Trib HSSN football team of the week – Woodland Hills Wolverines
Coach: Brian Tarrant (second season)
Result: Woodland Hills 28, Gateway 27
Record: 6-2 overall, 4-0 in Class 5A Big East Conference
#Earned: The Wolverines matched their win total from a year ago while trying to take their playoff chances out of the hands of the district committee members. In improving to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the 5A Big East Conference, Woodland Hills is alone in first place after a hard-fought win at home over Gateway. The Wolverines scored 13 points in the second quarter to lead by six points at the half, then trailing by one after three quarters, Woody High outscored Gateway 15-13 in a wild fourth quarter that included a blocked extra point late in regulation that kept the Gators from tying the game and helped the Wolverines move into sole possession of first place, one game ahead of both Penn-Trafford and Franklin Regional, whom they visit in Week 8.
Statistical standouts: Woodland Hills junior quarterback Cam Walter didn’t throw any touchdown passes but led an effective passing attack by connecting on 12 of 26 passes for 175 yards. His favorite and most effective target was junior wide receiver Scoop Smith, who had seven receptions for 112 yards. On the ground, sophomore running back Nico Mager had two long scoring runs, one from 20 yards in the third quarter and the other from 44 yards in the fourth quarter. Woody High junior kicker Jacob Mroz continues to be a valuable weapon for the Wolverines as he booted two second-quarter field goals of 29 and 43 yards, plus added two all-important extra points.
Last year: Only the third head coach in Woodland Hills football history, the Brian Tarrant era began last season with losses in two of the team’s first three games. However, things started to click for the Wolverines in their Class 5A Northeast Conference opener against North Hills in Week 3, the first of five straight victories. Then back-to-back losses in the final two weeks of the regular season to Pine-Richland and Penn Hills dropped the Wolverines from first place to third place in the NEC. With only eight teams qualifying last year for the 5A playoffs, the math did not break the right way for Woody High, and despite finishing in third place, Bethel Park and Franklin Regional won the wild card berths and the Wolverines were spectators for the WPIAL playoffs with a 6-4 overall record.
Remember when: In 37 years, the Woodland Hills football program has enjoyed great success. The Wolverines have won five WPIAL championships with the first coming in 1996. A half-decade later, they won back-to-back district crowns in 2001 and 2002. This is the 25th and 15th anniversary of their two other WPIAL titles. In 1999, they finished in first place in the Class 4A Quad East Conference and earned the top seed in the playoffs. In the district postseason, they rolled past Connellsville in the first round, 47-13, knocked off Bethel Park in the quarterfinals, 35-14, defeated Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals, 42-21, then got past rival McKeesport in the finals, 21-7. Shawntae Spencer had two touchdowns for the Wolverines. In 2009, Woody High captured the Class 4A Big East crown and was the No. 2 seed in the 4A postseason. In the opening round, the Wolverines crushed Baldwin, 42-7, cruised past Central Catholic in the quarters, 36-3, and needed overtime to dethrone defending champion Bethel Park in a wild one, 38-35. While the offense went wild in the semis, defense ruled the day in the championship game as Woodland Hills blanked Gateway, 10-0. Jayron Polk scored the only touchdown of the game with a 14-yard run while Sam Scifo booted a 23-yard field goal. The Wolverines defense came up large, limiting a Gators offense that averaged 45 points per game to only 148 total yards on offense.
Week 7 Honorable Mention
Upper St. Clair Panthers
It was a showdown of epic proportions for first place in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference between unbeaten rivals Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park, each with identical records of 2-0 in the conference and 7-0 overall. Visiting USC scored early on a short run by senior Julian Dahlem to make it 7-0. The Black Hawks tied it in the third quarter on a Ja Vaughn Moore scoring run and took the lead when Jackson Friday connected on a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Panthers remained perfect when junior Ethan Hellmann connected with senior Charlie Bywalski on a 24-yard TD with 48 seconds left to win 14-10.
McKeesport Tigers
Two teams that had difficult starts thanks to challenging schedules collided for first place in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference. Following five weeks of nonconference games, both McKeesport and Mars were each 1-4 entering conference play. After two GAC wins, they collided for the top spot and the visitors ruled the day. Sophomore running back Kemon Spell rushed for 201 yards on 13 carries and scored twice on runs of 46 and 15 yards, while senior running back Anthony Cromerdie ran for 124 yards on eight carries and had touchdown jaunts of 17 and 13 yards to open and close the scoring as the Tigers defeated the Fightin’ Planets, 28-7.
Fort Cherry Rangers
The one thing that’s guaranteed when Fort Cherry and Bishop Canevin get together is offense, offense and a little more sprinkling of offense. In four meetings since 2022, the teams have combined to average 73.25 points per game. The defending champion Rangers started by scoring 14 points in the opening quarter and then finished with 21 points in the fourth. For the game, junior quarterback Matt Sieg led the way again for undefeated Fort Cherry, throwing for 107 yards and a 60-yard score to senior wide receiver Shane Cornali. Sieg also rushed for 205 yards and scored five touchdowns on runs of 3, 37, 19, 1 and 30 yards in a thrilling win over the Crusaders, 49-34.
2024 Trib HSSN Teams of the Week
Week 6 – Ellwood City Wolverines
Week 5 – Central Catholic Vikings
Week 4 – Central Valley Warriors
Week 3 – South Allegheny Gladiators
Week 2 – Jefferson-Morgan Rockets
Week 1 – Bethel Park Black Hawks
Week Zero – Blackhawk Cougars