The West Mifflin Titans notched a giant win Friday in one of the most hotly contested games on the opening night of the high school football season.
A pair of promising young players nicknamed Mondo and Zaza caught fire late to get them there.
Sophomore running back Armand “Mondo” Hill and freshman quarterback Zahir “Zaza” Ismaeli made some big plays with their legs in the fourth quarter to help West Mifflin avenge a loss in last year’s WPIAL quarterfinals by defeating visiting Elizabeth Forward, 17-16.
West Mifflin was held to just a field goal through three quarters against a physical Elizabeth Forward team that is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A in the Pittsburgh Union Progress rankings. The Titans, now in Class 4A after spending the past two seasons in 3A, needed an offensive spark as they trailed the Warriors, 10-3. And they got that from a youngster who just two days earlier began his first high school classes.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Ismaeli rolled to his left and burst down the home sideline for his first career touchdown, a 25-yard score. The ensuing extra point knotted the score at 10.
“I just wanted to get his feet wet and he did a great job of managing the game and coming up with big plays when he needed to,” West Mifflin coach Rod Steele said.
It turns out Ismaeli wasn’t done, as his next big run came from even farther away. Ismaeli turned a scramble into a 60-yard run that put West Mifflin in business deep inside Elizabeth Forward territory midway through the final quarter.
Apparently the moment wasn’t too big for this freshman who grew up in Homewood and attended Imani Christian prior to coming to West Mifflin his eighth grade year.
“After our scrimmage last Saturday, all the butterflies went away,” Ismaeli said. “Because I knew my ability and what I can do on the field. I just have to execute.”
Unfortunately, his Titans couldn’t execute a 24-yard field-goal attempt, as a bad snap gave Elizabeth Forward back the ball at its own 7 with 4:57 remaining.
No problem. Enter Hill, an uber-talented 10th grader who flexed his muscles after the West Mifflin defense did its job and forced Elizabeth Forward to punt with two minutes left. Hill, who ran for 197 yards in the playoff loss to the Warriors last season, had been held in check for 47 minutes Friday as he ran the ball 18 times for 50 yards.
“I was trying to make every run a big run instead of getting the yards I could get,” said Hill, who lives in Duquesne.
As it turns out, that big run eventually came. He just had to wait until the game’s final minute to do it. Hill scurried to his left before busting loose down the sideline for a pretty 44-yard touchdown run with just 58 seconds left that helped give the Titans a 17-10 lead.
“I knew his time was going to come,” Ismaeli said. “I just knew he was going to break one eventually, and that’s what he did.”
Elizabeth Forward wasn’t done, though. Ryan Messina drove the Warriors down the field and connected with Charlie Nigut for a 12-yard touchdown as time expired to pull them within one. But the snap on the conversion try was fumbled, allowing West Mifflin to scoop up the ball and run off with the win.
Hill, who burst onto the scene last year as a freshman when he ran for 495 yards in a game against Hopewell (second most in WPIAL history), finished the opening game of his sophomore season with 94 yards on 19 carries. Since his big debut last season, Hill has picked up offers from the likes of Michigan and Penn State.
“He’s got the work ethic. The great ones all have that,” Steele said. “They take care of their body. They love football. They love studying the game of football. I think his talents and his vision and his willingness to get in there. He’s got soft hands. He’s just the total package. That’s why you have teams like Michigan and Penn State coming around here.”
A year after having one of the WPIAL’s best freshmen in its backfield, West Mifflin appears to have another in Ismaeli, who finished his debut with 10 carries for 101 yards. He plans on showing off his passing talents soon, too, after completing just 5-of-11 passes for 74 yards.
“Today I was a little slow with the arm, so I had to improvise with my legs,” said the well-spoken freshman. “But weeks moving forward, it’s going to be really dual threat, arms and legs.”
Steele came away impressed with his young quarterback, but not surprised. Ismaeli, by the way, has an uncle, Hudhaifa Ismaeli, who was a defensive back at Northwestern and played in the 1995 Rose Bowl.
“He’s just so humble and mature for his age,” said Steele. “Since this kid has been 5, 6 years old, he’s been like that. He comes from a bloodline. His uncle played for Northwestern. This guy has been around great football all of his life. I’m just proud of him. No fumbled snaps. He was able to control the offense.”
With the likes of Mondo and Zaza on its side, things sure seem to be trending up for West Mifflin.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.