Winning hasn’t come easy these last two years for the Sto-Rox Vikings and second-year coach Brendan Blair, but they finally got a taste of it a week ago.
“It felt good to get over that hump – to get that monkey off our back,” Blair said earlier this week in reference to last Friday’s 8-6 victory over Carlynton.
“The guys were happy, and it’s good they got to feel that.”
The Vikings went 0-9-1 in Blair’s first year as coach, with a tie against Carmichaels being the closest thing to a victory.
This year, Sto-Rox lost its first seven games before edging Carlynton in a Class 2A Century Conference matchup. Karic Willis scored on a 30-yard touchdown for the Vikings.
This week, Sto-Rox will face a much tougher test than the 1-7 Cougars, as the Vikings will travel to meet unbeaten South Allegheny.
That’s one of seven games featuring West Hills schools Friday night. In other action, Moon hosts Upper St. Clair, Montour visits Aliquippa, Bishop Canevin takes on host Monessen, Cornell entertains Chartiers Valley, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart visits Shady Side Academy and Carlynton hits the road to meet Washington.
All games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
South Allegheny, ranked No. 6 among small schools by Triblive.com, is 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Class 2A Allegheny Conference while Sto-Rox is 1-7 in 2A Century Conference action.
The Gladiators have scored at least 28 points in every game and four times have posted at least 53 points, topping the 60-point mark in back-to-back wins over Shady Side Academy and Ligonier Valley.
South Allegheny is coming off a 35-0 win over Apollo-Ridge. Alijah Cook has completed 60 of 101 passes for 999 yards and 20 touchdowns vs. five interceptions. Joe Gamret is the team’s top running threat with 647 and nine TDs.
Blair said he and his team watched film of South Allegheny, but he stressed the importance of not looking ahead to Friday night.
“It’s day by day – try to win each day,” he said. “Prepare each day and be present – that’s the message. Be in the moment. Do the little things – school, attitude, character. Handle your business off the field and live with the results on the field.”
Blair said he tries to keep a positive mindset despite the won-loss record.
“No one likes to lose,” he said. “But we’re letting them know that it’s bigger than wins and losses. It’s hard to keep coming back and keep working and then lose. But the guys who are here, we tell them all the time: we have the utmost respect for them. They are persevering. Whether they know it or not. These are the moments they’ll never forget. To say that you overcame these moments, they’ll be able to go back and say, ‘Dang, I overcame this.’”
Although the record isn’t what Blair or anyone else connected with the program would like, he said he does see improvement.
“We hit a rough patch in the middle of the season when we couldn’t get on the (score)board,” he said. “But we’re getting better every week. It’s the little things we keep missing – missing a block or two, or jumping off sides. Bonehead stuff. That’s the mental part of the game. You have to be focused and locked in right away.”
Blair said he tries to underscore the importance of the mental game. “We try to prepare them as much as we can, but they’re the ones on the field,” he said. “That’s the message our coaches use.
“You gotta do more – this isn’t enough.”
Upper St. Clair (7-1, 2-1) at Moon Area (5-3, 2-1)
The Tigers’ pass defense will be tested in this Class 5A Allegheny Six clash, as the Panthers feature the WPIAL’s top passer in Ethan Hellman, who has completed 73% of his 167 passes for 1,960 yards and 25 touchdowns – and just one interception.
Dante Coury is Upper St. Clair’s leading rusher with 536 yards and nine touchdowns and Hellman’s top two targets are Nico D’Orazio (25 catches, 550 yards, nine TDs) and Bryce Jones (24-498-4).
For Moon, Andrew Cross has thrown for 620 yards and nine scores and has rushed for 299 more yards and two TDs. Antione Arnett leads the rushing attack for the Tigers with 460 yards and three scores. Savario Vandetti has 15 catches for 248 yards and four TDs while Jayden Revis (11-215-4) and Braeden Stuart (15 catches, 137 yards) also are threats.
Montour (5-3, 2-1) at Aliquippa (5-2, 2-1)
The Quips sustained a huge loss when starting quarterback Marques Council injured his knee and will miss the rest of the season. Council had thrown for nearly 1,000 yards and nine TDs, including more than 300 and three scores against Penn Hills earlier this season.
Aliquippa still has weapons, most notably running back J.J. Work (463 yards, seven TDs) and receiver Josh Lay (22 catches, 395 yards).
Montour, coming off a Class 4A Parkway Conference win over Ambridge last week, relies on senior running back Caden Halajcio (892 yards, 11 TDs) and freshman Archie Collins, who’s a threat every time he touches the ball. Collins has a combined 465 yards rushing and receiving on just 38 touches.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Bennett has completed 73 of 136 passes for 1,199 yards to go with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Zander Stern leads the team in receptions with 36 for 582 yards and five scores.
Bishop Canevin (5-3, 3-1) at Monessen (5-3, 2-2)
The Crusaders had won five straight games before running into a buzzsaw that is unbeaten Fort Cherry last week, and that resulted in a 56-19 loss in a Class 1A Black Hills Conference game.
Bishop Canevin couldn’t contain Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg, who scored five touchdowns, including one on a punt return and another on an interception return.
Monessen’s Tavian Taylor has rushed for 481 yards and five TDs while Kaier Payne has thrown for nearly 500 yards and six scores.
Bishop Canevin has plenty of weapons, led by Myontae Mott, who has rushed for 598 yards on just 50 carriers and has scored 10 TDs. Alex Kirk and Neuval Bone have combined to rush for 490 yards and six TDs.
Brady Wagner has thrown for 609 yards and 10 TDs. Damar Olds is the Crusaders’ leading receiver with 23 catches for 456 yards and six scores while Justin Melvin has caught 14 passes for 204 yards and six TDs.
Chartiers Valley (6-2, 2-1) at Cornell (5-3, 2-2)
The Raiders rebounded from a loss to Fort Cherry two weeks ago by pummeling Rochester, 45-8, in a Class 1A Black Hills Conference game last week behind Khylil Johnson’s four touchdowns.
Johnson has rushed for 932 yards and 10 TDs on just 71 carries, and he’s also caught 17 passes for 363 yards and six scores. He’s even thrown for a pair of touchdowns in five attempts.
M.J. Stuckey has completed 63 of 124 pass attempts for 1,018 yards and eight scores. Terrance Collington has rushed for 201 yards and caught 12 passes for 249 yards. He has seven TDs combined. Daveon Collier also is a solid target for Stuckey with 13 catches for 134 yards.
Colts quarterback Luke Miranda has completed 63% of his passes for 848 yards and 10 TDs. Julius Best leads the receivers with 279 yards and a 21.5 yards per catch average to go with four TDs. Tayshaun Lewis has rushed for 258 yards and two scores.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (3-5, 2-3) at Shady Side Academy (3-4, 1-3)
The Chargers, coming off a 38-6 loss to Steel Valley, will look to resume their winning ways in a Class 2A Allegheny Conference matchup with the Bulldogs.
Javon Johnson is Shady Side Academy’s quarterback and he’s thrown for 662 yards and three TDs. OLSH has used several quarterbacks this season and last week three of them saw action. J.J. Hayden completed 2 of 3 attempts for a total of 2 yards while Nehemiah Ichimura and Fabian Nixon both went 0 for 3 and combined to throw three interceptions.
The Chargers’ only points last week came on Talen Ellis’ 28-yard touchdown run.
Carlynton (1-7, 0-4) at Washington (7-1, 4-0)
The Cougars will look to snap a seven-game losing streak, but they didn’t exactly draw an easy opponent in the Prexies, who are unbeaten in Class 2A Century Conference action. Tristan Reed has hit on nearly 70% of his passes, six of which have gone for touchdowns, and he’s yet to throw an interception.
Washington split its first two games and has won its last six; the Prexies’ defense has yielded just 42 points in those six victories. Offensively, Washington has scored fewer than 44 points just once in that stretch; the Prexies scored 35 in a win over Waynesburg Central. They’ve outscored their last two opponents 116-9.
Carlynton, meanwhile, has had major issues offensively. Only once in the last seven games have the Cougars scored more than six points, and that came in a 42-18 loss to Keystone Oaks.
Justin Berger is Carlynton’s top rusher with 22 yards and three TDs. Ashton Donlin has rushed for 164 yards.
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