P.I.A.A High School Football Forecast: Pennsylvania State Semifinals

Every week during the High School Football season, Pittsburgh SportsNation brings you uncensored, no holds barred predictions by our guru who goes by the moniker “P To The Power of 2”. He is one of our underground writers who covers W.P.I.A.L. High School Football in Western Pennsylvania. Or is it she? Either way, we'll never tell...unless you have $10,000,000 for PSN.



By P-to-The-Power of 2

The PIAA train makes a stop at the Semi-Final round. The “Final Four” of each classification.  

The Quarterfinals were quite excellent this season to P-TO-THE-POWEROF2 as yet another 15-1 record was posted after last weekend's action became final. Thus raising the 2014 postseason campaign as quickly as the Bill Cosby accuser total to a sparkling 67 victories and only 15 defeats: 81% ! The overall 2014 total raised to 137 victories and 34 defeats: 80%! 

Plenty of great action will be on the slate for this weekend, P-TO-THE-POWEROF2 has work to do….Let’s get to work!

CLASS ‘A’

District 7 Champion Clairton Bears (14-0) vs District 10 Champion Sharpsville Blue Devils (11-3) 

Friday night, 7pm, from Newman Stadium at North Allegheny High School, where they do not provide paper towels to dry your hands nor salt the metal stands...do not forget your ice boots.  

Last week, Sharpsville defeated Kane 50-14 and Clairton escaped the chip creators from Berlin, 44-24.  Sharpsville has won their four playoff contests this season by an average of 26 points.  The Blue Devils last week were led by QB Luke Kenwood who went 5 for 11 for 126 yards and five touchdowns by multiple players. The Devils defense racked up 3 sacks, a blocked punt and 2 interceptions.  Clairton will feature sophomore RB Lamont Wade who has 2,385 yards rushing and 43 touchdowns. QB Ryan Williams has tossed the rock for 2,859 yards. 38 of those going for touchdowns.  WR duo Aaron Matthews and Jamie Hines are a huge threat, they have the combined for over 1,500 yards receiving and 28 total touchdowns.  These two teams last met in 2011 when Clairton embarrassed the Devils, 30-8.  Matter of fact, District 7 has made District 10 their stepping stone to the title game, out of 6 meetings, D7 is 5-1! 

First year coach Wayne Wade and his Bears schedule a tour of Hershey. Clairton over Sharpsville

District 6 Champion Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders (14-0) vs  District 4 Champion South Williamsport Mountaineers (13-1) 

Friday night, 7pm, from E.J Mansell Stadium in DuBois, where Michael Jackson is buried.  

South Williamsport continues is magic couch ride by defeating Pius X, 69-41 last week, while Bishop Guilfoyle spanked Camp Hill, 62-21.  The Marauders of Bishop Guilfoyle will rely on QB Brandon Chadbourn who has thrown for 1,393 yards on the season and has 14 touchdowns.  RB Sam McCloskey is 1 yard away from 2,000 yards rushing and has crossed the goal line 40 times!  South Williamsport will feature the highly recruited RB of Dominic Bragalone who has 4,361 yards rushing and 64 touchdowns. A new state record, breaking the previous mark set by Schuylkill Haven’s Zach Barket in 2008 (4,187).  Dominic rushed for 438 yards and 6 touchdowns last week in the victory.  The matchup here is between the stingy defense of Bishop Guilfoyle, who are only giving up 4.8 points per game versus the dynamic rushing game of the Mountaineers who’ve averaged 51 points per game.  

It should be a good one, they’re playing “beat it” at halftime. South Williamsport over Bishop Guilfoyle

CLASS ‘AA’

District 3 Champion Wyomissing Spartans (13-1) vs District 2 Champion Dunmore Bucks (13-1) 

from Northern Lehigh on Saturday at 1pm.  

Wyomissing finds itself back in the PIAA semifinals by defeating Montoursville last week, 45-28.  Dunmore defeated Neumann-Goretti, 30-18.  Wyomissing continues to run the “wing-t” offense, thus helping them win by an average of 29.2 points per game, also outgaining their opponents by 137 yards per game.  RB Tom Paolini is the leading rusher for the Spartans but will not play after a foot injury last week put him on the bench.  So, Sam Weaver, Peter Geyer and Caleb Naylor will need to step up for the Spartans.  Geyer has 22 touchdowns this season and is averaging 8.5 yards per carry.  Also, Christian Martir had a 100 yard game last week.  The Dunmore Bucks are led by RB Sal Marchese who has rushed for 1,263 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.  The Bucks also have a massive offense line, averaging about 6-1,250lbs.  The Bucks are averaging 364 yards total per game this season.  Each team owns a state championship, Dunmore in 1989, while Prince was still performing, and Wyomissing in 2012 led by Alex Anzalone.  An injury that sends the Spartans back to Wyomissing. 

Buck the Spartans…..Dunmore over Wyomissing

District 7 Champion South Fayette Lions (14-0) vs District 10 Champion Hickory Hornets (11-2) 

from Mihalik Thompson Stadium on the Campus of Slippery Rock, 1pm. Where the world’s first “Sheetz” was built and is still standing.   

Hickory enters by embarrassing Tyrone, 28-0.  South Fayette defeated Karns City, 42-15.  Hickory returns again to the PIAA semi’s led by freshman QB Luke Brennan who has thrown for 938 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. While sophomore RB Chuck Carr has 1,302 yards and 20 touchdowns this season.  Junior WR duo of Joey Dejulia and Andrew Pryts have combined for 82 catches and 1,143 yards for 4 touchdowns.  The Hornets have stung up 5 shutouts this season.  Meanwhile, South Fayette is led by QB Brett Brumbaugh has the Lions on a 30 game win streak dating back to last season.  Mr. Brumbaugh has completed 199 of 333 passes for 3,478 yards and 39 touchdowns.  He will only need 105 yards to break the PA record of 10,948 yards.  WR Nick Ponikvar, Logan Sharp and Ryan Smider are the targets for Brett.  South Fayette will certainly rely on RB Hunter Hayes who rushed for 183 yards last week, 4 of them for touchdowns and for the year has, 1,572 yards and 33 touchdowns.  A spread and balanced attack. The rematch from last season is on the docket.  South Fayette escaped last season, 23-20 and kept Mr. Brumbaugh from throwing a touchdown, but the rushing attack got the best of Hickory.  “Unfinished Business” is the moto for the Hornets Saturday….Unfinished….well, the streak is finished for South Fayette.

Hickory kisses chocolate….Hickory over South Fayette

CLASS ‘AAA’

District 12 Champion Archbishop Wood Vikings (12-1) vs District 5 Champion Somerset Eagles (13-1) 

from Chambersburg High on Saturday at 1pm.  

The Vikings enter by absolutely destroying Great Valley, 44-7. Somerset may have opened some eye lids last week by throwing up a 30-0 beatdown of Bethlehem Catholic. Somerset will use RB Jake Heiple who has just shy of 1,500 yards this season to lead the Eagles.  He rushed for 3 touchdowns last week. QB Dylan Barnes has 1,470 yards passing with 19 touchdowns this season.  TE Bryce Mostoller has 536 yards receiving with 5 touchdowns.  Somerset has racked up 53 sacks this season.  Archbishop Wood Vikings are the defending PIAA Class AAA champion and are looking to add more hardware to the already packed trophy case.  The Vikings juggernaut is from the Philadelphia Catholic League (Suck that WPIAL insider).  They have appeared in the title game the past 3 seasons, winning 2 in the process. Archbishop this season beat Maryland powerhouse, DeMatha Catholic 34-13. Vikings are led by 2 highly rated players bound for Penn State next season with four star offense lineman Ryan Bates (6’5, 280) and LB Jake Cooper (6’3, 224) who very well could be the next product of Linebacker-U.  Villanova bound RB Jarrett McClenton has rushed for 1,158 yards and 16 touchdowns this season.  

Row, row, row your ship, right back to Hershey….Archbishop Wood over Somerset

District 7 Champion Central Valley Warriors (14-0) vs District 3 Champion Bishop McDevitt Crusaders (14-0) 

from Mansion Park Stadium aka “The Bone Yard”, Friday, 7pm.  

Central Valley enters its first PIAA semi’s by sending Conneaut back to riding the blue streak, 52-23.  While Bishop McDevitt threw up a 41-0 shutout of Cocalico.  Two high-profile recruits will lock horns.  Pitt’s Jordan Whitehead vs Penn State’s Andre Robinson.  Central Valley is led by RB Jordan Whitehead who has rushed for 1,724 yards and 21 touchdowns.  QB duo of Chris Callaghan and John George will take snaps for the Warriors.  WR BJ Powell leads in receptions with 41 for 807 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Whitehead has 16 touchdowns in 5 postseason games.  Bishop McDevitt RB Andre Robinson has rushed for 1,463 yards and missed 5 games due to a bone bruise.  QB Nick Marsilio, 6-3, 190lbs has tossed for 3,555 yards and 41 touchdowns.  Backup running back & starting LB, 6-1, 225lb Que’Shawn Jenkins has rushed for 1,003 yards on 112 touches.  Junior WR Kobay White has1,181 yards and 15 touchdowns, he has offers from Pitt, Georgia Tech and Boston College. Also, WR Bryce Hall has 962 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns.  Bishop McDevitt has only allowed 16 points in the past four games. Bishop McDevitt has appeared in 3 out of the past 4 PIAA championships, losing all of them. District 7 hasn’t appeared in the final since 2008, that was Thomas Jefferson……The Crusaders get back to Chocolatetown and leave the Warriors in the bone yard! Welcome to the big show Lyons, you’ll choke. 

Time for basketball in Center Township. Bishop McDevitt over Central Valley

CLASS ‘AAAA’

District 12 Champion St. Joes Prep Hawks (9-3) vs District 1 Champion Pennsbury Falcons (13-1) 

Charles Martin Memorial on Saturday, 1pm.  

St Joes enters by defeating Parkland, 34-30. Pennsbury defeated Coatesville, 21-14.  St Joes Prep is the defending PIAA Class ‘AAAA’ Champion when it pulverized Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 35-10. St. Joe’s Prep plays a big-time schedule in order to get ready for the Philadelphia Catholic League wars and playoffs. St. Joe’s (9-3) opened its season with a win at Mount Carmel of Illinois. From there it lost its next three, but against three powerhouse teams in New Jersey’s Don Bosco and St. Joe’s of Montvale, and Saint Ignatius of Ohio. St. Joe’s has not lost since and destroyed a strong La Salle team, 49-7, in the playoffs.  St. Joe’s Prep is more or less an all-star team with players from all over the place and different states. In that list is New Jersey resident and lineman Jon Runyan Jr., a University of Michigan recruit and the son of the former Philadelphia Eagle offensive tackle. Pennsbury is 13-1 for a reason. The Falcons have the highest scoring offense and the stingiest defense in the entire district. The Falcons have an outstanding and massive offensive line opening holes for Charles Snorweah, who has carried the ball 294 times for a mind-numbing 2,608 yards and 37 touchdowns.  A daunting task for Pennsbury.

St Joes returns to Hershey…..St Joes Prep over Pennsbury

District 7 Champion Pine Richland Rams (14-0) vs Wilson Bulldogs (14-0) 

from Mansion Park Stadium aka “The Bone Yard”, Saturday, 1pm. 

Wilson enters by defeating Central Dauphin, 21-10.  Pine Richland defeated State College in an ugly at that,  49-29.  The Rams have put up some obscene offensive numbers while racking up 14 straight victories. They have a 3,000-yard passer in QB Ben DiNucci, two 1,000-yard receivers in Mike Merhaut and D’ondre Gastion and a 1,000-yard rusher in Connor Slomka. Pine-Richland averages 434.7 yards and 46 points per game. DiNucci, a 6-3, 200-pound senior, has thrown just three interceptions all season. He’s 191-for-259 for 3,296 yards and 34 touchdowns through the air. Merhaut, his top target, has hauled in 72 receptions for 1,174 yards and 13 scores, while Gastion has 52 catches for 1,058 yards and 13 TDs. Slomka, a 6-0, 225-pound senior, has 1,436 yards and 34 touchdowns on 214 attempts.  Offensively, Wilson’s stats won’t blow you away, but the Bulldogs get the job done. The offense averages 327 yards per game, with most of that (202.8 per game) coming on the ground. Senior Shane Dantzler is the primary weapon on offense, with 1,562 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground and 18 catches for 222 yards and five scores as a receiver. Templin has completed 117 of 227 passes for 1,688 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted 11 times. Gehman (27-450, 9 TDs) and Jon Fox (24-368, eight TDs) are his top receivers. Wilson has never won a state title, though the Bulldogs have made one trip to the championship game. They fell 12-7 to Upper St. Clair in 1989….. That is the only time Wilson ever made it through the state semis. They wont this year either.

Pine Richland over Wilson

See yous next week for the final edition of P-TO-THE-POWEROF2 – 2014