Five things we learned in Week 4
Each week we will look back at the highlights of the week that was in local high school football. There was a record-breaking night at Fort Cherry, a statement win by California and some outstanding individual performances.
Record-breaking Sieg: A couple weeks ago Sieg broke a school record and now he has his first WPIAL record with another one likely to come.
He needed three touchdowns and got three to surpass Clairton’s Lamont Wade and Tyler Boyd for most career touchdowns scored at 118. It was another magical night for Sieg and the Rangers, who ran their WPIAL winning streak to 26 with a 55-6 victory over Monessen in a matchup of previously unbeaten teams. Sieg finished with 152 yards rushing.
Next on Sieg’s WPIAL record list is total yardage. He’s 348 yards away from surpassing Sto-Rox’s Lenny Williams for the most all-time. Williams’ record is 11,558 yards. Sieg, a Penn State recruit, will look to put a dent in it or even break it next week when Fort Cherry hosts Burgettstown.
Statement made by California: The previous two games, a blown lead in a loss to Waynesburg and a late comeback for an 8-7 win over Bentworth, were shaky for the California Trojans, but they left no doubt Friday night in Avella.
California was dominant from start to finish and cruised past the previously unbeaten Eagles, 42-0. The Trojans did so on the road against an Eagles defense that had allowed 24 points all season.
Chas Shemansky scored two touchdowns, Malachai Peak and Landon Abercrobie had one and Logan Hartley hit Aidin Keys on a 67-yard touchdown pass all in the first half.
It’s starting to look a lot like last year in the Tri-County South. Jefferson-Morgan and California are the only two teams with unbeaten conference records at 2-0 after two weeks. The Rockets rolled to a 33-0 win over Carmichaels.
Running wild: Bentworth’s Ben Hays, West Greene’s Joel Rizor and Peters Township’s Cole Neupaver all had big nights on the ground.
Hays ran for 261 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-7 win for the Bearcats over Beth-Center. He is second in the WPIAL in rushing with 941 yards. Only Leechburg’s Tim Andrasy (1,039 yards) has more.
Rizor is West Greene’s quarterback, but he was effective running the ball Friday, racking up 168 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-0 victory over Mapletown. He also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Matt Wassil.
Neupaver rolled up 166 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 28-0 win against West Allegheny.
Williamson and DiLucia deliver: Trinity’s Jonah Williamson (Harvard) and Peters Township’s Nolan DiLucia (Villanova) showed why they are future Division I quarterbacks on Friday.
DiLucia threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns adding to an impressive early season total. He’s third in the WPIAL in passing yards with 1,137 behind only Ethan Hellmann of Upper St. Clair, who he’ll face off against Friday and North Catholic’s Joey Felitsky.
Williamson did everything he could to keep the Hillers in it against Bethel Park, but they lost 51-35. He rushed for two touchdowns of four and three yards and threw for three more, finishing the night 14 of 19 for 178 yards.
The unbeatens: The three unbeaten teams that are left are the three that went the longest without a loss last year: Peters Township, Jefferson-Morgan and Fort Cherry.
Peters Township’s only loss in the regular season last year was against Upper St. Clair. The two teams face off Friday. The Indians beat the Panthers in the Class 5A semifinals last year, so it’ll be the third meeting in two years.
Fort Cherry did not lose until the state semifinals, a 46-8 loss to Port Allegany. Jefferson-Morgan went through the regular season unbeaten last year, but lost to South Side Beaver 39-30 in the first round of the playoffs.