Week 2 of Beaver County High School Football on Pittsburgh Sports Now is made possible by Vocelli’s Pizza, Moon Golf Club, State Representative Rob Matzie and Cameron James Landscaping.
Week Two of the 2017 High School football season is in the books and it’s now on to Week Three. Our two featured games on PSN were Freedom going on the road to defeat New Brighton to earn win two of the season. Our second game might have been the best game in the WPIAL this weekend as West Allegheny defeated North Hills in overtime.
Here’s a recap of other games in the county and also our PSN Week 2 Player of the Week.
Aliquippa 30 – Beaver 10
The Aliquippa defense continues to pitch a shutout for the 2017 season. In their first three games (New Castle, Beaver Falls, Beaver), the defensive unit hasn’t allowed a touchdown. The only Beaver touchdown in this game was scored by Tyler Wallace, who returned an interception 76 yards to give the Bobcats at 7-0 lead. That was Wallace’s third interception of the season. After that play, it was all Quips. What Aliquippa’s defense did Friday night was impressive because Beaver came into the game averaging 55 points a game.
Putting points on the scoreboard for Aliquippa were MJ Devonshire on a 13 yard pass from Eli Kosanovich, Avante McKenzie on a 1-yard run, Tariq Jones on a 5-yard run and Kosanovich threw his second touchdown pass of the game this time 66 yards to William Gipson.
For the game, Jones recorded 13 carries for 84 yards and McKenzie 19 carries for 73 yards.
Next up for Aliquippa is a non-conference game against Freeport while Beaver has a huge matchup traveling to Quaker Valley.
Riverside 35 – Laurel 0
The combination of Ben Hughes to Austin Dambach was the difference in the game as Riverside opened conference play with a shutout win. The Hughes to Dambach accounted for 133 yards and three touchdowns. For the game, Hughes was 9-of-14 for 217 yards.
Defensively for the Panthers, Conner McQuiston recovered a touchdown while LeMarcus Cleckley intercepted a pass.
Next up for Riverside is a matchup against Mohawk.
Upper St. Clair 41 – Moon 10
The undoing for Moon in this game was turnovers. When you play a program like Upper St. Clair you need to bring your A-game performance and unfortunately for the Tigers that didn’t happen as they turned the ball over five times. To make things worse, three of the turnovers were pick six interceptions for Upper St. Clair.
The Panthers raced out to a 34-0 halftime lead and pushed the score to 41-0 before Moon got on the scoreboard.
USC got on the scoreboard first when Jack Hansberry hit Dominic Cepullio for a 71-yard touchdown pass. That was followed by two touchdown runs by Colin McLinden (6 and 1 yard runs). After that, it was three consecutive interceptions for touchdowns- Jesse Fera 12 yard return, Fera 38 yard return and McLinden on a 46-yard return.
The only Moon touchdown came on a 49 yard touchdown pass from Cole Konieczka to Jamal Littlejohn. For the game, Konieczka finished 12 of 34 for 145 yards. On the ground, Brady Sunday rushed 19 times for 64 yards.
Next up for Moon is a road game at Hampton.
Hopewell 16 – Ellwood City 14
Being involved in close game is something the 2017 Hopewell Vikings are getting used to. After their first two games were decided by a touchdown, Hopewell found itself trailing by a single point entering the fourth quarter against Ellwood City.
The game-winning points were recorded when kicker Samantha Hysong, who had an earlier kick blocked, nailed a 32-yard field goal with five minutes left to give Hopewell the win. The win improved Hopewell’s record to 2-1 while Ellwood City fell to 0-2. It was a tough ending for Ellwood City who were looking for their first win since October of 2015.
Once again, Hopewell’s best player was Tyler Sabo, who recorded two interceptions and also returned a punt 63 yards for a Hopewell touchdown.
Hopewell had trouble consistently moving the ball but were able to earn a victory. Next up for the Vikings is a road trip to Yough.
Quaker Valley 43 – Neshannock 6
The Quaker Valley offense machine continued to roll with a blowout of Neshannock. The trio of quarterback Ricky Guss and Jordan Taylor and Isaiah McNair were lethal for QV.
Guss, who came into the game accounting for 12 Quaker Valley touchdowns, ran for two and threw for another one. For the game, Guss ran 15 times for 128 yards while also throwing for 156 yards. Guss’s top receiving target was McNair, who caught 6 passes for 130 yards and a TD. On the ground, Taylor ran for 131 yards and scored two touchdowns.
The Quakers are now 3-0 and this coming Friday will host Beaver in a huge conference game.
Other Beaver County games:
Mars 32 – Blackhawk 0: The Mars defense held Blackhawk to 94 yards of total offense as Blackhawk fell to 0-2.
Central Valley 42 – Elizabeth Forward 26: For the second straight week, Central Valley quarterback Nico Battisti was the difference. Battisti accounted for six touchdowns, four in the air and two on the ground, as the Warriors won their second consecutive game. Battisti finished the game throwing for 269 yards and rushing for another 112 yards.
Next up for Central Valley is an away game at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.
Rochester 28 – Summit Academy 18: The Rams defense held Summit Academy to 49 total yards of offense while running back Caleb Collins accounted for three Rochester touchdowns. Collins ran for 94 yards and quarterback Mahlik Strozier, last week’s PSN Player of the Week, rushed for 89 yards.
The two Summit Academy touchdowns came on a Antonio White 90 yard kickoff return and a Chemar James 30 yard fumble return.
The Rams will look to stay undefeated in Week Three as they host Sto-Rox.
PSN’s Week Two Player of the Week: Hopewell kicker Samantha Hysong for converting on a 32-yard GW field goal for the Vikings. Congratulations Samantha; you’ll be receiving gift cards from two PSN’s sponsors, Vocelli’s of Hopewell and Rochester and also Dunkin’ Donuts.
