Wisconsin recruit Caputo injured in West Allegheny win

PITTSBURGH – Wisconsin recruit and West Allegheny (Imperial) star Mike Caputo will be out for an indefinite period of time after dislocating his left ankle while playing defense in his team's season-opening 41-0 win at South Park Friday night.

Caputo, who has made a verbal commitment to Wisconsin to play defensive back, was hurt in the first half of the game and was taken off the field via stretcher and transported to an area hospital. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he had surgery on the ankle Saturday, and despite the severity of the injury, there is a chance he could return to action before the end of the season.

"The doctors are saying there is a good chance he'll be back this season," Cindy Caputo, Mike's mother, told the newspaper. "You know he'll work hard to get back on the field again."

Caputo helped lead West Allegheny, ranked No. 20 in Pennsylvania this season by MaxPreps, to the WPIAL Class AAA title last year after having a standout season on both sides of the football. He rushed for 2,626 yards and 34 touchdowns and also had 89 ½ tackles on defense including four sacks. He had run for two touchdowns against South Park before being injured.



2. Western PA teams go 1-3 at Rally at the Wolvarena Saturday: It was not a good day for some of Western Pennsylvania's top programs Saturday at the Rally at the Wolvarena at Woodland Hill's Wolvarena, as only Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) managed a win against non-WPIAL competition.

The Vikings, ranked 19th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, beat Buchtel (Akron, Ohio) 35-6 thanks in part to a pair of blocked punts by Louis Taglianetti, the younger brother of Pitt's Andrew Taglianetti and the son of former NHL player Peter Taglianetti. PCC's defense was also a factor in the victory, limiting Buchtel to 156 total yards.

The other three WPIAL teams didn't fare as well against top-notch competition.

Perennial WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA powerhouse Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Hills) was smacked around by two-time defending Florida state champion Cocoa (Fla.), which is ranked 11th in the state of Florida by MaxPreps, 43-7. The Jaguars managed just 106 total yards of offense. Cocoa scored 21 points in the final 2:31 of the first half to break a 7-7 tie. Chevelle Buie scored on a 9-yard run, Grady Redding returned a fumble three yards for a touchdown and Benny Taylor had a 45-yard punt return for a score to make it 28-7 at halftime.

Steubenville (Ohio), ranked 15th in Ohio by MaxPreps, got a late third-quarter touchdown run by JoJo Pierro to beat McKeesport 7-0, and Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), got four touchdown passes from Cord Sandberg, including three to Quenton Bundrage, to beat host Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh) (No. 4 in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps) 39-16. Jevonte Pitts threw a touchdown pass for Woodland Hills. Manatee is the 13th ranked team in the state of Florida by MaxPreps.

3. No. 2 Bishop McDevitt too much for No. 25 Gateway: Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg), ranked second in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, was too much for No. 25 Gateway (Monroeville) Saturday in a 23-0 shutout of the Gators. McDevitt held Gateway to 99 yards on offense and five first downs. Pitt recruit Jameel Poteat ran 24 times for 73 yards and a touchdown for McDevitt, which also got three Connor Maloney field goals.



4. McDowell rolls past No. 23 Cathedral Prep in Erie battle: In an early-season rivalry game, McDowell (Erie) claimed stake as the best team in Erie by steamrolling past No. 23 Cathedral Prep (Erie) 34-7 in a game the Trojans led 34-0 in the fourth quarter. Zach Mayr caught a pair of touchdown passes from Collin Kimball, who threw for three scores on the day, to lead McDowell to the victory. Kimball was 7 of 8 for 94 yards and also ran 11 times for 115 yards. Greg Garmon added 152 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Trojans, while Mayr had two grabs for 18 yards.

In other action featuring Western Pennsylvania teams in MaxPreps’ Top 25, No. 5 Clairton, the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class A champion, smacked Washington 41-0. Pitt recruit Desmion Green was a big factor on defense coming up with a pair of the Bears' five sacks on the night.

No. 10 Bethel Park got 148 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Bre Ford and a rushing touchdown and a receiving score from Nick Kwiatkoski to beat Kiski Area (Vandergrift) 48-20, and No. 13 Greensburg Central Catholic, the defending Class AA champions, got 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Andy Biros to top Waynesburg Central 48-0.

5. Two wild finishes highlight District 9's first week: A pair of wild finishes highlighted the first week of football in District 9.

Brookville beat St. Marys 15-14 when Cam Yard drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired. The kick came at the end of a 62-yard drive that started on the St. Marys 25 with 3:47 left in the game.

Not to be outdone, three-time defending District 9 Class AA champion Karns City marched 90 yards in the final 2:09 to beat Moniteau (West Sunbury) 28-26 when Dylan Hipple hit Brian Best with a 22-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds left.



Also in District 9 action, Brockway quarterback Derek Buganza continued his quest to become Pennsylvania's all-time leading passer, completing 14 of 17 passes for 310 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-21 win over Sheffield. Buganza, who threw for a state-record 3,824 yards last year as a junior, now has 7,057 career passing yards. He is 1,487 yards away from the Pennsylvania career passing yard mark set last year by Lancaster Catholic's Kyle Smith. Buganza is the first quarterback in District 9 history to pass for more than 7,000 career yards, and he is 10 touchdowns shy of breaking Clearfield's Chad Kroell's all-time District 9 mark.

6. Union-Rimersburg head coach dies: Al Pryor, who was in the second season of his second stint coaching the Union (Rimersburg) Golden Knights, died over the weekend. The cause of Pryor's death has not yet been released. He didn't coach in Union's 19-16 loss to Redbank Valley (New Bethlehem) Friday. Pryor guided the Knights to a 2-7 record last season and had an overall record at the school of 15-39 including a five-year stint from 1996-2000 that included the school's last winning season in 1997 (5-4). Assistant coach Dave Louder coached Friday night's game, but there is no word on who will be the head coach at Union the rest of the season. Union is slated to host Saegertown Friday night.