Must-see games for each week of this season
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter
Head coach Joe Rossi and South Fayette have a difficult opener.
Head coach Mike Bosnic and the Washington High School football team will have some must-see games this season.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s head coach Ed Dalton will have his hands full early in the season.
It’s said that some people are like fine wine; they get better with age.
You don’t have to look further than the Observer-Reporter sports staff’s annual Pick the Winners for the previous statement to be documented.
Sports editor Chris Dugan got a quick lead in the picks and ran away from the rest of the competition. My race to catch the savvy Dugan ended short as he took home the championship belt.
Then there is the quote from author Roy H. Williams, “A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake all together.”
Mistake after mistake quickly added up in assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano’s downfall. One wrong pick after another had him looking up at everyone else in the standings, even Saturated Fats, who left him in the dust a little past the midway point of last season.
Maybe Tuscano should stick to wrestling.
Either way, we are back at it every week in Thursday’s edition of the Observer-Reporter, hoping to be just a little smarter than a season ago.
Of course, there will be mistakes. Many of those could be in the upcoming list. Here’s a look at one of the big games each week from the 2019 high school football regular season that will be hard to pick.
Oh, and Saturated Fats sends his regards from his vacation spot in Bavaria. He promises to be up for another run.
Week 0: Upper St. Clair
at South Fayette
Remember this one last year? All Upper St. Clair early and South Fayette late. A two-point conversion attempt for the Lions in the waning moments of the fourth quarter fell incomplete and their 57-game regular-season winning streak ended.
It might not mirror last year, but there is plenty to look forward to in the rematch of the two successful programs. The biggest difference might be who isn’t there for this one. Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render is gone. South Fayette quarterback Jamie Diven, who made his debut in this game last year, has graduated.
There are question marks for these teams entering the season. Thankfully, they won’t have to wait long to get the answers.
Week 1: Seton LaSalle
at Burgettstown
Both teams’ season opener – neither play a Week Zero game. A packed house at Hill Memorial Stadium? Count me in.
This game features another debut with Seton LaSalle coach Mike Zmijanac. The longtime coach was at Ringgold last year and Aliquippa for many years before that.
Burgettstown pulled away to beat Seton LaSalle last year, 20-6, to begin its run at a perfect record in the regular season.
Make sure this Friday is free on your calendar. There are plenty of big games scheduled, including an Allegheny Eight Conference showdown as Peters Township hosts Upper St. Clair and a recently scheduled game as Clairton travels to McGuffey.
Week 2: Belle Vernon
at Thomas Jefferson
Could a conference champion essentially be crowned in Week 2? Maybe so in the Big Eight Conference.
Thomas Jefferson is the overwhelming pick to win the WPIAL in Class 4A. The talent and motivation – blowing a late lead to South Fayette at Heinz Field last year – are there for the Jaguars. TJ has routed Belle Vernon the last two times they’ve played, in the 2017 playoffs and by invading “The Beach” last year. It could be much of the same when the two conference foes meet again Sept. 6.
Week 3: Trinity at Ringgold
If you have any vacation days and are looking to use them, this weekend might be a good time.
It’s hard to find a local game that will be competitive, but this one between two programs looking to bounce back might turn out to be important when all is said and done.
If either team wants to make a run at the last playoff spot in the Big Eight Conference – yes, it will be up for grabs down the stretch – an early mid-September win just could be the deciding factor.
Trinity will be much better after last year’s newcomers are back. Ringgold will wipe the slate clean after last year with hopes of starting fresh under new coach Darwin Manges.
Week 4: California at Washington
It’s never too early for a well-thought-out prediction. This will be my first of the year, and there will be proof by season’s end, about whether you can all invade my inbox telling me how dumb I am.
Here we go. If Washington beats California, the Prexies will finish the regular season undefeated.
Truth is, I’m so confident in that prediction I would throw some cash on it if I were a betting man.
The Prexies are big and fast, but California, under new head coach Ed Woods, will come out and try to land a punch. If this game is a track meet, give me Wash High to roll. If the Trojans can turn it into a grind-it-out type of game, they have a chance.
Week 5: Beth-Center at Charleroi
Quite possibly the best game I witnessed last year. Both teams face a ton of turnover with players. Neither have their top two playmakers – Geno Pellegrini and Dakota Romantino for Charleroi and Bailey Lincoski and Dominic Fundy for Beth-Center – and this midseason game could determine the final playoff spot in the Interstate Conference.
Last year, Charleroi players laid in the ankle-deep mud in Fredericktown at the end with their dreams of a perfect season dashed after a 28-27 loss to the Bulldogs.
The star power might not be there, but you should be.
Week 6: California at West Greene
They say, “Sharing is caring.” Well, none of these teams – California, West Greene or Monessen – wanted to have a three-way tie and share the Tri-County South Conference crown last year. It should be a two-team race for the conference title this year, and this Week 6 matchup could determine a winner.
Even 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns by West Greene running back Ben Jackson wasn’t enough for the Pioneers to end their drought against California last year. They have lost to the Trojans 13 consecutive times, last winning in 2003. In those losses, West Greene has been outscored 490-92.
Does something change or is it much of the same when the two teams meet in early October?
Week 7: Norwin
at Canon-McMillan
There really is no other way to put this. The Big Macs punished Norwin up and down on its home field last October. That was a pivotal game in Canon-McMillan snapping their playoff drought.
How much will the game mean this year?
It’s hard to say with these teams. Norwin has Jack Salopek, a Western Michigan commit, back at quarterback. The Big Macs are filling a lot of holes left by a solid graduating class. Time will tell if this game will have any playoff implications.
Another good option, if you are willing to do a little driving, is Clairton hosting West Greene.
Week 8: McGuffey at Avonworth
There were fireworks last year as McGuffey won in a shootout, 57-42. But both have lost key pieces on the offensive side of the ball. Six of the McGuffey touchdowns were scored by Christian Clutter, who has since graduated. Avonworth no longer has the quarterback-receiver combo of Derek Johncour, who threw for 2,656 yards, and Turner Grau, who hauled in 66 passes for 976 yards last season.
Both return multiple offensive weapons that still could be one another’s defensive kryptonite. Avonworth spreads it out and whips the football around. The Highlanders use misdirection in their flexbone attack.
Week 9: Washington at McGuffey
The last week goes out with a whimper, at least from the mid-August perspective. There could be several good games as playoff races finalize.
Let’s stick with a game where records and playoff implications take a backseat to bragging rights. These teams don’t like one another, especially if something – a conference title or better playoff positioning – is one the line.
They renewed that rivalry last year on a rain-soaked Friday night when Washington held on for the win, 42-36, in a thriller.