Montour High School football coach Lou Cerro said he feels like his team is in good shape when it comes to securing a berth in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
But he admits he’d feel much better if the Spartans could end their regular season Friday night by beating host West Allegheny at Joe P. DeMichela Stadium.
A win by Montour would clinch no worse than second place in the Parkway Conference and could even result in a conference title should New Castle fall to Blackhawk.
Second place would wrap up one of Class 4A’s eight playoff qualifying spots; the top two teams in each of the classification’s three sections automatically qualify, and the WPIAL football committee will select two at-large wildcard teams to complete the field.
That’s why Cerro has stressed to his team the importance of Friday night’s meeting with West Allegheny, which holds the same 3-1 conference record as Montour and New Castle.
“We don’t want to put this in the hands of the committee,” Cerro said, referring to the group that will select the two wildcard teams. “We want to do our share – win the game, and not have to worry about it.”
The Montour-West Allegheny game is one of six Friday night contests involving West Hills teams. In other games, Moon visits South Fayette, Cornell travels to Monessen, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart hosts Keystone Oaks at Moon’s Tiger Stadium, Carlynton visits Charleroi and Sto-Rox hosts Waynesburg Central. All games start at 7 p.m.
Bishop Canevin will host Burgettstown at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dormont Stadium to round out the week’s slate of games.
Montour has firsthand knowledge of the damage that West Allegheny can do. A year ago, Montour went into the final regular-season game unbeaten in the conference at 4-0 and 8-0 overall and only needing to beat the Indians to wrap up the conference title.
Instead, West Allegheny pulled out a 13-7 overtime victory, relegating the Spartans to a wild card berth. Montour wound up losing to Mars in the opening round of the playoffs and what had the makings of a dream season ended with a thud.
Cerro thinks last year’s loss to West Allegheny could help motivate some of his players who were a part of it.
“West Allegheny coming into our stadium and beating us when we were undefeated – that turned the tale on our whole season,” he said.
Cerro and the Spartans aren’t dwelling on the past, though. Montour has won three of its last four games, including a 34-20 win over Aliquippa last week in which the Spartans scored the final 15 points.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Bennett fueled the win with a pair of touchdown passes to Zander Stern, and Bennett also ran for a score.
Cerro characterized Bennett’s first season as a starter as “a work in progress. The last couple of weeks he’s been coming into his own. Hopefully he keeps coming into his own this week and beyond.”
Cerro said his team is playing well overall at this point in the season. “I think we’re gaining some confidence after beating Aliquippa,” he said. “I think that will help us in the long run. Anytime you can beat Aliquippa – especially two years in a row – it’s an accomplishment. We’re hoping that carries over to this week.”
Cerro knows West Allegheny won’t go down easily, given that they have their own playoff hopes to play for. The Indians, Cerro said, are a tough group that likes to run the ball.
“They’ve always done that,” he said of West Allegheny’s ground attack. “They’ll run some wildcat, some with the quarterback under center and giving the ball to the tailback or the fullback. And they pick their spots throwing the ball. They’ve been successful there, but we have to stop their run game first.”
Cerro said the Montour defense has played well in recent games. “Last week we only gave up one defensive touchdown in the second half against Aliquippa,” he said. “And our first team defense didn’t give up a point against Ambridge.”
Bennett has completed 78 of 145 passes for 1,324 yards with 13 touchdowns. His top target has been junior Zander Stern, who has caught 38 passes for 675 yards and seven touchdowns. Freshman Archie Collins has 20 receptions for 251 yards and a pair of scores, and he’s also rushed for 242 yards on just 23 carries. Senior Caden Halajcio leads the ground game with 1,005 yards rushing and 12 TDs.
West Allegheny features Brodie Cornell, who has rushed for nearly 600 yards and 11 TDs and has caught 10 passes for 190 yards and two scores. Donovan O’Connor has completed 36 of 79 passes for 489 yards and six TDs.
Moon (6-3, 3-1) at South Fayette (5-4, 1-3)
The Tigers, coming off a big 20-13 double overtime win over Upper St. Clair last week, already have clinched second place in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference. That gives Moon a home playoff game next week.
Moon coach Ryan Linn said his team is starting to peak at the right time.
“We have played some of our best football over the last month,” he said. “And that’s a great place to be heading into the playoffs.”
Linn said the Tigers need to maintain possession and convert their drives into touchdowns against the Lions, who will have plenty of motivation in that they need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Linn said South Fayette quarterback Drew Welhorsky, who has completed 73 of 130 passes for 1,046 yards and nine scores, is a dual threat who’s also effective running the ball. The Lions also have a solid receiver group and an explosive young running back.
Senior quarterback Andrew Cross leads Moon with 829 yards passing and nine touchdowns, and he’s also rushed for 340 yards and four scores. Savario Vandetti has caught 20 passes for 312 yards while Braeden Stuart has 21 receptions for 232 yards and Jayden Revis 12 catches for 241 yards and four scores. Antione Arnett is Moon’s leading rusher with 460 yards on 100 carries.
Cornell (5-4, 2-3) at Monessen (5-4, 2-3)
The two teams are tied for fourth in the Class 1A Black Hills Conference, so a victory will be crucial to have a chance at a postseason berth. The top three finishers in each of the four Class 1A conferences earn automatic berths and four wildcards also will get in.
Cornell is coming off a 27-26 loss to Chartiers-Houston after leading 12-0. The Raiders have alternated winning and losing over the past six games while Monessen has lost four of its last five, including its most recent outing – a 44-7 beating at the hands of Bishop Canevin.
Khylil Johnson leads the Raider attack with 1,122 yards rushing on just 89 carries, and he’s also caught 17 passes for 363 yards. The senior standout has scored 17 touchdowns combined as a runner and a receiver.
Terrance Collington has 200 yards rushing and 257 yards receiving to go with seven TDs while Isaiah Dawson has 13 catches for 229 yards and six TDs. Quarterback M.J. Stuckey has completed 69 of 134 yards for 1,106 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Tavian Taylor has rushed for 575 yards and six scores for Monessen while Kaier Payne has completed 25 of 49 passes for 527 yards and seven TDs.
Keystone Oaks (4-5, 4-2) vs. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (4-5, 3-3)
The Chargers needed a win last week and they got one – an 18-8 decision over Shady Side Academy. J.J. Hayden threw for a pair of touchdowns in the win and Jamire Samuels added a scoring run. Samuels has rushed for 346 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
Hayden, who has been sharing time at quarterback with Fabian Nixon and Nehemiah Ichimura, completed 8 of 15 passes for 98 yards in last week’s win.
Keystone Oaks is led by quarterback Owen Gearhart, who has thrown for 672 uards and seven touchdowns, but he’s been picked off seven times.
OLSH coach Donnie Militzer said he’s very pleased with the growth his team has shown as the season winds down. He believes that, based on the strength of the Allegheny Conference – which he said includes three of the top five teams in all of Class 2A — the Chargers have a legitimate shot to get a wildcard playoff berth.
“We are playing much better team football the last month, so we’re excited to see what we can do if we get in,” he said.
“If we can get a win (against Keystone Oaks), we think it secures a spot and helps out with seeding tremendously.”
Burgettstown (1-7, 0-5) vs. Bishop Canevin (6-3, 4-1)
The Crusaders have won six of their last seven, including a 44-7 Class 1A Black Hills Conference decision over Monessen last week that wrapped up a Class 1A playoff spot. Bishop Canevin’s only loss during that stretch was a 54-14 defeat at the hands of unbeaten Fort Cherry.
Burgettstown, meanwhile, won its season opener over Bentworth and has since lost seven in a row.
Bishop Canevin quarterback Brady Wagner has completed 42 of 69 passes for 609 yards and 10 TDs, with his top targets being Damar Olds (23 catches, 456 yards, six TDs) and Justin Melvin (14 catches, 204 yards, six TDs).
Myontae Mott is the Crusaders leading rusher with 598 yards on 50 carries and 10 TDs while Alex Kirk has rushed for 252 yards and three scores.
Waynesburg Central (4-5, 2-3) at Sto-Rox (1-8, 1-4)
The Vikings won their first game of the season two weeks ago but lost 64-14 to South Allegheny last week in Class 2A Century Conference action. Waynesburg Central has won two of its last three, including a 47-12 decision over Charleroi last week.
Carlynton (1-8, 0-5) at Charleroi (1-8, 1-4)
The Cougars are coming off a 62-0 loss to Washington in a Class 2A Century Conference game last week. That was Carlynton’s eighth straight defeat after opening the season with a victory. Charleroi has lost three in a row, including a 47-12 decision to Waynesburg Central last week.
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