Home WPIAL WPIAL 2017 Week 1 Games of the Week

WPIAL 2017 Week 1 Games of the Week

by Ian

The 2017 WPIAL season began last week with “Week 0” games. Those non-mandatory games counted for the overall record of teams that played but had no impact on playoff races or standings. This week, things kick into full gear and a number of Week 1 games will have significant playoff implications. A number of teams enter the season carrying long streaks and looking to either continue or change their narratives.

There were no repeat state champions from the WPIAL last season so the longest overall winning streaks belong to Steel Valley (15 games) and Beaver Falls (13 games). The longest winning streaks against WPIAL competition belong to Clairton (39 games), Thomas Jefferson (23 games), and Central Catholic (22 games). In the regular season, three teams have been absolutely dominant against conference opponents. South Fayette has the longest current winning streak in conference games at 42 in a row, dating back to 2011. Clairton (28 games) and Washington (24 games) both have not lost a regular season game to a conference opponent since 2013. The longest playoff streaks belongs to Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson who have made 22 consecutive postseason appearances. Woodland Hills is close behind them with 21 consecutive playoff berths.

On the flip side are teams looking to change their trends. Albert Gallatin won a game last year that broke a 31-game losing streak, the longest in the WPIAL. Entering 2017, Shaler and Waynesburg hold the longest active losing streaks at 13 games. Against conference competition, Mohawk currently holds the longest losing streak at 16 games, dating back to 2014. Last year, Imani Christian and OLSH made the first playoff appearances in school history. With Vincentian’s program folding, every school competing this year has made at least one playoff appearance in their history. The longest streak without a postseason appearance belongs to Southmoreland at 37 years. The 1979 playoff berth was the only time the Scotties have made the playoffs in school history. Other teams with a long wait have been Leechburg (1988, 28 years) and West Greene (1993, 23 years).

Earlier this week, we had a special edition of the Steel City Blitz Podcast to preview the WPIAL season. Additionally, I got together with five of the top WPIAL minds to give our season predictions.

As a reminder, if you’re going to be following along with the WPIAL action tonight, keep an eye on the following hashtags on Twitter where people post score updates from games:  #WPIAL #MSAscores #Skylights. I”ll also be posting score updates and commentary from my Twitter account @thesteelersnat.

The fine folks at the MSA Sports Network broadcast most WPIAL football games over the internet, here is their list of the games they will be broadcasting tonight.

6A Game of the Week

Mt. Lebanon (0-0, 1-0) at Pine-Richland (0-0, 1-0)
Pine-Richland is one of the favorites to reach Heinz Field and flexed their muscles last week in a dominant showing against Wayne (Ohio) on ESPN. The Rams dominated 41-0 with Notre Dame commit Phil Jurkovec throwing for 238 yards and 3 TDs. Jurkovec also rushed for 115 yards. Ray Falcone, Jordan Crawford, and Jason Defrancisis were on the receiving end of Jurkovec’s touchdown passes. Mt. Lebanon got a challenge from Fox Chapel last week. Two early turnovers put the Blue Devils behind 10-0 but they faught back to take a 20-10 halftime lead. Fox Chapel battled back in the second half to take a 27-26 lead before Mt Lebanon scored the game-winning touchdown with 41 seconds to go. Senior QB James Stocker did not play but Seth Morgan threw for 283 yards and 4 TDs. The star of the night for the Blue Devils was WR Aidan Cain who had 11 receptions for 227 yards and 3 TDs. This non-conference game will be a good early-season test for teams expected to finish at the top of their respective conferences.
Honorable Mention: North Allegheny at Bethel Park

5A Game of the Week

West Allegheny (0-0, 0-0) at Fox Chapel (0-0, 0-1)
Bob Palko’s Indians begin their defense of the WPIAL 5A title with a tough draw against Fox Chapel. West A did not play a Week 0 game and will look to seniors Willy Weber and Tyler Gallant to lead their rushing attack. Junior TE Mateo Vandamia had over 500 receiving yards last season. West A had the best defense in 5A last season and will need to rely on shutting teams down while their offense rounds into form with new players stepping into key roles. Fox Chapel played a Week 0 game against Mt. Lebanon and took the Blue Devils to the wire. Dual-threat QB Nick Gizzo threw for 145 yards and 1 TD and rushed for 100 yards and 1 TD last week. Micah Morris is a big bruising running back that is tough to bring down. Fox Chapel finished last season on a 5-0 run where they averaged 43 points per game. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to make up for their 0-5 start and they came up one game shy of the playoffs. If the Foxes want to get back to the postseason they will need to get off to a better start this season.
Honorable Mentions: McKeesport at Franklin Regional, Upper St Clair at North Hills

4A Game of the Week

Montour (0-0, 0-0) at New Castle (0-0, 0-1)
Two teams that went to the playoffs last year meet up in an important Week 1 game. After New Castle’s upset of South Fayette in the quarterfinals and subsequent run to the championship game, many see the Hurricanes as the top competition for South Fayette in the Northwest Nine Conference. Most of the hype surrounds senior WR/DB Marcus Hooker, the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts first round pick Malik Hooker. Marcus has committed to Ohio State to follow in his brother’s footsteps. New Castle was shut out 24-0 last week by Aliquippa as their offense struggled to get going. Montour is a team that is coming into the season flying under the radar. The Spartans have a stacked lineup led by dual-threat QB Kavon Mormon who accounted for over 1400 yards passing and rushing last season. Leading rusher Brayden Jones returns. Montour has one of the best WR tandems of any team not named Pine-Richland. Last year’s leading receiver Ronnie Stevenson is a Temple commit and they added transfer Brandon Lipford who was the leading receiver for West Allegheny last year. Both of these teams are playoff contenders and the winner will have the inside track to challenge South Fayette for the conference title.
Honorable Mention: South Fayette at Mars

3A Game of the Week

Beaver Falls (0-0, 0-0) at Aliquippa (0-0, 1-0)
Saturday
The WPIAL 3A season starts the same way it ended last season: with the rivalry game between Beaver Falls and Aliquippa. Last year, the Quips took the first meeting in Week 1. After that, Beaver Falls did not lose again and rattled off 13 straight victories (including one over Aliquippa in the WPIAL Championship) en route to the state title. Beaver Falls has lost a lot of talent from last year’s squad and Aliquippa is absolutely loaded. Senior QB/DB Kwantel Raines has numerous D1 offers including from Pitt, Penn St, WVU, and Florida. Raines and Eli Kosanovich split time at quarterback last season plus the Quips added William Gipson via transfer from Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. Avante McKenzie and Tariq Jones will be the primary backs in Aliquippa’s run-heavy offense but don’t sleep on WR MJ Devonshire who has offers from WVU, Syracuse, and Oregon State. Beaver Falls will need to break in a new quarterback quickly as senior Adam Brady takes the helm. Torian Leak scored 12 TDs last season and figures to be the primary back while Dayln Brickner is the top returning receiver. Last season, we saw that just 2 losses could be enough to cost a team a playoff spot in the competitive Beaver Valley Conference where every game is meaningful.
Honorable Mentions: Valley at Keystone Oaks, Seton-La Salle at Shady Side Academy

2A Game of the Week

Riverside (0-0, 0-0) at Steel Valley (0-0, 0-0)
The Panthers and Ironmen met twice last season in the opening week and in the playoffs. Steel Valley is the clear favorite to repeat as 2A Champions while Riverside is in the conversation for the Midwestern Conference title. This is a non-conference game between two high quality teams that could be a preview of a semifinals or possibly even the WPIAL Championship. Steel Valley defeated all 15 of their opponents by mercy rule last year, the first time in state history to accomplish that feat. Senior RB Najhier West figures to be the primary back. WR/CB Amonte Strothers has a number of D1 offers and junior LB Todd Hill is an anchor in the middle of the defense. Riverside was also strong defensively last season, holding all opponents not named “Steel Valley” to just 11 points per game. QB Ben Hughes threw for over 1000 yards as a freshman last year and returns top receiver Austin Dambach. Dambach also stars on the defensive side of the ball as a shutdown corner and has committed to Lehigh. The two-way battle between Dambach and Strothers will certainly be something to watch.
Honorable Mentions: Burgettstown at Frazier, Neshannock at CWNC

1A Game of the Week

Northgate (0-0, 0-0) at OLSH (0-0, 0-1)
Rochester is widely considered the favorite to win the Big Seven Conference, with these two teams the top challengers. The winner of this game will have the inside track to challenge the Rams for the top spot. Northgate reached the semi-finals last season and only missed out on the conference title because of a last-minute touchdown by Rochester. The Flames return leading rusher Surron Adams who had over 1100 yards and 24 TDs last season. OLSH made the playoffs for the first time in school history last year but lost their first game to Imani Christian. Junior QB Tyler Bradley threw for over 2000 yards and 20 TDs last season and put up 263 yards and 3 TDs in Week 0 against South Side Beaver. Richard Banks accounted for 116 receiving yards and 1 TD as the Chargers fell in their season opener.
Honorable Mentions: Avella at West Greene, Fort Cherry at California, Clairton at Bishop Canevin

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