5 things to watch: Black Friday is for football
After a hearty Thanksgiving meal, many folks will take a rest and get ready to beat the lines for early Black Friday deals.
In Washington County, however, sports fans will be resting up before heading to Acrisure Stadium or making the drive north on Interstate 79 to the Hagerty Events Center in Erie for high school football playoff action.
Two area teams will be attempting to win a WPIAL championships, as Fort Cherry (13-0) looks for its first title, in the Class A game against South Side Beaver (13-0), and Belle Vernon (10-1) is seeking its third overall championship and back-to-back titles in the Class 3A contest against Avonworth (12-0).
Peters Township (13-0) won its first WPIAL championship last Saturday in a 43-17 victory over defending champion Pine-Richland in the Class 5A title game. The Indians look to accomplish another first tonight in advancing to the state semifinals when they play Cathedral Prep (7-3) in Erie.
Here are five things to look out for in today’s action:
1. Can the Rangers make history? Fort Cherry enters this morning’s game against South Side Beaver undefeated. The Rams come in at 13-0 as well, so someone will have their first loss, and also see a great season come to a close. The Rangers lost the last two times they played for a WPIAL title.
Fort Cherry features one of the top players in the WPIAL, regardless of classification, in sophomore quarterback Matt Seig, who has rushed for 1,785 yards and passed for 1,338. Seig has thrown 18 touchdown passes and ran for 33 scores.
While Seig’s abilities are duly noted, the Rangers have a second 1,000-yard rusher in Ethan Faletto, who has 1,020 yards and 16 touchdowns. Seig’s favorite target is Shane Cornali, who has 24 catches for 488 yards and six touchdowns, but Evan Rogers leads the team in touchdown receptions with seven.
South Side features a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Ryan Navarra (1,301) and A.C. Corfield (1,037), and quarterback Brody Almashy has thrown for 958 yards and showed he can run, as he comes into the game with 620 rushing yards.
Both teams can put up the points with the Rangers coming in at 45.6 per contest and the Rams at 43.1, but the defenses have also been stellar with South Side allowing 8.7 points per game and Fort Cherry 11.2.
This game may be the first of four on the docket at Acrisure Stadium with an 11 a.m. kickoff, but it could be the most exciting.
2. Twice as nice: Belle Vernon defeated Avonworth, 24-7, last year for its second district gold and finished the job two weeks later in winning the program’s first state championship.
The top-seeded Leopards’ lone loss this season was to Thomas Jefferson on Sept. 22 in a game Belle Vernon led until three minutes were left.
The Antelopes (12-0) haven’t played a team like the Leopards, who have two Division I recruits in Quinton Martin (Penn State) and Braden Laux (Eastern Michigan).
Martin and Laux lead the offense, but other players have contributed, and Belle Vernon’s defense ranks among the best in Class 3A, allowing 9.7 points per game. The Leopards’ ability to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball could prove to be the difference.
Avonworth’s defense is No. 2 in points allowed per game at 13.3. The Antelopes are led offensively by sophomore quarterback Carson Bellinger, who has thrown for over 1,500 yards, and running backs Andrew Kuban and Dimitri Valisaris, who have combined for more than 1,400 rushing.
Kuban was on last year’s team as a junior, but Valisaris is a freshman.
Kickoff is 5 p.m.
3. Peters Township seeks final four: The Indians bring a 13-0 mark into their quarterfinal game in the PIAA Class 5A playoffs against the District 10 champions. Cathedral Prep has three losses but all were in non-conference games. The Ramblers are on a five-game winning streak.
Peters Township leads all WPIAL classifications in scoring defense, allowing only 7.6 points per game, but the Indians’ offense is potent, as it scores 40.3 points per contest with sophomore quarterback Nolan DiLucia guiding the offense.
Vinny Sarcone and Preston Blair provide a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield and Carter Shanafelt is a reliable wide receiver for DiLucia.
Cathedral Prep’s offense is paced by senior running back Suhtaun Lewis.
Kickoff is 7 p.m.
4. Short or long trip: Fort Cherry and Belle Vernon will be headed to Acrisure Stadium as the WPIAL championships in Classes A, 2A, 3A and 4A are contested at the home of the Steelers and Pitt, while Peters Township makes the trip up north where its bus will stop just minutes before reaching Lake Erie.
The Rangers only have to travel roughly half-an-hour to reach their destination, which should be followed by a long line of supporters.
Belle Vernon has about a 40-minute drive to the former Heinz Field.
Peters Township will have a bus ride of about 2 hours and 15 minutes.
5. A win and what happens next: If Fort Cherry, Belle Vernon and Peters Township win today, then what?
For Fort Cherry, a win sets up a game in the PIAA semifinals next weekend against either District 10 champion Cambridge Springs (12-1) or District 9 winner Redbank Valley (11-1).
A Belle Vernon win moves the Leopards into the state semifinals against either District 6 champion Central (12-0) or District 10 champ Hickory (10-2) who play tonight in Altoona.
The Peters Township-Cathedral Prep survivor plays the District 3 champion, either Ephrata (12-1) or Cocalico (11-1).