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5 Things: History made in Week One

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If fans didn’t become completely absorbed with high school football in Week Zero, then last Friday night should have done the trick.

As football officially returned – high school and college – for all local teams, the brisk air and cold temperatures that brought out hoodies and jackets made it seem like we were at midseason.

While some teams put impressive numbers on the scoreboard, others were colder than the October-like conditions of Week 1.

Here is what we learned Friday night:

It’s been a long time coming for Canon-McMillan and Peters Township.

When West Greene is added into the mix, it’s the first time.

For the first time in history, Canon-McMillan, Peters Township and West Greene are each 2-0 to start a football season.

The Big Macs earned a last-second 33-28 win over Hempfield, PT came out ahead in a close call against Seneca Valley, 13-8, and the Pioneers rolled to victory over Avella, 53-7.

It was the first time C-M has won the first two games of a season since 2003. For Peters Township, it’s been nearly 10 years.

The two most impressive teams in the Tri-County South thus far have been California and West Greene.

The Trojans and Pioneers have combined to outscore their opponents 215-26.

What makes those offenses so dangerous? The simple answer is diversity.

Unlike several teams in the conference, where one player might be the showcase of the offense, West Greene and California have multiple pieces that make it difficult for opponents to defend.

There aren’t any signs of slowing down in Week 2, when California travels to Avella and West Greene heads to Mapletown.

The viewpoint Mapletown head coach George Messich should take into every game is that as long as Dylan Rush is in the backfield, then he should hand him the ball.

That’s been the approach Mapletown took last year when Rush had over 300 carries. After the touches he has seen in the first two weeks it looks to be the plan this season.

The senior running back was his normal self Friday night, when he ran for 318 yards and six touchdowns in the Maples 42-14 win over Cornell.

Breaking off touchdown runs of five, 32, 19, 12, 69 and 43 yards, Rush carried the ball 37 times in Mapletown’s first win of the season.

But Rush had company.

Washington senior running back Nick Welsh finished with 310 yards against Century Conference opponent Charleroi in a 36-8 win.

The amazing part about Welsh’s total was that he achieved it on only 18 carries.

Now, with the starting spot in the Prexies’ backfield being held by Welsh, expect him to make it a habit of racking up a lot of yardage behind the burly offensive line at Wash High.

I was one of the two people in the Observer-Reporter’s Pick the Winners to go against Beth-Center this past week when they welcomed Class 3A opponent Yough to Fredericktown.

The Bulldogs proved me wrong.

It wasn’t just winning the game that impressed me, but how Beth-Center was able to become 2-0 after a 21-6 win.

Dominic Fundy eclipsed the 100-yard mark again, and the Bulldogs defense dominated, only giving up a late, meaningless touchdown to Yough’s Ryan Shoaf.

What makes it even more impressive is Beth-Center has stopped two different offenses, scoring enough points to defeat a pass-happy, spread offense in Sto-Rox and a more run-oriented team in Yough.

For years, the quarterback position at South Fayette was held by a Brumbaugh.

When the last of that lineage graduated, nobody really knew what the future would hold for the Lions without a name that was constantly associated with the success.

That was until Drew Saxton took over and he hasn’t looked back.

Saxton continues to impress against quality competition, completing 20 of 29 passes for 262 yards in South Fayette’s 30-6 win over Northwest Nine Conference contender Mars in Week 1.

Looking smooth inside and out of the pocket, Saxton rarely gets rattled and can make every throw necessary to lead South Fayette to another undefeated regular season.

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

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