Rockets, Mikes can clinch playoffs with wins
Mapletown quarterback Kevin Ridgley (11) is surrounded by Jefferson-Morgan defenders during Friday’s game at Mapletown High School. (Photo by Dave Rafferty)
Mapletown receiver Dereck Riggleman (3) loses sight of the ball early in Friday's game against Jefferson-Morgan at Mapletown High School.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Nic Santoya (45) hauls in a pass as Mapletown defender Troy Haines (23) just can’t quite reach the ball during Friday’s game at Mapletown High School.
Mapletown wide receiver Jordan Griffin (30) hauls in a pass against Jefferson-Morgan in second quarter of Friday's game at Mapletown High School.
Jefferson-Morgan running back Dustin Conti (21) avoids a tackle by Mapletown defensive back Jordan Griffin (30) during Friday’s game at Mapletown High School. (Photo by Dave Rafferty)
It’s hard to believe that tonight is the final week of the high school football regular season with all five teams looking to end the ’12 campaign on a positive note.
After having no county teams in the playoffs last year, two teams are looking for playoff berths and will earn spots in the WPIAL postseason with wins tonight.
Last week, Jefferson-Morgan scored 42 unanswered points and defeated Mapletown 49-14.
The Rockets were once again led by its big play offense, as the first three offensive plays lead to three long touchdown runs by three different players.
Dustin Conti (63 yards), Nic Santoya (52 yards) and Jesse Jento (64 yards) scored touchdowns in the first quarter and J-M held a 20-14 lead at the end of an exciting opening quarter.
Conti added a 13-yard rushing score to make it 27-14, followed by a 27-yard interception return by Santoya and an 86-yard catch-and-run to Santoya from quarterback Rece Henneman.
J-M tallied the last score of the contest 11 seconds into the third quarter when Tyler Bowman added a 51-yard dash to pay dirt.
With Avella losing to Beth-Center last week, the Rockets have the inside track of recording a second-place finish in the Tri-County South Conference and hosting a playoff game.
“At the beginning of the year, our goal was to compete for the section title,” J-M coach Liam Ryan said. “We didn’t quite do that, but with a win (this week), we will be in the postseason and hosting a playoff game. It’s huge for the kids and for our program. We are more comfortable at home and we know the playoffs are going to be challenging.”
The Rockets (6-2, 5-2) host Geibel Catholic (0-8, 0-7) tonight with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Despite the loss for Mapletown, the offense was clicking on its opening two drives, as each possession went seven plays and ended with a touchdown.
Kevin Ridgley threw for 124 yards in the game with two scoring tosses to wideout Dereck Riggleman (33, six). Wide receiver Jordan Griffin hauled in three passes for 65 yards.
“We wanted to spread them out and throw the football,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “On the first two series, everything we wanted to do worked. We were picking up yards and converting on third down.”
The Maples (3-5, 2-5) travel to Frazier (6-2, 5-2) tonight. Kickoff for the conference clash is 7 p.m. in Perryopolis.
Carmichaels’ offense continues to click on all cylinders, as they trounced Bentworth last Friday, 56-21, at home.
With the win, the Mikes have won five in a row by scoring at least 35 points in all five.
Leading the offense last week versus the Bearcats was tailback Brennan McMinn and his 211 rushing yards. McMinn averaged 19 yards per rush and saw the end zone three times on scoring runs of 44, 24 and 56.
McMinn also collected a 52-yard punt return in the first half, as Carmichaels rolled to a 43-7 lead at halftime.
Colton Henry (59 yards) and Nate Baker (one yard) added touchdown runs, while signal collar Brandon Lawless found receiver Vincent Stephan for a 11-yard score through the air.
Josh Mundell also got into the scoring assault with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. For the season, Mundell has 16 touchdowns and 10 two-point conversions for 116 points and continues to lead the pack in the HeraldStandard.com Touchdown Club race.
Heading into week nine, Mundell has a 38-point cushion over two players tied for second (B-C’s Matt Riggle and J-M’s Santoya).
Other Greene County names that are in the top 15 of the scoring race are J-M’s Conti (66 points), Carmichaels’ McMinn (58 points), West Greene’s Dalton Wildman (46 points) and Matt Johnston (44 points), Mapletown’s Riggleman (44 points) and J-M’s Mati Zeglen (39 points).
The Mikes (6-2, 5-2) welcome West Greene tonight and with a win the Mikes will secure a playoff berth. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on greenesports.net.
Speaking of the Pioneers, West Greene got to .500 on the season after a 70-14 thumping of Geibel Catholic last Saturday.
In the first quarter, West Greene recorded 39 points a variety of ways and never looked back.
Dalton Wildman had a 15-yard touchdown pass to wideout Matt Johnson to start things off, followed by a safety, an 8-yard scoring run by Cody Jacobs, a fumble recovery in the end zone by Jacobs on defense, another safety, a 66-yard kickoff return by Wildman and a 20-yard dash to the goal line by Wildman.
Johnston intercepted a pass and returned it 56 yards for a score to start the second stanza. After two scores from Geibel, West Greene responded with a 53-yard run by Wildman and a 30-yard interception return by Cale Miller. The Pioneers (4-4, 3-4) had a 58-14 lead at intermission.
Tonight the Pioneers will look to even its conference record and finish the season above .500 overall with a road contest against Carmichaels.
Waynesburg Central continues to have struggles against Interstate Conference foes, as the Raiders fell 38-7 to Jeannette last week at home.
The Raiders (1-7, 1-6) were down 24-0 at halftime and then Jeannette tallied two touchdowns in the third period to invoke the mercy rule.
Waynesburg’s lone score came in the fourth quarter when Thad McGilton rumbled into the end zone from two yards out. Ian Patterson kicked the extra point.
Even though it has been a disappointing season for the Raiders, they will look to pull off an upset tonight and end the season with a win.
Waynesburg ventures to rival Washington (8-0, 7-0) with a kickoff at 7 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on greenesports.net.