O-R Athlete of the Week: Blake Joseph, Canon-McMillan
Name: Blake Joseph
School: Canon-McMillan
Class: Senior
Sport: Football
Joseph’s week: The Big Macs’ slot receiver had eight receptions for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a crucial 21-12 victory over Hempfield in a Class 6A Quad County Conference game last Friday night.
The win was the first of the season for Canon-McMillan (1-3, 1-4), which kept its postseason hopes alive with the victory.
“We needed to get that win no matter what?” said Big Macs coach Mike Evans, who returned to the sideline at the start of the second half after a two-week suspension.
“We are in an unforgiving league with a difficult schedule. I wasn’t there during the week but I think we stayed away from the term must win. The kids know. They know you have to pull three or four victories out of this conference (to make the playoffs). They knew we needed that one.”
Joseph’s touchdown catches were from 19 yards and 51 yards, both in the first half.
“That game was pretty big because it helps us for the playoffs,” Joseph said. “It will help get us going. We wanted to play for coach. When we came running out to start the second half and he was there, it was a pretty cool moment.”
Canon-McMillan has a non-conference home game against Peters Township Friday before returning to conference play with games against Pine-Richland, Norwin, Central Catholic and Butler.
Hard work paying off: Joseph isn’t just a leader amongst the wide receiver group at Canon-McMillan. Through the first five games, he has proven to be one of the best in the WPIAL.
Joseph is fourth in the entire WPIAL and first in Class 6A with 31 receptions. The only receivers ahead of Joseph are Upper St. Clair’s David Pantelis, Southmoreland’s Riley Comforti and Sto-Rox’s Jaidon Berry.
“He was kind of emerging last year, catching more balls down the stretch,” Evans said. “He flashed with some impressive yards after the catch.
“He works really hard. He never misses a weight-room session and did great on 7-on-7s. He is bringing together all the skills he has. He lacks in height but makes up for it with speed and determination.”
The 5-8 Joseph does most of his work out of the slot, creating opportunities for him to use his speed against opposing linebackers.
His 31 catches have totaled to 311 yards and four touchdowns as he’s always had a connection with quarterback Jon Quinque since youth football.
“It’s been since we were Little Macs,” he said of his relationship with Quinque. “Coming into this summer, we knew we had to step it up because we were the ones who were going to get called on. I don’t think we felt any pressure but just knew we lost a lot of key guys.”
Compiled by Luke Campbell