Oct 22, 2015 13 min read

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Four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, six in the game and 502 passing yards – the stat line stands out, doesn’t it? Bentworth junior quarterback Josh Hughes did it last week to help the Bearcats defeat Mapletown and clinch the program’s first postseason berth since 2006.

It is the second-most passing yards in a game in WPIAL history and the most in Washington County. He is fifth in the WPIAL with 1,417 passing yards and has 19 touchdowns this season. Senior running back Ethan Tush has rushed for 992 yards and 13 scores.

It’s been an incredible run for Bentworth (6-1, 6-1), which lost its only game to Frazier, 10-3, and is averaging 40 points per game. If you told anyone that this success was coming, I don’t think they would have believed it.

Ron Skiles did. Maybe not to this degree, but Bentworth’s head coach saw the potential. It took a year of growing pains and plenty of development, but it’s paying off. The Bearcats have an offense that can beat you with the pass or run.

They sit in second place and have a big Tri-County South matchup next week against Beth-Center, but Bentworth’s Week 8 game Friday night is as big of a non-conference game as there is. They face perennial power Jeannette (6-1, 6-1), which was leading Clairton at halftime and has one of the top defenses in Class A.

The Jayhawks are led by Giovonne Sanders, who has passed for 981 yards and nine touchdowns. Running back Kareem Hall, the brother of former Ohio State standout Jordan Hall, has more than 800 total yards and 13 touchdowns for an offense that is averaging 38.9 points per game.

The matchup to watch: Hughes against Jeannette’s secondary. The unit has 14 interceptions, including six by Swade Redmond. Also, Bentworth’s offensive line is a bit undersized and will be outmanned up front.

Prediction: Jeannette wins

Now, let’s take a look at the rest of this week’s games.

The Big Macs haven’t won a conference game in three years (16-13 over Plum in 2012) and lost to Upper St. Clair, 48-21. Though it seemed like more of the same for the Big Macs, they continue to show signs of improvement.

Bryan Milligan scored two touchdowns – a 13-yard run and an 82-yard interception return – and Ahmad Morris-Walker caught a 10-yard touchdown pass. It was the first time since 2009 the Big Macs even scored a point against Upper St. Clair and the most since 2008, when C-M defeated Upper St. Clair, 28-27.

Baldwin, meanwhile, has lost five consecutive games, including last week against Peters Township.

Players to watch: Baldwin senior running back Nick Altavilla had seven catches for 149 yards and ran for a four-yard touchdown. Millgan has rushed for 831 yards and eight touchdowns.

Last season: Baldwin 28-21

Prediction: Canon-McMillan wins, but stopping the passing game will be the key.

Despite playing with a young roster because of injuries, the Indians defeated Baldwin behind Reagan Lawler’s 22-yard field goal and Nick Phelps’ four-yard touchdown run. The key for Peters Township was three interceptions. That will help any struggling offense.

Bethel Park defeated Penn Hills 41-31 last week and held the Indians to 129 rushing yards. In contrast, the Black Hawks ran for 258 with four different players having a rushing touchdown, including John Doleno, who ran for two.

Players to watch: Bethel Park quarterback Levi Metheny has completed 72 of 125 passes for 1,205 yards and 11 touchdowns. His success is making the Black Hawks’ offense difficult to stop. Peters Township running back Nick Phelps ran for 64 yards on 19 carries last week.

Last season: Bethel Park 41-14

Prediction: Same result. Bethel Park’s offense is too difficult to stop.

Everyone has heard about the penalty-fest between Ringgold and Laurel Highlands last week. Make of it what you will, but it might have been more frustration for anything. Luckily for the Rams, they have time to clean things up.

It begins this week. Sophomore Brenden Small takes over as the starting running back with Chacar Berry serving his mandatory one-game suspension. The one positive from last week is the Rams held Laurel Highlands to 150 total yards and now, they face the Warriors, who allowed 48 points per game in their four losses and more than 300 rushing yards per game.

Elizabeth Forward lost to West Mifflin, 47-6, last week and its three wins have come against opponents with a combined record of 1-20.

Players to watch: Elizabeth Forward’s Conor Hinchey has rushed 937 yards and eight touchdowns. Small is the player to watch for Ringgold. He has rushed for 449 yards and six touchdowns, but the most carries he’s had in a game is 11.

Last season: Ringgold 35-0

Prediction: Ringgold rolls to its seventh win

I’ll touch on this game briefly because it’s the top of my story in Friday’s edition of the Observer-Reporter, but when I saw the Titans against Ringgold, I was impressed with their ability to tackle in the open field and stop the run.

They’ll need to do the same this week against Trinity, which has two dynamic running backs -Dajour Hull and Joey Koroly – but that’s easier said than done. The one thing the Hillers have that Ringgold doesn’t: the biggest offensive line in the conference.

If Trinity wears down West Mifflin, it walks away with a win. It will also need to pass the football at times, so sophomore quarterback Dylan Kern will be tested.

Players to watch: Hull and Koroly. The two have been dominant the past two games and that will need to continue. West Mifflin senior quarterback Karlyn Garner has thrown for 320 yards and has ran for 563. He also has 18 total touchdowns.

“The quarterback is a stud. He’s just a great football player,” Trinity head coach Jon Miller said. “Him and (Laurel Highlands quarterback) Jimmy Pierce are probably the two most dynamic players in this conference. The kid can break it anywhere on the field. He has two running backs and they can do the same thing. He’s a challenge. We have to stop him and we have to stop their running game. If we do that, we force them into some things they’re not comfortable with.”

Last season: Trinity 31-13

Prediction: West Mifflin wins, but it’s very close. Most difficult game to pick this week.

The Lions carry a 39-game winning streak into their latest matchup with Seton-La Salle, which is averaging 42.7 points per game and its lone loss came against Steel Valley.

The Rebels have a host of playmakers, but the most notable is junior Paris Ford, who can do it all. The Pitt recruit has 26 catches for 514 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has three rushing touchdowns. In last week’s win over Valley, he had four total touchdowns, including a 56-yard interception return and an 89-yard kickoff return.

But he hasn’t faced a team like South Fayette yet this season. South Fayette has held opponents to seven points per game and has forced 13 turnovers. The Lions’ last home loss came Oct. 21, 2011 against Seton-La Salle, which was led by former head coach Greg Perry.

The Rebels will use a fast 3-4 defense to disrupt South Fayette quarterback Drew Saxton’s rhythm.

Players to watch: Ford and running back Lionel Deanes, who has 775 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. South Fayette running back Hunter Hayes has 12 touchdowns and 759 yards.

Last season: South Fayette 41-14

Prediction: South Fayette rolls again

Derry defeated Brownsville, 15-12, last week, despite allowing 234 rushing yards and once again, it struggled to produce much of an offense. The Trojans are averaging just 13 points per game and have not scored more than 29 points in a game this season.

They were held to just 151 total yards last week.

Burgettstown suffered a tough loss to McGuffey, where the Blue Devils stalled in the red zone three times and turned the ball over three times. Though the passing game struggled, running back Cole LaRocka ran for 74 yards.

Players to watch: Derry quarterback Trey Friedline has been one of the few standouts on offense, throwing a 67-yard touchdown last week. LaRocka can have success in this game and the Trojans will likely game plan to stop the Blue Devils’ passing game.

Last season: Burgettstown 13-8

Prediction: Burgettstown 23-13

The Highlanders had success running the football last week against Burgettstown. Quarterback Marcus Czulewicz had 167 yards with two touchdowns, Adam Townsend had 77 yards and Joey Townsend had 71. McGuffey’s offense is averaging 31.7 points per game.

That will continue this week against the Raiders, who allowed 221 rushing yards in their loss to Southmoreland last week. Waynesburg has lost back-to-back games, but its town losses came by an average of five points. Despite a young roster, the Raiders are competitive.

Players to watch: Czulewicz should have success throwing the football. Look for Waynesburg to stack the box. Waynesburg quarterback Colin McCracken ran for 117 yards and a touchdown in last week’s loss.

Last season: McGuffey 34-14

Prediction: McGuffey wins and builds momentum for its Week 9 match up with Washington

The Prexies defeated New Brighton 49-7 last week and senior quarterback Markel Pulliam had another big game. He had five touchdowns in three different ways – throwing two, running for one and returned an interception for a score.

Wash High is running the ball effectively with senior running backs Kurt Adkins and Jordan West having a combined 22 touchdowns, and the defense is dominant. The Prexies have allowed just 107.7 yards per game this season.

The Scotties are allowing 24.7 points per game and allowed more than 200 rushing yards against Waynesburg last week.

Players to watch: West. Flip a coin between him and Adkins. Either way, Wash High will have success running the ball. Southmoreland’s Jaden Datz had 152 rushing yards and a touchdown last week.

Last season: Wash High 41-7

Prediction: Wash High wins 42-0

The Cougars are allowing 46.9 points per game and have been outscored 109-8 the past few weeks. The problems aren’t limited to defense. Charleroi has not scored an offensive touchdown since the second quarter of its Week 4 loss to Burgettstown.

The Falcons lost their fourth straight game, but had success on offense against Derry, running for 234 yards.

Players to watch: Charleroi running back Brock Shannon should break the Cougars’ scoring slump. Brownsville running back Tryvon Brown had 114 yards and two touchdowns.

Last season: Charleroi 35-22

Prediction: Brownsville runs away with a win in the second half

The Rangers lost to Union, 20-13, and they are averaging less than nine points per game in their last three losses. Fort Cherry has lost five of its last six games and is have trouble finding its identity on offense.

Northgate is averaging 27 points per game and defeated Western Beaver, 41-8, last week. It has won three consecutive games and is in fifth place in the Black Hills Conference. If the Rangers win, they’ll force a win-and-get-in game against Chartiers-Houston next week.

Players to watch: Northgate quarterback Stefon Adams had thrown nine touchdowns, including six in the past two weeks. Fort Cherry quarterback Devon Brown has almost 900 passing yards and leads the team in touchdowns.

Last season: Northgate 36-34

Prediction: Northgate wins a close one

The Greyhounds must win to have a shot at the playoffs and are coming off a 42-14 loss to Jeannette, where they allowed 388 yards.

Clairton is averaging 58 points per game – the most in the WPIAL – and are led by quarterback Aaron Matthews, a Division I recruit with BCS offers. He has thrown for 1,416 yards and 19 touchdowns since converting from wide receiver last season.

The Bears have scored at least 44 points in every game this season.

Players to watch: Monessen quarterback/wide receiver Jaden Altomore helped the Greyhounds grab the lead against Jeannette with a touchdown pass to Demond Jordan. Keep an eye out for Matthews and Lamont Wade.

Last season: Clairton 60-0

Prediction: Clairton wins again. It’s amazing that Monessen ended the Bears’ winning streak two years ago with a 42-24 win.

The Eagles lost 48-6 to Beth-Center last week and are allowing 48.1 points per game. The Mikes surprised many by scoring 21 points against Frazier, but I want to point out that I wrote on the blog last week that they wouldn’t be shutout.

Carmichaels did allow 486 total yards, which is a concern heading into the final two weeks.

Players to watch: Avella quarterback Luke Lloyd is back and adds a different dimension to the Eagles’ offense. Carmichaels running back Shawn Dulaney had two touchdowns last week.

Last season: Avella 54-13

Prediction: Carmichaels pulls away with an improved defensive showing

The Bulldogs are averaging 39 points per game behind running back Tony Welsh, who has rushed for 1,266 yards and 20 touchdowns; but keep an eye on his status for this game. Five different players had rushing touchdowns for Beth-Center last week and the defense is much better than people think.

It will need that defense to stop the Rockets’ improved offense, which is having success running the ball.

Players to watch: Welsh on both sides of the ball. Jefferson-Morgan running back Joe Headlee has 808 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.

Last season: Beth-Center 62-0

Prediction: Beth-Center wins, but it’s much closer

The Maples allowed 502 passing yards and six touchdowns against Bentworth. They are allowing 31.4 points per game and are out of the playoff hunt.

California defeated West Greene 55-0 and led 35-0 at the half. Running back Jonathan Wood had 139 yards and a touchdown.

Players to watch: Mapletown running back Dylan Rush had 128 yards and two touchdowns. California quarterback TJ Troutman threw for three touchdowns last week and will have success against the Maples.

Last season: Mapletown 41-16

Prediction: Mapletown bounces back with a win

The Pioneers have scored just six points in their last three games and Frazier has allowed just 31 points all season. Quarterbacks Christopher Pierce and Hunter Patterson combined for 234 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Last season: Frazier 62-15

Prediction: Frazier gets the shutout

The more I researched this game, the more I wondered why no one is talking about Neshannock? If it was in Allegheny County, it would be receiving more hype. The Lancers are averaging 42 points per game behind a balanced attack.

Chartiers-Houston’s come-from-behind win over Brentwood last week put it in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot in the Black Hills, but this is its chance to get ready for the playoffs.

Players to watch: Neshannock quarterback Frank Antuono has gained 1,903 total yards and 26 touchdowns. Again, why aren’t we talking about him? Tyrone Wormsley is a dynamic playmaker for the Bucs.

Last season: Neshannock 49-14

Prediction: Neshannock wins again.