Five local players named all-state
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Nick Welsh breaks the tackle of Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic’s Nukhai Hill-Green during the WPIAL Class AA semifinal game at Moon High School.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Isaiah Schoonmaker, a Miami of Ohio recruit, was one of five local players named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers All-State Team.
Trinity’s Cole Bair runs past Laurel Highlands’ Shawn Ritchter Friday night.
Noah Plack-Tallerico helped the South Fayette to an undefeated regular season last year with 35 catches for 679 yards and 10 touchdowns.
A very good season for the Washington High School program got a little better Monday, when two Prexies were named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers Class 2A All-State Team.
Running back Nick Welsh was named to the offensive team while wide receiver-linebacker Isaiah Schoonmaker was the one player selected to the team without regard to position and placed in the “athlete” category.
Welsh and Schoonmaker were two key members of the Wash High team that won the WPIAL championship and advanced to the PIAA semifinals.
The all-state teams for Classes 2A, 4A and 6A were released Monday. The Class 1A, 3A and 5A teams will be announced Tuesday.
Three area players, including two from Northwest Nine Conference champion South Fayette, were chosen to the 4A team. Lions quarterback Drew Saxton and tight end-linebacker Noah Plack were selected on offense, as was Trinity’s record-setting running back Joey Koroly. Each of the five players named all-state are seniors.
Welsh led all WPIAL classifications in rushing with 2,324 yards and 32 touchdowns. His yardage total is the third-most in Washington County high school football history.
Welsh was a model of consistency, running for more than 100 yards in each of the Prexies’ 14 games. He also scored at least one touchdown in every game and averaged a whopping 11.62 yards per carry.
He saved perhaps his best performance of the season for the Prexies’ state semifinal game against Wilmington, when he rushed for 234 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Schoonmaker, a Miami (Ohio) recruit as a defensive player, became a big-play threat for the Prexies’ offense in his first season as a full-time receiver. He caught 35 passes for 747 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense, he was a significant reason why the Prexies yielded the fewest points (11.5 per game) among all Class 2A teams in the WPIAL. He made 60 tackles and intercepted five passes.
Welsh and Schoonmaker were two of only four WPIAL players named to the Class 2A team.
Though Trinity’s season extended only one round into the postseason, Koroly did enough during the regular season to impress voters from across the state and was named as one of five running backs on the 4A team. Koroly broke Trinity’s single-game rushing record when he ran for 358 yards against Blackhawk in September. He also broke the school’s career rushing record by gaining 1,807 yards this season to push his all-time total to 4,428 yards. Koroly also threw two touchdown passes, caught two TD passes and returned an interception for a score.
Saxton capped a stellar career by finishing among the WPIAL’s top 10 in career passing yards. The three-year starter was also one of the most accurate passers in the WPIAL as he completed 157 of his 248 passes (63 percent) this fall. He totaled 2,749 passing yards and threw for 33 touchdowns. In his South Fayette career, Saxton passed for 7,368 yards and 94 touchdowns and the Lions never lost a regular-season game.
One of Saxton’s favorite targets was Plack, a Delaware recruit who caught 52 passes for 935 yards and 13 touchdowns, all team-highs. Plack also dominated on a defense that held opponents to 12.5 points per game, including three shutouts. He had 75 tackles and five sacks.
Saxton was one of four quarterbacks on the 4A team while Plack was the lone tight end selected.