With inexperienced players manning important positions on his offensive unit, Montour football coach Lou Cerro figured the 2025 ride might get a little bumpy at times.
He wasn’t wrong.
The Spartans have experienced their share of growing pains, going 3-2 in the nonconference portion of their schedule, but a clean conference slate awaits them when they host Blackhawk at 7 p.m. Friday at Thomas J. Birko Stadium.
Montour’s WPIAL Class 4A Parkway Conference opener against the Cougars is one of six games on tap for Friday night involving West Hills schools.
In other 7 p.m. games, Moon Area entertains Bethel Park, Carlynton visits Keystone Oaks, Sto-Rox travels to Charleroi, Bishop Canevin goes on the road to battle Chartiers-Houston and Cornell visits Serra Catholic.
In the lone Saturday game, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart hosts Apollo-Ridge at 7 p.m. at Moon’s Tiger Stadium.
Montour is coming off a 29-21 loss to a tough Mars team, a game that saw the Spartans with a chance to tie in their final possession, only to turn the ball over on a fumble.
That was the fourth time Montour coughed it up against the Fightin’ Planets, and also hurting their cause was 15 penalties that cost the team 137 yards.
It hasn’t been all negative, though. The Spartans have had their share of strong performances as well, such as the 41-8 whipping of Knoch two weeks ago and one-score wins over Trinity and Central Valley.
None of this has surprised Cerro.
“It’s been up and down,” he said Thursday. “We could be 5-0 – or we could be 1-4. I told everyone before the season that every game was going to be a heart attack special. You were not going to know what would happen.
“We’re playing so many young kids – if they’re playing capable ball, we can be very good. If not, we’re going to struggle a little. That’s why you play your nonconference games.”
Cerro was particularly irked by last week’s onslaught of penalty flags.
“That’s a major problem and we’ve made it a point of emphasis,” he said. “When you get holding or clipping calls, those are lazy penalties. You can’t have that stuff. I’m OK with a couple things here or there. But when you’re a young team, you can’t make egregious mistakes.”
Montour had the benefit of strong quarterback play the past four seasons. Jake Wolfe threw for nearly 4,200 yards and 52 touchdowns and rushed for another 1,400-plus yards and 21 scores in his three varsity seasons. Last fall, Trey Hopper passed for nearly 2,900 yards and 27 touchdowns in his lone season as a starter.
This year, the Spartans are breaking in a new starter in sophomore in Brandon Bennett, who has completed 39 of 83 passes (47%) for 709 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also thrown a pair of interception and has lost five fumbles.
“He’s developing,” Cerro said of the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, who has kept numerous plays alive with his scrambling ability. “When you’re a young quarterback, you have to learn to make the proper reads. Our offense isn’t easy to run, but it can be if you do the right thing.”
Montour has been aided by steady veteran running back Caden Halajcio, who has piled up 716 yards on 99 carries – an average of more than 7 yards per carry. He’s also scored eight touchdowns.
Cerro described the 5-11, 185-pound senior as a “patient” runner.
“He’s our bell cow,” Cerro said of Halajcio. “Everyone knows he’s getting the ball 20 times a game and he’s still getting his yards.”
Halajcio and Bennett are operating behind a young line and Cerro said he’s still trying to get the right mix there.
“I think we have that now, and we’re hoping that moving forward that will help us when we get into our conference games. When we do the right things (up front), good things happen.”
The Spartans also are young at other skill positions, as Bennett’s top two receivers are juniors Dom Baron and Zander Stern. Freshman Archie Collins also has made his presence known both as a running back on offense and in the defensive backfield.
“I knew we had some talent in our receiving corps,” Cerro said. “Stern and Baron are playing really well. And Archie Collins – he’s a freshman playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. That bodes well for the future.
“Those three guys have been big surprises.”
Stern has 17 catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Collins has 23 touches on offense – 11 as a receiver and 12 as a running back – for 288 total yards and six touchdowns.
Blackhawk enters Friday night’s game with a 2-3 record and is coming off a 49-6 win over Yough. Even in their three losses, the Cougars have been able to find the end zone, scoring at least 17 in each of the three games.
“They’re a good team,” Cerro said of Blackhawk. “They like to run the ball and they’ve put up points in some games. We’ve had some success against them over the last three years but that’s the last three years. We’ll see.”
Bethel Park (4-1, 0-0) at Moon Area (3-2, 0-0)
The Tigers enter their Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference opener coming off a 31-23 loss to Seneca Valley in a game in which starting quarterback Andrew Cross missed the second half due to injury. Cross has completed 32 of 69 passes for 404 yards and eight touchdowns, and also has run for 182 yards and a touchdown.
Savario Vandetti is Moon’s top receiving threat; he has caught 11 passes for 224 yards – better than 20 yards per reception – and three touchdowns.
Moon jumped out to a 13-0 lead last week but couldn’t hold on.
Bethel Park beat Trinity last week, 51-35 — a team that Moon defeated 14-13 in the season opener. The Black Hawks also beat Seneca Valley, 43-26, in their season opener.
Carlynton (1-4, 0-1) at Keystone Oaks (2-3, 2-0)
The Cougars, who ended a 23-year postseason drought a year ago, haven’t been able to continue that success in 2025. After winning their season opener over Carrick and dropping a tough 7-6 loss to Avella, they’ve been outscored 144-0 in their last three games, including 49-0 to Seton LaSalle in last week’s Class 2A Century Conference opener.
Quarterback Maddox Horrell has completed 21 of 52 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown, but Carlynton has been unable to get untracked offensively since that season-opening win.
Keystone Oaks started the season with three losses before defeating Sto-Rox, 28-0, in their conference opener two weeks ago and then whipping Charleroi, 42-7, last week.
Owen Gearhart leads the Eagles with 439 passing yards and five touchdowns, and he also is tops in rushing with 404 yards and six touchdowns.
Sto-Rox (0-5, 0-2) at Charleroi (0-5, 0-2)
Both the Vikings and the Cougars are looking for their first win as they meet in a Class 2A Century Conference game.
Sto-Rox fell 49-6 to Washington last week and has scored more than six points just once in five games. The Vikings’ largest offensive output came in a 38-20 loss to Carmichaels in their second game.
Charleroi has had similar problems, as they’ve totaled 14 points in four of their losses and managed 14 in a 61-14 loss to Seton LaSalle. On the season, the Cougars have been outscored 234-28.
Bishop Canevin (3-2, 1-0) at Chartiers-Houston (3-2, 1-1)
The Crusaders are coming off a convincing 44-7 win over Cornell a week ago in their Class 1A Black Hills Conference opener. Myontae Mott had a big night, piling up 177 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
Mott has racked up 441 yards rushing on the season in just 35 carries – a 12.6 yard average — and seven touchdowns on the ground. Backfield mate Neuval Bone has 177 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Brady Wagner has completed 30 of 52 passes – 58% — for 350 yards and four touchdowns, and Damar Olds has been his top target with 17 catches for 338 yards and two scores. Fellow receiver Justin Melvin also has five touchdown receptions, with four of them coming in one game.
Chartiers-Houston defeated Burgettstown 14-12 last week after falling to Fort Cherry, 44-14, the previous week. Aaron Walsh is the Buccaneers’ top offensive performer with 336 yards on the ground (9 yards per carry) and he’s also passed for 262 yards and a score.
Cornell (3-2, 1-1) at Serra Catholic (1-4, 0-1)
The Raiders had won two straight going into last week’s Class 1A Black Hills Conference opener against Bishop Canevin, but they proved to be no match for the Crusaders in a 44-7 loss.
Still, Cornell has plenty of weapons, most notably all-purpose threat Khylil Johnson, who has rushed for 252 yards in just 30 carries and has caught eight passes for 159 yards. Quarterback M.J. Stuckey has hit on 37 of 75 passes for 468 yards and seven touchdowns.
Serra Catholic won for the first time this season last week, beating Summit Academy, 39-6. Prior to that, the Eagles scored a total of 20 points combined in their four losses, including just six in the previous three games.
SATURDAY
Apollo-Ridge (3-2, 1-0) at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (2-3, 1-1)
The Chargers snapped a three-game losing streak that saw them get outscored 107-13 by whipping Ligonier Valley, 40-6, last week.
Quarterback Fabian Nixon, who had been struggling for several weeks, hit on 7 of 9 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Ligonier Valley.
On the season, Nixon is 13 of 27 for 284 yards. John Anderson is his top target with 12 catches for 192 yards and one score.
Apollo-Ridge has won two straight games after losing two of its first three. Last week, the Vikings beat previously unbeaten Shady Side Academy, 22-14.
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