John Yezovich, Woodland Hills
File photo by Jim Redman
Woodland Hills football is back.
After two consecutive losing seasons, the perennial powerhouse Wolverines (4-1) staked claim to being one of the favorites in the WPIAL Class AAAA title chase, knocking off Pittsburgh Central Catholic 27-3 Friday night at Woodland Hills.
And it was a former PCC Viking that carried the day for Woodland Hills. Don Timbers, who played his first two seasons at the private Catholic school, ran 26 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns.
"I didn’t think I was going to be this successful playing against Central," Timbers, a Syracuse recruit, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I didn’t think we were going to come out with this huge victory."
Timbers scored on runs of 10, 30 and 7 yards for the Wolverines, who entered the game ranked 15th in Pennsylvania by MaxPreps.com.
Meanwhile, the Woodland Hills defense stymied a tough PCC rushing attack, limiting the Vikings (3-2), who entered the game ranked seventh by MaxPreps, to 86 yards rushing, including 81 by Damion Jones-Moore.
"They really showed tonight what they’re capable of," PCC head coach Terry Totten told the Tribune-Review. "I credit Woodland Hills, but I’m disappointed in our team in other ways."
Hickory stuns defending state champion Wilmington
Marlon Pegues’ 92-yard touchdown run with about six minutes left helped Hickory stun defending Pennsylvania Class AA champion Wilmington 21-14 Friday night in Wilmington.
The loss snapped Wilmington’s 36-game win streak against District 10 opponents. The last District 10 foe to knock off the Greyhounds (4-1), who have won three straight D10 Class AA titles, was Reynolds in the District 10 playoffs, Nov. 19, 2005.
The fact it was Hickory (3-1) that broke that streak is stunning considering in the last two seasons Wilmington has defeated the Hornets by a combined score of 100-14, including 53-7 last season. And it looked like it would be another rout, as Wilmington went out to a 14-0 lead. But this time Hickory answered the second of two touchdowns by Sutton Whiting when Rico Jones returned a kickoff 83 yards.
Pegues then took over, tying the game on a 14-yard touchdown run, and then his electrifying 92-yard scamper late in the game stunned the Homecoming crowd. Pegues rushed for 145 yards on 11 carries.
Redbank Valley volleyball upsets No. 1 team in state
Redbank Valley’s girls volleyball team upset the No. 1-ranked team in Class A in Pennsylvania when it knocked off Clarion 3-2 Wednesday night at Clarion.
The Lady Bulldogs (11-0, 7-0 Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference) got 18 kills and 13 blocks from Shawn Neiswonger and 12 kills from Emily Smith to beat the Lady Cats (11-3, 5-1) in come-from-behind fashion, 25-20, 24-26, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13.
Jessica Gruver set up the Redbank Valley offense with 39 assists while adding four blocks, and Kaylee Smith chipped in with six aces.
Clarion, who was ranked No. 1 in Class A by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association for two straight weeks and 36th overall in the state by MaxPreps.com, got 22 kills and 10 digs from Brooke Bailey, 44 assists from Brittany Hanlon and 19 kills from Dani Fleeger.
Karns City football beats Keystone in wild shootout
There was a lot of offense and almost no defense Friday night in Karns City, where the homestanding Gremlins beat Keystone 60-35 in Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference action.
Joe Fallecker caught four passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns to lead the unbeaten Gremlins (5-0), while Dylan Hipple was 7-of-9 passing for 148 yards and a touchdown while running seven times for 39 yards and a score. Aaron Markle also ran for a touchdown while gaining 73 yards, and threw a touchdown pass, completing his only toss of the night for a 30-yard score.
Dan Reed had a monster night for Keystone in the loss, going 13-of-21 passing for 322 yards and five touchdowns. Ben Marchand (seven catches, 147 yards, three touchdowns) and Brett Zuck (four catches, 131 yards, two touchdowns) were the recipient of all but two of Reed’s tosses on the night.
Top performances
There were plenty of great individual performances during the weekend of high school football. Here is a look at some of them:
* Mike Caputo (West Allegheny running back) – 39 carries, 297 yards, two touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 13-yard fourth-quarter run in West Allegheny’s 28-21 win over New Castle.
* Josh Giannamore (Harbor Creek quarterback) – 12-of-20 passing, 235 yards, four touchdowns in a 26-13 win over Franklin.
* Johnny Beatty (Mohawk quarterback) – 20-of-49 passing, 234 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions; Also rushed for a touchdown in a 33-18 loss to Aliquippa.
* Austin Miele (Mars running back) – 15 carries for 191 yards, four touchdowns in a 43-0 win over Highlands.
* Josh Rzepecki (Harbor Creek receiver) – Six catches, 168 yards, four touchdowns in a 26-13 win over Franklin.
* Corey McWilliams (Fort LeBoeuf receiver) – 10 catches for 168 yards in a 14-6 loss to Fairview.
* Logan Weaver (Punxsutawney quarterback) – Seven-of-eight passing, 159 yards, four touchdowns; one carry, 14 yards – Punxsutawney 40, A-C Valley 0.
* Jesse DellaValle (Shaler receiver) – Seven catches, 158 yards, two touchdowns in a 29-14 win over Butler.
* Derek Morgan (Clearfield running back) – 22 carries, 153 yards, three touchdowns; one catch, 11 yards, one-for-one passing, 10 yards in a 35-14 win over Lewistown.
* Kevin Hoy (St. Marys running back) – 18 carries, 147 yards, four touchdowns in a 34-0 win over Penns Valley.
* Joe Colangelo (Monaca running back) – 19 carries, 134 yards, three touchdowns; returned an interception for a touchdown in Monaca’s 44-6 win over Union-New Castle.
* Ryan Bodamer – (Port Allegany running back/linebacker) – Made 15 tackles and returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown while also running for 45 yards and catching an 18-yard touchdown pass in a 34-0 win over Smethport.
Just a thought, random or not
It’s good to see Woodland Hills football back on top. Since entering the WPIAL in the 1980s following a merger of three school districts, the Turtle Creek-based school has been one of the top programs in the district, winning four Class AAAA titles since 1996, including back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 while advancing to three PIAA title games while sending at least three players to the NFL, including the Arizona Cardinals’ Steve Breaston and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ryan Mundy.
The last couple of years, though, had to be tough on the blue-collar community, as Woodland Hills went 3-7 in 2007 and 4-6 last year. But the Wolverines are 4-1 this year and are coming off a big 27-3 win over another perennial power, Pittsburgh Central Catholic. And no one wants to play games in the Wolvarena, Woodland Hills home stadium. With four regular-season games left, it’s not out of the question that Woodland Hills could go 8-1, which would be its best regular-season record since going 9-0 on the way to the WPIAL title in 2002.
