Nov 5, 2002 By Jim Kriek For The 3 min read

Now when Carmichaels says, “We’re No. 1,” it can mean it in two respects. The big bad Mikes now hold both the offensive and defensive leads among teams in the Herald-Standard’s coverage area, following last Friday’s 42-7 rout of Canevin in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

Coach John Menhart’s Mikes had been averaging 40.8 points per game on offense going into the first playoff test, and they upped that by one-tenth of a point while writing another paragraph in the history of the Tri-County South Conference.

When the Mikes beat Canevin, and Monessen ambushed Farrell, 7-6, it marked the first time since 1986 that two TCS teams had won their first-round games.

The win also left Carmichaels as the only one of seven entries from this area to advance beyond the first round.

Going into the weekend, the top five on offense were Carmichaels, Waynesburg Central, Beth-Center, Brownsville, and Uniontown. Beth-Center and Brownsville had finished its schedules, while Carmichaels went on to win its playoff opener, Waynesburg lost to Shenango, 42-27, and Uniontown lost to Knoch, 34-7.

This week’s top five are Carmichaels (406-40.6), Waynesburg (266-26.6), Beth-Center (222-24.7), Brownsville (170-18.9), and Belle Vernon, a 30-14 loser to Moon, moved into fifth (177-17.7) by just four-tenths of a point over Uniontown.

Defensively, Carmichaels gave up only seven points to Canevin and took over first place (107-10.7) by an edge of 1.7 per game over Belle Vernon (124-12.4), who ceded 30 to Moon.

Rounding out the top five on defense are Waynesburg (148-14.8), California (164-16.4), a 41-8 loser to Monaca, and Beth-Center (160-17.8). A week ago, the top five were Belle Vernon, Carmichaels, Waynesburg, California, and Uniontown.

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Carmichaels is also the second best team on offense for the entire WPIAL, trailing only Thomas Jefferson. While the Mikes were eliminating Canevin from the playoffs, TJ was routing Laurel Highlands, 70-6. TJ has scored 446 points in 10 games (44.6) to lead Carmichaels by a 3.7 edge (409-40.9), and Pine-Richland (406-40.6), a 56-20 winner over Peters Twp., the only three teams in the entire WPIAL with more than 400 points for the season.

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When Laurel highlands surrendered 70 points to Thomas Jefferson, it was the highest score against the Mustangs since Canon-McMillan beat them 63-0 two years ago, and a 55-33 loss to Upper St. Clair last year.

After LH went up 6-0 on its first drive, TJ responded with 70 unanswered points. Figures aren’t available to prove otherwise, but this must be a WPIAL record for consecutive points scored.

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When Connellsville beat Shaler 21-14 in double overtime to close the season, it was the 195th coaching win for Dan Spanish in his 29 years with the Falcons. The last time the Falcons went into overtime was 1999, in their final two games of the season, losing to Penn-Trafford 42-35, then nailing Hempfield, 44-41.

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Of the 16 teams in the Herald-Standard coverage area, five finished their seasons without being shutout. Carmichaels makes it six, but the Mikes are still in the playoffs.

Done without a zero on their record are Albert Gallatin, Brownsville, Southmoreland, Waynesburg, and Beth-Center.

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Some highlights of the 10th football weekend:

Passing TD – 73 yards, Derek Brietich to Jim Fretz, Belle Vernon, vs Moon; 63, Drew Denham to Gerod Buckhalter, Mapletown, vs Cornell; 56, T. J. Martinak to Dwaine Keebler, Frazier, vs Rochester; 49, Justin Marsinko to Dwaine Berger, Connellsville, vs Shaler; 44, Matt Humbert to Tony Patitucci, for the only Laurel Highlands score against Thomas Jefferson.

Touchdown Run – 77 yards, Andy Latusek, Mapletown, vs Cornell; 60, Cory Walsh, Waynesburg, vs Shenango; 59, Colby Giles, Carmichaels, vs Canevin; 40, Ryan Robinson, California, vs Monaca.

Scoring – 18 points Colby Giles, on TD runs of 6, 2, and 59 yards.