News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 5 of the high school football season.
Roman Thompson and his Central Catholic army earned a big win against their archrival Friday.
Thompson put forth a terrific all-around performance to lead Class 6A No. 1 Central Catholic to a 21-6 win at No. 2 North Allegheny.
In a matchup of teams that have met in the past three WPIAL Class 6A championship games, Thompson, a junior running back-linebacker, helped defending champion Central Catholic (5-1, 3-0) deliver North Allegheny (5-1, 2-1) its first loss. Thompson ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, added one reception for 10 yards, and finished with a game-high 16 tackles.
“I don’t know if there’s even enough time to talk about him,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “What he means to our program, to our team, and to me personally, he’s a leader of men. And man, when he turns it on, he’s a man among boys. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Thompson scored on a 7-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the first quarter to vault Central Catholic to a 7-0 lead. The Vikings then led, 7-3, in the third quarter when Thompson scored his second touchdown, this time on a 10-yard run, to increase the lead to 14-3. Teammate Jayden Alexander added a 53-yard touchdown run later in the third.
After making most of his noise on defense last season when he led the Vikings in tackles, Thompson’s emergence offensively this season has helped fuel the team’s success. He has scored a team-best 15 touchdowns, with no other player on the team scoring more than four.
“It’s been huge,” Lehmeier said of the spark Thompson has given the team on offense. “I think Roman brings a different attitude, and it’s infectious to his teammates and coaches.”
The Central Catholic defense was excellent as the Vikings kept North Allegheny out of the end zone. The Tigers scored their only points on two Ethan Maravich field goals. North Allegheny finished with just 148 yards of offense, including 26 rushing yards on 37 carries.
PETERS EDGES USC IN 5A THRILLER
In a showdown of two of the top teams in Class 5A, Cole Neupaver scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:40 left to give No. 2 Peters Township (6-0, 1-0) a 24-20 win against visiting No. 3 Upper St. Clair (5-1, 0-1) in Allegheny Six Conference play. It helped put the finishing touches on what was a big performance by Neupaver, who finished with 126 yards on 31 carries. Both quarterbacks shined, with Peters Township’s Nolan DiLucia going 16 of 24 for 288 yards and two touchdowns, and Upper St. Clair’s Ethan Hellmann completing 23 of 36 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
PINE-RICHLAND SHOWS MERCY IN WIN OVER FOX CHAPEL
In a game that generated a lot of pregame buzz, Class 5A No. 1 Pine-Richland (5-1, 3-0) scored six first-half touchdowns on its way to a 63-3 mercy-rule win at Fox Chapel (2-4, 0-3) in the Northeast Conference. The teams ultimately played normal 12-minute quarters in the first half before shortening the third and fourth quarters to eight minutes each. The second half was played with a running clock due to the mercy rule, which goes into effect when a team leads by 35 points or more in the second half. Pine-Richland’s Mac Miller ran for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Fox Chapel’s Harran Zureikat kicked a school-record 54-yard field goal, which was 1-yard shy of the WPIAL record.
LATE FIELD GOAL HELPS MOON SLIP PAST BETHEL
Evan Senkevich converted a 36-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to give Moon (4-2, 1-0) a 23-20 win against visiting Bethel Park (4-2, 0-1) in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference. Daiveon Taylor ran for two first-half touchdowns for Moon, which led, 20-7, at the half before Bethel Park stormed back to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Moon quarterback Andrew Cross passed for 136 yards and rushed for 105 and a touchdown. The Tigers limited Bethel Park running back David Dennison to 78 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
TJ RALLIES LATE TO TOP BELLE VERNON
For the second time in four games, Class 4A No. 1 Thomas Jefferson (5-1, 1-0) used a rally in the final minutes to grab a win, this one resulting in a 14-10 triumph at Belle Vernon (1-4, 0-1) in the Big Six Conference. With his team trailing, 10-7, Harrison Kolling connected with Dom Volomino for a 31-yard touchdown with 2:19 left to put Thomas Jefferson in front. Tyler Eber added a rushing score for the Jaguars, who used a Kolling quarterback sneak in the final minute to win at McKeesport earlier this month.
NEW CASTLE TAKES DOWN ALIQUIPPA
Freshman quarterback Marino Graham accounted for 284 yards and three touchdowns in leading host New Castle (5-1, 1-0) to an 18-12 win against Class 4A No. 2 Aliquippa (3-2, 0-1) in Parkway Conference action. With the score tied, 12-12, in the fourth quarter, Graham scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to put New Castle ahead. Graham completed 9 of 18 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown and added 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 17 carries. New Castle held a 371-257 advantage in total yards.
IMANI STORMS BACK TO BEAT NORTH CATHOLIC
Penn State recruits Gabe Jenkins and David Davis helped Class 3A No. 2 Imani Christian (6-0) bounce back from a 16-0 first-half deficit by leading the Saints to 36 unanswered points on their way to a 36-16 win against visiting No. 3 North Catholic (5-1) in non-conference action. Jenkins scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 11 yards and also threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Davis, who scored on a 91-yard touchdown run just before that to put the Saints ahead. Both of North Catholic’s touchdowns came on scoring tosses from Joey Felitsky to Preston Simko.
SPARBANIE DRIVES WESTERN BEAVER TO WIN
Wyatt Sparbanie had a big night for Class 2A No. 3 Western Beaver (6-0, 3-0), running for 265 yards and six touchdowns on 20 carries to power the host Golden Beavers to a 48-19 win against New Brighton (3-3, 0-3) in the Midwestern Conference. Sparbanie scored his touchdowns on runs of 76, 8, 20, 41, 44 and 18 yards, scoring three in each half.
PUP BITES
- Kemon Spell returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an ankle injury and finished with 122 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 16 carries to push Class 4A No. 3 McKeesport (3-3, 1-0) to a 46-7 win against visiting Hampton (2-4, 0-1) in the Greater Allegheny Conference. Spell scored on touchdown runs of 8, 15 and 3 yards, all in the first half. Quarterback Matt Miller was 13 of 15 for 153 yards and a touchdown.
- Dom Detruf completed 26 of 34 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns to lead Class 5A No. 4 Hempfield (4-2, 1-2) to a 38-27 home win against No. 5 Canon-McMillan (3-3, 1-1). Three of Detruf’s scoring tosses went to Lucas Simmons, who finished with six catches for 93 yards. Canon-McMillan’s T.J. Sabatucci had six catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
- Dimitri Velisaris was a workhorse for Class 3A No. 1 Avonworth (6-0, 2-0), rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in a 34-6 win at Central Valley (2-4, 2-1) in the Western Hills Conference. Carson Bellinger paced the Avonworth passing attack by completing 7 of 11 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Jaden Jones.
THREE STARS
***— Ayden Yocum, Mars. Yocum ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries to carry Class 4A No. 4 Mars (5-1, 1-0) to a 46-0 home win against West Mifflin (1-5, 0-1) in the Greater Allegheny Conference. Yocum found the end zone on runs of 8, 3, 25 and 42 yards, all coming in the opening half.
**— Carter Jackson, New Brighton. Jackson completed only four passes, but two of them went for touchdowns as New Brighton (3-2, 0-2) upset visiting Ellwood City (3-3, 2-1) in the Class 2A Midwestern Conference. Jackson’s touchdowns came on a 27-yard pass to Jeziah Montanez and a 46-yard toss to Joseph Kennedy.
*— Deakyn DeHoet, Jefferson-Morgan. In a 40-6 win against West Greene (1-5, 1-2), DeHoet scored three touchdowns on just five touches to increase his season total to 19 while helping the Class 1A No. 5 Rockets (6-0, 3-0) remain unbeaten via the Tri-County South Conference win. DeHoet had touchdown receptions of 40 and 73 yards and added a 63-yard scoring run.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
Central Catholic 21, North Allegheny 6
Hempfield 38, Canon-McMillan 27
Mt. Lebanon 41, Seneca Valley 20
WPIAL CLASS 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Moon 23, Bethel Park 20
Peters Township 24, Upper St. Clair 20
South Fayette 49, Baldwin 13
Big East Conference
Armstrong 29, Gateway 28
Kiski Area 14, Franklin Regional 7
Woodland Hills 33, Latrobe 9
Northeast Conference
Pine-Richland 63, Fox Chapel 3
WPIAL CLASS 4A
Big Six Conference
Chartiers Valley 55, Laurel Highlands 7
Thomas Jefferson 14, Belle Vernon 10
Trinity 48, Ringgold 14
Greater Allegheny Conference
Indiana 21, Knoch 14
Mars 46, West Mifflin 0
McKeesport 46, Hampton 7
Parkway Conference
Montour 28, Blackhawk 7
New Castle 18, Aliquippa 12
West Allegheny 70, Ambridge 0
WPIAL CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
Burrell 29, East Allegheny 28
Freeport 42, Valley 7
Highlands 35, Deer Lakes 0
Interstate Conference
Elizabeth Forward 49, Greensburg Salem 7
Mount Pleasant 41, Yough 7
Southmoreland 23, Derry 11
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 34, Central Valley 6
Beaver 42, McGuffey 6
Hopewell 48, Quaker Valley 0
WPIAL CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
South Allegheny 62, Ligonier Valley 14
Steel Valley 42, Shady Side Academy 6
Century Conference
Charleroi 45, Sto-Rox 26
Keystone Oaks 42, Carlynton 18
Midwestern Conference
Beaver Falls 12, Freedom 7
Mohawk 28, Union 21
New Brighton 14, Ellwood City 12
Western Beaver 48, Riverside 19
WPIAL CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Laurel 50, Northgate 0
Neshannock 48, Shenango 7
Black Hills Conference
Bishop Canevin 32, Chartiers-Houston 0
Cornell 47, Serra Catholic 18
Fort Cherry 42, Burgettstown 9
Eastern Conference
Clairton 57, Jeannette 0
Frazier 28, Brentwood 21
Tri-County South Conference
Avella 20, Beth-Center 17
Bentworth 35, Carmichaels 6
California 18, Mapletown 0
Jefferson-Morgan 40, West Greene 6
CITY LEAGUE
University Prep 30, Brashear 7
NON-CONFERENCE
Albert Gallatin 63, Allegany, Md. 56
Butler 44, Connellsville 27
Imani Christian 36, North Catholic 16
Martins Ferry, Ohio 59, Uniontown 13
Norwin 21, North Hills 17
Penn-Trafford 33, Plum 14
South Side 21, Monessen 7
Washington 48, South Park 7
Wheeling C.C., W.Va. 41, Perry 8
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.