Home WPIAL WPIAL Blitz Show: Week 3 Edition with Laurel Highlands HC Rich Kolesar

WPIAL Blitz Show: Week 3 Edition with Laurel Highlands HC Rich Kolesar

by Ian

The WPIAL season is now three games in and for some teams has reached the end of non-conference play. While non-conference games do not count towards playoff qualification, they have provided a number of good storylines and a barometer for how teams might stack up as we get deeper into the season. Week 1 was “Rivalry Week” and Week 2 was “Rematch Week” with three games on the slate that were rematches of recent WPIAL Championship Games. Another noteworthy result was Laurel Highlands beating Brownsville 65-0, which was not only the largest win in school history but also gave the Mustangs their first 3-0 start in school history in games played. The Mustangs also started 3-0 in 1976, but their third win was a forfeit by Brownsville, so this is the first time they have won their first three games on the field. We interviewed Laurel Highlands Head Coach Rick Kolesar this week. You can find him on Twitter @CoachKolesar.

WPIAL Blitz Show Player of the Week Presented by Brute Athletic

Jaymar Pearson (RB/LB – Sto-Rox)

Congratulations to our Brute Athletic Player of the Week Jaymar Pearson. Last season Sto-Rox and McGuffey were the #2 and #3 seeds in the 2A playoffs and both started the season ranked in the Top 5 in the PennLive State Rankings (Sto-Rox started at #4, McGuffey at #5). McGuffey’s defense did a good job early limiting Sto-Rox’s passing game. On a night when their vaunted passing attack started slow, it was the play of Jaymar Pearson that broke the game open. After a goal-line stand to preserve an 8-0 Sto-Rox lead, Pearson took the next play 98 yards to the house. He would add touchdown runs of 41 and 75 yards, finishing the night with 263 yards and 3 TDs. For more on Friday night’s game, check out my Tour of the WPIAL which just happened to visit Sto-Rox this week. Check out his highlights from Friday night’s game:

Other big performances from Friday night included Chartiers Valley’s tandem of QB Anthony Mackey and WR Abe Ibrahim. Mackey threw for 284 yards and 5 TDs in an overtime win over Keystone Oaks. Of Mackey’s passing yards, Ibrahim was on the receiving end for 229 yards and 4 TDs. Central Valley’s Landon Alexander had another strong night, taking over as the focal point of the offense after QB Matt Merritt suffered an ankle injury. Alexander finished with 230 yards and 2 TDs against a tough Aliquippa defense in a rivalry game victory. Greensburg Salem QB Hayden Teska continues his strong start to the season with 245 passing yards and 4 TDs and adding another touchdown on the ground in a win over Mt. Pleasant. On Saturday afternoon, Carlynton’s Shawn Curry rumbled for 256 yards and 4 TDs to give the Cougars a win over Riverview.

Uniontown Ends the Streak

Congratulations also go out to the Uniontown football team on earning their first victory since Week 7 of 2016. Uniontown moved from being a WPIAL team to playing an independent schedule last year but were only able to play two games in the truncated 2020 season. They entered this season with a 34-game losing streak, the longest in the state. The Red Raiders scheduled a number of Pittsburgh City League teams and after losing to Perry in Week 1, came back and ended their losing streak in style with a 41-6 victory over Carrick.

Where to Find Us

Thanks for watching! Follow us on Twitter @WPIAL_Blitz and @BadgleyBruce. Check out past episodes of the WPIAL Blitz Show on the Sports Stream Premium Network Channel.

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