News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 5 of the high school football season.
Knoch’s senior class came into the season having won only three games in their careers.
It’s an almost surreal fact considering the Knights improved to 5-1 Friday by producing one of their most impressive victories of this season.
Ethan Alwine, one of the team’s 12 seniors, rushed for three touchdowns to lead host Knoch (5-1, 1-0) to a 41-21 win against Class 3A No. 5-ranked Deer Lakes (4-2, 0-1) in a key Allegheny 6 Conference game.
“This senior crew had only won three games total, so this is a testament to these kids coming out and playing ball and believing in this staff,” said Knoch coach Tim Burchett, who went 1-9 in his debut season in 2022. “Last year was tough, but that team never quit. They’re the reason why we’re having success this year. We’re on a great path, but it can turn really quick.”
Alwine, a former Knoch varsity soccer player who played football for the first time a year ago, scored on runs of 20 and 60 yards in the first quarter and on a 45-yard run in the second. He was also a force defensively, registering three of the team’s seven sacks.
“Look, he’s a freak of nature,” Burchett said. “This is his second year of playing football. He’s 6-2, 200. He was in my class before I got the job. I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing? You should be playing football.’ I love him like a son, and he showed out tonight.”
Knoch quarterback Codi Mullen ran for a 19-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to give the Knights a 28-7 halftime lead and later threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Bowman.
Derek Burk threw for two touchdowns for Deer Lakes.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC ROLLS AGAIN
Central Catholic fell behind Canon-McMillan by a touchdown in the opening minutes of Friday’s contest. But after that it was all Central Catholic, as the Class 6A No. 1 Vikings (6-0, 3-0) rolled to a 49-6 home win against No. 4 Canon-McMillan (4-2, 1-2). Payton Wehner had another massive passing performance for Central Catholic, going 15 of 19 for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Peter Gonzalez was on the receiving end of three of those tosses, and finished with seven catches for 268 yards.
NIGUT’S BIG NIGHT HELPS KEEP EF UNBEATEN
Charlie Nigut scored touchdowns three ways to help Class 3A No. 3 Elizabeth Forward (6-0, 1-0) rally for a 31-24 win against visiting Southmoreland (3-3, 0-1) in the Interstate Conference. Nigut’s 2-yard touchdown run with 6:12 remaining broke a 24-24 tie. He also scored on a 38-yard pass from Ryan Messina in the second quarter and on a 1-yard run and 90-yard kickoff return in the fourth. Southmoreland’s Da’sjon Cragette rushed for 108 yards and had a 77-yard touchdown catch from Kadin Keefer in the final quarter.
MOON STAYS HOT
Moon (3-3, 1-0) continued its outstanding play, holding visiting South Fayette (2-4, 0-2) to 97 yards and six first downs on its way to a 24-3 win. The Moon defense also created one of the team’s touchdowns, as Jared Moyer returned a fumble 81 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, less than a minute after teammate Josh Bladel scored on an 11-yard run to put the Tigers ahead, 7-3. Offensively, Nazir Brookins rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers, who beat Penn Hills and Mars the previous two weeks.
WRONA FUELS MOHAWK TO BIG WIN
Jay Wrona, who entered the game as the WPIAL’s leader in touchdown passes, added four more to his season total while helping Class 2A No. 4 Mohawk (5-1, 3-0) capture a 38-14 win at Ellwood City (3-3, 1-2) in the Midwestern Conference. Wrona completed 21-of-39 passes for 271 yards and threw touchdowns to Bobby Fadden (two), Blake Logan and Dante Retort to give him 24 scoring tosses on the season. Ellwood City’s Elijah Palmer-McCane, the WPIAL’s rushing leader entering the night, was limited to 34 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
NORTH ALLEGHENY HAMMERS PINE-RICHLAND
In a matchup of defending WPIAL champions, Class 6A No. 2 North Allegheny (5-1) raced to a 28-0 second-quarter lead and went on to cruise to a 45-10 mercy-rule win against Class 5A No. 2 Pine-Richland (3-3) in non-conference play. North Allegheny’s Logan Kushner passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Tyree Alualu and Khiryn Boyd each scored two touchdowns.
USC TAKES DOWN RIVAL MT. LEBANON
After coming into the game with five touchdowns on the season, Mason Chambers nearly matched that number in one game by scoring four times in leading Class 5A No. 5 Upper St. Clair (5-1) to a 42-27 win against visiting Class 6A No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (4-2) in non-conference action. Chambers scored on runs of 79, 25, 4 and 59 yards for the Panthers, who were impressive in bouncing back from last week’s shutout loss to Peters Township.
PUP BITES
• It was a milestone night for senior Colin Brady of West Greene (5-1, 3-0) whose 301 rushing yards in a 41-32 Class 1A Tri-County South Conference win against visiting Monessen (1-5, 0-3) pushed him over 5,000 for his career. Brady, who missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, now has rushed for 5,225 career yards. Friday, he ran for touchdowns of 67, 9, 9 and 74 yards.
• Pitt recruit Julian Dugger accounted for three touchdowns while leading Class 5A No. 3 Penn Hills (5-1) to a 28-12 non-conference home win against Bethel Park (2-4). Dugger completed 8-of-12 passes for 136 yards, one of them being a 54-yard scoring toss to Cameron Thomas. Dugger also scored on touchdown runs of 10 and 1 yard.
• Ben Grabowski and Tasso Whipple combined to rush for 399 yards and six touchdowns to propel Penn-Trafford (3-3, 2-0) to a 56-28 win at Norwin (2-4, 1-1) in the Class 5A Big East Conference. Grabowski had 205 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries and Whipple 194 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Whipple ran for 300 last week against Hempfield.
• City League No. 1 Westinghouse (5-0) remained unbeaten after a 30-22 non-league win at District 6 foe Hollidaysburg (2-3). Kyshawn Robinson (11 yards), Ty Abrams (28 yards) and Laimon Bates (10 yards) each rushed for touchdowns for Westinghouse, while Khalil Green connected with Taymir O’Neal for a 62-yard touchdown.
• Franklin Regional (4-2, 1-1) rallied from a 17-point, second-quarter deficit to claim a 45-26 win at Plum (2-4, 0-3) in the Class 5A Big East Conference. The Panthers trailed, 20-3, in the second quarter and 26-17 in the third before scoring the final 28 points of the game. Kyle Dupill had a huge rushing game for the Panthers, finishing with 196 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.
THREE STARS
*** — Brad Birch, Gateway. Birch produced his best performance of the season, going 16-of-27 passing for 247 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 121 yards and a 68-yard touchdown to push Gateway (3-3, 3-0) to a 63-21 win against Hempfield in Class 5A Big East Conference.
** — Eric Doerue, South Park. Doerue rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, including the winning 1-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter, to give visiting South Park (4-2, 1-2) a thrilling 35-28 win against Class 3A No. 4 Seton LaSalle (4-2, 2-1) in Western Hills Conference play.
* — Sean O’Shea, Seneca Valley. O’Shea accounted for four touchdowns, including an 89-yard scoring pass to Luke Challingsworth in the first quarter, to lead host Seneca Valley (1-5) to its first win of the season, 56-0, against Butler (2-4) in a non-conference game. O’Shea passed for two touchdowns and also ran for two scores.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL Class 6A
Tri-County Five Conference
Central Catholic 49, Canon-McMillan 6
WPIAL Class 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Moon 24, South Fayette 3
Peters Township 49, Baldwin 6
Big East Conference
Franklin Regional 45, Plum 26
Gateway 63, Hempfield 21
Penn-Trafford 56, Norwin 28
Northeast Conference
North Hills 50, Fox Chapel 0
WPIAL Class 4A
Big Seven Conference
Latrobe 25, Trinity 7
McKeesport 48, Ringgold 0
Thomas Jefferson 56, Laurel Highlands 6
Greater Allegheny Conference
Armstrong 21, North Catholic 20
Kiski Area 28, Indiana 7
Mars 48, Highlands 15
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa 53, Ambridge 16
Central Valley 42, Blackhawk 14
Montour 48, New Castle 14
West Allegheny 42, Chartiers Valley 6
WPIAL Class 3A
Allegheny 6 Conference
East Allegheny 42, Valley 12
Knoch 41, Deer Lakes 21
Shady Side Academy 31, Freeport 28
Interstate Conference
Belle Vernon 57, South Allegheny 6
Elizabeth Forward 31, Southmoreland 24
Mount Pleasant 38, Greensburg Salem 7
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 38, West Mifflin 14
Quaker Valley 38, Hopewell 30
South Park 35, Seton LaSalle 28
WPIAL Class 2A
Allegheny Conference
Imani Christian 35, Burrell 8
Serra Catholic 27, Derry 12
Steel Valley 49, Apollo-Ridge 17
Yough 21, Ligonier Valley 0
Century Conference
Keystone Oaks 41, Charleroi 14
McGuffey 17, Sto-Rox 0
Washington 48, Waynesburg 14
Midwestern Conference
Mohawk 38, Ellwood City 14
Neshannock 35, New Brighton 7
Beaver Falls 41, Riverside 6
Western Beaver 48, Freedom 0
WPIAL Class 1A
Big 7 Conference
Northgate 20, Shenango 13
Rochester 42, Laurel 14
South Side 56, Summit Academy 7
Black Hills Conference
Avella 32, Carlynton 28
Cornell 14, Burgettstown 13
Eastern Conference
Clairton 40, Greensburg Central Catholic 28
Jeannette 42, Riverview 22
Leechburg 59, Frazier 8
Tri-County South Conference
Beth-Center 34, Carmichaels 20
California 52, Mapletown 0
Jefferson-Morgan 35, Bentworth 14
West Greene 41, Monessen 32
City League
University Prep 70, Perry 0
Non-conference
Beaver 56, Brentwood 20
Connellsville 28, Hampton 26
North Allegheny 45, Pine-Richland 10
Penn Hills 28, Bethel Park 12
Seneca Valley 55, Butler 0
Union 54, Springdale 7
Upper St. Clair 42, Mt. Lebanon 27
Westinghouse 30, Hollidaysburg 22
Windber 37, Uniontown 7
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.