News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 7 of the high school football season.
West Allegheny junior running back Brodie Cornell heard the discussions.
Maybe it was expected with his Indians traveling to New Castle Friday night for a critical Class 4A Parkway Conference contest against one of the WPIAL’s fastest rising stars in 14-year-old Red Hurricanes freshman quarterback Marino Graham.
Just a week earlier, West Allegheny managed just one score in a 12-point loss to Aliquippa, while Graham accounted for five touchdowns in a rout of Montour.
“Nobody is unbeatable,” Cornell said. “Everybody said, ‘New Castle is unbeatable. New Castle is going to win this game.’ We kind of blocked out the haters.”
And Cornell took it from there Friday night, rushing for 145 yards and all three of his team’s touchdowns on 32 carries to lead West Allegheny to a 24-14 road victory against New Castle at Taggart Stadium.
“He said, ‘Keep giving me the ball, coach, keep giving me the ball,’” sixth-year Indians coach Dave Schoppe said. “We run an inside zone and have had a lot of success with it. We changed up a few formations and still ran it. When you’ve got a kid running the ball hard like that you try to keep feeding him until the other team stops you. New Castle had a little trouble doing that.”
West Allegheny (3-4, 2-1) took an early 10-0 lead on a 39-yard field goal by Teagan Tomei and the first of Cornell’s three 3-yard touchdown runs against New Castle (6-2, 2-1).
Cornell, though, took control of the game late with his two unanswered touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.
“It felt great,” Cornell said. “I trusted my o-line. They did their job tonight. When something works you keep doing it, and that’s what we did tonight. We just kept running the same play. It was, honestly, who wanted it more, and tonight we wanted it more.”
Maybe as critical to that effort was the ability of the Indians defense to stop Graham.
The New Castle quarterback completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of critical interceptions.
Cornell said his team’s ability to keep Graham in the pocket made the difference.
“He likes to scramble a lot,” said Cornell, who also plays safety, of Graham. “The d-line had a great game. They kept contain and made him step up in the pocket. He’s good out of the pocket and when he stepped up we made sacks and made big plays.”
And, now, there’s a traffic jam atop the Parkway Conference standings.
Aliquippa (5-2, 2-1) and Montour (5-3, 2-1) join New Castle and West Allegheny with identical conference records and just two games remaining in the regular season.
The Quips knocked off Blackhawk, 34-17, Friday night, while the Spartans dominated Ambridge, 55-21.
“There’s some good teams,” Schoppe said. “You’ve got to prepare for every team.”
McKEESPORT RUNNING BACK KEMON SPELL RUNS WILD
McKeesport running back Kemon Spell erupted for six touchdowns — four on the ground, one through the air and another via a punt return — as the Tigers rolled to a critical 56-31 Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference victory over Mars Friday night at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium. One of the WPIAL’s most highly recruited players, Spell rushed for 236 yards on 18 carries and also caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Tigers (5-3, 3-0) quarterback Matt Miller against the Planets (6-2, 2-1). Mars running back Ayden Yocum also rushed for 234 yards and two scores.
UPPER ST. CLAIR WINS SHOOTOUT AGAINST RIVAL BETHEL PARK
Running back Dante Coury carried the football 17 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns while John Banbury added eight carries for 101 yards and two scores to lead Upper St. Clair to a 57-32 win over neighboring rival Bethel Park Friday night at Panthers Stadium. Quarterback Ethan Hellmann also completed 17 of 21 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Panthers (7-1, 2-1) past the Black Hawks (5-3, 1-2) in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference showdown. Quarterback Evan Devine threw for 236 and three touchdowns for Bethel Park and David Dennison rushed for 134 yards and two additional scores.
FORT CHERRY’S MATT SIEG MAKES HISTORY
Matt Sieg needed only one carry to make history Friday night, as his 70-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage put the Fort Cherry standout ahead of Sto-Rox great Lenny Williams for the most offensive yards in WPIAL history. The senior and Penn State recruit would go on to account for six touchdowns to lead Fort Cherry to a commanding 56-19 victory over Bishop Canevin in a Class 1A Black Hills Conference contest at Jim Garry Stadium in McDonald. Sieg rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries for Fort Cherry (8-0, 4-0) but also contributed a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown and an 86-yard interception return for a score against the Crusaders (5-3, 3-1).
NORTH CATHOLIC WINS OT THRILLER OVER BEAVER
Jackson Schade rushed for a 10-yard touchdown, the lone score in overtime of a thrilling Class 3A Western Hills Conference game, to hand North Catholic a 49-42 road win Friday night over Beaver at Gypsy Glen Stadium. Quarterback Joey Felitsky completed 14 of 19 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns to lead North Catholic (6-2, 3-1) past upset-minded Beaver (4-4, 2-2), while Nate Swisher rushed for 105 yards and a score on 10 carries for the Trojans. Quarterback Travis Clear threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bobcats offense, and his favorite target was Micah Pupi, who caught seven passes for 162 yards and a score. Jonah Justice rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown for Beaver.
PUP BITES
- Nasir Wade rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries while adding a 100-yard interception return for a score to lead Hopewell to a 48-20 rout of Freeport Friday night at Freeport Stadium. Quarterback James Armstrong threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings (6-2, 2-2), tossing three passes for 119 yards and both scores to Tre Cameron in a Class 3A non-conference contest against the Yellowjackets (6-2, 3-1).
- Owen Gardner and Jonah Williamson combined for 385 rushing yards Friday night to lead Trinity to a 42-18 win over Chartiers Valley at Hillers Stadium in Washington. Gardner carried the football 15 times for 222 yards and a touchdown while Williamson added 163 yards and four scores on 14 carries for Trinity (4-4, 3-0) in the Class 4A Big Six Conference showdown. Chartiers Valley (6-2, 2-1) had its five-game winning streak snapped. Colts quarterback Luke Miranda threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns but threw four critical interceptions.
- Clairton recorded its sixth consecutive shutout, and fifth scoreless victory in Class 1A Eastern Conference play, by knocking off Leechburg, 48-0, Friday night at Tyler Boyd Stadium in Clairton. Quarterback Jeff Thompson III threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a 9-yard score to lead the Bears (6-1, 5-0) past the Blue Devils (5-2, 3-1). Deon Pompey also rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown to pace Clairton’s offense, and Taris Wooding chipped in three catches for 110 yards and a score.
THREE STARS
***— Nolan DiLucia, Peters Township. The quarterback turned in an efficient performance, completing 14 of 25 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception Friday night to lead the Indians to a 31-7 victory over South Fayette.
**— Andrew Corfield, South Side. The Rams running back rushed for 256 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 35-7 victory over Neshannock. He scored on runs of 48, 7 and 84 yards.
*— Tyler Eber, Thomas Jefferson. The running back carried the football 38 times for 279 yards and accounted for all six of the Jaguars touchdowns in a 42-6 rout of Ringgold at Jaguar Stadium Friday night.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
North Allegheny 21, Canon-McMillan 13
Seneca Valley 47, Hempfield 8
WPIAL CLASS 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Moon 40, Baldwin 7
Peters Township 31, South Fayette 7
Upper St. Clair 57, Bethel Park 32
Big East Conference
Kiski Area 27, Armstrong 25
Penn-Trafford 48, Franklin Regional 14
Woodland Hills 42, Gateway 28
Northeast Conference
Plum 35, Fox Chapel 0
Shaler 17, North Hills 14
WPIAL CLASS 4A
Big Six Conference
Belle Vernon 48, Laurel Highlands 6
Thomas Jefferson 42, Ringgold 6
Trinity 42, Chartiers Valley 18
Greater Allegheny Conference
Hampton 38, Knoch 0
McKeesport 56, Mars 31
West Mifflin 42, Indiana 6
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa 34, Blackhawk 17
Montour 55, Ambridge 21
West Allegheny 24, New Castle 14
WPIAL CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
East Allegheny 16, Valley 10
Highlands 42, Burrell 21
Imani Christian 56, Deer Lakes 14
Interstate Conference
Derry 43, Greensburg Salem 28
Elizabeth Forward 55, Yough 7
Southmoreland 14, Mount Pleasant 0
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 49, McGuffey 0
Central Valley 63, Quaker Valley 21
North Catholic 49, Beaver 42, OT
WPIAL CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
South Allegheny 35, Apollo-Ridge 0
South Park 42, Ligonier Valley 21
Century Conference
Carlynton at Sto-Rox
Keystone Oaks 21, Waynesburg 14
Washington 61, Charleroi 9
Midwestern Conference
Beaver Falls 39, New Brighton 24
Ellwood City 48, Riverside 14
Freedom 20, Union 14
Mohawk 40, Western Beaver 20
WPIAL CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Laurel 42, Shenango 0
South Side Beaver 35, Neshannock 0
Summit Academy at Northgate
Black Hills Conference
Chartiers-Houston 35, Serra Catholic 0
Fort Cherry 56, Bishop Canevin 19
Monessen 40, Burgettstown 21
Eastern Conference
Clairton 48, Leechburg 0
Frazier 41, Riverview 20
Greensburg Central Catholic 52, Springdale 14
Jeannette 23, Brentwood 18
Tri-County South Conference
Bentworth 35, Jefferson-Morgan 13
California 50, West Greene 0
Carmichaels 14, Avella 13
Mapletown at Beth-Center 48, Mapletown 0
CITY LEAGUE
University Prep 20, Westinghouse 14
NON-CONFERENCE
Butler 35, Allderdice 8
Cornell 45, Rochester 8
Hedgesville, W.Va. 40, Albert Gallatin 14
Hopewell 48, Freeport 20
Meyersdale 52, Brownsville 0
Northern Garrett, Md. 38, Uniontown 0
Penn Hills 19, Mt. Lebanon 14
Pine-Richland 43, Latrobe 7
Redbank Valley 38, Brashear 6
University, W.Va. 52, Connellsville 12
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.