News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 4 of the high school football season.
Quarterback Jay’mere Ellis understood the perception surrounding his Penn Hills football team after it opened its season with three uncharacteristic consecutive losses.
“Everybody just counted us out,” Ellis said. “Everybody just gave up on us. They thought the first three games defined us. It really didn’t.”
The Indians proved that point Friday night.
Ellis threw for 121 yards, two touchdowns and an interception — while running back Naytell Mitchell rushed for 86 yards and a score — as Class 5A Penn Hills handed visiting Class 4A power Aliquippa its first regular-season loss in three seasons, 21-13, at Yuhas-McGinley Stadium.
“We’re back,” Ellis said. “The Hills is back. Don’t count us out.”
Penn Hills (2-3, 1-0) won its second consecutive game of the season, after dispatching of Fox Chapel, 54-0, a week ago.
Aliquippa (2-1), which won its record 20th WPIAL championship and fifth PIAA title a season ago, had its 27-game regular-season winning streak snapped Friday night. The Quips played without standout senior running back and Penn State recruit Tikey Hayes for the second game in a row.
Marques Council Jr. threw for 119 yards and a 13-yard touchdown to sophomore Larry Moon in the second half to pace the Quips offense.
Aliquippa running back Sa’Nir Brooks added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“Our kids are just, they’re excited,” Penn Hills coach Charles Morris said. “They knew the energy was going to be up and the respect everyone in this locker room, players and coaches, has for Aliquippa. We just wanted to make sure we matched their energy and came out to play.”
Morris said the outcome of the contest, though, was definitely changed by the absence of Hayes.
“When you don’t have your top dog playing that’s always going to hurt,” Morris said. “Who knows how the game would’ve been when you’ve got your top rusher, your all-time rusher.
“But, I thought our defense played really well and our offense executed when they needed to.”
That was certainly true at the end of the first half.
Ellis connected with wide receiver Carter Bonner for an 11-yard touchdown pass with five seconds remaining in the second quarter.
“I saw that they brought the safety down,” Ellis said. “They blitzed the safety. We got one-on-one. I trust my receivers. My receivers trust me. I put the ball where they needed and he made a play.”
Penn Hills then took control of the game in the third quarter when Ellis completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Martel Palmer.
Mitchell then broke off a 56-yard touchdown run to hand the Indians a commanding 21-0 lead.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” said Morris of the victory. “We always knew once our team started jelling, getting together, we could compete with just about anyone.
“We had a rough start and I thought it was just a chemistry thing,” he added. “Now everyone is starting to play their role and that’s turned into a few wins.”
QUARTERBACK ROBERT LENZI DOES IT ALL FOR SOUTH PARK IN WIN
South Park quarterback Robert Lenzi passed for 181 yards and a touchdown and added 184 yards and three scores on the ground, as the Eagles handed South Allegheny a 48-38 loss, its first of the season. South Park (4-1, 2-0) wide receiver Kenyan Brown caught four passes for 134 yards a touchdown against the Gladiators (4-1, 1-1) in the Allegheny Conference contest. South Allegheny quarterback Ryan Cortes threw for 220 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
CENTRAL VALLEY OUTDUELS BEAVER ON THE GROUND
Mason Dixon rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while Jane Henry chipped in 149 yards and two scores to lead Central Valley to a 51-37 victory over Beaver. It was the second straight Western Hills Conference win for Central Valley (2-3, 2-0). Running back Amari Jackson carried the ball 15 times for a game-high 233 yards and two touchdowns for Beaver (3-2, 1-1), which also received 115 yards and two scores on the ground from Quay Cain.
NORTH ALLEGHENY OVERCOMES SLOW START AGAINST NORWIN
Undefeated North Allegheny scored 28 unanswered points Friday night to power past Norwin 36-14 in a Quad-County Conference game. Tigers (5-0, 2-0) quarterback Brady Brinkley threw for 156 yards and a touchdown, while Coleman Craft caught five passes for 78 yards and a score against the Knights (2-3, 0-2). Norwin’s offense was paced by running back Tristyn Tavares who had six carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns.
PETERS TOWNSHIP STRONG THROUGH THE AIR AGAIN
Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia completed 14-of-23 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns, as the Indians rolled past West Allegheny 38-0 Friday night. Peters Township (5-0) wide receiver Nick McCullough caught 3 passes for 129 yards and scoring strikes of 67 and 36 yards. DiLucia also threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Luca Rost and a 28-yard touchcdown pass to Lucas Shanafelt.
MONTOUR DEFENSE LOOMS LARGE IN WIN OVER MARS
Montour got two rushing touchdowns from Kaleb Platz and added a pair of defensive scores, as the Spartans dispatched of Mars, 31-14. Montour (4-0) defensive back James Bundridge returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown and Andrew Alston returned a second interception 75 yards for a score against Mars (1-4). Planets quarterback Nate Walker threw for 160 yards and a touchdown.
UPPER ST. CLAIR BEATS MCKEESPORT AT OWN GAME
Dante Coury rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries, while Julian Dahlem added 104 yards and a score, as Upper St. Clair grounded out a 31-14 victory over host McKeesport. John Banbury also rushed for a 21-yard touchdown for the Panthers (5-0), while quarterback Ethan Hellmann connected with Nick D’Orazio for a 17-yard scoring strike against the Tigers (1-4). McKeesport Quarterback Brady Eastman completed six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, while Anthony Cromerdie rushed for 103 yards and a score and reeled in a 23-yard scoring strike.
SOUTH FAYETTE OUTLASTS BELLE VERNON
Quarterback Drew Welhorsky threw for a pair of first-half touchdowns and rushed for another, as Class 5A South Fayette hung on to defeat Belle Vernon, 27-14, on the road. Welhorsky connected with Evan Farley for a 14-yard touchdown and Tyson Wright for a 30-yard scoring strike before crossing the goal line from 7 yards out late in the first half for the Lions (5-0). Kole Doppelheuer returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in the first half before catching a 20-yard scoring strike in the second half to account for the Leopards’ (1-2) points.
KOLE OLSZEWSKI LEADS COMEBACK FOR BISHOP CANEVIN
Bishop Canevin quarterback Kole Olszewski threw for four touchdowns, including an 80-yard, go-ahead scoring strike to Jayden Lindsey, as the Crusaders rallied to defeat host Cornell, 29-22, in their Class 1A Black Hills Conference opener. Bishop Canevin (3-1, 1-0) trailed by as much as seven points late in the fourth quarter against Cornell (4-1, 1-1).
BETHEL PARK FLEXES MUSCLES AGAIN
Running back Ja’Vaughn Moore rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns as Bethel Park, Class 5A’s hottest team, rolled past visiting Trinity, 49-7, at Black Hawk Stadium. Bethel Park (5-0) has now outscored its competition, 256-55, while Trinity (1-4) lost its third consecutive game to one of the WPIAL’s top teams. The Hillers were defeated by Montour and Peters Township in consecutive weeks prior to Friday night.
IMANI CHRISTIAN COMES BACK TO REMAIN UNBEATEN
Class 3A Imani Christian trailed by four points heading into the final quarter, but rallied to remain unbeaten with a 12-10 victory against Highlands. Sophomore Gabe Jenkins rushed for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Saints (5-0) past the Rams (2-2).
PUP BITES
- Canon-McMillan opened Class 6A Quad-County Conference play with a 17-14 victory against Mt. Lebanon on the road in overtime Friday night when kicker Zach Barzd made a 32-yard field goal for the Big Macs (2-3, 1-0). Canon-McMillan won for the second week in a row, while Mt. Lebanon (0-5, 0-2) remained winless on the young season. Blue Devils receiver Noah Schaerli caught 10 passes for 137 yards and a score.
- North Hills quarterback Kelly McCarthy threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead the Indians to a 48-7 win over Fox Chapel. McCarthy threw a seven-yard touchdown to Josiah Mathis, an 18-yard scoring strike to Stephen Murphy and an 11-yard touchdown to Ryan Carey to lead North Hills (4-1, 1-1) past Fox Chapel (1-3, 0-2) in the Northeast Conference contest.
- Penn-Trafford rebounded from a tough conference-opening loss to Woodland Hills last week by running over Kiski Area, 33-7, in a Big East game on the road Friday night. The Warriors got huge games on the ground from running back Tasso Whipple, who rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, along with quarterback Derek Carr, who added 101 yards and a score on 11 carries.
- Senior running back Alex Tatsch, a Penn State linebacker recruit, rushed for a game-high 117 yards on 14 carries as Latrobe rebounded from its Big East Conference opening loss a week ago, with a 14-0 victory over Armstrong Friday night. John Wetzel rushed for a 34-yard touchdown to open the game’s scoring in the fourth quarter, before Brady Prohovic added another touchdown run of his own to ice the game for the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) against the Riverhawks (2-3, 0-1).
THREE STARS
***— Kyle Dupill, Franklin Regional. The workhorse running back carried the ball 35 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns to lead Franklin Regional (4-1) to a 36-34 victory against host Gateway (2-3).
**— Ryan Messina, Elizabeth Forward. Messina completed just six passes, but threw for 212 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to lead the Warriors (2-3) to a 40-0 road victory against Baldwin (0-5). He also rushed for a 56-yard touchdown. Messina threw scoring strikes of 61 and 27 yards to Charlie Nigut, 51 and 78 yards to Brendan Stroschein, while also connecting with Connor Stokes for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
*— Kaevon Gardner, New Castle. The running back carried the football 18 times for 192 yards and four touchdowns to lead undefeated New Castle (4-0) to a 42-32 victory against Knoch (1-3). Gardner scored on runs of 10, 45, 80 and 3 yards to lead the Red Hurricane offense, which outscored the Knights, 28-12, in the second half to earn the comeback win.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
Canon-McMillan 17, Mt. Lebanon 14, OT
Central Catholic 42, Hempfield 0
North Allegheny 22, Norwin 14
CLASS 5A
Big East Conference
Franklin Regional 36, Gateway 34
Latrobe 14, Armstrong 0
Penn-Trafford 33, Kiski Area 7
Northeast Conference
North Hills 48, Fox Chapel 7
Pine-Richland 43, Plum 7
CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
Deer Lakes 47, East Allegheny 35
Freeport 42, Burrell 0
Imani Christian 12, Highlands 10
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 50, Hopewell 19
Central Valley 51, Beaver 37
North Catholic 42, McGuffey 0
CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 28, Ligonier Valley 7
South Park 48, South Allegheny 30
Century Conference
Keystone Oaks 14, Charleroi 7
Washington 41, Sto-Rox 16
Midwestern Conference
Ellwood City 43, Freedom 3
Mohawk 23, Beaver Falls 0
Riverside 20, New Brighton 13
Western Beaver 33, Union 6
CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Laurel 23, Rochester 12
Neshannock 41, Northgate 14
South Side 34, Shenango 21
Black Hills Conference
Bishop Canevin 29, Cornell 22
Chartiers-Houston 19, Burgettstown 11
Fort Cherry 35, Monessen 14
Eastern Conference
Greensburg Central Catholic 34, Brentwood 12
Clairton 60, Frazier 0
Leechburg 35, Jeannette 13
Tri-County South Conference
Bentworth 45, Beth-Center 42
California 40, Avella 0
Jefferson-Morgan 21, Carmichaels 6
West Greene 37, Mapletown 8
City League
University Prep 52, Perry 6
NON-CONFERENCE
Ambridge 27, Greensburg Salem 8
Bethel Park 49, Trinity 7
Blackhawk 57, Yough 6
Derry Area 21, Indiana 0
Elizabeth Forward 40, Baldwin 0
Hampton 34, Chartiers Valley 27
Laurel Highlands 21, Mount Pleasant 20, OT
Montour 31, Mars 14
Moon 42 Seneca Valley 13
Morgantown, W.Va. 21, Connellsville 7
New Castle 42, Knoch 32
Penn Hills 21, Aliquippa 13
Peters Township 38, West Allegheny 0
Southmoreland 32, Ringgold 15
South Fayette 27, Belle Vernon 14
Steel Valley 40, Waynesburg 6
Thomas Jefferson 35, West Mifflin 7
Upper St. Clair 31, McKeesport 14
Quaker Valley 34, Valley 14
Westinghouse 28, Butler 17
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.