Soccer teams take center stage at Waynesburg
Back at the turn of the 21st century, Waynesburg Central’s football team dominated both the WPIAL and the local headlines. Its combination of overwhelming talent and bigger-than-life personalities made the squad loved by its own fans and absolutely despised by any opponent unfortunate enough to run into the Red and Black on a Friday night.
Unfortunately for fans of the Raider gridders, the program has never been able to recapture the magic that led WCHS to the 1999 WPIAL title. To head coach Russ Moore’s credit, he was able to guide his team back to the postseason in 2014.
Flash ahead to this fall and the Raider Field of Pride is once again becoming a very unpleasant place for the opposition. However, it’s a different sport making headlines around Waynesburg these days. The sport is still football, but a more global version.
Both the Raider boys and girls soccer teams are at the top of their sport. Not only are they currently holding down the No. 1 spot in their respective sections, but the WCHS kickers are running around, over and through opponents with speedy, skilled offenses and legitimate superstars making headlines.
After putting together arguably the greatest season in school history, the Waynesburg girls are clearing even their own elevated bar of expectations. After dominating traditional WPIAL powerhouse Yough 4-0 on Wednesday night, the Raiders had a firm grip on first place in Section 3-AA with a 4-0 record (7-1 overall). The women of WCHS were also receiving plenty of love from around the WPIAL, as is evident by being given the No. 2 spot in the MSA Sports Network rankings.
Leading the Raiders is junior Madison Clayton, who despite still having another year-plus with the Raiders, is already drawing considerable attention from elite NCAA Division I programs. There is good reason for the hype, as she is averaging around three goals per game this campaign. Most recently, Clayton notched a hat trick and added an assist against the always stingy Yough defense.
Clayton is not the only star on display for the Raider girls. Freshman Jilian Kijowski, freshman Kylie Sinn, senior Lauren Rose and junior Elle Hampson are just a handful of contributors who are playing major roles in this year’s success.
The man at the controls of this well-oiled machine is Joe Kijowski, who is not only finding ways to use the myriad of talent his roster possesses, but is also keeping this group of gifted individuals playing as a team.
As good as the WCHS girls have been, and they have been excellent, their male counterparts have not only surpassed them, but even the loftiest expectations they could have held for themselves.
Waynesburg has blown through its first seven opponents of 2016, out-scoring them 42-3. That’s an average final score of 6-0.5. The Red and Black have posted four shutouts and not allowed more than one goal in a game. The Raiders have also surpassed last year’s overall win total of six.
Unlike the girls, Waynesburg’s boys have been a little slower to earn well deserved respect by the WPIAL community. The Raiders held down the No. 7 spot in the latest MSA AA rankings, but head coach Matt Blair could not care less about that and is only worried about piling up victories.
Like Kijowski, Blair has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, starting with freshman phenom Gavin Benson. Joining the first-year standout are other speedy, skilled attackers like Blake Brewer, Jack Church and Nathan Blair just to name a few.
Having already bested all but one section opponent in lopsided fashion as of Wednesday night, it’s hard to imagine anything short of an undefeated season for the Waynesburg boys. Should they accomplish this feat, it’s hard to imagine a scenario that doesn’t end with a favorable playoff seed for the Red and Black.
While Waynesburg football fans will have to continue patiently waiting for the next incarnation of those dominant squads that electrified the town decades ago, the Raider soccer teams have already done more than enough to earn all the praise that is starting to pile up around them.
So, if you haven’t already seen these impressive athletes, I encourage you to head out to the Raider Field of Pride and see the newest teams that will undoubtedly become legends of the school.