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5 things we learned from Week 7 of the high school football season

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There are only so many opportunities for teams to have season-defining wins.

Certain victories can change a season or, to some extent, change an entire program.

We saw several such wins this past Friday night.

Here are five things we learned from the high school football weekend:

1. Joining the fun

When Fort Cherry and West Greene each clinched playoff berths Friday, it might have have brought a sigh of relief to both teams.

West Greene last made the WPIAL playoffs in 1993. The football team has watched the Pioneers’ other sports teams have tremendous success over the past few years while it remained near the bottom of the Tri-County South Conference.

Not anymore.

Quarterback Zack Pettit, running back Ben Jackson and a big line makes the Pioneers’ offense hard to stop.

If there was any local team that was rebuilding this year it was Fort Cherry. The Rangers did return senior quarterback Ryhan Culberson, who has done a little of everything – run, pass, return kicks – but the Rangers were hit hard by graduation last spring and had a major rebuilding task.

The Rangers have rebuilt those positions and not only secured a playoff spot but are looking to finish as high as second place in the Tri-County South Conference for the second year in a row. The Rangers have a key home game Friday against Carmichaels, with the winner securing a home playoff game.

2. California states its case

If California had not cemented its spot among the top two teams in Class A, then the Trojans’ 38-6 win Friday over Rochester should have.

There is no other way to say it, the Trojans are a very good football team, both offensively and defensively.

California (5-0, 8-0) has scored at least 38 points in every game.

The Trojans are the only WPIAL team – in all six classifications – to have scored more than 400 points.

Their average margin of victory is nearly 47 points per game.

They have beaten four teams – from three different conferences – that have records of 5-2 or better. And each of those wins was by at least 15 points.

The Tri-County South Conference has had a rough time in the playoffs for years. It’s time for that to change and California should be leading the way.

3. QBs create nightmares

If there was a fantasy football draft for local high school teams there is no question the thinnest position would be quarterback.

But if a team has a good one, then that’s the first step to a successful season.

That has shined through every week for Charleroi and South Fayette, especially this past Friday.

In a 37-14 upset victory over previously undefeated Burgettstown (5-1, 6-1), Charleroi quarterback Geno Pellegrini completed 15 of 23 passes for 369 yards and five touchdowns. Pellegrini passed for more touchdowns against the Blue Devils than their six previous opponents had scored. He didn’t have an incompletion in the first half, completing all 12 passes for 256 yards.

A 23-point win isn’t just a good win for Charleroi, it’s a statement that the Cougars shouldn’t be overlooked come playoff time.

A small workload for South Fayette senior quarterback Drew Saxton has been the new norm with the Lions (6-0, 8-0), who often are blowing out opponents before the first half ends. Saxton threw only six passes in South Fayette’s 62-14 playoff-clinching win over Indiana, but four of those went for touchdowns.

Saxton has been the model of consistency for head coach Joe Rossi and the Lions, making them the team to beat in Class 4A.

4. Chink in the armor

I can guarantee Burgettstown head coach Mark Druga wasn’t envisioning having to get his team to regroup this week for a game against rival Washington.

The Blue Devils had looked – until Friday at Charleroi – almost unbeatable with an offense averaging more than 40 points per game and a defense surrendering less than six points each week.

The loss to the Cougars doesn’t ruin Burgettstown’s season.

It does, however, show how the Blue Devils can be beaten on defense.

Burgettstown could still be playing for a share of the conference championship when it hosts the Prexies at Hill Memorial Stadium Friday night. If the Blue Devils beat Washington, the Century Conference champion will most likely be determined by the WPIAL’s tiebreaker system.

5. Turnovers make a difference

Not many people outside of Belle Vernon expected the Leopards to defeat powerful Thomas Jefferson when they met in a battle of Big Nine Conference unbeatens Friday night.

The Leopards, however, had faith in themselves and shocked the conference, and the WPIAL, with a 21-17 victory.

No one needed to have faith in the Leopards other than themselves.

Belle Vernon (7-0, 7-0) flipped the script on TJ, which entered the game with a defense that had forced 11 interceptions.

Belle Vernon opportunistic defense created four turnovers and sophomore quarterback Jared Hartman protecting the football was the difference.

You hear NFL coaches talk each week about protecting the football and winning the turnover battle. Those things, as Belle Vernon proved, are just as important on Friday nights as they are on Sunday afternoons.

Staff writer Luke Campbell can be reached at lcampbell@observer-reporter.com.

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