Rivals Recap: Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH -- The WPIAL Championships at Heinz Field started
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off with Clairton, Pa. blowing past Jeannette, Pa. 40-0 for the Class A title.
Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic beat Harrison City (Pa.) Penn Tratford 24-17
in the Class AAAA final. In a close contest, Aliquippa, Pa. beat McDonald (Pa.)
South Fayette 44-38 for the Class AA championship. In the final game of the
night, Jefferson Hills (Pa.) Thomas Jefferson topped Monaca (Pa.) Central Valley
20-7 for the Class AAA title.
I was impressed with...
Clairton cruised to their second-straight WPIAL title and their eighth in the
last ten years. Harrison Dreher returned the opening kickoff for a
touchdown and the Bears didn't look back. Five-star
Lamont Wade was the
workhorse on offense, accounting for over 200 yards of total offense and scoring
two touchdowns. He also contributed four tackles and two pass breakups on
defense.
With Rivals250 prospect Damar Hamlin out for most of the game, Penn-Tratford
really loaded up to stop the run but Toledo commit
Ronnie Jones picked up the slack. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound running back had a long
catch and a long punt return called back for penalties and still amassed close
to 150 total yards and two touchdowns. Jones showed off great athleticism,
breaking and spinning off would-be tacklers and he had the speed to out run most
of the defenders on the field.
I was surprised by...
Aliquippa do-everything-star Kaezon Pugh was an absolute beast on
Saturday night. The Pittsburgh commit ran for almost 180 yards scoring
two touchdowns while making two tackles and knocking down one pass. Last year
Pugh was pretty thin and looked like he has a long way to go before he could see
action early in his college career. Pugh is now every bit his listed 6-foot-2,
215-pounds and has plenty of room to add more good weight to his frame.
Rivals250 defensive back Damar Hamlin went down early in the game with
an injury but the Central Catholic defense did not skip a beat. The Vikings, led
by 2017 Rivals250 linebacker David Adams and Pittsburgh defensive
tackle commit Rashad Wheeler, only allowed 232 total yards. Some
questionable flags from the referees put the Central Catholic defense in some
tough situations but they had a "bend but don't break" mentality and came up big
in the end.
Other notes...
Clairton
standout Aaron Mathews has a top three of Pittsburgh,
West Virginia and N.C. State. He sees himself as a wide receiver but,
based on his play this season, he could have a future on the defensive side of
the ball in college.
Remember
the name David Green. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound defensive end is very
strong, knows how to play with leverage and is very active. There is a lot of
room for his to add weight to his frame also. He'll likely grow into a defensive
tackle.
