Oct 10, 2024 5 min read

Fort Cherry defense.jpg

Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter

Fort Cherry’s Colton Temple (53) and Archie Shattuck combine to upend Cornell quarterback Mark Stuckey Jr. as the Rangers rolled to a 35-6 victory last week. Defense will be put to the test tonight when Fort Cherry plays Bishop Canevin in a key Class A game.

This is a difficult time for both high school football teams and coaches.

Though the playoff races are taking shape, it’s still too early for a crash course in tiebreakers and not wise to look at schedules and play the what-if game because sometimes those scheduled games aren’t played.

There are 13 games on the schedule tonight and almost all have playoff implications. One that does not – Beth-Center at Mapletown – has been moved to Monday because of an officials shortage. Another game – Thomas Jefferson at Ringgold – has been canceled because of “alleged incidents of misconduct,” according to a Ringgold School District news release issued Thursday.

The district did not say what those alleged incidents are, only that school officials are investigating.

“Given the serious nature of the alleged incidents that involve members of the football team, the District has made the difficult decision to cancel the football game on Oct. 11, 2024. We are continuing to gather information and will take all appropriate steps to address these allegations,” superintendent Randall Skrinjorich wrote in a letter sent to families of Ringgold students.

The WPIAL does not consider the game to be forfeited at this point, only postponed.

Thomas Jefferson leads the Class 4A Big Six Conference at 2-0 (7-0 overall). Ringgold is 0-2, 1-6.

Here are five things to watch in the games that will be played tonight:

1. Game of the Week – Fort Cherry (4-0, 7-0) and Bishop Canevin (3-0, 5-1) have been watching one another through video and newspaper reports all season, both expecting tonight’s game at Dormont Stadium will decide the Class A Black Hills Conference championship.

The Rangers and Crusaders are flashy teams with flashy offensive talent, so expect the winner to be determined by defense. Neither team had much success on that side of the ball last year when Fort Cherry beat Bishop Canevin, 48-41. Who wins the line of scrimmage and gets the better linebacker play – and maybe forces a turnover or two – will have the advantage.

Fort Cherry has Matt Sieg and wide receiver Shene Cornali has developed into a reliable threat in the passing game. Bishop Canevin quarterback Kole Olszewski has passed for 16 touchdowns and three Crusaders receivers are averaging better than 20 yards per catch. Running back Myontae Mott averages 10.8 yards per carry.

The only loss for these two teams was Bishop Canevin’s 21-14 setback against Seton LaSalle – and undefeated Class 2A team – back in August.

2. Playoff feel – The calendar shows that the WPIAL playoffs do not begin for another three weeks, but in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference every game has a playoff feel. That’s because four of the best teams in the classification reside in the conference and two of them, South Fayette and Peters Township, meet tonight in McMurray. Both teams are 1-1 in the conference and 6-1 overall. And both were undefeated until running into Upper St. Clair over the last two weeks.

While both the Lions and Indians are, barring a series of upsets, headed to the playoffs, this game is likely to give the winner an berth in the postseason as a top-3 finisher in the conference while the loser might have its fate decided by the WPIAL’s football committee, who will determine three wild cards in 5A. And you never want to have your fate decided by a committee.

Both teams have dynamic quarterbacks – Peters Township Nolan DiLucia (1,818 yards total offense) and SF’s Drew Welhorsky (2,104 yards total offense) – but each squad plays terrific defense. PT yields 9.2 points per game and South Fayette 9.4.

Special teams might make the difference here, and that’s where PT has an advantage, especially with its kick return units.

3. Tri-County conundrum – Who will finish in third place and garner the final playoff berth out of the Class A Tri-County South Conference? Currently, that spot is held by West Greene (3-1, 3-4) but Bentworth, Avella and Carmichaels are still in the hunt.

West Greene, coming off a come-from-behind win over Bentworth last week, hosts California (4-0, 5-2) tonight before playing at Carmichaels next week. The Mikes host Avella tonight.

California has running back Lee Qualk, who leads the WPIAL in rushing (1,345 yards) and scoring (146 points).

4. Home sweet home – Rarely does a team get three consecutive conference home games in the middle of the season but that’s what Waynesburg was given.

The Raiders (2-1, 4-3) are 1-1 in the first two games of the homestand and will play a key Class 2A Century Conference game tonight against Keystone Oaks (3-1, 3-3). A win here and Waynesburg will be in firm control of second place in the conference. A KO win will leave the Golden Eagles, Raiders and Washington (2-1, 4-3) brushing up on Gardner Points and tiebreaker points. Both KO and Wash High have games remaining against Seton LaSalle.

5. Streaking – Fort Cherry and Jefferson-Morgan (7-0) are two of 12 undefeated teams in the WPIAL. The Rangers have won 21 consecutive regular-season games and 21 in a row against WPIAL opponents. The Rockets are off to their best start since 1989 and have a dynamic quarterback in Houston Guesman and the area’s leading pas scatcher in Deakyn Dehoet (35 receptions, 13 touchdowns). The last team to beat J-M was Fort Cherry in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Jefferson-Morgan plays Bentworth (2-2, 4-3) tonight at Parker Field.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com