News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 9 of the high school football season.
To protect and to serve.
That’s what Police did on Friday night, and it was enough to shake up the WPIAL playoff picture in Class 4A.
West Allegheny’s Roman Police protected his team’s end zone with a fourth-down tackle in overtime and then served previously unbeaten Montour with a touchdown of his own two plays later to give the Indians a thrilling 13-7 win in a key Parkway Conference game.
West Allegheny’s win means that the Indians (4-3, 4-1) share the conference title with both Montour (8-1, 4-1) and Aliquippa (6-2, 4-1). The WPIAL will announce playoff pairings on Saturday.
“I’m excited for our players. It’s a big program win,” West Allegheny coach Dave Schoppe said. “It’s great for our school and great for our community.”
A week earlier on the same field, it was Montour that claimed a dramatic win when it beat Aliquippa by registering the winning score in the final minute. This time, though, the grand celebration was reserved for a West Allegheny team that has won three games in a row.
With the score tied, 7-7, in overtime, Montour faced a fourth-and-2 from the West Allegheny 2. Instead of attempting a field goal, the Spartans went for six, but Caden Halajcio was stopped short of the goal line by Police. West Allegheny then took possession at the Montour 10, and while Schoppe said that there was a discussion on whether the Indians should just attempt a field goal, the decision was made to go for a touchdown. Police then scored on an 8-yard run to give the Indians the win.
“Our defense played well all night,” Schoppe said. “I thought that if we got a stop, the game was ours. And that’s what happened.”
The West Allegheny defense was phenomenal, holding a potent Montour offense that was averaging 37 points a game to a season low in points. Montour finished with six first downs and 185 total yards, and was just 1 of 11 on third downs. Montour scored its only points on the game’s first offensive play, as Trey Hopper hit Marcus Battles for a 63-yard touchdown. Hopper, one of the WPIAL’s top passers, was 5 of 9 for 123 yards.
“Our defensive staff puts in a tremendous amount of time to prepare every week,” Schoppe said. “We knew we had to shut down their skill athletes, and I thought we did an outstanding job of doing that.”
Brock Cornell was a workhorse offensively for West Allegheny. He ran for 134 yards on 31 carries and his touchdown plunge on fourth-and-goal from the 1 tied the score at 7 with 1:54 left in the third.
MT. LEBANON IS PLAYOFF BOUND
Patrick Smith accounted for five touchdowns, all in the first half, to help Mt. Lebanon (3-7, 3-3) clinch a playoff berth in Class 6A following a 42-20 win against visiting Norwin (2-8, 0-6). Smith threw for three touchdowns and added a pair of rushing touchdowns as Mt. Lebanon built a 42-0 halftime advantage. He finished with 185 yards on 13 carries and was 7 of 11 for 183 yards.
PETERS SCORES LATE TO TOP BETHEL
In a battle of two of the top teams in Class 5A, Nick Courie scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 43 seconds left to lift No. 3 Peters Township (9-1, 4-1) to a 31-28 win against visiting No. 4 Bethel Park (8-2, 3-2) in the Allegheny Six Conference. Nick McCullough had a big game for Peters Township, running for a touchdown and scoring a pair of touchdowns on passes from Nolan DiLucia.
MOON SHUTS DOWN SOUTH FAYETTE
Moon (5-4, 2-3) limited visiting South Fayette (6-4, 1-4) to 198 total yards and held the Lions without a point for the first three quarters on its way to a big 28-7 win that will likely earn the Tigers a wild-card spot. Moon scored the only points of the first half when Andrew Cross hooked up with Savario Vandetti for a 43-yard touchdown. Paul Bronaugh, Braeden Stuart and Nick Prozzoly added touchdown runs in the second half. South Fayette has lost four straight.
ELLWOOD CITY CAPS FIRST UNBEATEN REGULAR SEASON SINCE 1944
Chris Smiley completed six passes, four of them going for touchdowns, to push Class 2A No. 3 Ellwood City (9-0, 7-0) to a 52-0 win against Beaver Falls (0-10, 0-7) in the Midwestern Conference. It’s the first conference title for the Wolverines since 1997 and their first undefeated regular season since 1944. Beaver Falls finished the season winless after winning the WPIAL title last season.
NESHANNOCK CLAIMS CONFERENCE TITLE
Anthony Eakin ran for 132 yards and a touchdown to lead Class 1A No. 4 Neshannock (9-1, 6-0) to the Big 7 Conference title courtesy of a 27-7 win against visiting Laurel (5-5, 5-1). Jino Mozzocio completed 10-of-18 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 104 yards on the ground.
JEFFERSON-MORGAN EDGES CAL FOR CONFERENCE CROWN
Jefferson-Morgan (10-0, 7-0) raced to a 21-point halftime lead before holding on for a 28-27 win at California (7-3, 6-1). The win gave the Rockets the Tri-County South Conference title and allowed them to finish the regular season without a loss for the first time since 1989. Houston Guseman ran for a touchdown and connected with Deakyn Dehoet for a pair of touchdowns. California had won the past eight meetings, all by at least 27 points.
PUP BITES
- Amari Jackson’s three touchdowns propelled Class 3A No. 4 Beaver (8-2, 5-1) to a 34-14 win against visiting No. 2 Avonworth (7-3, 5-1) in the Western Hills Conference. Beaver, Avonworth and Central Valley all finished atop the conference with 5-1 records. Jackson ran for a touchdown to open the scoring and help Beaver race to a 20-0 halftime lead. He then had a touchdown reception and another touchdown run in the second half.
- Trinity (5-5, 4-1) scored the final 17 points of the game to win its fourth in a row courtesy of a 31-21 win against visiting Belle Vernon (4-4, 3-2) in the Class 4A Big Six Conference. Both teams qualified for the playoffs, with Trinity finishing second and Belle Vernon third. Trinity’s Jonah Williamson ran for a touchdown in the second quarter and threw for a pair of touchdowns in the third.
- Donald Barksdale scored five touchdowns and Class 2A No. 5 Steel Valley (7-3, 5-1) won its sixth straight following a 45-7 home win against No. 4 South Allegheny (8-2, 4-2) in Allegheny Conference play. Barksdale scored on three touchdown runs, a touchdown reception, and also returned a punt for a score. The touchdown catch came on a throw from his brother, Da’Ron, who also ran for a pair of scores.
THREE STARS
***— Joey Felitsky, North Catholic. Felitsky completed 24-of-31 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns to lead host North Catholic (4-6, 3-3) to a 55-43 win against Hopewell (4-6, 2-4) in the Class 3A Western Hills Conference. The win likely wrapped up a wild-card berth for the Trojans.
**— Ethan Hellmann, Upper St. Clair. Hellmann was 13 of 19 for 242 yards and five touchdowns to vault Class 5A No. 1 Upper St. Clair (10-0, 5-0) to a 59-14 home win against Baldwin (0-10, 0-5) in the Allegheny Six Conference. The Panthers finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time since 2013.
*— Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry. Sieg tied a career high with four touchdown passes while leading Class 1A No. 1 Fort Cherry (10-0, 6-0) to a 42-3 win at Serra Catholic in Black Hills Conference play. Sieg threw touchdowns to four different receivers and finished 13 of 19 for 181 yards.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
Central Catholic 38, Canon-McMillan 13
Mt. Lebanon 42, Norwin 20
North Allegheny 38, Seneca Valley 0
WPIAL CLASS 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Moon 28, South Fayette 7
Peters Township 31, Bethel Park 28
Upper St. Clair 59, Baldwin 14
Big East Conference
Franklin Regional 29, Armstrong 26
Penn-Trafford 20, Latrobe 13
Woodland Hills 24, Kiski Area 6
Northeast Conference
Penn Hills 38, Plum 7
Pine-Richland 44, Shaler 3
WPIAL CLASS 4A
Big Six Conference
Ringgold 36, Chartiers Valley 26
Thomas Jefferson 49, Laurel Highlands 7
Trinity 31, Belle Vernon 21
Greater Allegheny Conference
Mars 42, Indiana 14
McKeesport 46, Knoch 14
West Mifflin 70, Hampton 12
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa 28, Ambridge 0
New Castle 50, Blackhawk 14
West Allegheny 13, Montour 7 (OT)
WPIAL CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
Deer Lakes 56, Burrell 0
Highlands 45, Valley 20
Imani Christian 44, Freeport 14
Interstate Conference
Elizabeth Forward 56, Mount Pleasant 26
Greensburg Salem 28, Southmoreland 21
Yough 55, Derry 14
Western Hills Conference
Beaver 34, Avonworth 14
North Catholic 55, Hopewell 43
Quaker Valley 33, McGuffey 10
WPIAL CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
Apollo-Ridge 31, Ligonier Valley 28
South Park 62, Shady Side Academy 6
Steel Valley 45, South Allegheny 7
Century Conference
Carlynton 54, Charleroi 27
Seton LaSalle 52, Washington 28
Sto-Rox 51, Waynesburg 7
Midwestern Conference
Ellwood City 52, Beaver Falls 0
Mohawk 23, Riverside 12
Union 36, New Brighton 8
Western Beaver 42, Freedom 10
WPIAL CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Neshannock 27, Laurel 7
Shenango 49, Summit Academy 20
South Side 14, Rochester 12
Black Hills Conference
Bishop Canevin 42, Burgettstown 6
Cornell 41, Monessen 6
Fort Cherry 42, Serra Catholic 3
Eastern Conference
Clairton 69, Brentwood 7
Frazier 48, Springdale 13
Greensburg Central Catholic 20, Leechburg 16
Tri-County South Conference
Bentworth 40, Avella 0
Carmichaels 52, Mapletown 6
Jefferson-Morgan 28, California 27
West Greene 29, Beth-Center 22
NON-CONFERENCE
Albert Gallatin 48, Weir, W.Va. 20
Central Clarion 49, Butler 14
Fox Chapel 16, East Allegheny 14
Hempfield 41, Gateway 21
North Hills 10, Central Valley 7
Northgate 35, Chartiers-Houston 7
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 20, Keystone Oaks 19
Uniontown 27, Southern Garrett, Md. 8
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.