Maples’ Rush, LH’s Basinger surge to top
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Mapletown running back Dylan Rush, aided by a block by teammate James Scott (50), finds running room against Cornell in their game at Mapletown High School on Friday night. Rush ran for 318 yards and six touchdowns in the Maples’ 42-14 victory.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Laurel Highlands quarterback Conner Basinger takes a snap against visiting Mount Pleasant on Aug. 25. Basinger is second in the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club standings with 41 points after scoring five touchdowns against Indiana on Friday. Basinger has rushed for over 200 yards in each of his first two games to help LH surge to a 2-0 start for the third time in the last four years under coach Zack Just.
There were several outstanding performances in Week One of the high school football season, but two stood above the rest.
One is a familiar player who surged into the lead of the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club standings and one is a new name in 2017 who is grabbing headlines.
Defending champion Dylan Rush of Mapletown takes over the top spot after rushing for six touchdowns and 318 yards in the Maples’ 42-14 victory over Cornell on Friday night. Not quite as well known but right behind Rush is Laurel Highlands quarterback Conner Basinger who rambled for 257 yards and five TDs in the Mustangs’ 47-31 win at Indiana.
Rush also had a two-point conversion run (he threw for a two-point conversion as well) to give him a total of 38 points, putting his two-week total at 44 points. Three of Rush’s scores came on runs of over 30 yards (32, 69 and 43).
“That’s what Dylan does,” Mapletown coach George Messich said. “You stop him for four, five or six plays and then, boom, he hits a big one. I give our line a lot of credit. I always tell them if they keep at it and can get Dylan into the second level, he always as the potential to break one.”
Basinger also flashed potential for big scoring plays, scoring on runs of 25, 60 and 57 yards. His 30 point-effort puts him in second place with 42 total points and helped LH improve to 2-0 following a one-win season in 2016. It’s the third time in the last four years coach Zack Just’s squad has gotten off to a 2-0 start.
Following Rush and Basinger in the TD Club race are West Greene’s Zach Pettit (41 points) and California’s Jelani Stafford (36) in third and fourth. Three players — West Greene’s Ben Jackson, Bentworth’s Ben Peternel and Mount Pleasant’s Cody Reese — are tied for fifth place with 30 points.
All in all, nine different players scored three or more touchdowns in Week One. Five players found the end zone four times, including Jackson in West Greene’s 53-7 win over Avella and Stafford in California’s surprising 49-0 win over Fort Cherry. Both the Pioneers and Trojans are 2-0.
Jackson’s scores included an 82-yard kickoff return and runs of 64 and 58 yards. Stafford’s TDs included runs of 16 and 19 yards.
Two players combined for seven TDs in one game against each other as Bentworth, riding a four-TD performance from Peternel, defeated Brownsville, led by freshman Danny Grant’s three scores, 41-33.
Peternel’s scoring spree included two receptions from quarterback Shawn Dziak of 63 and 56 yards, one run of 21 yards and a 70-yard kickoff return.
“Ben’s the type of athlete you want to get in position to get his hands on the ball as much as possible, whether it’s running the ball, catching the ball returning kicks or passing the ball,” Bearcats coach Ron Skiles said. “He completed a pass early in the game.
“He’s a very strong kid who’s been working in the weight room a number of years now. He’s quick and elusive. He catches the ball very well and he’s hard to get on the ground.”
Brownsville rallied from an a 27-point deficit to pull within one score before falling, thanks in large part to its ground game which churned out over 300 yards Falcons coach Bill Maczko credited his linemen for paving the way for senior Quadir Johnson, and ran for 200 yards, and Grant who added 139 and the three scores, including a 74-yarder.
“Our offensive line did a great job pushing them off the ball,” Maczko said. “We had a great surge from them all night. Danny ran hard and did a great job of following his line. Quadir didn’t score but he did an outstanding job of running, too.”
Maczko also commended quarterback Lucas Harn who ran for two TDs and a two-point conversion for 14 points.
“Our kids showed a lot of resilience, heart and character in fighting back the way they did,” Maczko said.
Reese also had a four-score day in the Vikings’ 55-13 win at Waynesburg Central. His touchdowns came on three runs, including an 84-yarder, and one reception.
A couple receivers had big games to move up the chart.
Elizabeth Forward’s Gavin Martik caught four touchdown passes, including a 69-yarder, from Zach Benedek in the Warriors’ 39-7 win over defending Interstate Conference champion Derry. Martik is alone in eighth place in the standings with 24 points.
Beth-Center’s Dominic Fund is ninth with 20 points after scoring one TD as the Bulldogs went to 2-0 with a 21-6 win over Yough.
Belle Vernon, which prefers to rely on its ground game, went to the air to fend off Albert Gallatin, 29-6, with Derek Thomas pulling in a trio of TD tosses from Jared Hartman, two for 23 yards and one for 27 yards.
Thomas is in tied for 10th place with 18 points along with Grant, Jefferson-Morgan’s D.L. Garrett, Connellsville’s Jared Ozias and a trio of California players: Colin Phillips, Zion Aldrich and Dustin Mock, whose total includes 12 extra-point kicks.