Malik McCloud’s time at Woodland Hills has been short.
Since the sophomore wide receiver and cornerback has been with the Wolverines, though, there has been one constant — Cam Walter.
“I’ve only been here for four months,” McCloud said. “I just transferred from Penn Hills. Ever since I got here he’s been one of the main ones hyping me up and helping me get comfortable with the plays and stuff.”
Walter, now in his third year as Woodland Hills’ starting quarterback, made himself right at home Friday night in uncomfortable territory.
The 6-foot, 165-pound junior quarterback completed 11-of-18 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns — two to McCloud — as the Wolverines rolled to an impressive 35-21 road victory against Class 5A Big East Conference foe Penn-Trafford at Warrior Stadium.
“Conference play, that’s what really matters,” Walter said. “We had a rough couple of games to start the season, but you’ve just got to build off that. It’s a new team at the end of the day. We’ve got some new coaches, a new offensive coordinator, so it took a long way for us to get here. I’m proud of where we’re at right now.”
For Woodland Hills (2-2), the win against Penn-Trafford (2-2) was about more than starting off its conference schedule with a victory.
The Wolverines captured their first win against the Warriors in 17 seasons and, maybe more importantly, got back on the right track after dropping a demoralizing 54-14 decision to Central Catholic last Friday at the Wolvarena.
“Last year we lost by two, and we thought we’d be able to eclipse it then,” said Woodland Hills coach Brian Tarrant, of his team’s losing streak against Penn-Trafford, which knocked off the Wolverines, 28-26, in Week 2 a season ago. “We lost last year, and coming back was our only goal, especially after the way we played last week against Central.
“The kids really dialed in,” he added. “They really did their work. They came to practice. They owned up to the way they played. I just can’t tell you how proud I am as a head coach of these boys.”
And there’s little doubt as to the genesis of that pride.
“Cam is always good,” Tarrant said. “He’s our brain on offense. All we do is want to give him the ball and he’ll put us in the right positions. We put a lot on him. We ask a lot of him, but at the end of the day he always produces.”
Walter has now completed 26-of-63 passes for 576 yards and six touchdowns this season. He threw for 1,554 yards, 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions a season ago.
“When I got here, he was already who he was,” Tarrant said. “I was blessed to walk into a situation with a very productive starter. He’s our career all-time leading passer. He’s broken every record. He comes from a great household. I couldn’t say enough about this kid.
“Whenever he goes out, he puts his mind to it, and he always produces whether it’s football or basketball. He’s just a hell of a competitor.”
That competitive spirit was on display from the start against the Warriors.
Walter opened the scoring Friday night by leading the Wolverines down the field and connecting with McCloud for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.
After Penn-Trafford quarterback Derek Carr responded by tying the score at 7-7 with a 10-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, Walter then took control of the contest.
Walter found standout junior wide receiver Scoop Smith for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 5:39 left before half time to hand the Wolverines a 14-7 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Senior running back Elijah Nesby made the Woodland Hills advantage 21-7 with 49 seconds left before half time with a 4-yard touchdown run.
“We started slow against Central,” Tarrant said. “We started slow against Erie. We wanted to come out here and make sure that we started fast and, again, No. 3 is a major reason for that, putting us in the right positions.”
For Walter, the difference in getting out to a fast start came down to his relationship with McCloud.
“He saw something,” Walter said. “I asked him what he saw. He told me, and we went to it right away. We didn’t take a second off, a second play to get to it, we went to it right away, and we executed.”
McCloud said he noticed on the first drive that every time Woodland Hills used three wide receivers on the same side of its offensive formation, Penn-Trafford used a double team on Smith.
“They had me one-on-one backside,” McCloud said. “I just told [Walter], I saw no safety over top, give me a chance. I trusted him and he gave me the touchdowns.”
McCloud finished with four catches for a team-high 60 yards to lead Woodland Hills, while Smith finished with five catches for 55 yards.
Smith also rushed for 53 yards on four carries, while Nesby rushed for 85 yards on 13 carries.
Running back Taylor Reid, who rounded out the Wolverines’ scoring with a 25-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown, had 40 yards on four carries.
Nesby now has 244 yards and three touchdowns on the season, while Smith has 17 receptions for 276 yards and four scores through the air.
“I feel like the game slowed down a little bit for me,” Walter said. “I feel more mature out there. I feel like I’m quicker with reads, throwing the ball, tucking and running the ball. Just the guys around me, we’re on the same mindset this year.”
And Walter has high hopes for his team with their first conference victory under their belts. He said he is confident the Wolverines can win their sixth WPIAL championship in school history.
It would be the first WPIAL championship for Woodland Hills since legendary coach George Novak last led the program to a district title in 2009. The Wolverines also won WPIAL championships under Novak in 2002, ’01, 1999 and ’96.
“Win conference and then WPIAL is the goal,” Walter said. “Then after that states. Everybody just has got to stay healthy, everybody on the same page, and then we get as far as we want to.”
Penn-Trafford was led by Carr, who rushed for 77 yards on 11 carries while also forcing and recovering a third-quarter fumble. Warriors senior quarterback Jonny Lovre also passed for 233 yards with touchdown passes of 9 and 10 yards to wide receiver Jack Weishaar.
Lovre, though, crucially threw four interceptions — two to Woodland Hills defensive back Mikail Connor, along with one each to McCloud and linebacker George Hill.
“I feel like this was a big win,” McCloud said. “It was 17 years since we last beat Penn-Trafford. We really need this one. First conference game, we had to get the win.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.