Sep 7, 2017 5 min read

The first two weeks of the season were nice to get back into the football mindset, but Week 2 is where we start separating the pretenders from the contenders. Even though many matchups might not look appetizing, there are several that could possibly determine the fate of playoff hopefuls a few weeks from now.

Here is what to look for with Friday night’s kickoff.

1. Game of the Week: West Greene at Mapletown – The Pioneers start to the season couldn’t have been better, but if they really want to start making noise in the Tri-County South Conference, it will have to begin with a win tonight.

Nobody can minimize the victories against Bentworth and Avella, but to take a major step in making the playoffs for the first time since 1993, this is the game West Greene should have circled.

Not only would a win tonight raise their section record to 2-0, but it would improve their chances if they slipped to wild-card contention later in the season. Head-to-head competition is the first tiebreaker for determining a final team.

West Greene head coach Rod Huffman knows that stopping Mapletown running back Dylan Rush isn’t going to happen. It’s just a matter of the Pioneers being able to slow him down.

If West Greene’s offense can perform close to the first two weeks and can slow Rush, it might take a major step to snapping a 23-year postseason drought..

2. Fort Cherry possibly without Culberson – Late in the first half of last Friday’s game against California, do-it-all senior Ryhan Culberson was injured returning a kick.

Rangers head coach Jim Shiel said he kept Culberson out as a precaution after being hit in the head and shoulder area.

This begs a few questions.

Is Culberson, who splits time at quarterback and wide receiver for the Rangers, ready to go for the Week 3 matchup against Greensburg Central Catholic?

If he plays, will Shiel continue to put one of the most dynamic players as a return man?

If Culberson can’t play, who is going to supplement that offensive production for the Rangers?

There are a lot of questions for Fort Cherry, and the Tri-County South Conference, after the Rangers’ lopsided 49-0 loss to California last week.

It’s hard to remove a player with Culberson’s ability for even one play, but it might be smart for the Rangers to pull the reins in on his participation on special teams.

It won’t be because they have better options, but because on offense, he is their only option.

3. Now it really counts – Unfortunately for Peters Township, winning its first two games for the first time since 2008 in very different fashions didn’t mean much for the Indians playoff hopes.

The offensive firepower against Chartiers Valley and defensive stalemate versus Seneca Valley, in which PT came out on top by scores of 45-14 and 13-8, respectively, were non-conference games.

The eight playoff spots available in Class 6A – and in nearly every classification – are determined by what a team does within the conference.

That starts tonight for the Indians, who host Bethel Park at 7:30 p.m.

Peters Township quarterback Jake Cortes will need to command the offense, but it will be even more important for the Indians defense to give him that chance.

Bethel Park racked up 348 yards on its 50 rushes in a 35-15 win over North Allegheny last week. That’s nearly seven yards per carry.

If PT wants a big Southeastern Conference-opening win, then dominating the battle up front is where it has to start.

4. Creative scoring – The popular selection for second place in the Century Conference is Burgettstown.

If anything that happened last week is an indication of what the Blue Devils will look like for the remainder of the season, then put me on their bandwagon.

In Burgettstown’s 35-6 victory over Frazier, the Blue Devils returned a kickoff, punt and interception for a touchdown.

If the Blue Devils can take the pressure off their offense and score in other ways, then they can be very dangerous.

It will get more difficult with Bishop Canevin visiting tonight with kickoff set for 7 p.m., but the Crusaders are on a short week after playing their first game against Clairton last Saturday.

5. Another last-second victory in the making – Nobody said you have to win pretty.

The Canon-McMillan football team got that message loud and clear, but still is choosing to keep fans around until the waning moments to see the outcome.

Scoring in the final minute of their first two games – wins over Kiski and Hempfield – the Big Macs might be the biggest local mystery.

Canon-McMillan failed to get any kind of production from its offense in Week Zero, yet in its conference opener, outscored one of the highest scoring teams in the WPIAL.

Tonight will be another good test for C-M, which travels to Penn Hills for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Which offense shows up is still considered a coin flip. The defense will have to play much better than when these teams met last season. The Big Macs lost 56-21.

Staff writer Luke Campbell can be reached at lcampbell@observer-reporter.com.