Each Wednesday, the PUP high school sports staff will preview the game of the week.
Between the hash marks
Who: Woodland Hills (1-2) at Penn-Trafford (2-1)
Where: Penn-Trafford High School
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
The coaches: Brian Tarrant (Woodland Hills); John Ruane (Penn-Trafford)
When they last met: On Sept. 8, 2023, when visiting Penn-Trafford claimed a narrow 28-26 victory at the Wolvarena in Week 2 of last season.
On deck: Woodland Hills will visit Shaler for a non-conference game at 1 p.m. next Saturday, while Penn-Trafford travels to Kiski Area for another Big East Conference showdown next Friday.
This and that: Two of the leading title contenders in the rugged Big East Conference will do battle at Penn-Trafford’s Warrior Stadium in the opening game of conference play for both teams. Woodland Hills is coming off a one-sided defeat against Class 6A No. 2 Central Catholic, taking the wind out of the Wolverines’ sails after their rivalry win against Penn Hills the week before. Meanwhile, the Warriors have won two in a row against Mt. Lebanon and Moon following a season-opening loss at Norwin. … Woodland Hills leans heavily on the duo of junior quarterback Cam Walter (25-of-45 passing, 439 yards, three TDs) and junior wideout Scoop Smith (12 receptions, 221 yards, three TDs). Standing just 5 feet 6, Smith might be the top wide receiver in the WPIAL — and he’s equally dangerous in the return game. … Elijah Nesby leads the Wolverines with 159 yards rushing on 31 carries to go with a pair of TDs. … While Woodland Hills likes to air it out, Penn-Trafford prefers to pound the rock with senior tailback Tasso Whipple. He ranks sixth in the WPIAL with 471 yards rushing on 57 carries and has five TDs through three games, picking up right where he left off after tallying 1,701 yards from scrimmage with 17 scores in 2023. … Senior quarterback Jonny Lovre is off to a strong start for the Warriors, completing 36-of-62 passes for 448 yards and two TDs with one interception so far. If he can complete a handful of passes down the field to keep the Wolverines from stacking the box to stop the run, Penn-Trafford will be an extremely tough team to beat on its home field.
Expert picks (records in parentheses)
Steve Rotstein (1-2): Penn-Trafford 21, Woodland Hills 17
Brad Everett (2-1): Penn-Trafford 21, Woodland Hills 13
John Santa (2-1): Woodland Hills 28, Penn-Trafford 14
On the radar
Steel Valley at South Park, 7 p.m. Friday
Steel Valley has fallen out of the Class 2A rankings following a pair of blowout losses in the early going, with both coming against top-three opponents in Class 1A. In between, the Ironmen picked up a big win against Class 2A No. 2 Washington courtesy of a 327-yard rushing performance by Donald Barksdale, and they will now have a chance to earn another top-three win when they visit Class 2A No. 3 South Park in an Allegheny Conference clash. Leaving enemy territory with a win won’t be easy against the Eagles, who feature an elite tailback of their own in Eric Doerue. In the end, the team that controls the line of scrimmage will likely come out on top, and South Park might just have the edge in the trenches with senior lineman Parker Cunningham at the forefront.
North Hills at Pine-Richland, 7 p.m. Friday
North Hills has stormed out of the gate to a 3-0 start, picking up back-to-back wins against Class 6A No. 4 Hempfield and Class 6A No. 5 Seneca Valley followed by arguably its most impressive victory in a 21-17 win at Mars last Friday. Now, the Indians will get the chance to really shake up the balance of power in Class 5A when they open up Northeast Conference play at Class 5A No. 2 Pine-Richland. The Rams haven’t played since a 22-17 win against Class 6A No. 2 Central Catholic on Sept. 6, with inclement weather forcing the cancellation of their scheduled contest against Seneca Valley last week. Pine-Richland sophomore Oobi Strader looks like the next star signal-caller for the Rams, but North Hills hopes to put a halt to his momentum.
Latrobe at Franklin Regional, 7 p.m. Friday
For the second week in a row, Latrobe makes its way onto the big-game radar, and with good reason. The unbeaten Wildcats are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2005, and they haven’t been 4-0 since 2001. After combining for more than 400 yards rushing with five touchdowns in a 42-28 win at Class 6A No. 3 Norwin last week, the top-flight tandem of senior quarterback-safety John Wetzel and senior running back-linebacker Alex Tatsch will attempt to lead Class 5A No. 5 Latrobe to another pivotal win in its Northeast Conference opener at Franklin Regional. Powered by senior running back Kyle Dupill (403 yards rushing, five TDs), the Panthers started the season with wins at Plum and Hempfield before a lopsided loss at Class 5A No. 3 Upper St. Clair last week.
PUP ‘underdog’ to watch
McKeesport (hosts Belle Vernon at 7 p.m. Friday)
After starting the season as the No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A, McKeesport has tumbled out of the rankings following an 0-3 start. On the other hand, two-time defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion Belle Vernon maintained its No. 4 ranking in Class 4A after taking down Class 3A No. 2 Central Valley, 23-17, last week. Still, it’s important to note that the Tigers lost their season opener in double overtime, 36-35, against Lake, Ohio, along with another 34-31 overtime loss at Class 4A No. 3 Thomas Jefferson last week. Finally playing at home for the first time this season, expect sophomore star Kemon Spell to deliver a monster performance to make sure McKeesport avoids falling to 0-4.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
