Early on in the season, two big storylines surrounded Western Beaver, and neither one had anything to do with the team’s play on the field.
All summer long and throughout the duration of training camp, Golden Beavers coach Ron Busby fielded calls and answered questions from reporters about record-setting quarterback Jaivin Peel, who decided to transfer to The Kiski School after posting a pair of prolific seasons. Busby preferred not to speak much about his opinion on the subject, but he did let those who asked know that Western Beaver had another future star on its hands in freshman quarterback Amari Marshall.
The other big story, of course, was the installation of lights at Western Beaver Stadium, allowing the school to host games on Friday nights for the first time after several decades of Saturday afternoon kickoffs.
Now, entering the home stretch of the season with the calendar flipping to October, the main storyline is the Class 2A No. 3 Golden Beavers (6-0, 3-0) carrying a perfect record into Week 6 for the first time in 20 years.
“We’re happy with where we’re sitting,” Busby said. “We feel like we have approached things really well this year. Taking it a week at a time. That’s probably been one of the biggest keys for us. Not score watching. Not looking ahead. That’s kind of been our mantra all year long.”
Stepping into the spotlight for Peel under center, Marshall has wasted little time making a name for himself at Western Beaver. Despite attempting only 40 passes, the first-year signal-caller has completed 26 of them for 429 yards with four touchdowns, and he is equally dangerous with his legs, rushing for 461 yards and four scores.
“I told people he was going to be special, and that by the end of the season, a lot of people were going to be talking about Amari Marshall,” Busby said. “To take over a program that basically wins eight games every year and has always made the playoffs for as long as I’ve been around, and to be a team leader and be as beloved by his teammates as he is, it tells you everything you need to know about the kid.”
So far this season, junior tailback Wyatt Sparbanie has served as the true big-play threat for the Golden Beavers. A WPIAL bronze medalist in the 100 meters, Sparbanie has rushed for 851 yards and 19 TDs on just 64 carries — including a whopping seven TDs in last week’s 48-19 win against Riverside.
The team’s wideouts are young, but they can play, too. Junior Khai Hudson (6-2, 175) has impressive high-point skills on jump balls, and sophomore Avon Pressley is speedy after the catch with six catches for a team-high 146 yards. But while the skill players get most of the credit, it’s the offensive line led by senior tackle Blaine Crislip (6-3, 290) that has Busby truly buzzing the most.
“Wyatt is a great running back. He’s a talented kid,” Busby said. “But when you put up those kinds of numbers, that says a lot about the offensive line.”
So with so much going right and not much going wrong at Western Beaver, is there reason to believe this could be the Golden Beavers’ first golden season since they captured their last WPIAL title back in 1994? Class 2A seems to be arguably the most wide-open division in the area this season, and Western Beaver seems to have a solid chance of securing a top-three seed for the WPIAL tournament.
It’s still a bit too early to talk about ending that 31-year title drought, but if any team can do it, this might just be the one.
“We’re thrilled to be playing on Friday nights and thrilled with our record,” Busby said. “Couldn’t be happier.”
Moon always finds ways to win under Linn
Ever since taking over at Moon in 2017, Ryan Linn has built the Tigers into a steady playoff contender in Class 5A on an annual basis, forming one of the area’s most physical programs by emphasizing a brand of football based around a sturdy offensive line, a solid run game and a fast, ferocious defense.
This year’s team is no different.
Coming off a dramatic 23-20 last-second victory over Bethel Park last week in the Allegheny Six Conference opener, Moon (4-2, 1-0) is carrying plenty of momentum into a big-time showdown at Class 5A No. 2 Peters Township this Friday. The Tigers will be massive underdogs going into that one, but this is a team that has proven capable of competing with anybody on any given Friday.
Led by seniors Andrew Cross, Jayden Revis and Daiveon Taylor, Moon is certainly not short on big-name talent. A Penn State baseball recruit who is now a three-year starter at QB, Cross ran for a crucial 70-yard TD in the win against the Black Hawks last Friday, and he also has eight TD passes on the year. Meanwhile, Taylor is a Kent State recruit who transferred from Aliquippa prior to the season, and Revis is the son of former Aliquippa legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis.
Colts storming out of gates under new coach
Think fast — with the calendar flipping from September to October, who is the WPIAL’s highest-scoring team in Class 4A?
Mars? Nope. Thomas Jefferson? Nah. Believe it or not, it’s none other than the Chartiers Valley Colts (5-1, 1-0) who reside on top of the Class 4A scoring leaderboard after posting a combined total of 232 points through six games — the only team in the classification with more than 200 points on the year — good for an average of 38.6 ppg.
Having spent the previous 15 years as an assistant under the legendary Mike Sirianni at Washington & Jefferson College, Steve Spence brought a wealth of coaching experience with him before taking the job at Chartiers Valley this fall. So far, that experience has paid dividends for the Colts, who have tallied 62 points twice in the past three weeks — including a 62-7 rout at Laurel Highlands to open up conference play last Friday.
That being said, Spence and his players are well aware that the biggest tests still lie ahead in the meat of their Big Six Conference schedule, beginning with a contest against Belle Vernon at home this Friday. Chartiers Valley will then travel to take on Trinity next week before hosting defending WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson and Ringgold in back-to-back weeks to close out the regular season.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
