanced to the WPIAL Quarterfinals with a 41-2 win over the North Hills Indians on Friday night at the Wolvarena. The Woody High offense was powered by 100+ yard performances by Jo-el Shaw and Miles Sanders. Sanders & Shaw each ran for 2 touchdowns, while QB Jeremiah Jones rushed for a TD as well. Not only did the Defense pitch a shut-out, they aided their cause with a 13 yard fumble recovery for a TD by Will Fletcher. The lone Indians score came when Miles Sanders was tackled in the End Zone by Stephen Smith for a Safety in the 2nd Quarter. Woodland Hills will take on Pittsburgh Centeral Catholic next Friday night at 7:30pm at a site to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

Central Valley Warriors 48 – Laurel Highlands Mustangs 26
After a convincing 11-point win over fellow Parkway Conference foe West Allegheny in the final week of the regular season, the top-seeded Central Valley Warriors look far from a championship-caliber team Friday night in their 48-26 win over No. 16 Laurel Highlands.
Despite the final score, it was no surprise that the Warriors manhandled the Mustangs early on in the first quarter. Central Valley led 28-0 after the first 12 minutes of play thanks to an opening touchdown by Preston Johnson from eight yards out. After that, it became the Jordan Whitehead highlight reel. The Pitt recruit scored on runs of 70, 80 and 90 yards respectively.  It looked like the matchup was heading towards a route after the Warriors put up another touchdown, but a missed extra point made it 34-0 Central Valley, one point shy of the mercy rule. Laurel Highlands took advantage by punching in a pair of scores in the final three minutes of the first half on two touchdown runs; one by Jarvis Crews from seven yards out and another from quarterback Jimmy Pierce from 10 yards out. At the break, Central Valley led 34-13.  With the Warriors slated to receiving the second-half kickoff, the Mustangs attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. That momentum shift at the beginning of the half allowed Laurel Highlands to cut the deficit to two scores after an 18-yard touchdown run from Dontay Jacobs. However, Whitehead took the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to extend Central Valleys lead to 41-20. Both teams traded scores before the final horn with Central Valley advancing to the Class AAA quarterfinals next week to face Indiana.
Despite the lopsided 48-26 score, penalties and turnovers plagued both teams. Because of a buildup of penalties, Laurel Highlands had to endure a third-and-41 at one point. In the third quarter, Whitehead stopped a Mustangs’ drive after stripping a receiver of the ball to create a turnover, but fumbled on the very next play.  However, history is on the side of the Warriors. In the past 18 years, a team from the Parkway Conference has captured the WPIAL crown 12 times. With both the top seed Central Valley and No. 3 West Allegheny still alive, either team is more than capable of continuing the trend.

Indiana Little Indians 42 – West Mifflin Titans 12 
Indiana quarterback Jake Zilinskas rushed for three touchdowns, Connor Tshudy and John Louis Gatti also added scoring runs, and Ryan Waters capped the scoring with an interception return for a score, as the Little Indians dispatched West Mifflin, 42-12, in first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs at Andy Kuzneski Field. Indiana gained a season-high 226 rushing yards. Zilinskas passed Kyle Edgar for the single-season school record for passing yardage (1,617). West Mifflin’s DiAngelo Mitchell rushed for 168 yards and both of the team’s scores.

Hampton Talbots 33 – New Castle Red Hurricane 14
The Hampton Talbots advanced to the next round of the WPIAL Triple A football playoffs on Friday night with a 33-14 win over the New Castle Red Hurricane at Fridley Field.  The #4 seeded Talbots led 12-7 at the half when the Red Hurricane, seeded #13, took the second half kick-off and drove to the Hampton 27 before the Talbots defense forced a fumble. Hampton scored on quarterback Nick Grabowski’s three yard run a few minutes later to take a 19-7 lead.  New Castle again drove into Hampton territory, this time to the five yard line, where it faced a first down and goal.  But the Talbots defense held and quickly moved the length of the field to score on a Grabowski to Nate Hyre 22 yard pass to up the score to 26-7. New Castle fought back and closed the gap to 26-14 with a 3 yard run by D’Marcus Blanchard, but Hampton sealed the win by adding a Nick Worobij 50 yard run with just 3:33 to play.  Hampton (9-1) will play Ringgold next Friday in the quarterfinals at a site yet to be determined.  New Castle ends its season at 4-6.

Ringgold Rams 24 – Gateway Gators 14 
#5 Ringgold advanced to the next round tonight with a 24-14 win over #12 Gateway.  Senior Nico Law of Ringgold threw a touchdown and also had a 53-yard interception return for a td that ultimately sealed the game.  Star running back Chacar Berry went down in the first half with a leg injury and never returned.  Brenden Small filled in nicely with a touchdown and it was the first time ever that the Rams defeated the Gators.  Ringgold now play #4 Hampton next week at a location still to be determined.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 49 – Moon Tigers 14 
The number 2 seeded Thomas Jefferson Jaguars showed why they deserved the rating as the easily handled the 15th seeded Moon Tigers in 1st round WPIAL AAA playoff action.  The Jaguars rushed for 458 yards in the game and did not attempt a pass.  Austin Kemp rushed 19 times for 220 yards and scored on runs of 65, 39, and 50 yards in the first half.  Kemp did not play in the second half.  Quinton Hill, Kemp back-up ran for a pair of TDs for 48 and 4 yards, and sophomore Zane Sandler had a 75 yard pick six interception return for a TD along with a 10 yard TD run. Derek Rothey was a perfect 7-7 on extra points for TJ.  Noah Angelo scored on an 80 run for Moon in the 1st quarter and Kendall Coleman. On a 1 yard TD run in the 4th quarter for the Moon scores.  The game was actually knotted at 7-7 following Angelo’s 1st quarter run, but TJ then ran off the next 42 points to put the game away and invoke the Mercy rule in the 3rd quarter. TJ will move on to the AAA Quarterfinals where they will face the Mars Planets.

Mars Fighting Planets 42 – Montour Spartans 27 
The 10th seeded Mars Planets got a monstrous effort from senior running back Ori Rinaman en route to a stunning upset against #7 Montour. Rinaman ran for 239 yards on 34 carries and scored all six Planet touchdowns on the night. Mars’ Isaiah Johnson chipped in with 87 yards rushing. Montour had a 14-7 lead late in the 2nd quarter when Mars scored two touchdowns in the span of 0:41. Rinaman scored on a 6 yard TD run to tie the score with 1:14 left in the half and, after an interception on a halfback option pass, Rinaman scored again from 9 yards out with 0:33 left, giving them a 21-14 lead they’d never relinquish. Montour’s stellar RB Dave Haseleu gained 126 yard on 15 carries and scored two TDs and QB Randall Labrie amassed 176 total yards and accounted for two TDs himself (1 rush, 1 pass). With the victory, the Mars Planets (7-3) will take on 2nd-seeded Thomas Jefferson at a neutral site.

West Allegheny Indians 38 – Knoch Knights 0 
The defending WPIAL class AA Champions exercised most all of their offensive weapons and used a physical defense to step past the #14 seeded Knoch Knights on their way to an impressive 38-0 victory Friday night.  The Indians held Knoch to less than 75 yards of total offense and only two first downs on the way to the first round victory. Quarterback Andrew Koester and wildcat back Chayse Dillon led the run-oriented attack that blistered a Knoch defense that had been solid against rushing teams most of the season.  Knoch junior quarterback Cole Shinsky -starting only his fourth game as the Knight’s signal caller – and senior running back Cody Milsom, struggled for any success against the fast and physical defense on the Indians. Knoch finishes the season at 4-6, while West Allegheny improves to 9-1 and will face Franklin Regional in the Quarter Finals.

Franklin Regional Panthers 20 – Belle Vernon Leopards 0
A bruising defensive performance lifted No. 6 Franklin Regional (7-3) to a 20-0 victory over No. 11 Belle Vernon (5-5) on Friday night in Murrysville. Brett Zanotto rushed seven times for 49 yards and scored twice for the Panthers, who advance to the WPIAL AAA Quarterfinals for the fourth straight season. Franklin Regional wasted little time, driving 55 yards on their opening drive, as Zanotto rushed up the middle from 20 yards out, giving the Panthers an early 6-0 lead. Two drives later, Franklin Regional’s Vinny Farina would intercept Belle Vernon Quarterback Travis Snyder, returning the ball to the Leopards’ seven yard line. Two plays later, Franklin Regional Quarterback Santino Birty would scamper into the end zone, giving the Panthers a 13-0 lead. That score would hold until the 5:09 mark of the fourth quarter, when Zanotto would cap off a three-play drive with a ten-yard touchdown run, giving Franklin Regional the 20-0 final score. In addition to Zanotto’s efforts, the Panthers got strong rushing performances from Jake Ross, who rushed a season-high 17 times for 92 yards, and Birty, who finished with 56 yards and the touchdown on eleven carries. Birty also passed for 68 yards in the win, but threw two of Franklin Regional’s three interceptions. Belle Vernon was led by Snyder, who rushed 15 times for 46 yards, while completing 8-of-20 pass attempts for 88 yards and the costly interception. Anthony Levis, who entered the game with 910 rushing yards on the season, finished with eleven carries for just 14 yards for Belle Vernon, which is 0-11 in its last 11 playoff games, dating back to 2001. Franklin Regional will next meet two-time defending WPIAL AAA Champion  and third-seeded West Allegheny in the WPIAL Quarterfinals on Friday night at a site and time to be determined.

WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

South Fayette Lions 65 – Waynesburg Raiders 6
The defending state champion South Fayette Lions won their 26th game in a row and their 37th of their last 38 games when the cruised into the quarterfinals with a 65-6 win over the Waynesburg Raiders.  The Raiders hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2003 and their first taste of the postseason since, didn’t start off all that bad.  South Fayette picked up one first down before punting to Waynesburg.  The Raiders then turned the ball over on a fumble and South Fayette quickly scored to go up 7-0.  Waynesburg answered back with a 70-yard touchdown run by Austin Herrod and the score was 7-6.  Herrod ended up carrying the load for Waynesburg after Hunter Cenname went down with an injury very early on.  Unfortunately for the Raiders, Herrod’s run resulted in their only points.  South Fayette took over from there as Brett Brumbaugh threw for four touchdowns in the first half with 2 to Logan Sharp, and one each to Nick Ponikver and Dan Trimbur.  The Lions also rushed for three touchdowns in the first half with 2 by Hunter Hayes and one by Jasper Wolfe.  As the teams went to the locker rooms at that half, the Lions led, 49-6.  Though Brumbaugh is vying for the state record for all-time passing yards, the Lions called off the dogs in the second half under the mercy rule and Brumbaugh and Hayes didn’t see the field the rest of the way.  Brumbaugh ended the day 7-for-10 for 205 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Hayes rushed for 133 yards on 10 carries with 2 touchdowns.  After a scoreless 3rd quarter, South Fayette added points in the fourth quarter with a safety and two more rushing touchdowns by Robert O’Kelley and Ryhan Culberson respectively.  Brian Coyne went 9-for-9 in extra point attempts.  South Fayette moves on to face South Park in the quarterfinals.

South Park Eagles 21 – Beaver Bobcats 20 
The South Park Eagles advanced to the WPIAL AA Quarterfinals by virtue of their thrilling 21-20 victory over the Beaver Bobcats Friday Evening. The Eagles, who have won seven straight contests since losing to top seeded South Fayette on September 12, won their first playoff game since the 2005 campaign.  After a great start, which saw the Eagles grab a 7-0 lead on their opening possession, the Eagles appeared poised to add to their lead after recovering the ensuing kickoff.  In fact, South Park drove to the six yard line of the Bobcats with little resistance.   On second and goal, however, disaster struck as Beaver’s opportunistic defense pounced on a fumble at the two yard line.  From that point, the Bobcats seized command of the game, capping the subsequent 98 yard scoring drive with a 19 yard strike from Quarterback Zack Royba to Pat Hanagan.  After tying the game, the Bobcats went back to work on their very next possession, when standout tailback Darius Wise  took an option pitch from Royba 62 yards for a touchdown.  The missed extra point from the Bobcats would loom large, though they enjoyed a 13-7 lead.  Before halftime, the Bobcats would extend the lead on another explosive run by Julien Vandusen.  Trailing 20-7, the Eagles summoned the strength to mount a pair of scoring drives of their own.   Most of the damage was done on the ground, as Quarterback Nick Scholle and Running back Adam Staudt both eclipsed 100 yards for the evening.  Eventually, Scholle’s 5 yard touchdown would give South Park the lead back at the 5:35 mark of the fourth quarter.
Trailing 21-20, the Bobcats needed a scoring drive of their own if they were to advance to face top seeded South Fayette.   Twice, the Bobcats extending their final drive with fourth down conversions.  With just under a minute to play, Royba found Hanagan for a 29 yard pass to the Eagles 2 yard line.  An Illegal shift infraction, incompletion, and two running plays that were stuffed by the Eagles defense forced the Bobcats to use their last time out with just 3 fateful seconds remaining.  On came kicker Luke Schiedemantle to attempt a game winning 20 yard field goal.  South Park’s Vinnie Pantuso etched his name in the Eagles history books, blocking the attempt as time expired.   It was a dramatic end to a hard fought battle between two evenly matched football teams, and marked the end of the road for the Bobcats, who finished 7-3.  For the Eagles, it’s on to the Quarterfinals, where they seek to an avenge an earlier 59-20 drubbing of Conference foe South Fayette.

Highlands Golden Rams 24 – New Brighton Lions 19
Senior running back Elijah Jackson opened the game with two touchdown runs including one for 75 yards to pace the Highlands Golden Rams to a 24-19 win over New Brighton in the first round of the WPIAL AA playoffs.  The Lions closed the gap to 14-12 before a 21-yard field goal by Sam Elliott gave the hosts a 17-12 halftime lead.  With no scoring in the third quarter, the key play came late in the fourth period when Highlands faced a 3rd down and 26 yards to go from their 14-yard line.  Sophomore quarterback Brayden Thimons then sprinted 57 yards on a quarterback draw and scored shortly after on a 12-yard run with 2:08 left.  Running back Scott Florence scored on a 24-yard pass for New Brighton with 53 seconds remaining but an onside kick was recovered by the Golden Rams.  Highlands ran out the clock and increased its record to 10-0.  The Lions, who played without starting quarterback Payton Fath due to a game ejection last week, finished at 6-4.  The Golden Rams meet Seton-LaSalle next week in the quarterfinals.

Seton-LaSalle Rebels 20 – McGuffey Highlanders 0
Seton-La Salle scored on the opening drive of the game on a Ricky Mellick three-yard run, and that was all the scoring the Rebels needed, as they downed McGuffey 20-0. Early in the second quarter, McGuffey had the Rebels backed up with a second and 22 from the Seton La Salle 3 yard line. But Tyler Perone hit Danzel McKinley-Lewis for 43 yards to the Rebels 46. Five plays later the two connected again for a 27-yard touchdown to give the Rebels a 13-0 lead after the extra point was blocked. Mellick added another three-yard touchdown run with 9:29 to play to seal the victory. Perone completed 13 of 19 for 215 yards and one touchdown. Mellick carried 28 times for 128 yards and two scores. McKinley-Lewis caught seven passes for 149 yards and a score. James Duchi, who topped four-thousand career rushing yards earlier in the season ran for 125 yards on 20 carries to lead the Highlanders (7-3). The Rebels defense held McGuffey to 145 total yards in the game. Seton La Salle (9-1) advances to face Highlands in the quarter-finals.

Aliquippa Quips  55 – Kittanning Wildcats 20 
While 15-seed Kittanning did everything they could in the firswt half to keep it close, undefeated Aliquippa rolled to another one-sided victory in an historic matchup at The Pit in Aliquippa. Kaezon Pugh rushed for 200 yards and scored three touchdowns on runs of 5, 15 and 79 yards as Aliquippa jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. Kittanning was able to do something nobody has done all year and that was to simple exchange two scores with the Quips to make it 35-13 before DiMantae Bronaugh scored his second touchdown before the half to increase the Quips lead to 42-13 at the half. Zane Dudek had a pair of touchdowns for the Wildcats as they close out their final season with a record of 6-4. Kittanning and Ford City will close this year and merge to form Armstrong High School. Aliquipa rolls on to the district Quarterfinals where they will meet Mount Pleasant, a team they beat 63-14 in Week 8.

Mount Pleasant Vikings 38 – Shady Side Academy Indians 0
The #7 seed Mt Pleasant Area Vikings rushed their way to a big 38-0 victory over the #10 seed Shady Side Academy Indians Friday night at Viking Stadium in the first round of the playoffs. This was the first meeting between the two schools and it was all Mt Pleasant. The Vikings would start the scoring at 5:35 of quarter number one on a Trevor Salopek 15 yard touchdown run making it 7-0. Zach Bednar would tack on a 30 yard field goal with 1:54 left in the 1st quarter giving the Vikings a 10-0 lead. Mt Pleasant would add one score in the 2nd quarter at 10:28 on a Trevor Salopek 73 yard touchdown run making it 17-0 at the half. The Vikings received the 2nd half kickoff and preceded to add the only score in the third at 10:23 on an Ethan Charlesworth 15 yard touchdown run making it 24-0 after three quarters of play. The Vikings would seal the deal with two scores in the 4th with a Johnny Yester seven yard touchdown pass to Kyle Halterman at 8:52 and a Jake Adamrovich 1 yard TD run with 5:11 left in the contest. Mt Pleasant dominated with 485 yards of total offense, 452 on the ground and 33 through the air. Shady Side Academy was only able to muster 161 total yards of offense. The Vikes held Indians start running back Louis Berry to 73 yards on the ground. Trevor Salopek led the way for MP with 16 carries for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Mt Pleasant improves to 8-2 and will have a rematch with #2 seed Aliquippa next Friday night. These teams played three weeks ago at The Pit with the Quips victorious 63-14. Shady Side Academy ends the season at 6-4.

Washington Little Prexies 34 – Steel Valley Ironmen  7
For the second straight week, Washington used a late third-quarter scoring burst to turn a tight game into a victory, downing Steel Valley 34-7, Friday night.  Leading 12-7 late in the third, the Little Prexies DeQuay Isbel intercepted Tyron Freeman’s overthrown pass and returned it to the Ironmen’s 7-yard line.  Three plays later, quarterback Jonathan Spina snuck in from a yard out to push the margin to 18-7. After Washington forced a punt on the ensuing possession, Malik Wells sprinted 75 yards for a score, his 15th touchdown of the season, and Washington’s third scoring play in excess of 60 yards in the game.  Jordan West opened the scoring with a 66-yard fullback quick hitter early in the second, then closed the books with a 14-yard scamper halfway through the fourth.  Following West’s first score, Spina connected with Isbel for a 75-yard touchdown, perfectly executing play action, allowing Isbel to race past the defenders to score for the 17th time this year.  DeWayne Murray got Steel Valley on the board early in the third after catching a pass tipped by a defender, then carrying would-be tacklers inside the 10-yard-line.  Murray scored on fourth-and-2, the sophomore’s 25th touchdown of the season.  West finished with 10 carries for 145 yards, Wells added 118 more on 17 rushes.  Spina completed three of his 4 passes for 122 yards, all in the first half.  Murray carried 16 times for 53 yards.  Freeman was 7-of-14 for 98 yards and two interceptions.  Wash High is 10-0, taking on Apollo-Ridge in the quarterfinals.  Steel Valley finishes the year at 6-4.  The Ironmen went 3-4 over the final seven weeks, each of the losses coming to teams who have advanced to the WPIAL Quarterfinals–South Fayette, Seton-La Salle, South Park and Washington.

Apollo-Ridge Vikings 58 – Beaver Falls Tigers 40 
The Apollo Ridge Vikings scored eight touchdowns and one field goal enroute to a 58-40 win over the Beaver Falls Tigers in the first round of the Class AA WPIAL playoffs. The Vikings trailed twice in the early stages of the first quarter before taking the lead for good after their second touchdown.  The victory is Apollo Ridge’s first ever home playoff win. Senior running back Jonah Casella scored four touchdowns including the go ahead score on a fumble recovery on a punt by the Tigers returned for a score and runs of 73, 2 and 53.  Casella would rush for 167 yards.  Tre Tipton the University of Pittsburgh recruit rushed for 163 yards and scored on runs of 14 and 48 yards. Beaver Falls first score was set up by a 67 yard run by their leading rusher Cordell Cummings.  He would finish with just 4 carries and 71 yards before being removed for an undisclosed injury in the first quarter.  He would not return.  The Tigers would be led by Derrell Carter’s 169 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Pete Lyons would rush for 93 yards in a losing effort. With the victory Apollo Ridge is now 9-1 and advances to the quarterfinals versus Washington.  Beaver Falls finishes the season at 7-3.

WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic Trojans 69 – Avella Eagles 13
Defending WPIAL and PIAA Class A champion Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (10-0) opened the 2014 postseason in dominating fashion, taking down #16 seed Avella (5-5) by a 69-13 margin at Lt. J.C. Stone Field in North Park. The Trojans rattled off 30 first quarter points, including two touchdown passes from Adam Sharlow to P.J. Fulmore and a blocked punt by Keith Wells for a safety. North Catholic activated the mercy rule early in the second, scoring 33 more points before halftime, including two of Fulmore’s three rushing touchdowns and a 60-yard fumble return for a score by Jake Sauder, with the latter coming on Avella’s first trip into the red zone. It was just that kind night for the Eagles, but they did get two rushing touchdowns from Nick Kusich in the second half. Fulmore finished with 242 total yards (136 rushing, 106 receiving) while Mario Latronica ran for 117 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries in the winning effort. Kusich finished with 93 yards on 17 carries while Santino Paris completed 7 of 18 passes for 90 yards in the loss. The only bad news for the Trojans came on the injury front with Jerome Turner exiting the game early in the first quarter after taking what appeared to be a helmet to the back. Backup quarterback Ryan Maziarz also limped off the field late in the fourth quarter.

South Side Rams 26 – Frazier Commodores 12 
South Side scored the opening 26 points putting Frazier in an early hole as the Rams improved to 7-3 on the season with a 26 to 12 win over the Frazier Commodores on Friday Night in Perryopolis.  Nathan Block lead the way for South Side with 40 carries for 206 yards and 2 1st half touchdowns. South Side held a 20-0 halftime lead and issued the knockout blow on the 2nd half kickoff as Connor Smith took the kick back 85 yards for a TD for the Rams to extend their lead to 26 to 0.  Frazier scored the final 12 points of the game adding 2nd half scores from Tim Carson and Alvin Ross.  South Side after an 0-9 season last year advanced to the WPIAL Quarterfinals to take on CW North Catholic next week.  Frazier who hasn’t won a playoff game since 1983 saw their season end with an 8-2 record.  Frazier’s loss along with losses by Beth Center, Mapletown and Avella, saw the Tri-County South Conference go 0-4 in the First Round of the WPIAL Playoffs for the 4th straight year.

Riverside Panthers 21 – Beth-Center Bulldogs 20 
In what was truly a see-saw affair in the first round of the McDonald’s WPIAL Class A Playoffs, a brother-to-brother pass touchdown in the 3rd quarter and a fumble by Beth-Center running back Anthony Welsh at the one yard line with 30 seconds to go, would prove to be the difference in Riverside’s 21-20 upset win over Beth-Center. Scoring would kick off in the first when Welsh would rush 74 yards out of the wildcat to put Beth-Center up 7-0 after the PAT. Lance Fisher would answer for Riverside from thee yards out to tie things at seven. The first half would finish with a 34 yard touchdown pass from Trent Cunko to Welsh to put BC ahead by 7 at the half.  A back and forth second half included scoring plays of three sorts. First, Jason Dambach would find Logan Sheridan on fourth-and-three from 17 yards out to tie things at 14. Nico Brown would then give the Bulldogs the lead again from 13 yards out, but the extra point would be wide right and BC lead things 20-14. Dambach would then find his brother Austin Dumbach, 23 yards to pay dirt and Courtney Harden would split the uprights to give Riverside the deciding score.  Riverside moves on on the “Highway to Heinz” as they will play Avonworth in Round 2.

Avonworth Antelopes 34 – Mapletown Maples 0 
The Avonworth Antelopes advanced to the second round of the WPIAL Class A football playoffs on Friday night by defeating Mapletown 34-0 at Lenzner Field. The fifth-seeded Antelopes opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run from junior Kevin Simpson with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter. A successful extra point try from junior Cole Pappas extended Avonworth’s lead to 7-0. The host team doubled its advantage in the second quarter on a five-yard Simpson run with 7:51 remaining in the first half. The Maples defense did all it could to keep the number-12 seed in the contest. However, the Antelopes added on to its lead in the third quarter, when senior Brandon Wasko pounded in a two-yard touchdown run. A botched PAT try kept the score at 20-0. The Antelopes sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with a 21-yard touchdown run from senior James Busby and a 34-yard touchdown pass from freshman backup quarter Alex Osborn to classmate Jeff Igims.
Simpson piled up a game-high 117 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries, while senior quarterback Josh Drwal added 90 yards on eight carries, all of which came in the first half. Mapletown freshman running back eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season to highlight the Maples’ night. Avonworth will face Riverside in next week’s quarterfinal round.

Clairton Bears 62 – Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 3
To say the Clairton Bears rolled through the regular season would be an understatement. They dominated the opposition in the Eastern Conference. That domination continued right into the first round of the WPIAL Class A football playoffs as the 2nd-seeded Bears easily defeated the 15th-seeded Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers 62-3. The star of the night for Clairton was the sensational sophomore Lamont Wade. He scored on his first three carries of the night. The first was a 66 yard touchdown run on the Bears first offensive play from scrimmage. Wade then got the handoff on the two point conversion which was successful. His first carry on the next drive would go 42 yards for a score, and he made it look easy the rest of the night. Wade finished with 19 carries for 269 yards and six touchdowns. Clairton’s senior QB Ryan Williams also had himself a night, with 237 yards through the air and 72 yards on the ground. He added a passing and rushing touchdown as well.  Char-Houston got their first first down of the game in the waning moments of the 1st half and junior kicker Mike Cushma connected on a field goal from 37 yards out to give the Buccaneers their only points of the game. The Bears defense shut down Char-Houston all night long. Clairton did have its issues with penalties, but in the end, it did not have much bearing on the outcome. In addition, with 62 points on the game, the Bears have become the 8th highest scoring team in a single season in WPIAL history, and it doesn’t look like they are done yet. The Bears move on to the quarterfinals and will take on 7th-seeded Shenango at a neutral site next week.

Shenango Wildcats 35 – Springdale Dynamos 7 
In their first playoff game since 2006, the Wildcats controlled the tempo early and ran to a home victory last night. Shenango used a 14 play 86 yard drive off the opening kickoff, capped by a Brett Hoover 1 yard run and two touchdowns from Hunter Waskin to lead 21-0 at the break. Springdale was able to pin the Wildcats deep in the third quarter and scored in the fourth on a Ben Sowiski 5 yard run to cut the deficit to 21-7, but Shenango answered with Tyler Root 5 yard run and a Branden Ryder 20 yard punt return. The win was the first in the post-season for Shenango since 2003, the Cats are now 7-3 and will meet Clairton in the quarterfinals. Springdale ends the season at 6-4.

Neshannock Lancers 48 – Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 3 
It was an evenly played quarter between the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurians and Neshannock Lancers however the Lancers ran away with it in the second quarter. The Lancers scored 41 unanswered points to win 48-3. Leading all rushers was Eli Owens with 19 carries and 210 yards with three touchdowns. Quarterback Frank Antuono was 5-6 in the second half he finished 6-9 70 yards one touchdown. It was a punt that netted negative one in the 2rd quarter and that was the turning play of the game leading to a 4 play 33 yard drive to put the Lancers up 21-3 after a 7 yard run from Eli Owens. Neshannock goes on to play Jeannette in the 2nd round on the MSA Sports Network.

Jeannette Jayhawks 50 – Brentwood Spartans 19 
It was a tale of two halfs at McKee stadium as the Jeanette Jayhawks defeated the Brentwood Spartans 50-19 in Class A. Brentwood opened the scoring in the contest and led 19-7 at the half, thanks to three touchdowns from junior running back Pat Carr. The Jayhawks clearly made adjustments at the half and ripped of six consecutive scoring drives in the game’s second half, led by mobile senior quarterback Julian Batts and a cast of characters in the backfield. Meanwhile, Connor McWilliams and the Brentwood offense had no luck moving the ball in the second half.