Oct 19, 2015 7 min read

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With its back against the wall, McGuffey responded Friday night with a win over Burgettstown. The Highlanders’ defense had clutch stops with their own 20-yard line, forced three turnovers and showed an ability to get after the quarterback.

Here’s a breakdown on what surprised me and what stood out:

• Instead of coming out throwing the football, Burgettstown ran on five of its first seven plays with the first throw being a five-yard swing pass from Brad McLaughlin to Jacob Shipley. By then, the Blue Devils already trailed 14-0.

The strategy began to make more sense in the second half when running back Cole LaRocka began to diplay big play ability. He finished with 74 yards on 15 carries and helped the Blue Devils (3-3, 3-4) convert three first downs. In Burgettstown’s three trips to the red zone, LaRocka touched the ball only once; gaining four yards. Against heavy pressure inside the Highlanders’ 20, McLaughlin completed just 2 of 7 passes for 19 yards. It wasn’t his fault, either. He had very little time to throw and there were a few dropped passes, including one in the back-left corner of the end zone that would have been a touchdown.

I’m curious to see if the Blue Devils turn to LaRocka more in Week 8 against Derry, which will determine the final playoff spot in the conference.

• McGuffey (4-2, 5-2) can score quickly. It gained 93 yards and scored two touchdowns on its first three offensive plays and had five plays of 25 or more yards. Much of that has to do with the Highlanders’ weapons.

Quarterback Marcus Czulewicz is smart on the read option and is very difficult to wrap up. At the same time, defenses have to account for the speed of Joey Townsend and Shaun Sanders, who are deadly on sweeps.

Townsend gained 71 yards and scored a 49-yard touchdown on a sweep left early in the first quarter. Sanders, meanwhile, was used sparingly on sweeps, but is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the football.

Sanders also blocked a field goal and had a key fourth-quarter interception. It all happened after he sat out a series on defense in the second quarter following a facemask penalty that gave Burgettstown a first down.

“When he’s focused, there’s no better player in the whole league,” McGuffey head coach Ed Dalton said of Sanders. “I understand him because he’s me. When he keeps his focus and doesn’t get quite as emotional, he’s a good player and a big play guy. Our senior skill guys, we think we match just about everybody.”

I was also impressed with the improvement of running back Adam Townsend, who gained 80 yards on 21 carries. The Highlanders’ line is young, but did a nice job helping the running game improve. The only issue was holding penalties.

• The 31-7 final score is a bit deceptive, but that’s because McGuffey’s defense made stops when it had to. Nick Haynes had an interception at the 1-yard line 21 second before halftime after two dropped passes by Burgettstown receivers.

The Blue Devils were able to move the ball at times, but they could not handle the Highlanders’ blitz inside the 20-yard line. The secondary switched to man coverage and McLaughlin was immediately pressured when he snapped the ball. Defensive backs are probably the strength of the defense, but the line and linebackers are better than people give them credit for.

“I just think we were off a little bit,” Burgettstown head coach Mark Druga said. “We dropped a few passes early on down at the goal line and unfortunately, we knew what McGuffey was going to do and they did a nice job. They slowed us down and stopped us when we needed to.”

• McGuffey got a much-needed win after a surprising loss to Derry. It was a great atmosphere for the final home game and the Highlanders delivered.

It will be a big momentum boost for the final two weeks of the season, but they’ll face an improving Waynesburg team this week before finishing up at Washington.

A win on Friday will guarantee them a spot in the playoffs and I doubt many teams want to face McGuffey in the first round.

Another week and another incredible performance by a Bentworth player on offense. Junior quarterback Josh Hughes completed 22 of 30 passes for 502 yards and six touchdowns, including four in the fourth quarter, to help the Bearcats defeat Mapletown 42-14.

You read that right.

It helped Bentworth (6-1, 6-1) clinch its first WPIAL playoff berth since 2006. Noah Peternel finished with seven receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and Ty Mitchell had eight catches for 158 yards and two scores.

The Bearcats have beaten opponents with both offense and defense. Now, they face Jeannette in a non-conference game. I’m excited to see where they stand against a perennial power.

Chartiers-Houston pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win over Brentwood to move into sole possession of fourth place in the Black Hills Conference.

The Bucs overcame another slow start, but their defense has been tremendous in the second half of games and the offense has been explosive at times. You saw that with a 98-yard touchdown pass from TJ Johnston to Tyrone Wormsley in the fourth quarter.

Running back Spencer Terling scored the game-winning 1-yard touchdown and finished with 107 yards on 19 carries. Johnston completed 10 of 21 passes for 189 yards. Wormsley caught four passes for 145 yards.

It was a memorable performance and the Bucs look like their headed for the second consecutive season and I doubt they’d have to face the top seed like they did last year.

After mental mistakes cost the Rams in their loss to Belle Vernon, I thought they would play a clean, mistake-free game against Laurel Highlanders. I even wrote it in my preview blog post last week.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Ringgold pulled away in the second half because Laurel Highlands almost made plenty of mistakes. The Mustangs were penalized eight times for 95 yards.

Rams senior running back Chacar Berry will be ineligible to play Friday against Elizabeth Forward after being ejected. Ringgold has depth to account for him sitting out, but the game revealed a troubling trend.

Penalties have been an issue for the Rams all season and if they want to return to the WPIAL semifinals or go further, that will have to be corrected. It’s very difficult to win in the playoffs with mistakes like that. Ringgold has enough talent to contend for the WPIAL title, but its biggest deterrent could be itself.

“We were fortunate to win, played totally undisciplined,” Ringgold head coach Nick Milchovich told the Observer-Reporter. “I’m very disappointed. I understand we won the game. Their offense frustrates you … but we have to play with better composure. I’m very disappointed. I don’t want to bad-mouth officials. That’s not why it was a tight game.”

1. Hughes. How can you not give the nod to a kid who threw six touchdown passes and helped his team into the WPIAL playoffs? Great showing. The junior has established himself as the best quarterback in the conference.

2. McGuffey quarterback Marcus Czulewicz. He’s incredibly tough to stop in the read. Ran for 167 yards with two touchdowns. He only attempted four passes, but is very capable of throwing it. The Highlanders needed this performance badly and he delivered.

3. Trinity sophomore running back Joey Koroly. Sure, it was against Yough, which has struggled against the run all season, but Koroly ran for 234 yards and four touchdowns. In the bigger picture, he kept the Hillers in the playoff picture. If his name is on this list next week, Trinity is in the playoffs.

Others receiving votes: Wash High quarterback Markel Pulliam, Wash High running back Jordan West, Wormsley, Ringgold’s Dalton Holt.