Another nail-biter for Trinity
Ringgold coach Matt Humbert walks the sideline during a game against the Greensburg Salem Golden Lions in September 2010.
Trinity head coach Ryan Coyle during the first quarter of last Friday’s game at Hiller Field
The Trinity High School football team could theoretically still make the playoffs as a wild card even if it loses tonight’s game at Ringgold, but that’s not exactly something that first-year coach Ryan Coyle is banking on. Or entertaining whatsoever. “I don’t want to hear about it,” Coyle said. “We need to make sure we take care of business (tonight).” If Trinity (4-3, 4-4) can’t take care of business, it would need Belle Vernon to lose to Albert Gallatin, which is 0-9 and has scored a total of 32 points the past seven weeks. And that’s for a shot at the wild card. Trinity can lock up the conference’s No. 3 seed with a win. “The difference is really tremendous,” Coyle said. “You go from possibly being a No. 9 or 10 seed to being the 16th-seeded team in Class AAA. “If you have that 16th seed, it’s not as though you can’t win, but it’s not something that you welcome.” Ringgold, which has already clinched a playoff spot, is playing for seeding and hoping to avoid a three-game losing streak heading into the postseason. The Rams (4-3, 4-4) can earn the conference’s No. 4 seed with a win, the No. 5 with a loss. “You don’t want to lose three straight going into the playoffs,” Ringgold coach Matt Humbert said. “I want to try and get some momentum behind us going into next week, because you know the competition will be good.” Look at Trinity and Ringgold, and there are a shocking number of similarities. Both have young head coaches; Coyle is 26, Humbert 28. Both also have talented running backs, with Trinity relying heavily on Patrick Frey (752 yards, nine touchdowns) and Ringgold featuring Demetrius Louis (765 yards, nine touchdowns). Those backs have been been banged up, too. Frey suffered an upper-body injury during the second half of last week’s 35-7 loss to West Mifflin, though Coyle insists “he’s fine” and will start against Ringgold. Louis suffered hamstring and groin injuries Sept. 14 against Belle Vernon but didn’t come out of the lineup until two weeks later against West Mifflin. He missed the next week’s game at Albert Gallatin and played sparingly during losses at Elizabeth Forward and Highlands. Of Louis’ 765 yards, 699 of them came in the first four weeks. All nine touchdowns came during that stretch, too. “This is the first week where he’s actually had a full week of practice since the West Mifflin week,” Humbert said. “He looked good, so hopefully he can do what we need him to do what we need him to do [tonight].” Another similarity between the teams is having versatile players in Trinity’s Corey Hunsberger and Ringgold’s Joey Wall. Hunsberger, who also punts, has scored twice on runs, three times on receptions and has added four touchdowns on defense or special teams. Wall, meanwhile, has four rushing touchdowns, two receiving scores and has found the end zone four times on defense or special teams. Neither Ringgold nor Trinity throws a ton, either. Ringgold has ushered in sophomore Nico Law, who is the younger brother of former Rams star Quad Law. The younger Law has completed 34 of 71 passes for 493 yards and three touchdowns through the air while adding 453 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Trinity has a first-year starter in Don McWreath (23 of 62, 455 yards, four touchdowns), but last year’s starter, Jason Vankirk, has returned after suffering a nasty head/neck injury during training camp. “I know what a big game this is,” Hunsberger said. “I love playing with all these guys, and I don’t want the season to end. I’m going to do everything I can within the game plan that we have for the week – every time I get the ball, every time I’m on defense – to help us win.”
South Allegheny (6-1, 7-1) at South Fayette (7-0, 8-0), Friday, 7 p.m. – The Lions play a team with a winning overall record for just the second time all year, with a chance to win the Class AA Century Conference title outright. The Gladiators lost to Seton-La Salle, 35-0, in Week 1, the same team South Fayette beat by 39 in Week 5. Wide receiver Zach Challingsworth needs 139 yards to reach 1,000 for the season, quarterback Brett Brumbaugh 56 for 2,000. Peters Township (3-4, 4-4) at Canon-McMillan (1-6, 1-7), Friday, 7:30 p.m. – The Indians need a win to ensure the No. 5 spot in the Class AAAA Southeastern Conference and a trip to the postseason. No doubt the Big Macs, who can’t make the playoffs, wouldn’t mind playing spoiler against their rival here, though the Indians could lose and still make the postseason with one wild card spot available. Waynesburg (1-6, 1-7) at Washington (7-0, 8-0), Friday, 7 p.m. – Will this game be competitive? Likely not. But two things to watch: The Prexies will try to complete their first undefeated regular season since 2001, and Shai McKenzie has a chance to win the WPIAL rushing title. He’s currently in first place, 35 yards ahead of West Mifflin’s Jimmy Wheeler and 43 in front of Burrell’s Cole Bush. Keystone Oaks (1-6, 1-7) at Burgettstown (0-7, 0-8), Friday, 7 p.m. – This is the first Friday night game for the Blue Devils in two years after the light poles at Hill Memorial Stadium had to be taken down as a safety precaution. A $61,000 fundraising effort has the Blue Devils in position to end their season on a positive note.