Zane Dudek’s ribs still hurt Sunday when he moved certain ways. They even hurt when he sniffled.
But Dudek also was feeling pain a little above his ribs. His heart hurt.
“It stinks,” said Dudek, a record-breaking running back at Armstrong High School. “I know stuff like this happens in life and I understand. That’s the way I have to look at it. But it still stinks. It wasn’t supposed to end this way. It’s been a good four years and I didn’t think it would end like this.”
Dudek was injured on his first carry Friday in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal game against Gateway. He stayed on the field three more plays and even punted before coming to the sideline and crumbling in pain.
Dudek went to the locker room, came back out in the second quarter, but never played again as Armstrong lost to Gateway, 38-20. Dudek was examined by two doctors in the locker room and the prognosis was most likely a partially torn muscle in his ribs.
“It happened on my first carry,” Dudek said. “As I was going to the ground, someone twisted my body, and I felt this big rip in my ribs. I knew instantly it was bad.
“I came back out in the second quarter and was on the sideline, but I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t talk to anyone because I couldn’t breathe. … It loosened up some in the second half and I tried to run around as hard as I could. But it just couldn’t happen.”
And so ended the greatest season of any running back in WPIAL history. What Dudek did this season was simply unforgettable. He set a WPIAL record for single-season rushing yards with 2,949 on 291 carries. Had he been healthy, he surely would’ve become only the seventh runner in state history to run for 3,000 yards in a season.
Dudek finished his career as the third-leading rusher in WPIAL history with 6,977 yards on 713 attempts. He set a WPIAL regular-season scoring record with 254 points. He had 42 touchdowns in the regular season and finished his career with 102.
“I was just sitting there Saturday and thinking about what a great year it was,” Dudek said. “It was a year I never expected and no one expected. For us to win our conference and me rush for that many yards, that’s crazy. Unbelievable. It was a year that I don’t even know how it happened.”
Now Dudek will focus more attention on a college choice. Despite his great success, he was not being recruited by any Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Ivy League and Patriot League schools recruited him, but he had no offers from major colleges.
But a few FBS schools have expressed interest lately. Dudek said Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada came to Armstrong last week and talked with coach Frank Fabian. Kent State and Stanford also called Fabian recently, but Stanford talked about Dudek possibly being a walk-on.
Dudek plans to attend the Harvard-Penn Ivy League game Saturday.
“I’ll just wait it out a little bit and see what comes,” said Dudek, who has a 4.4 grade point average. “If nothing else comes, I’ll gladly go to an Ivy League school. That might be what I do anyways.”
Raines out at Aliquippa
Kwantel Raines, a highly touted junior defensive back at Aliquippa, did not dress Friday for a WPIAL Class 3A playoff game against South Park and it is not known if he will be back this week for a semifinal game against Derry.
When asked whether Raines was hurt or had a virus, Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac said, “It’s not up for discussion.”
When asked whether Raines will play again, Zmijanac said, “It’s not up for discussion.”
Raines has scholarship offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan State and many others.
High scorers
Two games Friday were among the highest-scoring in WPIAL playoff history. New Castle upset South Fayette, 51-43, while Springdale defeated Carmichaels, 50-94. The 94 points tie for the fifth most in a WPIAL playoff game.
The record is 118 when Jeannette defeated Aliquippa, 70-48, in 2007.
KO’s Smith and history
Keystone Oaks is in the 3A semifinals and Alex Smith has a chance to become only the third player in WPIAL history to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in a season. Smith has 2,884 yards throwing and 985 running.
But Smith is chasing more history. He could become only the eighth WPIAL quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season (including playoffs). He also has a chance to become only the second player to throw for 5,000 and run for 2,000 in a career. But Keystone Oaks will have to advance in the playoffs. Smith has 4,949 yards passing and 1,518 rushing.
Check this out
• Every semifinal game in Class 6A, 5A and 4A is a rematch of a contest earlier this season.
• West Allegheny’s D.J. Opsatnik kicked two field goals to give him 32 for his career, three away from WPIAL and state records.
• Steel Valley’s DeWayne Murray scored three touchdowns to give him 100 for his career.
• Fort Cherry was the only Tri-County South Conference team to win a first-round playoff game. The conference is 2-23 in first-round games the past six seasons.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: November 7, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
