The Highway to Heinz opened up Friday night with half of the field of 64 advancing in the WPIAL football playoffs while 32 teams saw their dreams of a district title end as they exited off the first ramp. Here are recaps from most of those 32 games.

Thanks to Dow Carnahan, Sam Hall, Rich Mastowski, Ken Laird, Rick Smith, Steve Nagler, Adam Gusky, Mark Uriah, Dennis Fischer, Rob Matzie, Eric Nuttall, Gary Frankhouser, Scott Briggs, T.J. DiStefano, Brian Mroziak, Jim Frederick, Bob Barrickman, Scott Kolat, Adam Hoerner, Bob Gregg, Dan Zangrilli, Greg Kuntz, Matt Vandriak, Mark Schaas, Ed Troup, Josh Rowntree, Lou Rood, Greg Warnock and Don Rebel for their help on these recaps.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA First Round:

Gateway Gators 49 - Plum Mustangs 0
Friday night was just the beginning for the Highway To Heinz for the Gators of Gateway, but sadly the end for the Plum Mustangs. Gateway showed all night that they were by far the better team, and also showed exactly why they are the number one seed in the WPIAL class AAAA playoffs. The night started off slow with both teams punting on their first drive. On Plum's second punt however, the Gators came
alive as number 34 Demond Haynes rushed in, blocked the punt, and took it to the house for the Gators. The PAT was good and Gateway took a 7-0 lead. After this point, it was all Gateway. The next possession for the Gators was a touchdown run by number 2, Brendon Felder. On Plum's next possession, they turned the ball over on a fumble with was recovered by number 34, Haynes, who then tossed the ball to a teammate who took it back into the Plum end zone. After another Plum possession that went no where, Gateway capitalized with a touchdown pass from number 11 Robert
Kalkstein to number 15 Stephen Vranka. Once again, Plum was shut down and had to punt. Number two Brendon Felder misplayed the punt, but this did not matter as he fielded the ball from about the fifteen, made a shifty mood on the defender, and took it all the way back for six. The final scoring drive of the game happened when number 11 Robert Kalkstein threw a lazer to number 15 Stephen Vranka which again resulted in six. The final score of this first round playoff game was the Gateway Gators 42 and the Plum Mustangs 0.

Penn Hills Indians 14 - Upper St. Clair Panthers 7
In what would be considered a mild upset, the 9th seeded Penn Hills Indians went on the road Friday night and defeated 8th seeded Upper St. Clair by the score of 14-7 in the first round of the AAAA Football Playoffs. In a game dominated by the defenses, it would be a defensive touchdown that would prove to be the difference. Penn Hills won the opening coin toss, elected to receive, and went on their only scoring drive of the game. A 7-play, 70 yard scoring drive was culminated by a 20-yard TD run by Chris Washington and in less than three minutes, the Indians had a 7-0 lead. The Panthers struck back in a hurry with their lone scoring drive of the game and tied the game with 6:26 to go in the first quarter. RB Jacob Sewicki capped off a 6-play, 59 yard scoring drive by running one in from five yards out. The score stayed tied until the 2nd quarter when it appeared that Upper St. Clair was driving to take the lead. But, on a 3rd and 15 from the Indians 35 yard line, Alex Park overthrew wide-out Mitchell Fawcett and was picked off by Raymon Harris. Harris then sprinted down the sideline 72 yards for what would be the game-winning score. From there, Penn Hills defense was overwhelming, led by Pitt recruit Aaron Donald and Syracuse recruit Miles Davis. Penn Hills recorded seven sacks on Park, three by Donald alone. The Panthers actually were winners on the stat sheet, outgaining the Indians 157-121, outpossessing them 28:09 - 19:51 and having four more first downs. Upper St. Clair's season ends with a record of 6-4 while Penn Hills evens their record at 5-5. The Indians will have the daunting task of taking on #1 seeded Gateway next Friday night on a neutral site. Gateway defeated Penn Hills 19-7 in week one of non-conference play.

North Allegheny Tigers 47 - Latrobe Wildcats 0
The North Allegheny Tigers defeated the Greater Latrobe Wildcats 47-0 in the first round of the WPIAL AAAA playoffs at North Allegheny. Tigers quarterback Justin Brozik threw three touchdown passes to LEAD THE North Allegheny attack. Brozik threw two touchdowns to running back Grant Huckstein and one to Matt Steinbeck. Huckstein also scored on a 2-yard run and Alex Papson scored on a 25-yard run. Seth Clark added a 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jackson Cox booted a 38-yard field goal and North Allegheny added a safety following a blocked punt. North Allegheny improves their record to 9-1 and now play North Hills in the next round. Greater Latrobe finishes the season at 4-6.

North Hills Indians 19 - McKeesport Tigers 7
North Hills (5-5), the #12 seed in the AAAA bracket, controlled the game clock on offense and turned two McKeesport second half fumbles into ten points to pull off, arguably, the biggest upset on the opening night of the WPIAL playoffs, a 19-7 shocker over the fifth-seeded Tigers at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium . McKeesport (7-3), in typical big-play fashion, jumped out in front, 7-0, on its first possession of the contest with a 65-yard touchdown dash by E'Vander Wright with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter. North Hills responded with a methodical 14-play drive that ate up over 6 and 1/2 minutes off the clock, capped off by a 24-yard touchdown strike from Taylor Schmidt to Mark DeVita. The Tigers' Julian Brown blocked the subsequent extra point attempt by North Hills' kicker Anthony Chiappetta to preserve a slim 7-6 McKeesport lead early in the second quarter. Chiappetta, however, bounced back with a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and a three-point tally from 30 yards out late in the third quarter to extend the Indians' lead to 12-7. Chiappetta, one of the WPIAL's most reliable place kickers, is now seven of nine for his field goal attempts this season. Schmidt, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 98 yards and ran the ball for an additional 46 yards, score on a 4-yard touchdown run with 5:02 remaining in the game to seal the win for the Indians. North Hills has now outscored its opponents, 120-60, during the second half of games this season. The win marked the 260th career victory for North Hills' head coach Jack McCurry. The Indians now look forward to a quarterfinal show-down with arch-rival North Allegheny, the AAAA bracket's #4 seed, next Friday evening. North Allegheny trounced North Hills, 28-3, just one week ago to knot the all-time series between these two schools, separated by just seven miles of US Route 19 in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs, at 25-25. Look for the 51st version of the so-called North Bowl to be just a tad more interesting this time around.

Woodland Hills Wolverines 42 - Baldwin Highlanders 7
Big plays were the name of the game at the Wolvarena on Friday night, as 4 of the 6 touchdowns by Woodland Hills (9-1) covered over 40 yards. As we have seen throughout the season, the speed of the Wolverines proved to be too much for Baldwin (2-8). The Highlanders punted the ball on their first possession, and Lafayette Pitts returned that punt 80 yards for WH's first TD. Later in the 1st quarter, the Wolverines scored again, this time on a 12 yard run by Cameron Thompkins. The Black & Turquoise got another special teams TD late in the first quarter, this time it was a 64 yard run on a fake punt by Lafayette Pitts. Woodland Hills tailback, Dom Timbers, made his first contribution to the score early in the 2nd quarter with a 13 yard touchdown scamper. The Wolverines went to the air for their final score of the first half as John Yezovich threw a 46 yard touchdown strike to Joe Lofton. WH got their final score on a 42 yard carry by Dom Timbers early in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin finally scored late in the 4th quarter on a 37 yard pass from Nathan Reed to Tyler Marquis. Woodland Hills will take on Big East Conference rival, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, in the WPIAL AAAA Quarterfinals.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings 35 - Seneca Valley Raiders 0
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings used a bruising ground game and a smothering defense to cruise past the Seneca Vallet Raiders 35-0 at Fox Chapel high school in AAAA opening round action Friday night. The Vikings, playing without their star running back Damion Jones-Moore, out with an injury, turned to senior D.J. Myers sophomore Arnell Farmer in the run game and both responded with big games. Myers carried 15 times for 71 yards, while Farmer ran 12 times for 99 yards and three touchdowns on the night. More impressive for the Vikes than the ground game, was the defense that absolutely removed the Raiders' offense from the football contest from the outset. Seneca Valley quarterback Donny Holl, one of the highest ranked passers in the WPIAL heading into the contest was held to 3 of 16 passing for 8 yards. Holl was the leading rusher for the Raiders carrying 17 times for 49 yards. Central's Malik Johnson, Stephone Featherstone, Nyejel Thomas, Shane Yuhas, Rod Steele and Bob Haraczy led an astonishing defensive performance that held the Raiders to eight total first downs on the night. The Vikings improve to 8-2 and move on into the quarterfinals to face their Big East conference rival Woodland Hills. The Wolverines defeated the Vikings back in week five 27-3. Seneca Valley's first season under head coach Don Holl comes to an end at 5-5.

Bethel Park Black Hawks 49 - Penn-Trafford Warriors 21
Bre Ford had two interceptions, rushed for 116 yards on 10 carries, and scored three touchdowns to help lead #3 Bethel Park to a 49-21 win over Penn-Trafford. Also for Bethel Park, Nick Kwiatkoski rushed for 93 yards on 10 carries and 2 Touchdowns and QB Matt Bliss completed 5 passes for 96 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 attempts. Bethel Park had 314 yards rushing and 101 yards passing. Penn-Trafford had 165 yards passing and only 34 yards rushing. QB Matt Bliss completed 10 of 18 passes for 146 yards and 1 TD, but through 3 costly interceptions. Nick Markovic had 3 catches for 62 yards and one TD and Matt Hyland had 3 catches for 52 yards.

Shaler Titans 23 - Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 21
The Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils had a chance to win the game with 30 seconds to go, but a 30 yard field goal attempt by Christian Orfanopolous was low, going went into a mass of humanity at the line of scrimmage, as the Shaler Titans survived at home to win 23-21. Lebo chose not to kick a would be tying chip shot field goal earlier in the 4th qtr, as they went for it on 4th and goal from the 4, converting on a fade pass from Pat Goff to Mike Martin to take their first lead of the game 21-17 with just over 7 minutes to go. But Shaler answsered going 11 plays to take the lead for good, with 9 carries by Jesse Della Valle on the game winning drive including the 2 yd td run with 2:20 to go to take the lead. It was a game where the offenses stole the show, with 7 combined scoring drives of 62 yards or longer, and all 7 plays or longer. On the night Della Valle had 34 carries with 150 yards rushing and 3 TDs.


WPIAL CLASS AAA First Round:

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 51 - Laurel Highlands Mustangs 7
Thomas Jefferson dominates Laurel Highlands 51 - 7 After leading 44 - 0 at halftime. It all started with the first play from scrimmage after being pinned back at their own one yard line, Sam Johnston hit Steve Licht for 99 yards down the left sideline and from there TJ continued the onslaught with scores on every possession in the first half. The subs battled evenly in the second half on a running clock. So as expected TJ moves on TJ 51 LH 7.

Franklin Regional Panthers 35 - Montour Spartans 20
The score was 7-7 at the half. In the second half Franklin Regionals adjustments on both sides of the ball made the difference scoring 21 points in the third quarter. Chad Bowman rushed the ball 28 times for 160 yards and one score. Quarterback Steve Libertore was 10-18 for 182 yards and 3 TD's including a 28 yard strike to Ben Stephens and a 47 yard TD to Josh Staniscia. Montour sophmore QB Dillon Buechel tossed 2 TD's in defeat.

West Allegheny Indians 31 - Knoch Knights 17
The West Allegheny Indians advance on in the WPIAL playoffs after a 31-17 win over the Knoch Knights on Friday night. The host Indians got two touchdowns from Mike Caputo on runs of 21 and 23 yards, and two from quarterback Jared Buck’s one yard run and 15 yard pass to Emeka Agubata, in a game full of offense for both teams. Knoch got two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Ky Kenyon to senior Jake McTighe, and a 40 yard field goal from Kevin Wood to account for their finals scores of the year. It was Kenyon’s first two career TD passes. West Allegheny used their wildcat offense featuring Caputo to control the game and never send their punter on the field. The only time the Indians were stopped short of the goal line were because of two fumbles, and a field goal. Knoch actually led in the game 3-0 before the Indians added 21 unanswered points. But the Knights made it close to start the seconds half cutting the lead to 21-10. The Knights had another chance to cut the Indian lead further, but an apparent Knoch fumble recovery of a Jared Buck fumble was overturned by officials – but not until after they had awarded the recovery to Knoch. Caputo scored on the very next play for West Allegheny putting the game out of reach at 28-10.

New Castle Red Hurricane 45 - Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions 38
Last year, New Castle advanced to the second round of the WPIAL playoffs on the strength of a potent offense. Not much has changed in a year as the Red Hurricane blew past Greensburg-Salem 45-38. Cane quarterback John Matarazzo had a huge game passing the ball. He was 12 of 15 passing for 333 yards and two touchdowns plus a scoring run. Keith Keene rushed for 155 yards and scored two touchdowns for New Castle. Golden Lions quarterback Nate Spohn was 12 of 21 passing for 175 yards with two touchdowns passes and two touchdowns runs. Greensburg-Salem ends their Keystone Conference championship season at 8-2 while New Castle improves to 8-2 and will face Parkway Conference foe West Allegheny in the Quarterfinals.

Hopewell Vikings 28 - Derry Trojans 14
No one gave the 15 seed Derry Area Trojans a chance against the 2 seed Hopewell Vikings Friday night at Tony Dorsett Stadium, but the Trojans fought until the end before dropping a 28-14 decision to the Vikings. Hopewell was without the WPIAL's top running back Rushel Shell, who was suspended for violating a school rule, but back up Malcolm Lay filled in nicely scoring on runs of 3, 5 and 60. The first quarter was back and forth with both teams scoring twice. Derry got out to a 7-0 lead when QB Mike Kelly found Zack Matusak from 14 yds out. Hopewell scored the next two times on two touchdown runs by Malcolm Lay giving them a 14-7 lead. The first quarter ended tied at 14-14 when Mike Kelly connected with Bobby Shorthouse from 47 yds out. The lone score in the second quarter was a 33 yd TD pass from Hopewell's Matt Hundenski to Mark Ross making the score 21-14 Vikes at the half. The second half was quiet offensely on both sides with no scoring in the 3rd frame and one lone touchdown in the mid 4th qtr by the Vikings Malcolm Lay on a 60 yd run. This was Derry Area's first playoff appearence since 2001 and they played very hard and weren't intimidated by the Parkway Conference champs Hopewell one bit. Hopewell is now 10-0 and will play the 7 seed Mars Parents next Friday night in the quarterfinals. Derry Area finishes the season at 3-7

Mars Planets 17 - Trinity Hillers 0
The planets overcame 4 lost fumbles and the loss of their leading rusher Austin Miele to defeat the Hillers. Seth Geyer scored on fourth and goal on the final play of the first half to give Mars a 7-0 lead, capping a 76-yard 15-play drive. Geyer also left the game with an injury. Mars controlled the field position throughout the third quarter, but fumbled the ball away twice inside Trinity’s 10-yard line. On the planets third possession of the 2nd half, sophomore Ben Bair capped a 10-play 66-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put Mars up 14-0 with 9:07 to play. Trinity tried to mount a comeback, but a 19-yard Andrew Steratore-to-Dusty Avolio apparent touchdown pass was called back by a chop block, and the Hillers turned the ball over on downs. A Christopher Karns field goal with less that 2-minutes to play made the final score 17-0. Miele, who went over 12-hundred yards for the season, left the game late in the first half and was seen with an icebag on the back of his right thigh. Kevin Randolph led the planets with 83 yards on 11 carries. Randy Seebacher added 67 yards, Bair 50 for the planets….who improve to 7-3 on the year. Trinity finishes its season at 4-6.

Hampton Talbots 19 - Chartiers Valley 7
The #14 seed Hampton Talbots moved into the Quarterfinal round of the WPIAL Triple A football playoffs with a 19-7 upset win over #3 seed Chartiers Valley on Friday night. The Talbots, fourth place finishers out of the Greater Allegheny Conference, used an unrelenting rushing attack and punishing defense to manhandle the Colts, runners-up in the Big Seven Conference. Chartiers Valley opened the scoring with a Ben Carson 46 yard run with 1:44 to play in the first quarter. After a scoreless second quarter, Hampton took control of the game with two third quarter scores by Andrew Bly on runs of four and 43 yards. The Talbots added another Bly four yard run in the closing minutes to cap the scoring. Hampton's defense did not allow a first down to Chartiers Valley in the second half as the Talbots used their ground game to control the ball over the final 24 minutes. Hampton (6-4) will play Uniontown next Friday at a site to be determined. Chartiers Valley ends its season at 8-2.

Uniontown Red Raiders 21 - Belle Vernon Leopards 20
The Uniontown Red Raiders collected their first playoff win since 1965 downing the Belle Vernon Leopards 21-20 on Friday Night at Bill Power Stadium. The win was also the first playoff win for a team from the Keystone Conference since 2000. Freddy Johnson's interception of a Brandon Dillmore pass that was returned for a touchdown with 7:41 left in the 4th quarter put the Red Raiders in the lead to stay. Johnson also blocked a punt earlier in the evening for the Red Raiders which set up an Arnold Walker touchdown. Matty Green rushed for 227 yards and scored two touchdowns in a losing effort for Belle Vernon whose season ends at 5-5. Uniontown improves to 7-3 with the win and will take on the Hampton Talbots in the Quarterfinals.


WPIAL CLASS AA First Round:

South Fayette Lions 35 - Beaver Bobcats 15
It was a tale of two different teams in McDonald, PA on Friday night. Undefeated South Fayette (10-0) had captured the Century Conference with a very balanced and dynamic West Coast style offense, whereas Beaver (5-5) was very much a run-oriented team. The Bobcats kept it interesting, but the Lions would not be denied in a 35-15 triumph. Things started early in the first quarter when Beaver running back Cody Michalke fumbled on the second play from scrimmage, and South Fayette would make them pay with a 20-yard romp from running back Jeff Davis. Alex Henry nailed the PAT for a 7-0 advantage. The opening stanza would end that way as Beaver took a 17-play drive from its own 30 to the South Fayette three, but turned it over on downs. The Lions would turn around on a 97-yard drive which carried into the second quarter and ended on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Christian Brumbaugh to Eric Myers for a two-score lead. The Bobcats would respond on the next drive with a 34-yard run from quarterback Steve Neeley. Nathan Mick's kick cut the deficit in half, but South Fayette answered right back with a quick drive and another Brumbaugh touchdown pass, this time for 11 yards to Ryan Ross. The kick failed, but Davis punched in another score from 10 yards out with under two minutes to play. This time the pass failed, and it was 26-7 at the break. The Lions struck early on their first possession of the third quarter with Brumbaugh's third touchdown pass of the night, and the second to Eric Myers from 29 yards away, and it was 33-7 after three quarters. Beaver scored early in the fourth when running back Sam O'Neill pounded it into the end zone from three yards out and ran in his own conversion for a 33-15 score. The Bobcats defense stood tall on the next series and forced South Fayette to a three-and-out, getting good field position to boot at their own 30. They would be forced back to the nine, though, and a bad punt snap led to a safety for the final points of the evening. Brumbaugh finished 17 of 23 with 262 yards for the Lions. He got plenty of help from Davis with 158 yards on 14 carries while Ross caught eight balls for 111 yards. O'Neill racked up 107 yards of his own on 18 carries in the losing effort. The next stop for South Fayette on the Highway to Heinz is a game with the defending Class AA champion, the Aliquippa Quips, next week.

Aliquippa Quips 27 - McGuffey Highlanders 7
Rasheem Jones led a third quarter charge which saw Aliquippa score two times and control the 2nd half clock in a 27-7 first round AA win at McGuffey. Jones replaced sophomore Mikal Hall at quarterback and scored tiwce on a 2-yard run and an 8-yard tally after the defending WPIAL champs led only 6-0 at the half. The only score of the first half happened after defensive back Hautaun Mathis picked off a Derick Whipkey pass on the Highlanders first drive of the game and returned the pick 59 yards. That set up a 39 yard drive with Darius Walker getting into the endzone from 6 yards away. Walked rushed for 99 yards and Jones added 78 on the ground as the 9-1 Quips outrushed McGuffey 276-67 for the game. Aliquippa scored 4 of 6 times in the red zone and its defense completely shutdown the Highlanders in the second half. McGuffey only had two yards total in the 3rd and 4th periods and no first downs after intermission. Logan McAnany scored a late touchdown for McGuffey on a 35 yard fumble return as the Highlanders finished 7-3. Aliquippa's second round playoff game will be against top-seed and unbeaten South Fayette next Friday evening.

Beaver Falls Tigers 42 - Steel Valley Ironmen 14
Running backs Cody Cook and Admire Carter each scored three touchdowns to lead Beaver Falls to a 42-14 first round AA playoff victory over Steel Valley. Carter scored on a 93-yard run one play after the Fighting Tigers stopped a long Ironmen drive on downs at the Beaver Falls seven. Running back Delrice Williams scored on a 76-yard run for Steel Valley and tight end Nate Blazevich caught an 8-yard pass for a score to pull the Ironmen within 27-14 late in the third quarter. Two fourth quarter touchdown runs by Carter enabled the Tigers to improve to 9-1 and will oppose Sto-Rox next week in the quarterfinals. Steel Valley ends its season at 6-4.

Sto-Rox Vikings 32 - Shady Side Academy Indians 20
In a game pitting one of the most high powered offenses in Class-AA against one of the classifications best defenses, it was the offense of the Vikings that overcame the Indians defense in this opening round game at McEhlvey Field at Shady Side Academy. The first half was a defensive one with Sto-Rox taking an 8-7 lead to the locker rooms. The teams would than exchange scores on their respective first drives of the 2nd half, with Sto-Rox leading until Shady Side Academy would go ahead 20-16 on Reggie Mitchell's 52-yard touchdown pass to Chris Farrell. But Sto-Rox would score the games final 16 points on touchdown runs of 2 and 7 yards by Josh Beverly in the 4th quarter. Sto-Rox now moves on to play Beaver Falls in the Quarter Finals.

Mount Pleasant Vikings 45 - Kittanning Wildcats 6
Mt Pleasant advanced to the WPIAL Class AA Quarterfinals with an impressive 45-6 win over the visiting Kittanning. The Viking offense totaled 337 yards while the defense once again had a great performance yielding just 161 yards of offense to the Wildcats. Kittanning didn’t gain their initial first down until there was 9:53 left in the third quarter. Mt Pleasant jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead on 2 touchdown runs by Mike Rosebosky and a touchdown pass from Derek Mellors to Jimmy Stefancic. Matt Ramely added a 25 yd field goal to finish the first half scoring. The news wasn’t all good for Mt Pleasant as the Viking’s leading rusher Bryce Ansel left the game in the second quarter with a leg injury and did not return. Eric Wagner returned the second half kickoff 86 yards for a Viking touchdown. Mellors connected for another touchdown in the third quarter this time to Eric Wagner from 22 yards out and scored once more on an 11 yard run to finish the scoring for the Vikings. Logan Atwood scored the only touchdown for the Wildcats on a 21 yard reception from Ross Harmon as time expired. The Vikings go to 10-0 on the season and the Wildcats finish the year with a record of 6-4.

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles 27 - Burrell Buccaneers 0
The Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles (9-1) secured their ninth win of the season which is officially the most wins they've garndered in school history by besting the Burrell Buccaneers (7-3) 27-0 at Dormont Memorial Stadium on Friday
night. It was the first meeting between Burrell and Keystone Oaks since 1970. The playoff win is the first for the Golden Eagles since 2002 and only the second in school history. Keystone Oaks was led by junior running back Matt McCann who ran for 229 yards on 17 carries, scoring three times on runs of 4, 70 and 93 yards. McCann has rushed for 710 yards in his last three games. Junior runnin back Jordan Maddox scored the other touchdown for Keystone Oaks, who will meet the Mount Pleasant Vikings in the quarterfinals. Keystone Oaks has never advanced past the quarterfinals, as in 2002 they lost to the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars 37-0 while they were competing at the Triple-A level.

Center Trojans 27 - Washington Little Prexies 0
Quarterback Preston Dawson passed for 117 yards and one touchdown and the Center defense forced six turnovers, returning one interception to the house, as the Trojans beat the Little Prexies 27-0. Ben Cobb's two-yard run opened the scoring after a botched punt by the Little Prexies. Luca Campos booted a 24-yard field goal to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter. After a Rob Nohe interception, Dawson hooked up with Josh Garrett for 14 yards and a score to send the teams to the lockerroom, Center up 17-0. The Little Prexies best offensive set of the night came crashing down when Aaron Law picked off a screen pass on the 9th play of the possession and rambled 62 yards to paydirt. Campos closed the scoring with a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. The Trojans outgained Washington, 254-137. The teams combined for 22 penalties for 188 yards.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions 35 - Freeport Yellowjackets 6
The Freeport Yellowjackets had revenge on their minds after last year's 42-6 shellacking at the hands of the Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions. The result, however, was the same as the 11-seeded Centurions traveled to James E. Swartz field and eliminated the homestanding #6-seeded Yellowjackets, 35-6. Greensburg CC scored twice in the second quarter on the strength of two Trent Hurley touchdown passes. The Centurions then turned the game over to RB David Miller, who scored three 2nd-half TD's and rushed for 206 yards on 19 carries. The Centurions also forced three Freeport turnovers (1 fumble, 2 interceptions). GCC is now 8-2 on the season and will face off against Center Area in the quarterfinal road of the Class AA playoffs. The Yellowjackets finish their season as well at 8-2.


WPIAL CLASS A First Round:

Rochester Rams 40 - Carmichaels Mighty Mikes 6
Big plays were the key to victory for the host Rams as the top-seed cruised past the Mighty Mikes. Rochester quarterback Jasson Adamson ran for a 66-yard touchdown, connected with Trey Johnson on a 68-yard scoring pass and then Terrance Slade returned an interception 97 yards for a score...all in the first half as the Rams moved on to the Quarterfinals against Brentwood with their tenth victory in ten games. Carmichaels season ends at 4-6.

Brentwood Spartans 22 - Fort Cherry Rangers 0
The Brentwood Spartans used a dominant defense and a couple of big-play offensive strikes in defeating the Fort Cherry Rangers, 22-0 in the First Round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs from Jim Garry Staduim in McDonald, PA on Friday evening. Brentwood scored with 1:57 left in the first quarter as Lamont Robinson capped off the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Spartans connected on the two-point conversion as Cory Bauer hit Braden Pavlik in the endzone putting Brentwood ahead, 8-0 early. The Spartans would score again with just 36 seconds before halftime as Bauer hit Danny Lucas on a 22-yard touchdown pass. Brentwood led 15-0. Bauer then would connect with Lucas again on an 84-yard touchdown pass with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter. Brentwood led 22-0 as its defense held the Rangers off the scoreboard in second half. Lucas finished the game with three receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns for Brentwood. Fort Cherry ends its season at 7-3 while Brentwood improves to 6-4 and will face the top seed in Class A next week, the Rochester Rams.

North Catholic Trojans 38 - Jefferson-Morgan Rockets 3
The North Catholic Trojans advanced to the WPIAL Class-A Quarterfinals with a 38-3 win over the Jefferson-Morgan Rockets Friday night at J.C. Stone Field in North Park. Defense was good on both sides at the start, in fact, after the Rockets got on the board first with a 21-yard field goal by Taylor Barchesi, it was the defense of the Trojans coming up with 2 takeaways that helped North Catholic to three scores and a 19-3 lead before the half. Jefferson-Morgan came up short in a "make-it-or-break-it" possession at the end of the first half as they had a chance to pull within one score with a touchdown and 2-point conversion, and were driving deep into North Catholic territory, when a holding penalty stalled the drive. The penalty and an incomplete pass led to a 4th & 22 at the North Catholic 25. Ryan Knight caught a pass at the 6 yard line, 3 yards shy of a first down, and North Catholic kept their 16-point lead into the locker room and dominated from there. The second half opened with 13 more quick points by the Trojans and midway through the 4th quarter, a Julian Durden touchdown, his second of the game, gave the Trojans a 35-point lead and put the game in the mercy rule the rest of the way. Trojan quarterback Martin Long threw for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns. Long also ran for a touchdown and Durden was over 100 yards rushing in the win.

Springdale Dynamos 21 - Monessen Greyhounds 14
In a classic 12 vs. 5 (wait this isn't the NCAA) match up, the underdog came out on top to have all the 12's move on in every classification. Springdale, the 12th seed (3-way tie for 2nd in Eastern Conference, finished 4th), came into Monessen and knocked off the Tri-County South Conference champion by a final score of 21-14. The game was competitive from start to finish but really the score does not indicate how the game played out, as Springdale's offense couldn't get it done in the red zone early on. The only score of the first half came from Brian Shemenski, whose 8 yard touchdown run made it 7-0 Springdale. Late in the 3rd quarter the teams started scoring, with Monessen quarterback Terrence Stepoli throwing 2 touchdown passes to Brady Kunsa and Nick Bolias. Springdale running back Bill Arch sandwiched a touchdown run in between the 2 Monessen scoring drives, making it 14-14 late in the 4th quarter. Springdale would get the ball back with 4:44 remaining and drove to the Monessen 15 yard line before turning the ball over on downs. On Monessen's first play, Stepoli's pass was intercepted by Sean Dugan, setting up Springdale with the ball on the Monessen 21 with 1:32 remaining in the game. From there Springdale would score on another Bill Arch touchdown run and upset Monessen on its home turf. Monessen ends its season at 7-3. Springdale moves it record to 8-2 and will take on Eastern Conference champion North Catholic in the quarterfinals. These 2 teams met back on September 18th, with North Catholic winning 20-14.

Laurel Spartans 55 - Burgettstown Blue Devils 7
Dylan Jones ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns as the second seeded Spartans move on to a quarterfinal date with Beth-Center next Friday. Jones scored on runs of 11 and 3 on the Spartans' first two possessions to put Laurel up 14-0, he would add an 85 yard run in the third quarter. Tyler Forbes would intercept a pass, his 8th of the season, Forbes would later score on a 20 yard run to give Laurel a 21-0 lead. Dan Poremski added two touchdowns, Jake Dando caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 56 yards for a score. Laurel grounded out 356 yards rushing, the Spartan defense only allowed 73 yards. Dylan Bongiorni tossed a 12 yard touchdown pass to Frank Hutchinson for the Blue Devils only score. Laurel goes to 9-1 on the season, Burgettstown ends the season at 4-6.

Beth-Center Bulldogs 38 - Serra Catholic Eagles 17
Beth-Center jumped out to a 14-3 lead after one quarter and cruised to a 38-17 win over visiting Serra Catholic as the Bulldogs became the only survivor from the Tri-County South Conference to advance to round two. Beth-Center quarterback Sal Fiaeta was 11 of 17 passing for 144 yards with two scoring tosses and one touchdown run. Rob Heatherington did play at quarterback for Serra Catholic after being injured last week against Clairton. Heatherington was 12 of 19 passing for 178 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles season ends at 7-3. Beth-Center improves to 9-1 and will face second-seed Laurel in the Quarterfinals next week.

Clairton Bears 61 - South Side Beaver Rams 0
Clairton opened defense of their Class A WPIAL title with an easy win over the 14th seeded South Side Beaver Rams 61-0 Friday evening. It took Clairton only 10 seconds to score as Deon Ellis ran the opening kickoff back 77 yards for a TD. Deontae Howard's pass to Desimon Green tacked on two points and the Bears led 8-0 and never looked back. Chanze James picked up a Ram fumble and returned it 75 yards for a TD at the 9:45 mark of the 1st quarter to make it 14-0 Bears. Ellis scored his second TD of the game at the 5:01 mark on a 5 yard run. Cole's extra point was good and it was 21-0 Clairton. Desimon Green hit Josh Page with a 30 yd pass for a TD as time ran out in the 1st Qtr to make it 27-0 Bears after one. At the 10:38 mark of the second Deontae Howard scored on a 20 yard run and Green's pass to Bishop Neal for the 2 pt conversion made it 35-0. Less than 2 minutes later Green scored on a 6 yard run to make it 41-0 and with just 52 second left in the half he closed out the scoring with a 20 yard run for a TD to make it 47-0 Clairton at the half. The Bears added two TDs in the second half on a 22 yard run by Capri Thompson and a 64 yard run by Tyler Boyd. Marcus Nash closed out the scoring with a 2 pt run following Boyd's TD to make the final 61-0 Clairton. The Bears advance to the quarterfinals next week where they will take on Avonworth.

Avonworth Antelopes 27 - Monaca Indians 0
One fundamental principle in football is that turnovers will kill you. The Monaca Indians found that out the hard way tonight. The Indians turned the ball over five times to the Avonworth Antelopes defense, who pitched a shutout tonight in the opening round of the WPIAL class A playoffs at Avonworth High School. The Antelopes defense forced three interceptions and two fumbles. One of those fumbles was recovered on their own 3-yard line, to preserve a 14-0 score. On the offensive side of the ball, Avonworth was extremely balanced. Jim Zubic carried the load, rushing 19 times for 121 yards and scoring on runs of 50 and 26. He also caught two passes for 103 yards and a touchdown of 87 yards. The scoring opened up on the Antelopes first drive, when on a 4th and 2 Zubic rushed up the middle and found an opening, running for 50 yards into the endzone. Zubic would then score early in the second on a 26 yard run to put the Antelopes up 14-0. The turning point of the game was that fumble recovery by the Avonworth defense. After what appeared to be a costly interception by Avonworth Quarterback Tom Turnbull, the defense stepped up and caused a fumble at the 3-yard line with 1:30 left in the third quarter. After a couple plays, Turnbull found Zubic, who sprinted 87 yards off a screen pass to put the Antelopes up 21-0. On their next drive, Turnbull would seal the game, hitting Ryan Schmid for 21 yards up the middle. Avonworth would miss the extra point, but it would not matter, as they would go on to win 27-0. Turnbull finished 10/16 for 201 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Monaca, in their last ever football game, was unable to put together a complete drive and will finish 5-5. Avonworth was able to avenge a loss from the Class A Semi-Finals a year ago, where they were four yards away from a trip to Heinz Field, but through an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Antelopes, now 8-2, will move on to face a tough Clairton team next week in the Quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs.