AG shoots for undefeated season; California, J-M play for TCS title
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Albert Gallatin had never had a winning football season since it was formed with the consolidation of AG, German and Fairchance-Georges in 1987.
The hiring of head coach Drew Dindl in 2018 along with the move to become an independent the next year after an 0-10 record in the WPIAL Class 5A classification gave the Colonials hope to turn around the program.
Dindl has since produced winning records at AG of 5-3 in 2019, 5-1 in 2020, 7-2 in 2021 and 6-3 last year.
This year the Colonials are taking it one step further than just a winning record.
Albert Gallatin will finish Dindl’s eighth season with a perfect 10-0 record if it can defeat visiting Weir of West Virginia in its regular-season finale tonight.
One must go before consolidation to head coach Doc Franks’ 10-0 team in 1980 to find the last time the Colonials went unbeaten.
The game, along with 13 others involving area teams in Week Nine, kicks off at 7 p.m. in York Run.
A conference championship will be on the line at Jefferson-Morgan when the Rockets (5-1, 8-1) host first-place California (6-0, 8-1) in the Class A Tri-County South. The Trojans can claim the title outright with a win but a Jefferson-Morgan victory combined with a Bentworth win at Avella would create a three-way tie for first place between the Bearcats, Rockets and Trojans.
In other TCS action, Beth-Center (2-4, 2-7) is at West Greene (1-5, 1-8) and Mapletown (0-6, 1-8) makes the short trip to Carmichaels (2-4, 3-5). The Mikes can claim a share of fourth place with a win and an Avella loss, although that would not clinch a playoff spot as only the top three teams in Class A earn automatic bids.
Frazier (3-3, 5-4) would be in a strong position to be granted one of the four Class A wild-card berths the WPIAL will award if it can win at Springdale (0-5, 0-7). A victory would give the Commodores sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
In other games involving independent teams, Brownsville (0-7) hosts Toronto of Ohio at Redstone Field, Connellsville (2-7) hosts Fairmont of West Virginia at Falcon Stadium and Uniontown (2-7) travels into Maryland to face Southern Garrett.
In the Class 4A Big Six Conference, Laurel Highlands (0-4, 2-7) is at Thomas Jefferson (3-1, 7-2) and Belle Vernon (2-2, 3-5) hosts conference champion Trinity (4-0, 5-4).
In the Class 3A Interstate Conference, Southmoreland (3-1, 8-1) can secure second place if it can bounce back from its first loss of the season to first-place Elizabeth Forward with a win over visiting Greensburg Salem (1-3, 3-6) and Mount Pleasant (2-2, 5-4) travels to EF likely needing an upset win to finish in a tie for third place in the conference. Even with a loss, the Vikings would be in the running for one of three wild-card spots.
In the Class 2A Century Conference, Waynesburg Central (2-3, 4-5) is at Sto-Rox (1-4, 1-8). A win would put the Raiders alone in fourth place where they can hope for one of four wild-card berths.