Each Wednesday, the PUP high school sports staff will preview the game of the week.
Between the hash marks
Who: Bishop Canevin (2-1) at Cornell (4-0)
Where: Cornell High School
When: 7 p.m. Friday
The coaches: Rich Johnson (Bishop Canevin); Ed Dawson (Cornell)
When they last met: Kole Olszewski threw for three touchdowns, two of them to Jason Cross, to help visiting Canevin deal Cornell its first loss of the season, 21-13, last Oct. 6.
On deck: Canevin hosts Chartiers-Houston next week, while Cornell hosts Serra Catholic.
This and that: Will Canevin end Cornell’s perfect season for the second year in a row? Or will Cornell prevail and show it’s a real player in the WPIAL Class 1A title race? Canevin is ranked No. 3 and Cornell No. 5. … Canevin has beaten Cornell each of the past three seasons, including a playoff matchup in the 2021 WPIAL Class 1A semifinals. Cornell’s last win in the series came in 2019. … Cornell has surrendered only 12 points, second fewest of any WPIAL team. Only Clairton (seven points) has been stingier. Since the beginning of last season, Fort Cherry is the only team to score more than 21 points in a game against Cornell. … Canevin has won two in a row since falling at Seton LaSalle, 21-14, in the season opener. Seton LaSalle is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. Olszewski is a senior and four-year starter at quarterback who has passed for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Olszewski threw for 2,180 yards and 36 touchdowns last season when he helped lead the Crusaders to the WPIAL Class 1A semifinals. The Crusaders have gotten a breakout season from Myontae Mott, a versatile sophomore running back who has 384 yards rushing, 111 receiving and 7 total touchdowns, all of which have come in the past two games. Two of Mott’s scores have come on kickoff returns. … Cornell’s top playmakers include junior quarterback MJ Stuckey (417 yards passing, eight touchdowns), senior running back Walter Clarit (438 yards rushing, six touchdowns) and senior wide receiver Mikey Keyes (12 receptions, 200 yards, four touchdowns). Junior running back Khylil Johnson scored touchdowns on a run, reception and punt return in last week’s 42-0 win at Burgettstown. Johnson ran for a team-best 1,117 yards a season ago when the Raiders fell in the first round of the playoffs.
Expert picks (records in parentheses)
Steve Rotstein (1-3): Bishop Canevin 38, Cornell 20
Brad Everett (2-2): Bishop Canevin 20, Cornell 13
John Santa (3-1): Bishop Canevin 21, Cornell 14
On the radar
Highlands at Imani Christian, 7 p.m. Friday
This should be a fun one. Not only are both teams ranked in Class 3A (Imani is No. 1 and Highlands is No. 5), but these are also the top two scoring offenses in the class. At 51.3 points per game, Highlands (2-1) boasts the second-most potent offense in the entire WPIAL. The Golden Rams have played in a few wild games, losing to Armstrong, 38-37, in overtime, and beating Elizabeth Forward, 53-52, in three overtimes. Quarterback Menage Lucas accounted for six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) in last week’s 64-36 win against East Allegheny. Of course, Imani’s skill talent might be as good as any team in the WPIAL. The Saints (4-0) are led by the likes of quarterback Stephen Vandiver and running back Gabe Jenkins.
South Park at South Allegheny, 7 p.m. Friday
It’s a showdown between two of the top three teams in Class 2A. South Park (3-1) is No. 2 and South Allegheny (4-0) is No. 3. South Allegheny is off to its best start in more than four decades. The Gladiators have the top scoring offense (34.5 ppg) and scoring defense (10.2 ppg) in the classification. Ryan Cortes (819 yards, nine touchdowns) ranks among the WPIAL’s passing leaders, and Drew Cook (28 catches, 496 yards) has been one of the district’s top receivers. After running for 1,517 yards a season ago, South Park running back Eric Doerue is off to a strong start, collecting 473 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Robert Lenzi was the hero last week, scoring on a 1-yard run in the final minute of a 7-0 triumph against Steel Valley.
Fort Cherry at Monessen, 7 p.m. Friday
At 4-0 and pumping in 49.2 points per game, Monessen is one of the WPIAL’s surprise teams. But considering the overall record of the teams the Greyhounds have played up to this point is just 1-14, we still don’t know exactly how good these ‘Hounds are. Well, we should get an answer to that this week when Monessen hosts No. 1 and defending WPIAL Class 1A champion Fort Cherry (4-0) in a big Black Hills Conference battle. Fort Cherry has yet to be tested, beating all of its foes by at least 27 points. Star junior Matt Sieg has rushed for a team-best 445 yards and has scored 11 touchdowns and Ryan Huey has added 352 yards and six scores. Monessen running back Ty Kershaw leads the WPIAL with 18 touchdowns.
PUP ‘underdog’ to watch
Hopewell (hosts Avonworth at 7 p.m. Friday)
Avonworth went 12-1 and reached the WPIAL Class 3A final last season, while Hopewell finished just 1-9. A year later, Avonworth, when healthy, has the talent to get back to the final, but this is a banged-up squad that is down a bevy of starters. The Antelopes dropped their second game in a row last week when they were hammered by Thomas Jefferson, 44-7. Hopewell hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2012, but the Vikings have shown a lot of promise during a 2-2 start that has been fueled by the play of freshmen James Armstrong and Brody Rock. Armstrong is the team’s top passer and Rock the top rusher and receiver. Hopewell is hungry and at home, while Avonworth is reeling, so maybe an upset will be in store.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.