Sep 30, 2021 4 min read

Five things to watch and know tonight when the sixth weekend of high school football begins:

1. The lights will be out in Avella this week. That’s because COVID-19 arrived, eliminating Friday night’s game at California and all this week’s practices leading up to the game.

After contact tracing, the roster of Avella went from 17 healthy players to two.

According to the WPIAL, the game is being called a no-contest. Had the Eagles had at least 11 players eligible but refused to play, the game would have been ruled a forfeit and Avella would obtain a loss and California a win.

If it’s a no-contest, then another week might be used for a makeup game. If that is not possible, then the WPIAL will decide what happens for the playoffs.

California is 1-1 in the Tri-County South Conference and 3-1 overall. Avella is 0-2 in the conference and 0-5 overall.

California is looking for a game this week. Three possibilities exist, none a WPIAL team. Two teams from District 10 are possibilities and the other was from the Pittsburgh City League.

This is not the first time the virus has affected a local team. Chartiers-Houston had its Sept. 3 game with Riverview postponed because of COVID-19 at Riverview. It was a nonconference game and as of now has not been rescheduled.

Last week, the Class A Big Seven Conference game between Burgettstown and Rochester was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns at Burgettstown. Rochester was awarded a forfeit.

2. Whoever said success is fleeting, must have known about WPIAL football.

One week after his heroics against Thomas Jefferson, Belle Vernon quarterback Devin Whitlock will have another challenge: the Rodney Gallagher-quarterbacked Laurel Highlands Mustangs in the Class 4A Big Eight Conference.

Whitlock scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes on runs of 39 and 40 yards to stun Thomas Jefferson, 28-21, last week. Whitlock is near 1,000 total yards, 532 yards rushing and 444 passing.

Gallagher has passed for 570 yards and rushed for 471, 1,041 total. He has led the Mustangs to a 5-0 start, 2-0 in the conference. This is the first time LH has won five straight to start the season in school history.

Belle Vernon is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference.

3. Some of the top performances from last week’s games:

• Whitlock had 17 carries for 163 yards rushing and 44 yards passing with two touchdowns in the win over Thomas Jefferson.
• Damani Stafford finished with 208 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries in a 34-28 win over Mapletown in a Tri-County South Conference game.
• Mapletown running back Landan Stevenson carried the ball 30 times for 261 yards and scored three touchdowns.
• Landon Oslowski scored three touchdowns and kicked six extra points to help Ringgold crush Uniontown, 42-0, in a nonconference game.
• Mike Evans was nearly perfect, connecting on 8 of 9 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns, as Canon-McMillan rolled to a 61-7 victory over visiting Baldwin.
• Quarterback Trenton Carter threw for 77 yards and ran for 86 more in a 42-7 victory over Bentworth.

4. Game of the week: Peters Township at Upper St. Clair

Both teams lost to Mt. Lebanon early in the season. It was the only loss for Peters Township and one of three for Upper St. Clair but each to good teams.

Sam Miller quarterbacks the Indians’ vaunted passing game. He has 54 completions of 91 attempts for 648 yards and seven touchdowns.

Bryce Thompson and Jacob Macosco each have 12 pass receptions and Carter Shanafelt 11.

USC quarterback Brady Erdos has thrown for 540 yards but has been intercepted seven times.

This is the Alllegheny Six Conference opener for both teams.

5. Four local players are in the top 10 of the WPIAL (all classifications) in scoring.

Ringgold’s Landon Oslowski broke into the top 10 at No. 9 with 24 points against Uniontown. Trenton Carter of Carmichaels is eighth with 11 touchdowns and 66 points. Carter’s teammate, Michael Stewart, is fifth with 76 points.

And Mapletown’s Stevenson leads the WPIAL with 89 points, five points more than second place.