There really is life on Mars.
His name is
Austin Miele and the Hollidaysburg Tigers discovered him Friday night.
Miele is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound running back for the
Mars Planets, and Friday night he ran like a man shot out of a cannon in picking up a WPIAL-playoff record 448 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in Mars' 52-20 WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff win over Hollidaysburg.
"He can run," Mars coach Scott Heinauer told the Altoona Mirror
in perhaps what might have been the understatement of the year. "When Austin is Austin and he's healthy and our team blocks for him he makes it tough."
Miele, who came into the game with 1,074 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season, had 255 by halftime and missed the WPIAL single-game rushing mark held by Connellsville's Marcus Furman by seven yards. The Pennsylvania record is 488 yards set in 2005 by Harbor Creek's Stephen Blose.
"He's a great football player," Hollidaysburg head coach John Barton told the newspaper. "We knew he was good, but he really showed up special tonight. He's elusive, but we didn't tackle him very well. But, that's also a credit to him, too. We didn't have an answer for Miele."
Hollidaysburg actually led 8-0 at the end of the first quarter but Mars led 18-8 at halftime and 31-14 at the end of three quarters.
Jacob Wright also added a pair of touchdowns for the Planets, scoring on a 1-yard run and a 52-yard interception return.
Click here to view MaxPreps' WPIAL football playoff brackets.2. Lower seeds find success in Class AAA: Mars, the fourth seed, was able to avoid a struggle in the opening round thanks to Miele, but not all of the higher seeds in Class AAA could say the same.
Hopewell High's Russel Shell.
Photo by Tom Lemming
The biggest upset came when 14th seeded
Central Valley (Monaca) got 128 yards rushing and a touchdown from
Lukas Turley to upset unbeaten Ringgold 21-13 at Joe Montana Stadium.
Tenth-seeded Hopewell and ninth-seeded Indiana also pulled mild upsets with
Hopewell (Aliquippa) getting another 100-yard performance and three touchdowns from
Rushel Shell to beat seventh-seeded Franklin Regional 24-14 and
Indiana getting 244 yards passing and three touchdowns from
Kyle Edgar to win a shootout at eighth-seeded Belle Vernon 42-38.
Meanwhile, top seeded
Montour (McKees Rocks), ranked 20th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps.com, survived a scare from 16th-seeded West Mifflin, beating the Titans 21-13 as
Dillon Buechel threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Sixth-seeded
Knoch (Saxonburg) needed a touchdown pass and a touchdown run from
Ky Kenyon to hold off 11-seeded Greensburg Salem 21-14.
Second-seeded
Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Hills) had a much easier time getting 109 yards and two touchdowns from
Ryan Ruffing, who also returned an interception for a touchdown, in a 42-7 win over Highlands.
Defending champion and fifth-seeded
West Allegheny (Imperial) had little trouble with Trinity pulling out a 35-14 win behind 174 yards and three touchdowns from
Aaron McKinney.
3. There will be a new WPIAL Class AA Champion: Maybe the biggest upset of the weekend came in WPIAL Class AA where defending champion and second-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic watched 15th-seeded
Keystone Oaks (Pittsburgh) score 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull off a 20-16 stunner.
Matt McCann scored both fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Golden Eagles, including the game-winning 33-yard run with 1:45 left.
Keystone Oaks was one of two very low seeds to pull upsets in Class AA. No. 11
Freeport got a pair of
Jake Campbell touchdown runs to topple No. 6 Jeannette 30-22. Also, in a mild upset, No. 9
Beaver got a pair of
Darian Bradley touchdowns, including a 40-yard interception return, and two
Nathan Mick field goals to beat No. 8 Deer Lakes 31-21.
Two higher seeds also got scares, as No. 4
Ford City needed a 3-yard fourth-quarter touchdown from
Michael Krochta to beat No. 12 East Allegheny 21-14 despite gaining just 169 yards on offense. No. 7
Beaver Falls needed a 33-yard
Dominique Whaley fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown to beat No. 10 Steel Valley, which got 236 yards rushing and three touchdowns – two rushing, one receiving – from Delrece Williams.
Three higher seeds that didn't have much trouble included No. 1
Aliquippa, a 41-0 winner over Shady Side Academy behind 138 yards passing and two scores from
Mikal Hall, and No. 5
Seton LaSalle (Pittsburgh), a 28-6 winner over Mt. Pleasant thanks to three Dave O'Brien touchdown passes. No. 6
South Fayette (McDonald), which is 17th in the state by MaxPreps.com, got a 35-0 victory over Ellwood City behind 194 yards passing and three scores from
Christian Brumbaugh.
4. No. 13 Bethel Park upsets No. 4 McKeesport in Class AAAA: The upset of the night in Class AAAA came when 13th seeded
Bethel Park outscored No. 4 seed McKeesport 17-7 in the fourth quarter to get a 24-21 win on the road.
Anthony Cinello hit
Christopher Rizzo with the game-winning touchdown pass with just 17 seconds to play. It was Cinello's second scoring toss of the night.
The Blackhawks were the only lower seed to win.
Top-seeded
Central Catholic (Pittsburgh), the No. 3 team in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps.com, rolled to a 37-10 win over Pine-Richland behind 215 yards and four touchdowns by
Damian Jones-Moore, while No. 2
Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) (No. 11 in PA by MaxPreps.com) got 170 yards and two rushing touchdowns from Luke Hagy, who also returned a punt for a score, in a 35-14 win over Plum.
Third-seeded
North Hills (Pittsburgh), ranked 12th by MaxPreps.com, got two
Taylor Schmidt touchdowns to beat Penn-Trafford 20-3, and fifth-seeded
North Allegheny (Wexford), ranked fourth by MaxPreps.com, saw
Alex Papson score three touchdowns and run for 126 yards in a 38-7 victory over Peters Township.
Also, sixth-seeded
Upper St. Clair, which is ranked 22nd in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps.com, got 125 yards rushing and a touchdown and 31 yards passing and a score from
Dakota Conwell to go with 154 yards rushing and two scores from
Connor Scott to beat Penn Hills 37-21. Seventh-seeded
Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh), the 15th ranked team in the state by MaxPreps.com, saw
Lafayette Pitts run for 232 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Norwin. Eighth-seeded
Gateway (Monroeville) got 304 combined yards from
Thomas Woodson (142 rushing, 2 scores; 162 passing, 1 TD) to beat Erie McDowell 37-21.
5. North Catholic kicker helps Trojans upset Sto-Rox: Eleventh-seeded
North Catholic (Pittsburgh) had a secret weapon in its 10-8 upset of No. 6 Sto-Rox in the WPIAL Class A tournament, and his name was kicker
Morgan Porter. Porter booted a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter helping North Catholic take a 10-0 halftime lead – the Trojans also got a William Green touchdown run.
North Catholic will face third-seeded
Avonworth (Pittsburgh) in the quarterfinals. The Antelopes got a 92-yard punt return in the fourth quarter from
Ryan Schmid to erase a 21-20 deficit and get a 28-21 win over Brentwood.
Jake Szolis added two rushing touchdowns and 163 yards for Avonworth.
The rest of the Class A bracket went pretty much as advertised with only ninth-seeded
Canevin Catholic (Pittsburgh) getting a mild 24-16 upset at Fort Cherry behind 127 yards rushing and a touchdown from
Chris Walko and 102 yards rushing from
Travis Lohr.
Canevin will draw top-seeded and two-time defending WPIAL champion
Clairton, the defending PIAA champion as well, in the quarterfinals. The Bears got 113 yards passing and two touchdowns and 97 yards rushing and a touchdown from
Desmion Green to beat Carmichaels 42-0.
No. 4
Monessen got a 33-0 shutout of Chartiers-Houston thanks to 121 yards rushing and two scores from
Brett Crenshaw and two touchdowns from
Trae Cook, and fifth-seeded
Springdale beat Western Beaver 35-14 behind 166 yards rushing and three scores from Sean Dugan.
Second-seeded
Rochester saw Jasson Adamson go 6 of 6 passing for 160 yards and three scores in a 42-7 win over California, while seventh-seeded
Bethlehem Center (Fredericktown) got a pair of
Jake Sofran touchdown runs and a touchdown run and touchdown pass from
Sal Faieta to beat Cornell 34-12.
6. Districts 9 and 10 set playoff fields: Districts 9 and 10 set their football playoff fields Sunday.
District 9 – Brackets can be found at www.d9sports.com
CLASS A The skinny: Defending champion Clarion (5-5) is the fourth seed and will host AML-North champion Cameron County (7-3). The two seeds are Curwensville (8-1) and Redbank Valley (5-5).
The winner will be: Curwensville
CLASS AAThe skinny: AML Champion and unbeaten Brockway (10-0) gets a bye in this three-team bracket. Brookville (8-2) will try to erase playoff nemesis Moniteau (5-5) in the lone semifinal contest.
The winner will be: Brockway
CLASS AAAThe skinny: Only two teams make the Class AAA playoffs meaning possibly the best team in District 9, Bradford (8-2), is on the outside looking in. Not that the bracket doesn't have a couple of really good teams, as unbeatens Clearfield (10-0) and Punxsutawney (10-0) meet in a rematch of last year's title game won by Punxsutawney.
The winner will be: Clearfield
District 10: Brackets can be found at www.piaadistrict10.org CLASS AThe skinny: Defending champion Farrell (9-1) but should see stiff competition from unbeaten Mercyhurst Prep (10-0) and once-beaten Sharpsville (9-1).
The winner will be: Farrell
CLASS AA The skinny: Four-time defending champion Wilmington (6-4) looks human this year and is seeded fifth. The top seed is Sharon (8-2) and General McLane's (9-1) lone loss came in Week One to Quad A Erie Strong Vincent.
The winner will be: General McLane
CLASS AAAThe skinny: Top-seeded Grove City (10-0) has been awesome to say the least, outscoring opponents 408-90 this season. Defending champion Erie Cathedral Prep (6-4) has a misleading record with three out-of-state losses and a defeat to WPIAL Quad A member Erie McDowell. Corry (8-2) and Oil City (8-2) both have tons of weapons as well, especially on the offensive side of the football.
The winner will be: Erie Cathedral Prep
CLASS AAAAThe skinny: This is a combined tournament with Districts 6 and 9 as well, although District 9's lone Class AAAA team DuBois elected not to enter. Central Mountain (5-5) went from needing a must-win last week for the school district to allow it to go to the postseason to having the top seed and a bye. That means Erie Strong Vincent (4-6) will host defending champ State College (4-6) in the semifinals. The Little Lions' schedule was brutal, and they started 0-5 before winning four of five to close the year.
The winner will be: State College
7. WPIAL crowns soccer, volleyball champions: The WPIAL crowned soccer and volleyball champions over the weekend.
In boys' soccer,
Peters Township (McMurray) beat Pittsburgh Central Catholic 1-0 in double overtime for the Class AAA title,
Hampton (Allison Park) topped Mars 4-1 for the Class AA crown and
Seton LaSalle (Pittsburgh) beat Greensburg Central Catholic 3-0 for the Class A championship.
On the girls' side,
Peters Township (McMurray) toppled Norwin 3-0 to win the Class AAA championship,
Mars beat Beaver 2-0 for the Class AA title and
Shady Side Academy (Pittsburgh) defeated Sewickley Academy 1-0 for the Class A crown.
In volleyball,
Pine-Richland (Gibsonia) got a 3-1 win over Seneca Valley in Class AAA, while
Freeport toppled Indiana 3-2 in Class AA and
Frazier (Perryopolis) beat Bishop Canevin 3-0 in Class A.
