Five things we learned in Week 1
Each Monday we’ll look back at the highlights of the week that was in local high school football.
This week the Friday night lights shined brightly. There were first wins for two coaches, shining debuts from quarterbacks, including another Sieg at Fort Cherry.
1. Friday night lights still bright
After Friday night’s 19-3 win over Peters Township, Big Macs coach Mike Evans waxed poetic about the beauty of high school football in Western Pennsylvania.
Evans missed it last year, because he took a sabbatical while battling liver cancer, so he did his best to take it all in.
The big crowd, the lights, the bands and everything else that make fall Fridays special.
It’s not something we should take for granted.
Well over an hour before Friday’s game at Peters Township the lower lots were full, and cars were still filing in. The grandstands were packed on both sides of the field as people came to watch two local rivals do battle on a night with perfect weather.
It made for a wonderful atmosphere and a reminder that high school football is still great in Western Pennsylvania.
2. First wins
Carmichaels’ Ken Perkins and McGuffey’s Nate Parry have something in common. They both got their first win as a varsity football head coach Friday. Their path to getting there is very different.
Perkins is 1-for-1 as he made his debut as the Mikes’ coach Friday. It’s been a much longer time coming for Parry.
After two winless seasons Parry and his Highlanders were finally able to taste victory with a 35-7 win over Bentworth. McGuffey scored 28 unanswered points in the second half. Caleb Simons led McGuffey with 145 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Perkins and his Mikes had a joyous bus ride home from Armstrong County after a 20-13 win over Leechburg. Stephen Lewis’ 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sealed the win.
3. Quarterbacks shine
Several local quarterbacks had outstanding first games Friday and found themselves near the top of the stat lists in the WPIAL.
Monessen’s Kaier Payne threw for 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Charleroi.
Payne is a returning starter.
Several others made their varsity debuts.
California’s Brandon Meier made a fine first impression. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more scores in a 40-6 win against Mohawk. Meier took over for Logan Hartley who graduated.
Braedon Plasko took over for Drew Welhorsky at South Fayette and had a strong game. He was 14 of 18 passing for 165 yards and one touchdown. He scored another on a 50-yard run.
Trinity’s Owen Samogala attempted only nine passes, but completed six of them for 126 yards and two touchdowns and he scrambled for two more scores in the Hillers’ 34-12 win against Ringgold.
Samogala takes over for four-year starter Jonah Williamson, who’s now at Harvard.
Wash High’s Travon Moye had a solid night, passing for 100 yards and a touchdown in a 21-6 victory at Steel Valley. Moye, who replaced the graduated Tristan Reed, added a pair of touchdown runs.
Canon-McMillan’s Ty Jansma is a three-year starter and didn’t mind spreading the wealth among receivers Friday night. Jansma hit eight different targets and finished with 188 yards passing and a touchdown.
4. Sieg to Sieg
Speaking of quarterbacks who made their varsity debuts and shined, Fort Cherry freshman Colin Sieg threw for 145 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Rangers downed rival Chartiers-Houston 42-7.
Sieg wears the same number 3 that his brother Matt wore when he starred with the Rangers before heading to West Virginia, where he may play a prominent role this season as a freshman.
Outside of the same number Colin is hoping to have another thing in common with his brother.
Winning.
The Matt Sieg era with two WPIAL titles was one of the best in Fort Cherry history. Colin is 1-0 and off to a good start.
5. RIP Week Zero
It’s probably a trend that should have never happened, but when the WPIAL gave teams the option in 2015 to either have two scrimmages or an extra game: Week Zero was born.
Now it’s dead.
The WPIAL announced earlier this month that the first game of the season should be referred to as Week 1.
It’s probably how it should’ve been to begin with.
Staff writer Jerin Steele can be reached at jsteele@observer-reporter.com