CLAYSVILLE, Pa. – In what has to be one of the biggest upsets in recent Pennsylvania high school football history, 0-1 McGuffey stunned Greensburg Central Catholic, the 25th-ranked team by MaxPreps, 6-0 Friday night at McGuffey.
“I’m really speechless,” McGuffey coach Derek Bochna told the Washington Observer Reporter. “I’m just so happy. Not really for myself, but the kids and the program. I keep saying we can beat anyone lined up across from us. That was a great effort and a great win.”
McGuffey was coming off an opening-week 17-6 loss to Mt. Pleasant, while Greensburg Central Catholic had beaten Charleroi handily 31-7 in its opener.
But the Highlanders, who lost to GCC 28-9 last season, used a late defensive stand to pull the upset. GCC had a fourth-and-8 from the McGuffey 11-yard line late in the game but the Highlanders defense stopped the Centurions to preserve the victory.
“After last week’s dismal performance, nobody gave us a chance except us,” Bochna told the Observer Reporter. “To come out here and beat a team the caliber of them, it’s special.”
The game’s lone score came on a 4-yard run by McGuffey’s Nick Shuman in the second quarter.
WPIAL: Big fourth quarters helps No. 14 Pittsburgh CC, No. 15 Aliquippa avoid upsets
Through three quarters Friday night, it looked like Canon-McMillan was going to pull off an upset of No. 14-ranked Pittsburgh Central Catholic, taking a 7-0 lead going to the fourth frame. But the Vikings woke up in the final quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points to escape with a 21-7 win.
After Dom Maggio tied the game on a 2-yard run, sophomore Damion Jones-Moore took over scoring on runs of 39 and 46 yards for Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Jones-Moore had a monster game, rushing for 258 yards on 28 carries.
“I think it was a little bit that they wore down, but I think we also just got together and got focused,” Jones-Moore told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the Vikings' fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic wasn’t the only highly ranked team that needed a big fourth quarter to secure victory, as No. 15 Aliquippa outscored Ellwood City 21-7 in the final 12 minutes to avoid an upset at the hands of the Wolverines.
After a scoreless first half, the Quips led 6-0 going to the fourth quarter before scoring the first two touchdowns of the quarter, including a 64-yard interception return for a score by Davion Hall. Troy Jeter scored twice for Aliquippa on runs of 26 and 47 yards, and Darius Walker rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
District 10: Burns too hot to handle, as No. 7 Wilmington rolls
Wilmington, ranked the No. 7 team in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps, used the hot hand of Derrick Burns to down Greenville 36-15.
Burns, the Greyhounds' 205-pound running back, ran for 245 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries, scoring on runs of 50, 14, 60 and 73 yards.
WPIAL: Johnson-Giasante lift No. 8 Thomas Jefferson past Uniontown
Uniontown didn’t have an answer for Thomas Jefferson’s duo of Sam Johnson and Jim Giasante, as the No. 8 Jaguars rode the two to a 34-19 win.
Johnson, who went 10-of-12 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns, hooked up with Giasante six times for 224 yards and all three scores. That included a 44-yard strike in the fourth quarter that helped give Thomas Jefferson some breathing room after Uniontown had closed to within eight, 21-13, going to the final 12 minutes.
WPIAL: Beaver Falls’ Cook, Omogrosso too much for Freedom
Ninth-ranked Beaver Falls got big games once again from Cody Cook and Anthony Omogrosso to beat Freedom 42-13. Cook ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Omogrosso was 3-of-4 passing for 116 yards and two scores. Admire Carter also scored twice for the Tigers, once on a 35-yard pass from Omogrosso and again on a 34-yard run.
WPIAL: Ranked Quad A teams roll
The three remaining WPIAL Class AAAA teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 all rolled to victory, with No. 10 Bethel Park knocking off Penn Hills 25-0 thanks to 20 unanswered second-quarter points, No. 18 Gateway breezing past Baldwin 43-7 and No. 23 McKeesport clobbering Plum 54-0.
Bre Ford was the main man for defending WPIAL Quad A champion Bethel Park, running for 89 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yard jaunt.
Robert Kalkstein threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and Brendon Felder and Davonne Nunley each found of the end zone twice in Gateway’s victory.
Darien Robinson ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while Ty-Meer Brown threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in McKeesport’s win.
District 9: Sheffield pulls upset of Johnsonburg
Sheffield has long been the doormat of District 9 football, but that might be changing after the Wolverines upset Johnsonburg 7-6 Friday night on the road for their first Allegheny Mountain League crossover victory since 2004. Jimmy Hahn scored the lone touchdown for Sheffield and ran for 81 yards while also catching a pair of balls for 15 yards and recording 10 tackles on defense.
The Wolverines weren’t the only team to stop a long drought, as Keystone got its first win over Redbank Valley since 2002 and only its ninth in 47 tries against the Bulldogs, 24-21, thanks to Dylan Ziegler’s 21-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Dan Reed was the hero for the Panthers, rushing for 150 yards and three touchdowns, throwing for 125 yards and intercepting a pass on defense that set up the go-ahead field goal.
Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers shine
The weekend also brought some top performances, including a big night for four quarterbacks.
New Castle’s John Matarazzo threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns while completing 15-of-20 passes in the Hurricanes' 35-16 win over Indians; Clearfield’s Curtis Frye had 295 yards passing and 19 yards rushing while throwing for two touchdown passes and running for a third and going 15-of-26 through the air in a 35-19 win over Philipsburg-Osceola; Brockway’s Derek Buganza threw for five scores and 276 yards on 16-of-21 passing in a 42-14 win at Coudersport; and Seton-LaSalle’s Anthony Rizza was 17-of-23 passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns while also running for a pair of scores in a 42-25 win over Cornell.
Quarterbacks weren’t the only ones making headlines in Western Pennsylvania, as Keystone Oaks’ Matt McCann ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns in a 26-0 win over South Park, Montour’s Phil Peckich had 206 yards rushing in three scores in a 27-0 win over Highlands, Lakeview’s Kyle Scott churned up 195 yards on the ground and four touchdowns while also picking off a pass in a 41-0 win over Conneaut Valley and Moniteau’s James Shope had 162 yards rushing and four touchdowns while recovering a fumble on defense in a 44-26 victory over Clarion-Limestone.
A couple of backs also put on a show without many carries, as Erie McDowell’s Greg Garmon needed just four totes to run for 149 yards and three scores in a 35-20 win over Seneca Valley and Sharon’s Louis Brown ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries while also catching a pair of passes for 35 yards and a touchdown in a 63-6 win over Reynolds.
Not to be outdone, the receivers got into the act as well, led by Clearfield’s Trey Campman with eight catches for 198 yards and a touchdown while also returning an interception for a score in the win over Philipsburg-Osceola. Seton-LaSalle’s Jake Novicki had 10 catches for 125 yards and a score in the win over Cornell and Carrick’s Jujuan Thomas had nine grabs for 103 yards and a touchdown in a 20-14 win over Allderdice in the Pittsburgh City League.
