To move forward, McGuffey must shake off the past
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Christian Cipoletti makes a 33-yard touchdown catch last Friday night against Washington. The Highlanders begin the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs tonight at Laurel. Thirteen area teams will be in action tonight. Belle Vernon, the top seed in Class 4A, has the night off because of a first-round bye.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington's Tayshawn Levy speeds past McGuffey defenders during the century Conference game at Wash High Stadium last weekend. Washington will host New Brighton in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs Friday night.
As football coach at McGuffey High School, Ed Dalton must play the role of teacher, communicator and, sometimes, father figure.
This week, he added one more title: psychologist.
Somehow, he has to find a way to explain to his players how an official’s mistake allowed Washington quarterback Davoun Fuse credit for throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining in a 41-34 victory over McGuffey last Friday night.
Replays showed Fuse at least two yards past the line of scrimmage when he let go of the pass. The other problem the replay showed was the line judge moving downfield about five yards on the snap of the ball. The line judge is not supposed to move from his spot at the line of scrimmage in order to make the call on such a play.
“Also, remember the referee trails the ball,” said Dalton. “He might know where the line of scrimmage is too. We didn’t see a flag. He was two yards past the line of scrimmage.”
The no-call meant a loss by McGuffey to its arch-rival, an opportunity to tie for the Class 2A Century Conference title vanished and any chance for a home game in the playoffs probably vanished too, and a two-hour bus ride to Laurel, the Highlanders’ first-round opponent tonight. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
“We have a thing called Hudl Replay and we get to watch the play 20 seconds after it happens,” Dalton said. “In the championship game for the conference with one of the better-rated (officiating) crews in the WPIAL, you don’t anticipate they would miss a fundamental play like that. The officials wouldn’t talk to me. I kept saying, ‘Do you want to watch the replay? I have it on my phone.’ He said no.”
Dalton said he tells his players to remember the feeling before that play, when McGuffey scored to take a 34-33 lead.
“Maybe we would have gotten a home game, I don’t know,” Dalton said. “Laurel is really good. But our goal is not to win a playoff game anymore. Our goal is to win the WPIAL title. And you need to win three games to get to Heinz Field.”
A loss to Washington gave the Highlanders one of the longest road trips in the WPIAL playoffs for the first round. Don’t expect them to be cheery. Kyle Brookman leads a quartet of McGuffey runners who have amassed more than 1,500 yards.
Laurel running back Luke McCoy is second in the WPIAL, all classifications, in rushing with 1,604 yards. So expect the scoreboard clock to run.
In other games
Canon-McMillan at North Allegheny: For the Big Macs to pull an upset on the Tigers, they must depend on Ryan Angott and he’s had injury problems. Angott needs 217 rushing yards to reach 1,000. The Tigers depend on a stable of running backs and quarterback Logan Kushner, who needs 80 yards to reach 1,000.
Peters Township at North Hills: PT quarterback Sam Miller has 1,613 passing yards and Rich Woods has established himself as the lead back with 566 rushing yards. North Hills quarterback John Green needs 86 passing yards to reach 1,000.
Beth-Center at Steel Valley: B-C coach Tony Ruscitto got the Bulldogs into the playoffs with a 2-6 record. Steel Valley is the top-seeded team in Class 2A and touts the WPIAL’s leading rusher, Nijhay Burt, who has 1,812 yards. The Ironmen’s second-leading rusher, Cruce Brookins, has 842 yards.
New Brighton at Washington: Fresh from saving the day by beating McGuffey on the last play of the game, the Prexies can strike from any place on the field. New Brighton doesn’t run the ball well and quarterback Gabe Haddox isn’t going to see a faster secondary.
Mohawk at Chartiers-Houston: Any team from Wampum has to concern you. John Voss has passed for 1,311 yards and five Mohawk running backs have amassed 1,232 combined yards. Jordan Irson has been Mr. Clutch for C-H, rushing for 717 yards and Terry Fetsko, the head coach’s son, has 716 passing yards.
Springdale at West Greene: The Pioneers’ defense must keep track of do-everything Logan Dexter, who averages 22.2 yards per catch on 12 receptions, rushed for 571 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Springdale’s defense has to worry about tailback Colin Brady, who has rushed for 1,333 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. Quarterback Wes Whipkey is quietly having a super season, passing for 1,022 yards. Tight end Nate Orndoff is averaging 35 yards on 10 receptions.
Mapletown vs. Rochester at Freedom: Rochester has to be concerned with Mapletown running back Landan Stevenson, whose 1,579 rushing yards was third best in the WPIAL, all classifications. Stevenson also was second in the WPIAL in scoring with 27 touchdowns and 188 points. Will that be enough to give the Maples their first playoff victory in school history? Stay tuned.
Monessen vs. Cornell at West Allegheny: Coming off one of the lowest scoring games in the WPIAL season, a 14-6 win over Avella, the Greyhounds will need another strong defensive effort against Cornell’s running game of Raequan Troutman and Sincere Kimbrough.
California at Leechburg: California running back Damani Stafford is six yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards. Quarterback Hunter Assad has thrown for 1,040 yards. Leechburg quarterback Tommy Burke has 1,650 yards and 15 touchdowns. Running back Braylen Lovelace is a gamebreaker, having rushed for 1,313 yards and scored 26 touchdowns. Leechburg is the second-highest scoring team in the WPIAL and tops in Class A.
Burgettstown vs. Bishop Canevin at Canon-McMillan: Burgettstown started its playoffs last week in a game against Fort Cherry. It continues this week against Bishop Canevin, which has a top-flight passing game with quarterback Jason Cross.
Shenango at Carmichaels: Mikes quarterback Trenton Carter is one of only a handful of high school football players in WPIAL history to pass for 1,000 or more yards and rush for 1,000 or more yards in the same season. That’s sure to take up much of the time Shenango coaches need in breaking down the film. The coaches should also keep their collective eyes on Michael Stewart, who has 18 touchdowns and 139 points, fifth in the WPIAL. Shenango has the two-headed running game of CJ Hunter and Hunter Lively, who have combined for 1,240 yards.