High school football preview
Local teams charge into conference play tonight Conference play begins tonight on the high school football scene and there isn’t a more pleasant surprise coming in among area teams than Brownsville’s 2-0 record.
The Falcons opened with a pair of road wins at Albert Gallatin and Deer Lakes and begin conference play with another road test, this one at McGuffey in the Interstate Conference opener for both Class AA teams. But the Falcons aren’t about to get ahead of themselves, according to coach Andy Assad.
“This is the best start we’ve had in a while, but we’re still taking every game one at a time,” Assad said. “I told the kids, we’ve won two in a row, but we can’t get too high. We have to stay the course.
“We’re playing well as a team. Our attitude has changed since the middle of winter last year. The attitude is better and we play better as a team right now. The kids have bought into it right now.
“Our seniors are a big part of it. All of them have been in it since I became the head coach. All of them started as sophomores and I think their experience is paying off.”
Seniors are leading the way, but junior running back Dimetrius Williams is reaping the benefits. He scored three touchdowns in the Falcons’ win at Deer Lakes last week.
He’s a real quick kid,” Assad said. “He’s not real big, but he’s quick and tough. He’s only 150 pounds, maybe. He’s a good kid and he works hard, too.”
McGuffey comes in with an 0-2 record, but that is a deceiving record, according to Assad.
“They have a lot of kids back from last year. They are real big and pretty physical,” he said. “They are 0-2, but they played two pretty good teams and played pretty well on defense.”
McGuffey hasn’t scored yet, having lost to Peters Township, 14-0, and Freeport, 17-0.
Assad said avoiding turnovers and penalties will be a key for the Falcons tonight.
Also in the Interstate, Waynesburg Central (1-1) visits Southmoreland (0-2).
A full slate of games are on tap in the Class AAA Keystone Conference. Uniontown (1-1) visits Belle Vernon, where the 0-2 Leopards have been outscored 81-3. Uniontown bounced back from a tough opening loss to Connellsville by beating West Mifflin last week.
Laurel Highlands hopes to awaken its offense at Derry. The 0-2 Mustangs have managed only a safety, but the defense is playing pretty well, having allowed only 35 points in two games.
Albert Gallatin travels to Mount Pleasant in a battle of 0-2 teams.
Connellsville (1-1) hosts Penn Hills (2-0), a team which has allowed only 14 points through two games, in the Quad-East opener.
Beth-Center takes a 2-0 record into its showdown with 2-0 Charleroi in a key Black Hills Conference (Class A) opener.
The Class A Tri-County South Conference shows Carmichaels (2-0) visiting California (0-2); Frazier (1-1) at Monessen (0-2), Geibel Catholic (0-2) at Jefferson-Morgan (0-2) and Mapletown (1-1) at West Greene (1-1).
Turkeyfoot Valley (0-1) has its home opener set at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, when Bishop Walsh makes the trip from Maryland to meet the Rams.