By pitt4059 on November 26, 2011
Finally, we’re at the end. The WPIAL Championship games are this Saturday and it’s time for Slick Nick to make his picks. Last week’s semifinal picks were a very disappointing 5-3.
Jeannette QB Demetrious Cox. Photo by Russell Geary, Jr. ~ High School Football Web
And this week, all four of the championship games can go either way. All eight teams are very good. But, Slick Nick thinks that all four champions will end up being undefeated champions.
CLASS A Championship
Out of all the teams Clairton has played this year, the Sto-Rox Vikings are the most formidable. They have the players. RB Josh Beverly, sophmore QB Lenny Williams, and linebacker Deaysean Rippy are just a few of the top players on the Vikings. Beverly has rushed for over 1,300 yards and Williams has thrown for 30 TD’s in Sto-Rox’s high powered offense. But coach Tom Nola’s Clairton Bears are loaded with talent also. Led by top RB Tyler Boyd and his 1,700+ yards rushing, the Bears are shooting for their 4 consecutive WPIAL Class A Championship and their 44th consecutive victory in a row. Clairton also has other weapons besides Boyd. QB Capri Thompson, WR Trent Coles, and lineman Carvan Thompson are some of the key players on a Clairton team that has shutout 8 opponents this year while scoring over 30 points in 10 of their 12 victories this year.
Until the Clairton Bears get beat, they deserve to be called the best team in Class A. Slick Nick thinks when this one is over, Clairton will still be the Class of Class A. Champion: Clairton
CLASS AA
Roy Hall, Head Coach of the Jeannette Jayhawks. Photo Credit: Russell Geary, Jr. ~ High School Football Web
Two undefeated teams with two top quarterbacks, the Jeannette Jayhawks with Demetrious Cox and the Aliquippa Quips with Mikal Hall. Cox is one of, if not the best player in Class AA. He has scored 10 TD’s in the playoffs and is an exciting runner as well as a pretty good QB. He also has a good supporting cast behind him with RB’s Shavonte Craft and Jordan Edmonds, as well as a very good defense. Aliquippa’s Hall is a 3-year starter and is known more for his passing than his running. And he doesn’t need to do much running when he has weapons like Dravon Henry, Desmond Hardy, and Terry Swanson playing running back.
Both teams are excellent and deserve to win. It’s really tough to be going against Aliquippa, however Slick Nick is going with the Jayhawks in a wild one. Champion: Jeannette
CLASS AAA
This is perhaps the toughest game to get a handle on. Mike King and his Knoch Knights are undefeated, have an explosive offense and a stifling defense, and are playing with a ton of emotion the last couple games. QB Ky Kenyon and RB Andrew Rumberg-Goodlin have combined for 27 rushing TD’s while Kenyon has thrown for 20 more. But, despite 2 losses, the Montour Spartans have come on strong and are playing their best football when it counts. RB Julian Durden has rushed for over 1,700 yards and 26 TD’s while QB Dylan Buechel has thrown for over 2,100 yards and 35 TD’s this season.
Last year, Montour was in the same position Knoch is in this year. Undefeated. But they lost in the championship game to Central Valley. Slick Nick doesn’t think history will repeat itself in Class AAA this year and the Knoch Knights will finish undefeated. Champion: Knoch
CLASS AAAA
North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair have already met earlier this year, with the North Allegehny Tigers winning that game 28-21. USC has gotten stronger as the year has gone on and defeated a very good Pittsburgh Central Catholic team last week without all-everything player Dakota Conwell. He may or not play this week, but his backup, Pete Coughlin is a very capable fill-in. North Allegheny has a 19 game winning streak riding into the championship game. The Tigers have a ball control offense that features players like QB Mack Leftwich and RB Nick Passodelis. This will be a battle won on the line of scrimmage, and in a close one, Slick Nick picks the Tigers. Champion: North Allegheny
Posted in Championships, Featured, High School Football, Pennsylvania, Top Games, Top QBs, Top RBs, WPIAL | Tagged Aliquippa Quips, Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin, Capri Thompson, Carvan Thompson, Clairton Bears, Dakota Conwell, Demetrious Cox, Desean Rippy, Dylan Buechel, Jeannette Jayhawks, Josh Beverly, Julian Durden, Knoch Knights, Ky Kenyon, Lenny Williams, Mack Leftwich, Mikal Hall, Mike King, Montour Spartans, Nick Passodelis, North Allegheny Tigers, Pete Coughlin, Sto-Rox Vikings, Tom Nola, Tyler Boyd, Upper St. Clair Panthers, WPIAL Championship games |
By pitt4059 on November 21, 2011
Here’s an oddity. There are three former WPIAL high school football players playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in tonight’s Monday Night Football game against the New England Patriots. Receiver Steve Breaston of Woodland Hills High School, receiver Jonathan Baldwin of Aliquippa High School, and quarterback Tyler Palko of West Allegheny high school. And to make things even more interesting, a fourth WPIAL former player is also playing in tonight’s Monday night game. Tight End Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots also played for Woodland Hills and current head coach George Novak.
Posted in Featured, High School Football, NFL, Pennsylvania, Top Tight Ends, Unusual | Tagged Aliquippa high school, former WPIAL football players, George Novak, Jonathan Baldwin, Kansas City Chiefs, Monday Night Football, New England Patriots, NFL, Rob Gronkowski, Steve Breaston, Tyler Palko, West Allegheny high school, Woodland Hills High School, WPIAL players playing in the NFL |
By cgeary on November 21, 2011
We here at HSFW have started the Player Spotlight back up and are doing it with Division I prospect Garrett Welch from Noblesville, Indiana. Garrett is a stud defensive back who stands 6′ 2″ tall, weighs 195 lbs who can fly like the wind with his 4.65 40 yard dash time. Welch did it all for Coach Lance Scheib’s Noblesville Millers football team who played in the 5A Crossroads Conference. Garrett was the only player in the Crossroads Conference to play 4 different positions. Garrett’s athletic ability had him as starting QB, DB, WR, and Kick returner.
Check out Welch’s versatility in his highlight tape below. We love it when a guy can just flat out run by people. As coach’s always say, you can’t teach speed, and that also goes with size too. Welch’s 6′ 2″ frame and solid build and his crazy 38″ vertical jump should have him patrolling a defensive backfield in a Division I program next fall. Garrett’s commitment to football is obvious with his time spent in the weight room. Welch bench presses 230 lbs and squats 380. With his frame, its realistic that he may even end up a linebacker in college.
Garrett has been selected pre-season All-City and was recently selected All-Conference this year. With all of the specialization that goes on now in professional and college football, you have to love the guys that can do it all. High School football was made for guys like Garrett, and now we can’t wait to see where he ends up next fall. We are hearing that Garrett would love to stay in Indiana and play at 1 of the Division I schools next year.
Checkout Garrett’s highlight tape here: Garrett’s Highlight Tape
Good Luck Garrett and we’ll keep you on our radar here at HSFW.
Posted in Featured, Indiana, Top Defensive Backs, Who We Are |
By pitt4059 on November 18, 2011
Ok. We’re getting down to the real tough games. All that are left in all four classifications are 1,2,3,4, or 5 seeded teams. Last week, we picked a couple personal sentimental favorites in Hopewell and Ft. Cherry and came up on the short end and finished 13-3 for the second round. All of these teams remaining are good, have had fine seasons, and deserve to play another week. But we know that only one from each game moves on for the chance to play at Heinz Field. So, here are this weeks picks:
CLASS AAAA
North Allegheny over Gateway. Gateway has been hot. Coach Terry Smith has his team peaking at the right time, and Thomas Woodson and the rest of the Gators are looking for their biggest win of the year. However, they are going against last years champs who have rolled over just about everybody they’ve played this year. The Tigers offensive attack of QB Mack Leftwich, RB’s Alex DeCiantis, Vinnie Congedo and Nick Passodelis, and receiver James Kleinhampl will be a little too much for the young Gator team.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic over Upper St. Clair. This game is loaded with top college prospects on both teams, Perry Hills, Anthony Nixon, Dakota Conwell, Damion Jones-Moore, and Ian Park are just a few of those players. The Panthers, despite an earlier season loss to North Allegheny, have been tough and with Conwell, have one of the games best athletes. The Vikings can run or throw and seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder and will move on to the championship game.
CLASS AAA
Central Valley over Montour. At the beginning of the year, I thought this was the year of the Spartans. Montour has two tremendous offensive weapons in QB Dillon Buechel and RB Julian Durden. But Central valley, last year’s Class AAA champs, counters with it’s own offensive stars in QB Curtis Lewis and RB Robert Foster. When they met earlier in the season, Central Valley won 27-16. It may be even closer this time around, but I see the end result being the same.
Knoch over Franklin Regional. This is a tough one. Two undefeated teams, each with running backs not as well known as others in the WPIAL, but very good in their own right. Knoch’s Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin and Franklin Regionals’ Dane Brown have had great seasons for their respective teams. Dane Brown has 33 TD’s and 1,900 yards this year to put him as the number 3 back in the WPIAL. However, Knoch is playing with strong emotions after the death of cheerleader Alexis Summers who was Rumburg-Goodlin’s girlfriend. In a game with two pretty evenly matched teams, I’m going with the Knights.
CLASS AA
Aliquippa over Greensburg Central Catholic. GCC has a solid defensive team and can put up some points with QB Bobby Noble and RB’s Jordan McRae and Zach Guiser, but overall the team is young. They played conference champ Jeannette very close a couple weeks ago in their only loss of the season. Aliquippa is a very balanced and explosive team led by QB Mikal Hall with plenty of good receivers and running backs. If the Quips win, it would be their fourth straight WPIAL Class AA championship game.
Seton-LaSalle over Jeanette. First of all, let me start by saying I’m a fan of the Century Conference, of which Seton-LaSalle comes from. Last year’s Class AA Champions, South Fayette, also came out of this confernece. Having said that, this game promises to be one of the best of the night. Two unbeaten teams with two of the top players in Class AA in Jeanette’s QB Demetrious Cox with 25 combined rushing and passing TD’s and Seton-LaSalle’s RB Kevin Hart with 28 rushing TD’s. They’re two of the most exciting and game changing players on the field, and the supporting casts for both teams are very talented too. A well respected coach told me way back in the summer to watch out for Seton-LaSalle and Kevin Hart and his words have become prophetic.
Class A
Clairton over Rochester. The Clairton Bears have won 42 straight games and have recorded 8 shutouts this season in 11 games. Clairton is the class of Class A. Tyler Boyd, Trent Coles, and Capri Thompson are just 3 of the Bears multitude of stars. Rochester is led by RB De’Andre Moon who rushed for over 1,600 yards and 31 TD’s this year. Even though Rochester is the toughest opponent the Bears have faced to date, the Bears are just too good and too tough.
Sto-Rox over Canevin. Both teams are undefeated but both teams have taken different route to their 11-0 records. Bob Jacoby’s Canevin Crusaders have done it with a very solid but stingy defense, ranked number 2 (scoring) in the WPIAL and is led by linebacker Mike Dunn. Sto-Rox, however, has done it with an explosive, quick-scoring offense led by sophmore QB Lenny Williams with 29 TD passes and running back Josh Beverly with 16 TD’s. The Vikings have scored 70 TD’s this year and have too many weapons with too much firepower for the Crusaders
Posted in Championships, Featured, High School Football, Pennsylvania, Slick Nick's Picks, Top Games, Top QBs, Top RBs, Top Teams, WPIAL | Tagged 2011 WPIAL semifinals, Alexis Summers, Aliquipa Quips, Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin, Anthony Nixon, Bobby Noble, Capri Thompson, Cetral Valley Warriors, Clairton Bears, Curtis Lewis, Dakota Conwell, Damion Jones-Moore, Dane Brown, DeAndre Moon, Demetrious Cox, Dillon Buechel, Gateway Gators, Ian Park, James Kleinhampl, Jordan McRae, Josh Beverly, Kevin Hart, Knoch Knights, Lenny Williams, Mikal Hall, Mike Dunn, Nick Passodelis, North Allegheny Tigers, Perry Hills, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings, QB Mack Leftwich, RB's Alex DeCiantis, Robert Foster, Seton LaSalle Rebels Football, Seton-LaSalle Rebels, Slick Nick's Picks, Sto-Rox Vikings, Terry Smith, Thomas Woodson, Trent Coles, Tyler Boyd, Upper St. Clair Panthers, Vinnie Congedo, Zach Guiser |
By pitt4059 on November 12, 2011
Second round playoff scores from the WPIAL. Everybody that was supposed to win, won. There were a couple close games with Franklin Regional edging Hopewell and Greensburg Central Catholic coming back against Ellwood City, but other than that, there were no real big surprises.
CLASS AAAA
Upper St. Clair 21 – Erie-McDowell 14. Dakota Conwell ran for 2 TD’s and threw for 1 more as USC Coach Jim Render got his 253rd career victory.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 31 – Mt. Lebanon 14. PCC earns a shot in the semifinals against USC. Running Back Damion Jones-Moore had a tremendous game, rushing for 302 yards and 3 TD’s.
Gateway 34 – Penn Trafford 9. Darrin Franklin ran for a 30 yard TD and returned a punt 86 yards, while Gateway’s defense rose to the occasion ending Penn Trafford’s undefeated season.
North Allegheny 35 – Seneca Valley 10. Alex DiCiantis rushes for 3 TD’s as the Tigers move on to face Gateway next week.
Class AAA
Franklin Regional 24 – Hopewell 21. Franklin Regional gets a late field goal to win the game despite Rushel Shell’s 292 yards rushing.
Knoch 31 – Thomas Jefferson 9. Knoch’s defense stopped Thomas Jefferson 4 different times inside Knoch’s 20 yard line and moves on to face Franklin Regional with both teams having 11-0 records.
Central Valley 44 – Ringgold 28. Six different players scored TD’s for the Warriors highlighted by a 99 yard TD catch and run by Robert Foster. Curtis Lewis passed for 275 yards and 1 TD while also running for 2 TD’s.
Montour 31 – West Mifflin 7. Montour ends a fine season by West mifflin and moves on to face Central Valley in the semifinals. Julian Durden rushed for 130 yards and a TD while quarterback Dillon Buechel threw for 170 yards and 2 TD’s.
Class AA
Aliquippa 36 – Washington 6. The Quips jumped out to a 29-0 halftime lead and breezed to an easy victory. Quarterback Mikal Hall threw 3 TD passes and the Quips jumped out to a 22-0 lead in the first quarter
Greensburg Central Catholic 18 – Ellwood City 15. Greensburg Central Catholic got a scare from Kyle Crawford and Ellwood City and came back from a 15-10 deficit to pull out the win and earned a shot at Aliquippa in the semifinals.
Seton LaSalle 21 – South Fayette 13. Seton LaSalle knocked out last years Class AA champs by picking off South Fayette QB Brett Brumbaugh 4 times. Kevin Hart as the star of this game with 41 carries for 269 yards and 2 TD’s.
Jeannette 35 – Shady Side Academy 14. The Jayhawks behind Demetrious Cox’s 3 TD runs and 1 passing TD roll over Shady Side Academy to set up an undefeated matchup with Seton LaSalle.
Class A
Clairton 34 – Springdale 20. Clairton runs its winning streak to 42 consecutive games setting up a matchup with Rochester in the semifinals. Tyler Boyd ran for 216 yards and 3 TD’s.
Rochester 26 – Avonworth 22. Avonworth gave Rochester all it could but the Rams earned the right to move on. DeAndre Moon rushed for 145 yards and 2 TD’s in the victory.
Sto-Rox 40 – Brentwood 0. Brentwood’s season comes to an end as Sto-Rox shuts them out and moves them one step closer to a possible showdown with Clairton in the finals.
Bishop Canevin 16 – Fort Cherry 6. The Crusaders played tough defense against Fort Cherry, intercepting Ranger QB Tanner Garry 4 times setting up a semifinal game with Sto-Rox
Posted in Championships, Coaches, Featured, High School Football, Pennsylvania, Top Games, Top QBs, Top RBs, Top Teams, WPIAL | Tagged Alex DiCiantis, Bishop Canevin Crusaders, Central Valley Warriors, Clairton Bears, Curtis Lewis, Dakota Conwell, Damion Jones-Moore, Darrin Franklin, DeAndre Moon, Demetrious Cox, Dillon Buechel, Ellwood City, Gateway Gators, Julian Durden, Kevin Hart, Knoch Knights, Kyle Crawford, Mikal Hall, North Allegheny Tigers, Robert Foster, Rushel Shell, Sto-Rox Vikings, Tanner Garry, Tyler Boyd, USC Coach Jim Render, WPIAL 2nd round playoff game scores, WPIAL second round playoffs |
By pitt4059 on November 10, 2011
Football news, recruiting information, and top performances from around the USA:
J.J. Jude, record setting running back from Johnson Central High School in Kentucky
J. J. Jude of Johnson Central High School became the career leading rusher in Kentucky when he ran for 437 yards and scored six touchdowns in a 63-20 rout of Covington Holmes High School in the frist round of the playoffs. Jude has 8,539 rushing yards for his career, breaking the old record of 8,224 held by Derek Homer of Fort Knox High School.
Blackhawk quarterback Chandler Kincade recently gave his verbal committment to University of Pittsburgh coach Todd Graham. The 6′ 5″, 218 pound sophmore was offered back in August by Graham but waited until after the season to commit. Despite missing a good part of the season, Kincaide thre for 547 yards and 3 TD’s in 5 games.
Here’s a nice story on sportsmanship by a South Carolina prep team by WSOCTV.com in Charlotte, SC. To see the story and video, click here:
In his final home game at Robinson Field for Kenton High School, Maty Mauk became one of the most prolific high school passers in the country. Throwing for 505 yards and 9 TD’s, Mauk set a new national career yardage passing mark of 17,869 yards, breaking the old record held by his brother Ben. Other national records he now owns include most career TD passes with 208, most completions with 1,272, most passing attempts with 1,974, and most career total yards with an astounding 21,046 yards. He also set an Ohio record for consecutive completions during the game by completing his first 19 throws of the game.
Forest Williams of Amory High School set a Mississippi high school record for passing yards in a game by throwing for a whopping 646 yards and 8 TD’s in a 63-30 win over Gentry High School.
Other top performances:
Joseph Sadler, running back from Devine High School in Texas
Tyler Crain from Lighthouse Christian School in Missouri passed for 489 yards and 5 TD’s
D.J. Foster of Saguaro High School in Arizona rushed for 508 yards and 10 TD’s
Joseph Sadler of Devine High School in Texas rushed for 466 yards and 5 TD’s
Zach Moran from Horizon High School in California had 10 catches for 352 yards and 4 TD’s
Grant Rowsey from Allen High School in Oklahoma also had 10 catches for 310 yards and 5 TD’s
Cooper City High School won one of their biggest games in school history by defeating nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas 21-16. The come from behind victory clinched the District 15-7A title for the Cowboys, ending St. Thomas Aquina streak of conference titles at 15.
Posted in Arizona, California, Featured, High School Football, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Recruiting, Texas, Top Games, Top QBs, Top RBs, Top Receivers, Top Teams | Tagged all time high school passing leader, all time Kentucky high school rushing leader, Blackhawk sophomore quarterback Chandler Kincade, Cooper City High School, D. J. Foster, Forest Williams, Grant Rowsey, high school football news, J.J. Jude, Joe Paterno, Johnson Central High School, Joseph Sadler, Maty Mauk, Mississippi high school record, Penn State, Penn State University, St. Thomas Aquinas high school football, Top high school football performances, Tyler Crain, verbal commitment to Pitt, Zach Moran |
By pitt4059 on November 10, 2011
Former Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno is out as head football coach at Penn State University. The Penn State board of trustees decided to dismiss Coach Paterno and University President Graham Spanier in light of the tragic child sex scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that has rocked the college world and the Penn State University community. With all that has happened, one can’t help wonder what is going to shake out of this terrible event. The whole university is a mess and is going to be dealing with many changes and difficulties in the years ahead. Assistant coach Tom Bradley is the interim coach, but look for the university to hire a new coach from outside and to bring in a whole new staff. Some potential recruits are backing away from Penn State while others are taking a wait and see attitude. A clean sweep with a new coach and staff from the outside is the only solution to restoring some stability to the football program.
Posted in Coaches, College, Featured, High School Football, Pennsylvania, Recruiting | Tagged child sex scandal, end of an era, Jerry Sandusky, Joe Pa, Joe Paterno, Penn State University, Tom Bradley, University President Graham Spanier |
