Jerry Veshio is an avid scuba diver. In the spring, Veshio scheduled a scuba diving trip to the Cayman Islands for him and his wife the first weekend of December.
Veshios learned Saturday the he must cancel the trip. He will be coaching high school football instead.
One of the most unlikely stories in WPIAL coaching history added another chapter Saturday when Quaker Valley defeated Aliquippa, 2-0, in the Class 3A championship at Heinz Field. It was the first WPIAL football title in school history for Quaker Valley and the Quakers will play in the PIAA semifinals either Dec. 1 or 2. Veshio and his wife were scheduled to leave for their trip Dec. 1.
“Who would’ve known I would be doing this?” Veshio said.
Cancelling a vacation never felt so good. Veshio is Quaker Valley’s coach. He came out of the PA announcer’s booth to take over the team this season when John Tortorea quit in early August. Veshio hadn’t coached high school football since the 1980s when he was the Quakers coach for three seasons.
Quaker Valley had never been to a WPIAL championship.
“This has to be one of the most unlikely stories ever,” said Veshio, who had been Quaker Valley’s PA announcer for a number of years. “This is probably No. 2 to me as far as things happening to me, other than my kids being born and my grandkids.”
Neil Walker announces
The major league baseball player turned high school sports announcer for a day — and Neil Walker loved it.
Walker, a former Pirates player who played this pas season with the Mets and then the Brewers, was an AT&T SportsNet color commentator Saturday WPIAL for the Class 6A football championship at Heinz Field. The guy with the sweet swing took a crack at announcing for the first time. Walker was a three-sport athlete at Pine-Richland and he was on the air for his alma mater’s 42-7 victory against Central Catholic.
“I loved it,” said Walker, who still lives in the Pittsburgh area in the offseason.
So, how did Walker think he did?
“I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “It was a whirlwind at times. You’re thinking about certain things to say, and then I came to realize I should just react and be as personable as I possibly could. I tried not to sound like an idiot when I settled in.”
Field conditions
The natural grass surface at Heinz Field help up pretty well throughout the day, but it started to get a little soupy when the rain started to come down hard in the fourth game, which started at 8:20 p.m. The grounds crew at Heinz Field was scheduled to rip up the turf and put down a new sod surface after the fourth game. This has been the practice in recent years.
Attendance
The official attendance won’t be known until next week but WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley estimated it to be 11,500 for the day. That is the smallest crowd since the league started playing four championships at one site in 1986. But the weather certainly was a factor.
“We would’ve liked more, but we’re not unhappy when you consider the weather,” O’Malley said. “Our biggest worry was lightning and if games were delayed. Then what we would’ve done because we couldn’t come back [Sunday].”
The odd score
Quaker Valley beat Aliquippa, 2-0, in the 3A title game, marking the first time that a team won a championship with a 2-0 score. But there have been eight title games that ended in scoreless ties. That was before the WPIAL had overtimes.
The most recent 0-0 game was North Hills and Gateway in 1985. There have been four 3-0 games in championship play. The previous one was in 1986 when Burrell beat Beth-Center, 3-0.
Check this out
• Aliquippa had 20 penalties for 190 yards. It was, by far, the most penalties in a WPIAL championship at Heinz Field or Three Rivers Stadium. The most previously was 15 by Sto-Rox in 2013.
• Remember the name Derrick Davis. You might be hearing it a lot in the future. He is only a freshman, but started at running back and linebacker in the Gateway’s 21-16 victory against Penn-Trafford in the 5A final. He had two interceptions and ran for 59 yards on 16 carries. Davis was offered a scholarship by Pitt two weeks ago and Gateway coach Don Holl said, “The sky’s the limit for him.”
• The previous time Gateway won a championship was 1986 when legendary Pete Antimarino was coach. Pete’s son, Pete Jr., watched the game Saturday from the press box. His father passed away in May.
“How ironic is that we win one the year Pete passes away,” Holl said. “Pete [Jr.] and his mom came to our practice Friday and gave all the kids cupcakes. That was something.”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: November 19, 2017, 5:01 a.m.
