Week 5 of WPIAL football brought some surprising results. Starting in 6A with Mt. Lebanon topping Central Catholic (never doubt Bob Palko) and going all the way down to 1A with Fort Cherry beating Rochester. A number of playoff races got thrown into disarray this week with upsets and close games.
Class 6A
Mt. Lebanon 37, Central Catholic 30 – After a hard-fought loss to North Allegheny last week, Mt. Lebanon topped Central Catholic in a shootout to get the win they needed to get back into the thick of the 6A playoff race.
Seneca Valley 31, Canon-McMillan 17 – In an important game in the middle of the conference, Seneca Valley beat Canon-Mac.
North Allegheny 49, Norwin 13 – Khalil Dinkins scored four times to North Allegheny – twice on the ground and twice through the air – to lead the Tigers to victory.
Baldwin 37, Hempfield 34 – After losing to Norwin last week, Baldwin bounced back with three TD passes from Colton Brian (including two to CJ Robbins).
Class 5A
South Fayette 23, Bethel Park 7
Upper St Clair 37, West Allegheny 27 – Upper St Clair was in control for most of the night, building their lead to 34-13 by the end of the third quarter but West Allegheny battled back in the fourth to make it close.
Woodland Hills 32, Franklin Regional 13 – Woody High won the battle of the two teams in the middle of the Big East Conference standings.
Latrobe 29, Connellsville 26 – In a back-and-forth game, Latrobe emerged victorious with a defensive stop at the goal line at the end of regulation.
Pine-Richland 61, Shaler 14 – The Rams looked the part of the best team in 5A.
Penn Hills 14, North Hills 7 – This game was tied at 7 nearly all night before Penn Hills scored late in the 4th quarter to get the victory and stay in the playoff hunt.
Fox Chapel 28, Kiski 24 – Fox Chapel fought off a valiant comeback attempt from Kiski to get their second win of the season.
Class 4A
Aliquippa 35, Chartiers Valley 6 – Vernon Redd scored 3 times as the Quips staked their claim to the top spot in the Parkway Conference
Montour 34, Blackhawk 8 – Montour got a big win on the road to get themselves back into the playoff race.
Thomas Jefferson 58, Laurel Highlands 0 – Another big win for Thomas Jefferson keeps the Jaguars securely atop the Big Eight Conference.
Belle Vernon 56, Ringgold 0 – Another shutout victory for Belle Vernon. The only team to score against the Leopards defense this season has been Thomas Jefferson. Devin Whitlock scored 3 rushing TDs and on a 105-yard pick-six.
McKeesport 12, West Mifflin 7 – Terrance Glenn ran for 122 yards but the difference we two field goals by Milton Campos to give the Tigers the victory.
Plum 20, Hampton 7 – In a battle of teams who are both having their best season since 2015, Plum topped Hampton to stay atop the Greater Allegheny Conference.
Mars 48, Knoch 13 – The Fightin’ Planets got a victory over neighboring rival Knoch.
Armstrong 40, Greensburg Salem 0 – Another big game
Highlands 48, Indiana 14 – After losses to Mars, Hampton, and Plum, Highlands got a bounce-back victory over Indiana.
Class 3A
Central Valley 65, Keystone Oaks 20 – A commanding performance on both sides of the ball from Central Valley to put themselves alone atop the Northwest Six Conference. The Warriors are the best 3A team in the state. Full stop.
Avonworth 48, Ambridge 6 – Avonworth bounced back from their loss to Keystone Oaks last weeks to throttle Ambridge in a battle of Rte 65 teams.
Hopewell 47, Quaker Valley 0
Burrell 44, Deer Lakes 6 – Burrell got back on the winning track with a thrashing of last place Deer Lakes.
Derry 19, Valley 6 – Derry beat Valley in a battle of 1-win teams whose only other victory had come over Deer Lakes.
Mt. Pleasant 42, Brownsville 0 – The Vikings cruised past Brownsville to keep pace with Elizabeth Forward atop the Interstate Conference.
Elizabeth Forward 20, South Allegheny 14 (OT) – Elizabeth Forward led 14-0 at halftime but two second half TDs for South Allegheny sent the game to overtime where the Warriors prevailed.
Southmoreland 24, Yough 0
North Catholic 28, South Park 2 – North Catholic got revenge for their playoff loss to South Park last season in a non-conference game.
Class 2A
Serra Catholic 48, Ligonier Valley 15 – After a 7-7 score at halftime, the highest-scoring team in the WPIAL pulled away for a big victory to set up a showdown with Apollo-Ridge for the top spot in the Allegheny Conference.
Apollo-Ridge 42, Shady Side Academy 7 – The Vikings stayed unbeaten with a victory over Shady Side.
McGuffey 54, Waynesburg 8 – The Highlanders stay atop the Interstate Conference with a big win over Waynesburg.
Frazier 7, Chartiers-Houston 6 – The Commodores win a defensive battle to keep themselves in position to battle Washington for the second spot in the conference.
Charleroi 27, Beth-Center 0
Beaver Falls 49, Mohawk 14 – The Beaver Falls train rolled through Mohawk.
Laurel 27, New Brighton 25 – Laurel has played number of close games this season and edged New Brighton on 3 TDs from Luke McCoy.
Neshannock 26, Riverside 8 – Cam’Ron Owens ran for 225 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Lancers to a 4-1 record.
Western Beaver 35, Brentwood 22 – The Golden Beavers jumped out to a big first half lead. Brentwood battled back in the second half but it wasn’t enough as Western Beaver takes control atop the Three Rivers Conference.
Sto-Rox 56, Seton LaSalle 14 – Another big victory for the Vikings who have not missed a beat this season while moving up to 2A.
Class 1A
Fort Cherry 21, Rochester 19 – A week after snapping their 21-game losing streak, Fort Cherry upset rival Rochester to spoil the Rams unbeaten record.
Shenango 59, Northgate 12 – With Rochester’s loss, Shenango is now alone in first place in the Big Seven Conference but has games against Rochester and OLSH the final two weeks to determine the conference champion.
OLSH 28, Union 18 – OLSH gets a much-needed victory to keep themselves in the conversation for the conference title with Rochester getting upset.
Burgettstown 29, Cornell 14
Clairton 64, Imani 0 – Dontae Sanders had over 250 yards and 5 TDs as Clairton won in their return to play after cancelling last week’s game.
Jeannette 36, Springdale 28 – The 1A Game of the Week delivered. Springdale jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held a 21-18 lead at halftime. The Jayhawks stormed back in the second half and won, but Springdale put forth a valiant effort in defeat as Legend Ausk threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs. Roberto Smith scored twice for Jeannette. Emilio Huerta produced 3 turnovers in the second half for the Jayhawks defense.
GCC 41, Riverview 20
California 65, Jefferson-Morgan 22 – Jaedan Zuzak put on another show as California rolled to victory, setting up a showdown with Carmichaels for the conference title next week.
Avella 13, Mapletown 7 – Make it FOUR wins on the season for Avella who add another W after their loss to California last week.
Bentworth 48, West Greene 40 – Bentworth wins a shootout over West Greene.
Carmichaels won by forfeit over Monessen. Monessen had a shortage of healthy players due to injuries over the last few weeks.
Non-Classification Games
Trinity 41, Washington 0 – In the first “City Game” in Washington County between neighboring rivals since 1999, Trinity shut out Washington.
East Allegheny 22, Steel Valley 8 – This was a rescheduled game as East Allegheny was supposed to play Freeport who was off because of a COVID case last week. Steel Valley was supposed to play Summit Academy who opted not to play this season.
Albert Gallatin 55, Uniontown 0 – Fayette County rivals squared off with Albert Gallatin extending Uniontown’s losing streak to 34 games, the longest active streak in the state.
Carlynton 44, Carrick 8 – Carlynton scheduled this game against Carrick from the City League and got a big victory.
Union-AC Valley 21, South Side Beaver 14
Saturday
Peters Twp vs Moon
Freedom vs Ellwood City
Bishop Canevin vs Leechburg
