Mikes, Maples ready for postseason
Monessen quarterback Jaden Altomore (3) is sacked by Mapletown's Dylan Rush (9) during Tri-County South Conference action Friday at Mapletown High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (9) breaks through Monessen’s defense and runs 37 yards for the Maples during their Tri-County South Conference game Friday at Mapletown High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
While attempting to pass, Monessen quarterback Jaden Altomore (3) is chased out of the pocket by Mapletown’s Lane Powell (77) during Tri-County South Conference action Friday at Mapletown High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (9) drops back to pass on a halfback option, but the intended pass fell short of the receiver during Friday’s Tri-County South Conference game against Monessen at Mapletown High School.
Monessen's Jaron Youndblood (10) runs the ball to the 3-yard line before he is stopped by Mapletown's Lane Powell (77), setting up a touchdown for the Greyhounds on the next play during Friday's Tri-County South Conference game at Mapletown High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Mapletown’s Dylan Rush (9) fumbles a direct snap during the Maples’ Tri-County South Conference game against Monessen Friday at Mapletown High School.
Even though the weather may not feel like it, this past Friday was the final week of the regular season for high school football in Greene County.
The county will have two representatives in the playoffs, as Carmichaels and Mapletown will enter the Class A postseason bracket out of the Tri-County South Conference.
The Mikes are the seventh seed in Class A and host 10th-seeded Springdale (5-5), while the Maples hit the road this evening as the 13th seed and face off with fourth-seeded Northgate (8-1).
“I told them last week, this is a great reward for the season they had, to go to the WPIAL playoffs,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “We’re looking forward to going to Northgate and playing the best game we can. That’s all I can ask of them.”
Both first round contests kick off at 7:30 p.m. and both will be broadcast on greenesports.net.
Carmichaels has made the postseason in 17 of the last 20 seasons, but the last time it won in the first round was 2002. The last time the Mikes hosted a playoff game was in 2013 (a 13-12 setback to Fort Cherry).
For Mapletown, this is its fifth trip to the playoffs since 1997 and its second over the last three years. The four prior first-round games have been losses for the Maples, including a 34-0 defeat at Avonworth in 2014.
Mapletown and Northgate have one common opponent in Monessen. Both teams beat the Greyhounds this season with the Maples earning a 22-12 victory in Week 9 and the Flames winning, 34-6, on Oct. 7.
Jefferson-Morgan, Waynesburg Central and West Greene saw their 2016 campaigns end last Friday.
The Maples (5-5, 4-3) were the lone county squad to bring home a victory in Week Nine, as Mapletown came back for a 22-12 triumph against Monessen.
Trailing 12-0 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the defense came up with an interception and Dylan Rush turned that turnover into a 2-yard touchdown run for a 12-6 deficit.
After the Greyhounds turned the ball over on downs, the Maples’ took their first lead of the night on a 29-yard scoring toss by Tanner Griffin to J.T. Hennessey and a two-point conversion run by Rush.
Rush, who finished with 32 carries for 180 yards, gave Mapletown some insurance late in the quarter with an 11-yard scoring run. Gavin Uphold tallied a two-point conversion run for an eight-point lead.
After being shut out of the end zone the last two weeks, Rush rang up 14 points and upped his season total to 144, which is still the top spot in the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club race. Rush finished second in last year’s standings.
Carmichaels clinched the Tri-County South title two weeks ago, but ended its regular season with a 44-13 setback to Bishop Canevin.
The Mikes (7-2, 7-0) opened the non-conference contest with 13 straight points, courtesy of a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Cody Brown and an 8-yard scoring completion to Brennen Pelzer from Jonathan Christopher.
Bishop Canevin countered with a touchdown on its next drive and then rallied for 30 unanswered points in the second quarter. BC ended the scoring with a touchdown in the final quarter of play.
Joey Minor led the Mikes in rushing with 55 yards.
Jefferson-Morgan couldn’t muster an upset against Fort Cherry last week, as the Rockets (1-9, 1-6) fell to the second place team out the conference, 42-14.
After the Rangers tallied the opening 42 points of the contest, J-M avoided the shutout with two scores in the second half.
Brennan Kozich and Jacob Broadwater each had rushing touchdowns, while Erik Sullenbarger made both of his extra point kicks for the Rockets.
West Greene dropped its conference finale to California, 41-0, and will miss the playoffs for the 23rd straight season.
The Pioneers (3-7, 2-5) had a chance to get into the postseason with a win, but the defeat gave them a tie with Avella for fifth place and the Eagles own the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 32-20 win over WG in Week One.
Despite the shutout, WG’s tailback Ben Jackson capped off a tremendous freshman year with 118 yards on the ground.
Waynesburg Central had its season come to an end with a 43-13 loss to non-conference foe South Side Beaver last week.
The Raiders finished the year with a 0-9 overall record and a 0-7 mark in the Interstate Conference.