Nov 6, 2014 By The 4 min read

Last year, the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club race came down to the final week of the season with Beth-Center’s Anthony Welsh edging out Carmichaels’ Tyler Aeschbacher with a 128 points.

There was no such drama in 2014.

Welsh could’ve skipped his final three games and still had enough points to successfully defend his title. He added two touchdowns in the playoffs to give him a total of 184 points, an increase of 56 points from 2013.

The bad news for all other area football players next year is that Welsh is only a junior. There are, however, several underclassmen who finished in the top 10 who could prevent Welsh from a three-peat performance next season.

Even Welsh couldn’t touch one player as far as the week was concerned, though.

The highest scorer and biggest mover in Week 10 was Brownsville’s Byron Mayers, who found the end zone four times with three rushing touchdowns and one TD run with a lateral to give him 24 points in the game and up his overall total to 30.

Mayers’ performance helped coach Von Braddock’s Falcons end their season with their first victory, 31-12, over visiting Freedom last Thursday night, and rocketed him from a 88th place to 25th place in the TD Club standings.

Second place this year belonged to Waynesburg Central senior Hunter Cenname who wound up with 120 points and prevented the Bulldogs from claiming the top two spots.

Beth-Center senior Nico Brown added one playoff touchdown to move ahead of Mapletown’s Dylan Rush and finish in sole possession of third place with 110 points.

Rush, only a freshman, finished fourth with 104 points and has to be considered a threat to unseat Welsh next season.

So should one of the two players who tied for fifth place with 84 points. Joining Mapletown senior Adam Hein at that mark is Laurel Highlands junior Jimmy Pierce, who was the highest scoring quarterback in the area.

A pair of Frazier underclassmen occupy the seventh and eighth positions. Sophomore running back L.A. Ross scored a playoff TD to set his final total at 80 points, while junior quarterback Hunter Patterson remained at 72 points.

Despite a mid-season injury that cut short his senior season, Waynesburg Central’s John Glen Davis placed ninth with 71 points.

Rounding out the top 10 was Belle Vernon senior Anthony Levis with 66 points.

Heading up the second 10 is Laurel Highlands’ Dominic Galderisi who scored a playoff touchdown to end up with 64 points, and California’s K.C. Zajicek with 58 points.

The top kicker in the standings was Belle Vernon’s Derek Verkleeren, who booted a field goal and 33 extra points while also pulling in three TD catches as a wide receiver to finish in 13th place with 54 points.

Beth-Center’s Jason Stay was 14th with 52 points, while Frazier’s Tim Carson tallied one playoff TD to move into a tie with Soutmoreland’s Jake Pisula for 15th place with 50 points.

Uniontown quarterback/running back Lyric Ellis was 17th with 48 points, followed by Waynesburg Central’s Dom Sarra with 44 points to place 18th and Southmoreland’s Tommy Pisula and Frazier’s Nate Zurich who tied for 19th with 42 points.

Mapletown’s Mat Rush, who finished in 21st place with 41 points, remained the only player to score a TD and two-point conversion as well as kick a field goal and an extra point.

Connellsville’s Braden Hone scored the Falcons’ lone playoff TD to move into a tie with Uniontown’s Arian Washington for 22nd place with 36 points.

Beth-Center’s Johnny Sofran was 24th with 32 points.

Tying Mayers for 25th place with 30 points each were Belle Vernon’s Luke Durigon and Mike Fine, Brownsville’s Tyler Herman and Laurel Highlands’ Chad Livingston.