Party like it’s 1989? Jefferson-Morgan is looking back further.
Two weeks ago, in the midst of its first 7-0 start since 1989, Jefferson-Morgan hosted members of its 1974 WPIAL championship squad for a 50-year reunion. Those who returned were treated to a glimpse of the 2024 Rockets, who beat West Greene, 42-7, and continued the school’s best start since starting 11-0 in 1989.
Coach Shane Ziats, who was 8 years old in 1989, is in his third season with Jefferson-Morgan. The Rockets have improved each year. They went 4-6 in 2022, then flipped to a 6-5 record last season. What’s been the key to this year’s success?
“Players,” Ziats said. “[It’s the] players buying into what we’re doing, players working hard. It's all the players.”
The leader, senior quarterback Houston Guesman, has been a problem for opposing defenses. He’s a true dual-threat on pace to have 1,000 yards passing and rushing this season, as he’s thrown for 1025 yards and has rushed for 665. Impressively, he’s thrown just one interception to 16 touchdowns.
Junior receiver Deakyn Dehoet is his favorite target, accounting for more than half of Guesman’s passing yards with 35 receptions for 550 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior running back John Woodward has rushed for 558 yards and 11 touchdowns.
With the start Jefferson-Morgan’s had, one would be forgiven for looking to the final week of the season, when the Rockets face 5-2 California, likely for the conference title. But Ziats has stressed that that game doesn’t matter until that week.
“I just told the kids yesterday, we need to stay focused,” Ziats said. “Bentworth is the team we're playing [this week]. One game at a time. If we make it to California, [the matchup] won't mean nothing if we don't beat Bentworth and take care of business ourselves first.”
Early records for Gladiators
South Allegheny can’t stop making program history. In Friday’s 56-22 win against Shady Side Academy, quarterback Ryan Cortes broke the school record for passing yards in a season, with 1,499, and wide receiver Drew Cook broke the school record for receiving yards in a season with 951.
And the 6-1 Gladiators still have at least three games left.
“[We’re] just playing well,” coach Brian Hansen said. “Got some guys in the right positions. … Each guy’s doing their job.”
It’s just another milestone in a stellar season for Class 2A No. 4 Gladiators. South Allegheny has historically been one of the WPIAL’s worst programs, winning two games or fewer in 18 of the last 26 seasons, including 1-9 records in 2022 and last year. Their 3-0 start this year was their first such start since 1977, when the program won its only WPIAL title.
“There hasn't been a lot of tradition [or] success in a while,” Hansen said. “Records and things like that probably go unnoticed a little bit.”
Cortes, Cook, running back Cameron Epps and fullback Camden Lewis make the Gladiator offense tough to stop. South Allegheny is averaging 40.1 points per game, behind only Seton LaSalle’s 40.8 in Class 2A. That’s even with Epps, who ran for 1,269 yards last year, missing three games with an ankle injury. Hanson thinks his team’s lone loss, a 48-38 decision to 2A No. 2 South Park, would have been closer if Epps had been fully healthy.
The Gladiators can clinch a playoff berth this week, which would be just their sixth in program history. They’d need some help, as they need to beat Apollo-Ridge (0-6) and have both Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (3-3) and Ligonier Valley (3-4) lose, but it’s definitely possible.
But with the struggles they’ve had and the season they’re having, the Gladiators likely wouldn’t mind waiting one more week.
North-Central offensive showdown
Central Valley and North Catholic combined for 937 total yards of offense in Central Valley’s 46-38 win on Friday. North Catholic ran 92 offensive plays. Somehow there were five punts.
The game was a battle of contrasting offensive philosophies. The Warriors throw the ball some, but prefer a ground-based approach. The Trojans throw the ball more than anyone in the WPIAL.
Central Valley running back T. Mason Dixon had 23 carries for 260 yards, second-highest in the WPIAL, and four touchdowns. Quarterback Steven Rutherford had two more touchdown runs. The Warriors ran 32 times for 387 yards.
For the Trojans, quarterback Joey Felitsky, back after missing a week with a knee injury, completed 37 of 50 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns. His 389 passing yards were the second-highest in the WPIAL this season. Receiver Ryker Kennedy had an eye-popping 15 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown, while receiver Tom Arth had four catches for 98 yards and another touchdown. Logan Schade and Will Waskiewicz also had receiving touchdowns.
More notes
• Neshannock is quietly putting together another strong season, but at this point, it feels expected from the Lancers. They’re 6-1 this season, 3-0 in Big 7 conference play, and ranked No. 3 in Class 1A. Neshannock is one of three teams currently unbeaten in Big 7 conference matchups, but it will face fellow unbeaten South Side Beaver (5-1, 3-0) on Friday.
• Southmoreland scored 32 points in the fourth quarter Friday to beat Yough, 53-34, in a scoreline that feels like a WPIAL Scorigami (and would have been, if it were the NFL). The Scotties scored the final 27 points, including two touchdown runs from Ethan Shawley. Yough quarterback Raidon Kuroda threw for two touchdowns and carried 41 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
• Another winless team will earn its first win on Friday, as 0-7 East Allegheny plays at 0-7 Valley. East Allegheny advanced to the Class 3A semifinals last year.
• Four of the top five teams in Class 1A play each other this week, with Neshannock as the lone exception. Matt Sieg and No. 1 Fort Cherry (7-0) faces No. 5 Bishop Canevin (5-1), but the most exciting matchup is when No. 2 Clairton (7-0), which hasn’t allowed a defensive touchdown all season, faces a No. 4 Leechburg (7-0) squad that has averaged 47 points per game for its last six games. It feels like an unstoppable force is meeting an immovable object, which should make it a fun one.
First Published: October 9, 2024, 8:40 p.m.
Updated: October 9, 2024, 11:08 p.m.
