That running back, Tony Dorsett, was so good the football field is now named after him, and 37 years since he graced the gridiron for the Vikings, another running back is evoking memories of one of the greatest of all time.
The new kid in town, sophomore Rushel Shell, gave fans something they will be talking about 37 years from now when he ran for a career-high 349 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-26 win over West Allegheny on Friday night at Tony Dorsett Stadium.
"I didn’t know I had that many yards," Shell, who ran for 211 yards on just 10 first-half carries, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But I knew if the line blocked, we knew we were capable of anything."
Shell scored on runs of 84, 77 and 10 yards and went over the 3,000-yard mark in only his 18th career game. He has 3,008 career yards, has run for over 100 yards in 13 straight contests and broke the 200-yard mark for the seventh time in his career.
"Is that what he had? 349?," West Allegheny head coach Bob Palko told the Post-Gazette. "Well, if he didn’t have those Division I college scholarships before, he should get them now. He’s everything they say he is."
Hopewell (7-0), ranked 16th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, needed everything Shell could give because West Allegheny (5-2), ranked 56th, proved to be a worthy opponent nearly matching every Viking score with a score of its own thanks to a pretty good running back of its own in Mike Caputo. Caputo ran for 222 yards and three touchdowns, including a 62-yard run.
Defense helps Thomas Jefferson pass test
It seemed like a perfect storm was brewing for the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars on Thursday night. TJ’s starting running back was lost early with an injury. The Jaguars offense was struggling to score points, and unbeaten Chartiers Valley was at home with a pumped-up crowd and a regional television audience ready to pull off the upset.
But in the end, TJ, ranked 20th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, showed why it’s the three-time defending WPIAL Class AAA champion and the two-time defending PIAA Class AAA champion, turning to its defense to deliver a 20-0 win over the Colts on Thursday night in a game televised live on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.
The defense limited Chartiers Valley, which was playing its second straight game without starting quarterback Wayne Capers, to 45 yards of offense and sealed the win with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jim Giasante.
"It was a hard-fought game," Thomas Jefferson head coach Bill Cherpak told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "They played well, and our defense really stepped up for us to win the game."
TJ, which lost starting running back Ryan Ruffing to an injury early in the game, was only able to score on a pair of field goals in the first three quarters before finally getting an offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter and then the interception return for a score.
The win was the 44th straight over a WPIAL opponent for Thomas Jefferson, which hasn’t lost to a WPIAL foe since Franklin Regional upset it in the 2005 WPIAL Class AAA title game. It is also the 36th straight win for TJ over a Pennsylvania opponent, with the last loss coming in the 2006 PIAA semifinals to General McLane, and it is the 21st straight victory overall for the Jaguars, who haven’t been beaten since a loss to Glenville (Ohio) in last season’s opener.
Gateway delivers in second half
For the first 24 minutes of the Gateway-Erie McDowell football game Friday night, it looked like the team from the lake was going to stun the 13th-ranked team in Pennsylvania. But whatever Gator head coach Terry Smith told his players at halftime seemed to work, as Gateway outscored Erie McDowell, the 24th-ranked team in the state, 28-7 in the second half to get a 35-17 win.
"We’re a team that’s built on 48 minutes," Smith told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "And we were ready for 48 minutes tonight."
Rob Kalkstein threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown, with all four of the scores coming after halftime for Gateway.
Erie Strong Vincent sends message to Bradford
Another Erie-based team playing in a key game Friday night had better luck than McDowell, as Erie Strong Vincent left no doubt as to who the best team in District 10 Region 6 was, knocking off Bradford 42-0 in a game between the lone remaining unbeaten conference teams.
The Colonels even did it without starting quarterback Steve Uplinger, who missed the game with an illness. Uplinger’s replacement, Denzel Jones, ran for 33 yards and two touchdowns, while Brandon Akins-Jones had 131 yards rushing and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Strong Vincent’s defense limited Bradford to 94 yards of offense while keeping Bradford starting running back Pat Pascarella in check, holding him to 94 yards rushing on 43 carries. It was Bradford’s first loss of the season.
Cameron County takes home third straight AML North title
Cameron County took home its third straight AML North title Saturday morning with a 14-7 win at Port Allegany.
The Red Raiders (7-0) defense was the difference in the game, limiting the Gators (5-2) to 147 yards of offense on the day. Andy Lippert scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Lippert ran for 202 yards and had 212 yards of total offense on the day. Cameron County is the defending District 9 Class A champion.
Stat stars
Some of the other rushing stars from the weekend in Western Pennsylvania included McKeesport’s Darien Robinson (245 yards), Fairview’s Peter Jackson (227 yards), Bethel Park’s Bre Ford (220 yards), North Allegheny’s Alex Papson (213 yards) and Shady Side Academy’s Brian Nickel (207 yards). Nickel also scored five touchdowns, while Jackson scored four times.
In the passing game, Brockway’s Derek Buganza had 264 yards while Corry’s Scotty Frisina threw for 205 yards, and top receivers included Oil City’s Ben Koyack (116 yards) and Logan Lantz (111 yards), Thomas Jefferson’s Giasante (104 yards) and Peters Township’s Brandon Hoffman (100 yards).
Props also go to DuBois quarterback Josh Means, who had 147 yards passing and 153 yards rushing, and Kane’s Marty Niklas, who had four sacks in the Wolves' 7-0 win over Ridgway.
