WPIAL football finals set for RMU
After watching the bigger schools get to play for their WPIAL titles at Heinz Field last Friday, Neshannock, Steel Valley, Clairton and Jeannette will travel to the campus of Robert Morris University to determine who will be the District 7 champions in Class AA and A, respectively, on Saturday.
In a way, it’s a little sad and disappointing for these young men, who waged the same intense battles over the past two-plus months to reach the pinnacle of western Pennsylvania football to compete at a much smaller venue than the home of the Steelers and Panthers. Please don’t misconstrue this as any sort of knock on RMU’s Joe Walton Stadium, which is located on the school’s campus.
However, getting to live out the dream of every young player to set foot on the home of Pittsburgh football royalty drives so many through the sweltering summer two-a-days and cold, rainy fall nights. We can thank the PIAA for robbing these players of that experience when it mandated a move to the six-classification system. Also, I’m not so sure that two more games played on the natural surface of Heinz Field would cause any more damage than in previous years.
If you want to watch either of the games in person, make sure you get there early. With a capacity of just 3,000, any seat, let alone the juicy ones near the 50-yard-line, will be gone quickly. Tradition-driven fans for the Class A game may have the facility filled as soon as they are allowed into the stadium.
But, that’s enough of the negatives.
There is no shortage of star power in these two games, despite the rosters being smaller than their AAA to 6-A counterparts. The Class A contest, which is scheduled to kick off at noon, features two of the most talented athletes in the WPIAL. While most of us have heard of Clairton superstar Lamont Wade, I feel that Jeannette’s GioVonne Sanders might not get the level of respect he deserves.
Sanders is not only one of the top players in the state as a quarterback and linebacker, but he is also one of Pennsylvania’s best wrestlers. I have been told that he has received Division I scholarship offers in both sports, but is leaning towards playing football at the next level. The Jayhawk standout has completed 72-of-126 passes for 1,480 yards, 21 touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 526 yards and 10 more scores on 79 carries.
Wade’s greatness has only been diminished by how long he has been in the headlines. A consistent threat since his freshman season, the nation’s top defensive back recruit headlines a group of multiple big play threats for the always mighty Bears. He goes into Saturday with 29 total touchdowns. He has pulled in nine catches for 111 yards and rushed 103 times for 1,711 yards.
This will be the second-straight year that the two teams have met up for the Class A crown. Jeannette is hoping for a much different outcome than 2015’s 40-0 whitewash. This year’s regular season clash between the two Eastern Conference rivals saw the Bears pick up a 32-13 victory.
The Class AA title tilt will have a refreshing air of two non-traditional title contenders to it when kickoff occurs around 6 p.m. Saturday night will mark the first time Neshannock has ever competed in a WPIAL title game in its almost 60 years of football. Steel Valley will make its first appearance since 1989, when they took home a District 7 crown.
It will be very interesting to see just how this game plays out, as both participants feature smothering defenses that combined to give up seven total points in the Class AA semifinals alongside some truly devastating offensive weapons. The Lancers defeated previously unbeaten Washington, 27-7, while Steel Valley shut out Riverside, 42-0.
The Ironmen, who have stood atop the Class AA mountain all season, feature not one, but two superstars in Pitt-bound senior Paris Ford, as well as another Division I recruit in senior running back DeWayne Murray. Murray has already gone over 6,000 yards rushing for his high school career. While Riverside was able to keep Ford in check (33 yards rushing, 31 yards receiving), they couldn’t handle the other half of the dynamic duo, as Murray pounded out 142 yards on the ground, added 35 receiving yards and piled up four total touchdowns.
Neshannock boasts one of the best, and biggest, quarterbacks in the WPIAL. Senior Frank Antuono, who stands 6-2, weighs 220 pounds and doubles as a linebacker, has been the driving force behind the Lancers’ historic run that includes a scoring average of just under 53 points per game in the playoffs. He has completed 130-of-216 attempts for 2,114 yards and 24 touchdowns. He will need to clean up some turnover issues (10 interceptions) to really give his team a chance to upset maybe the best AA team in the state.
Saturday’s two WPIAL small school championship games are proof positive that big things come in small package. It will be a major challenge for Joe Walton Stadium to contain the amount of energy, excitement and thrills these four teams will be producing for their respective fans.