WPIAL Class 2A championship preview: Seton LaSalle vs. South Park

Twins Parker and Troy Cunningham are leaders on the South Park football team, excellent students, and seem like a pair of respectable teenagers.

But one thing the duo does not do is move in silence.

“They’re disruptive, both of them,” South Park coach Brian Abbey said.

Abbey meant that as a compliment. The Cunninghams are two of the top linemen in the WPIAL. Not only are they bookend tackles on offense, but also their ability to rush the quarterback and keep running backs from going off continues to present opposing offensive lines a lot of problems.

South Park has twin WPIAL championship trophies, having won titles in 1997 and 2005. But if these twins have their way, the Eagles will add a third title on Saturday.

A long championship drought will come to a close when No. 1 Seton LaSalle (11-0) takes on No. 2 South Park (11-1) in the WPIAL Class 2A championship at 2 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium. South Park has not won a WPIAL title in 19 years and Seton LaSalle has not done it in 20 years. Both teams moved up a classification this season after playing in Class 3A a season ago.

“It would mean everything,” Parker Cunningham said. “That’s everything you work for. We’ve spoken about it since the offseason. Our main goal has been to get there and to win it, especially for our seniors. Our whole high school career, we’ve been wanting to play there.”

Parker is the oldest of the Cunningham twins … by all of two minutes. He’s also a little bigger, as he stands 6 feet 4, 290 pounds. Troy is only 6-3, 270. Both are all-conference picks. Parker plays right tackle and defensive tackle, while Troy slots in as left tackle and defensive end. Parker committed to James Madison in June. Troy has not made a college decision, but has 16 Division I offers, among them Navy, Air Force, Harvard and Duquesne.

Last Friday was a memorable day for the twins, who not only helped South Park reach the final for the first time in nearly two decades but also secured two big individual achievements. Troy set a school record with six sacks in a 28-7 win against Ellwood City.

“That was a special moment that he’s always going to remember and the program is going to always remember,” Abbey said. “Even beyond the sacks, he was in the backfield all night long.”

Earlier in the day, “big brother” was named a finalist and the Class 2A representative for the Fralic Award, which is presented annually to the WPIAL’s top senior interior lineman.

“It means a lot. That’s something I’ve been trying to accomplish since my freshman year,” Parker Cunningham said.

Added Abbey, “It’s a shame I could only nominate one of them because they both should be on there.”

Parker is a four-year starter and Troy a three-year starter. Both have beefed up their bodies during their high school careers. Parker was 6-1, 230 his freshman season. Troy was 6-0, 180 and played outside linebacker, meaning he has put on 90 pounds over the past few years.

The Cunninghams lead South Park in sacks and tackles for loss. Troy has 49 tackles, including 21 for loss, in addition to 11 sacks. Parker has collected 36 tackles, including nine for loss, and has six sacks.

But the strong play of both has been just as important offensively as the two headline an experienced line that has helped open up some big holes for senior running back Eric Doerue, who has run for 1,596 yards and has scored 23 touchdowns. All five starters along the line returned from last season. In addition to the Cunninghams, the line consists of senior guards Ian Hanna and Kaden Lemley and senior center Antonio Loukas. Senior fullback Wyatt Markovich is a returning starter, as well.

South Park has won 10 games in a row following its lone loss, a 35-22 setback to Deer Lakes on Aug. 30. 

Slowing down South Park’s rushing attack will likely be the No. 1 priority for Seton LaSalle, which limited Steel Valley star Donald Barksdale to 76 yards in a 27-13 semifinal win.

“That was the game plan against Steel Valley, and it will probably be the same game plan against South Park,” Seton LaSalle coach Tim Storino said.

Seton LaSalle has experienced a huge turnaround under Storino, who is in his third season. After going 0-10 in Storino’s first season, Seton LaSalle improved to 5-5 last season, and a season later is a win away from winning a sixth WPIAL title.

“If you had asked me in August, I would have said that we’re trying to win a state championship,” Storino said. “That’s how good we thought we were going to be. This is a talented team.”

To say it mildly, sure. Since beating Bishop Canevin by a touchdown in August, Seton LaSalle has won all of its games by double-digits. The Rebels boast the No. 1 scoring offense (42.2 points per game) and No. 1 scoring defense (10.3 ppg) in the classification.

Offensively, Seton LaSalle is the more balanced bunch. Senior quarterback Michael Pastirik has thrown for 1,843 yards and 31 touchdowns. His favorite receiver has been wide receiver Khalil Taylor (44 catches, 857 yards, 21 touchdowns), who is regarded as one of the top sophomores in the country. Senior running back Logan King has rushed for 1,054 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“They’re tremendously athletic,” Abbey said. “We have to keep everything in front of us. They’re very similar to playing Steel Valley in that they have the ability to take it to the house at any time. They’re fundamentally sound. They have more than one playmaker. Offensively, we need to control the ball. We have to kind of do what we’ve been doing all year for us to be successful.”

Abbey, in his second season, is a 2001 South Park grad who was a part of the program’s two WPIAL championship teams. He was a freshman on the 1997 team and an assistant under Tom Loughran on the 2005 team.

Seton LaSalle and South Park played in the same conference the previous two seasons, so there is some familiarity there. South Park took both meetings, winning 39-14 in 2022 and 35-28 last season. In last year’s contest, Doerue ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

While a pair of regular-season triumphs against Seton LaSalle was nice, a certain imposing pair from South Park knows that a victory Saturday would be by far their biggest win to date.

“It would mean everything,” Troy Cunningham said. “We’ve been thinking about this since last season ended. All of the 6 a.m. workouts. All of the summer workouts. All year we’ve been thinking about this same goal, making it to Acrisure and winning the title.”