West Allegheny's Mike Caputo, one of the top two-way players in Western Pennsylvania, has announced he is taking his game to Wisconsin next season.
Caputo was one of the top running backs in the WPIAL last season with 2,626 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns for the WPIAL Class AAA champion Indians, but he will play strong safety for the Badgers. Last season, Caputo had 89 ½ tackles and four sacks.
"I don’t really have a preference at all what position I play," Caputo told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It doesn't really matter to me."
Caputo chose Wisconsin over fellow Big 10 schools Penn State and Ohio State as well as over hometown school Pitt.
"It was pretty much the same everywhere I went," Caputo told the Post-Gazette. "But Wisconsin seemed to have that little something extra that I liked and really interested me. The staff there just seemed to have more of a relationship with the players. At Ohio State, I didn't really see a lot of that."
2. Caputo looking for some help in leading West Allegheny to back-to-back titles: Caputo will be looking for some help this year in hopes of leading West Allegheny to back-to-back WPIAL Class AAA titles. Gone from last year's title-winning team that went 12-3 and also advanced to the PIAA semifinals are the Indians' other two top offensive weapons in quarterback Jared Buck (1,400 yards passing, 18 touchdowns, four interceptions) and leading wide receiver Ben Simmen (35 catches, 535 yards, seven touchdowns).
Senior Aaron McKinney, a wide receiver last season, could fill the quarterback spot. Two years ago, McKinney started the second half of the season for West Allegheny under center after Buck was lost to a knee injury.
3. Repeating won’t be easy for Woodland Hills: Expectations are always high at Woodland Hills, a perennial WPIAL football powerhouse, and that is especially true in any season following a Wolverines title run. But if Woodland Hills is to repeat its WPIAL Class AAAA championship from 2009, it is going to need some inexperienced players to step up and play key roles in 2010. Not one of the Wolverines' top four offensive players from last season's title team are back including quarterback John Yezovich (694 yards, seven touchdowns) and running back Dom Timbers (1,414 yards, 25 touchdowns). Running back/wide receiver Lafayette Pitts, a Pitt recruit, will be expected to pick up some of the load. Last year, Pitts ran for 107 yards and eight touchdowns while also catching a pair of passes for 49 yards and a score. Senior wide receiver/quarterback Jevonte Pitts is also expected to be a key player for the Wolverines.
4. Defending state champion Clairton pins hopes on Green, Page: Last season, Clairton lost its first game of the year before rolling off 15 straight victories including a 14-13 win over Rochester in the WPIAL Class A title game and a 15-3 win over Bishop McCort in the PIAA Class A championship contest. If the Bears have any hopes of repeating, senior quarterback Desimon Green will have to become the main weapon on offense after the graduation of running back Deontae Howard (1,800 yards, 30 touchdowns) and wide receiver Kevin Weatherspoon (600 yards receiving, nine touchdowns). Green is more than capable of shouldering the load after throwing for 1,279 yards and 13 touchdowns while running for 700 more yards and five scores last season. He will have some help in senior wideout Joshua Page, who had 15 grabs for 506 yards during the title-run season.
5. Defending Class AA champion Greensburg Central Catholic hit hard by graduation: Greensburg Central Catholic won the WPIAL Class AA title last year and finished second in the state after a 21-14 loss to Lancaster Catholic in the PIAA title game. But don’t expect the Centurions to pull off that feat again this year unless a whole slew of new players adjust quickly to key roles. That’s because not one of the top five offensive weapons employed by GCC return this season. Lost to graduation are 2,500-yard, 38-touchdown rusher David Miller, 1,900-yard passer Trent Hurley, who threw 27 touchdowns and also ran for 300 yards and six scores, and 950-yard, 10-touchdown receiver Evan Marshall. Also gone is backup running back Zach Wilson (247 yards) and No. 2 receiver Ross Deglau (20 catches, 277 yards, two touchdowns).
6. Hopewell’s Schell could hit 6,000 yards as a junior: Baring an injury, Hopewell junior running back Rushel Schell has a good shot at reaching 6,000 yards rushing before the end of the season. The 2008 MaxPreps Freshman of the Year enters his junior season with 4,315 yards rushing and 49 touchdowns after leading the WPIAL last year in rushing with 2,739 yards and 35 touchdowns. This after a freshman season that saw him rush for 1,576 yards and 14 scores. With Hopewell having to be considered one of the top teams in the WPIAL Class AAA this season, Schell could have a chance to run for over 3,000 yards if the Vikings can win the WPIAL title and advance into the PIAA playoffs. Last season, 2,700-plus yards came despite Hopewell falling to West Allegheny in the WPIAL Class AAA title game.
