Sep 30 2009
By Mike White | Wednesday, Sept. 30, 8:55 p.m.
Pitt's newest football recruit plays for a legendary coach in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mark Myers of St. Ignatius High School made a verbal commitment to Pitt Tuesday night. He had been hoping for a scholarship offer from the Panthers, and when one came, Myers jumped at it. He also had offers from Toledo and Ball State.
Myers is coached by Chuck Kyle, possibly the most successful coach in the history of Ohio high school football. Kyle is in his 27th season at St. Ignatius and has won 10 state championships, the most of any coach in Ohio history since the state playoffs started in 1972. St. Ignatius plays in Division I, the largest classification in Ohio. Kyle's record is 262-57-1. Twice (1989 and 1993) his teams have finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today. This year's team is 5-0 and also ranked nationally.
Kyle speaks highly of Myers, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior.
"I would certainly categorize him as having a very strong arm, and I don't think that's the only thing you evaluate a quarterback on," Kyle said. "He's a left-hander. You need to know that. He has great vision and he's a big, strong kid. He's a very good athlete. He's a three-sport guy here. After football, he'll go right into basketball. After basketball, he'll go right to track and field. He's a 110-meter high hurdler. That's an event that you need to be an athlete if you're going to do it. I'm also the track coach."
This is Myers' first season as a starter. Kyle believes more colleges would be interested in Myers if he started last year. Last year's quarterback was Andrew Holland, who helped St. Ignatius win a state title.
"Mark started four or five games as a sophomore," Kyle said. "It was a situation last year where we had a quarterback in Andrew Holland, who is now at Penn, and he went on to become the co-Division I Player of the Year in Ohio. Mark did the right thing. He was patient, he kept working on his fundamentals and he did all the things he needed to do.
"As this year began, fundamentally he was really solid. I think with the more experience he gets, the more reads he gets, the better he'll get. ... I would feel very comfortable in saying he has a big upside to him. I think there is plenty of room for him to still grow as a quarterback."
Myers had a big game earlier this season when St. Ignatius defeated Mentor, 47-7. Myers threw five touchdown passes.
"That's the best quarterback I've seen out of [St. Ignatius]," Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Trivisonno has been Mentor's coach for 21 years.
"Did you see that arm," Trivisonno said. "That's the best arm I've ever seen, the best I've seen anybody throw the ball at this level."
Kyle said Myers has liked Pitt since the summer.
"He had a chance to go to Pitt's camp and he enjoyed it," Kyle said. "He felt he did well there and he enjoyed working with the coaches. That was the main thing. He was rather pleased they offered."
WPIAL directs school to suspend coach
Apollo-Ridge football coach John Simon served a one-game suspension last week after being ejected from the Sept. 18 game. Now, the WPIAL wants to add another one-game suspension.
The WPIAL has directed Apollo-Ridge to suspend Simon for tomorrow night’s game after he allegedly bumped an official in the game against Freeport two weeks ago.
In the game, the Apollo-Ridge coaching staff received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for violting the restricted coached area on the sideline. That penalty automatically goes to the head coach. Then Simon was hit was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for coming onto the field to protest a no-call from an official. He also allegedly bumped an official.
Under PIAA rules, any coach or player ejected from a game is automatically ineligible for the next game.
Simon did not coach last Friday against Shady Side Academy. But after a hearing with Simon and game officials today, the WPIAL directed Apollo-Ridge to add another game suspension for bumping the official . The WPIAL also publicly censored Simon, put the Apollo-Ridge football team on probation the rest of the school year and directed the school to demand Simon attend a coaches education class. The probation means the football team can't do anything wrong the rest of the year, or will face stiff penalties.
Sep 29 2009
By Mike White | Tuesday, Sept. 29, 9:15 p.m.
Talk about an unusual position combination.
How many quarterbacks have led the WPIAL in passing - and play linebacker on defense? Can you name one. Well, meet Anthony Rizza - the throwing linebacker.
Rizza is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior at Seton-LaSalle who leads the WPIAL in passing yardage with 908 in four games. But get this: He also starts at outside linebacker. So far this season, he has been involved in four different touchdown plays. Has thrown for touchdowns, run for touchdowns, returned an interception for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
This is Rizza's first year as a full-time player at linebacker - and he likes it.
"I played it a little bit last year, but more just when we went into a nickel defense for passing situations," Rizza said. "I definitely like it. Scoring two touchdowns helps. I realize not many quarterbacks play linebacker. But it's something I have to do for the team - go stick my head in there and make a tackle or two."
You can see Rizza play both QB and linebacker on live television Thursday night when Seton-LaSalle plays at Sto-Rox on FSN Pittsburgh's Thursday game of the week.
Anthony Rizza Paul Jones
Sto-Rox Stadium
Here is something I love about Sto-Rox's stadium: It's right in the middle of a town (McKees Rocks). Right behind the bleachers is a street and houses are on the other side of the street. Thursday night's crowd will be big. Maybe the people in those houses should treat it like Wrigley Field and charge admission to watch the game from the roof of a house. Hey, you never know. Anything can happen in the Rocks.
Maxpreps takes a look back
Mitch Stephens has a great series on Maxpreps.com web site called "Starting Point," where it looks back at the high school days of a well-known athlete today. The stories are quite interesting. A few weeks ago, the story on Drew Brees pointed out he was the second-team QB on his ninth-grade team. Check out this week's Starting Point on Maurice Jones-Drew. Good stuff.
Sep 28 2009
By Mike White | Monday, Sept. 28, 9:10 p.m.
Notes and thoughts on area high school football.
Penn Hills' Cullen Christian is now giving Ohio State a good look and says he will put the Buckeyes in his top five if they offer a scholarship.
Christian, a defensive back, visited Ohio State for the USC game a few weeks ago. "They haven't offered a scholarship yet, but they said they probably would sooner or later," Christian said. "If they offer, I'd put them in the top five."
However, Christian's top school hasn't changed.
"Michigan's still No. 1," he said.
Christian was supposed to visit Maryland this past weekend, but didn't. He also was thinking about visiting UCLA in September, but didn't. He plans to attend a Pitt game in the future.
Christian also had some interesting comments on Penn Hills' 1-3 start. Many media outlets had the Indians ranked in the top five in WPIAL Class AAAA at the start of the season.
"Everything will be alright," he said. "We're not that worried about it. The same thing happened last year. We started out 1-3, turned everything and made the [WPIAL] semifinals."
However, Christian said some things have to change with the Indians.
"Just discipline. That goes for a players and coaches," Christian said.
When asked what he meant by a change in discipline, Christian said, "Just listening to what the coaches are telling. And the coaches, some of them aren't on the same page. Some of it is our fault and some of it is their fault. We all have to listen to each other. No coach can be on a different page and no player can be on a different page."
Don't be fooled by Division I players
Penn Hills is a grext example of how simply having Division I college talent can be deceiving. The Indians were highly touted before the season for one reason - Division I college players. The Indians have four players who have either made a verbal commitment to Division I schools or had offers from Division I schools. The general public and media members see four D-1 players on one team and think that team has to be tremendous. But Penn Hills had big holes to fill at many positions, most notably at quarterback.
Other thoughts
* Nice start so far for Peters Township at 4-0, but no way the Indians win the Great Southern Conference.
* With the way "little guys" are being utilized in football these days, look for 5-foot-7 Damion Jones-Moore of Central Catholic to have Division I offers by the time he is a senior. Six or seven years ago, Division I schools would've been afraid to touch him. But with spread offenses, teams are utilizing the quick, small player - getting him the ball in open space.
* After Laurel has won its past three games, that victory over Clairton in the season opener really isn't that big of an upset any more.
* Shaler is off to a nice start and we here at the PG now have the Titans ranked No. 5 in Class AAAA. But Shaler won't be taken totally serious unless it beats North Allegheny in two weeks.
* Chartiers Valley's Wayne Capers could be the next football-basketball star from the WPIAL who gets Division I scholarships in both sports.
* West Shamokin hasn't scored a touchdown all season. If the team doesn't score a TD in the next two games against Deer Lakes and Summit Academy, it might not score all year.
* I saw Montour's Devin Wilson caught six passes for Montour Friday. He's a 6-foot-2 freshman who I hear has a load of potential. I thought someone once told me he is Christian Wilson's younger brother. Does anyone know?
* Seton-LaSalle's rich quarterback tradition is continuing with Anthony Rizza, who might not be a Division I prospect, but leads the WPIAL in passing after four weeks. Seton-LaSalle also has a 6-foot-3, 195-pound freshman QB named Scott Orndoff, who could be a good one in the future. And how's this for travel time to school? Orndoff lives in Waynesburg.
* Do you think the school board members who pushed out Connellsville coach Dan Spanish years ago might regret their decision? The Falcons were perennial playoff participants under Spanish. Some people complained they weren't successful in the playoffs, but Connellsville did win one WPIAL title under Spanish. Now Connellsville can't even sniff the playoffs. It's hard to fathom how far this program has fallen. Connellsville's record the past three seasons is 1-8, 1-8, 0-9 and 0-3 this year. That's 2-28.
Sep 27 2009
By Mike White | Sunday, Sept. 27, 12:40 p.m.
If you're into high school football - and like to read about the history of Pennsylvania football, then you need the Pennsylvania Football News Resource Guide.
Rich Vetock and Tom Elling have been publishing the book on a yearly basis for a few years. Besides having every schedule for every team in the state, the book includes every all-state team (AP and UPI) ever picked, every Big 33 team, a list of state records, every coach who has won 200 or more games, and every 4,000-yard rusher and passer in state history. One of the other most interesting things in the book is a list of every Pennsylvania player who ever played a game in the NFL.
The book even has a list of every officials who worked a PIAA championship game.
Cost of the book is $20. To order, email rich@pafootballnews.com or tom@pafootballnews.com.
Sep 26 2009
By Mike White | Saturday, Sept. 26, 3 p.m.
Oh, what a Buganza.
Derek Buganza, a junior quarterback at Brockway High School near Du Bois, set a state record last night when he threw for 594 yards in a 74-28 District 9 victory against Otto-Eldred. Buganza found out his yardage total last night while he was on the sideline in the fourth quarter. But the funny thing is he had no idea it was a state record until some knucklehead Post-Gazette writer called him this afternoon.
"When did you find out you had the record?" I asked.
"Just now," he said.
"What do you mean? Who told you," I said.
"You did," he said with a laugh. "I had no idea."
For the record, Buganza broke the previous state mark of 511 yards, set by Pat Devlin of Downingtown East in 2003. Devlin went to Penn State, but transferred and is now Delaware's quarterback.
In his record-setting performance, Buganza completed 33 of 45 passes. He had 328 yards at halftime. Yes, the game turned into a blowout, but don't get the idea that Buganza and Brockway were running up the score and he was still throwing late in the contest. Brockway led by only 28-21 at halftime. Bugenza threw a touchdown pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter and did not play the rest of the game. Brockway later scored two running touchdowns.
Brockway is in District 9, which isn't exactly known for producing juggernaut football teams. But no matter the level or competition, it is still impressive to throw for 594 yards in basically three quarters.
Buganza seems like an unassuming, humble kid who doesn't take himself too seriously. He is only 5 feet 9, 180 pounds. When asked if he wanted to play quarterback in college, he said yes. But immediately said, "I can't play at big schools. I'm too small. I'm looking to play maybe at Divisioin II or III schools."
While last night was Buganza's best game, it's not as if he's a one-game wonder. He threw for 2,923 yards last season as a sophomore. In four games this season, Buganza has 1,518 yards. He would seemingly have a shot at the state single-season record of 3,674 yards, set by Zach Frazer of Mechanicsburg in 2004. With the rest of this year and all of next season, Buganza also might have a shot at Devlin's state career record of 8,109 yards. Buganza already has 4,441. He might have 6,000 by the end of this season.
I'll have more on Buganza and his record-setting night in Monday's newspaper editions and also on our web site.
Shaler beats Mt. Lebanon
Maybe Shaler deserves to be in the top five in WPIAL Class AAAA. The Titans are now 4-0 after defeating Mt. Lebanon, 21-12, this afternoon.
Shaler came in with a 3-0 record, but its competition wasn't exactly strong (Baldwin, Hempfield, Hampton). But today, Shaler beat at Mt. Lebanon team that just knocked off Central Catholic last week and also won at North Hills in the season opener. So it looks like Shaler and North Allegheny are now the teams to beat in the Northern Six, with North Hills next.
Jesse Della Valle rushed for 128 yards on 28 carries for Shaler. Della Valle scored Shaler's first two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 51 yards. Mt. Lebanon cut the lead to 14-12 in the third quarter, but Shaler scored the game's final TD later in the quarter.
Sep 25 2009
By Mike White | Friday, Sept. 25, 7:45 a.m.
Every week, the Post-Gazette runs a poll for the "question of the week." This week's question is turning out to be a tough one:
Who should be the No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Quad-A?
After Central Catholic crushed Upper St. Clair last night, and after considering the first three weeks of the season, that's an awfully tough one to answer. You can make points for a handful of teams to be No. 1. I thought it was Central Catholic, but not after the Vikings got thumped by Mt. Lebanon. Then again, look at what Central did to a good Upper St. Clair team - on Upper St. Clair's home turf.
Or is Gateway No. 1? Or Woodland Hills? Or McKeesport? And don't forget about Bethel Park. After all, Bethel is the defending WPIAL champs and is 3-0. Guess we'll know a little more about Bethel Park after tonight's game at Woodland Hills.
You can tell us your opinion on who the No. 1 team is by voting on the Varsity Xtra question of the week. The link is below.
http://www.post-gazette.com/polls/default.asp?pollID=3261
Personally, I think Gateway has to be the No. 1 team - but only for right now. I'm not convinced anyone is head and shoulders above the field. When Central Catholic is on its game, the Vikings are very good.
Comcast game of the week
Don't forget that Comcast cable televisioin does a game of the week that can be seen Saturday nights on the FYI channel and also on Comcast's "On Demand." Chris Shovlin does the play by play and John Sanders the color commentary. This week's game is Hempfield vs. Norwin, which could end up being very big in the future playoff race in the Foothills Conference.
Sep 24 2009
By Mike White | Thursday, Sept. 24, 10:15 a.m.
Gatorade is celebrating its 25th player of the year anniversary, and yesterday we gave you Gatorade's Pennsylvania Players of the Year for the past 25 seasons. It was kind of fun to look at some of those old names and look at who went on to big things, and who didn't do all that much.
Today, we give you Gatorade's National Players of the Year. The list is below. It is even more interesting to see the great players, but also the ones who didn't do much.
Gatorade sent out the above photo in a news release. They didn't identify the people in the photo. I'm not sure who the basketball player is on the left. Possibly Candace Parker. But I do know who the "kid" is in the football uniform. You know him now as No. 18 on the Indianapolis Colts. It is Peyton Manning in his high school days. He was the 1993 national player of the year.
One of the former national players of the year was from the WPIAL. See below.
Who do you think the best of this bunch was? Who do you think was the biggest bust? You can post a comment in the "comments" section of this blog.
Here are the Gatorade National Players of the Year
2008 Garrett Gilbert, QB, Austin, Texas
2007 Matt Barkley, QB, Santa Ana, Calif.
2006 John Brantley, QB, Ocala, Fla.
2005 Mitch Mustain, QB, Springdale, Ariz.
2004 Greg Paulus, QB, Syracuse, N.Y.
2003 Jeff Byers, OL-DL, Loveland, Colo.
2002 Kyle Wright, QB, Danville, Calif.
2001 Lorenzo Booker, RB, Ventura, Calif.
2000 Joe Mauer, QB, St. Paul, Minn.
1999 Brock Berlin, QB, Shreveport, La.
1998 Chris Lewis, QB, Long Beach, Calif.
1997 Ron Curry, QB, Hampton, Va.
1996 Travis Minor, RB, Baton Rouge, La.
1995 Tim Couch, QB, Hyden, Ken.
1994 Brock Huard, QB, Puyallup, Wash.
1993 Peyton Manning, QB, New Orleans, La.
1992 Ron Powlus, QB, Berwick, Pa.
1991 Chris Walsh, QB, St. Paul, Minn.
1990 Marquette Smith, RB, Winter Park, Fla.
1989 Robert Smith, RB, Euclid, Ohio
1988 Terry Kirby, RB, Tabb, Va.
1987 Curtis Bray, TE-LB, Gateway High School, Pa.
1986 Emmitt Smith, RB, Pensacola, Fla.
1985 Jeff George, QB, Indianapolis, Ind.
Sep 23 2009
By Mike White | Wednesday, Sept. 23, 3:15 p.m.
Gatorade is celebrating its 25th player of the year anniversary this year and I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at those players of the year.
Each year, Gatorade selects a national player of the year, as well as a state player of the year, for 12 different sports. Here are the Pennsylvania football players of the year: It's interesting to see who made it big and who didn't do much after high school. One thing that's ridiculous about this award was Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor didn't win it in 2007. Someone at Gatorade must have been drinking something other than Gatorade that year because must about every publication was picking Pryor as national player of the year.
Who do you think was the best of the bunch below? You can leave a comment in the "comments" section.
Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the national players of the year.
2008 Zach Barket, RB-LB, Schuylkill Haven
2007 Brendan Beal, LB, Bethlehem Liberty
2006 Pat Bostick, QB, Manheim Township
2005 Pat Devlin, QB, Downingtown East
2004 Justin King, RB-DB, Gateway
2003 Chad Henne, QB, Wilson
2002 Marcus Stone, Bishop McDevitt
2001 Steve Breaston, QB-DB, Woodland Hills
2000 Charles Rush, OL-DL, Erie Prep
1999 Jeff Smoker, QB, Manheim Central
1998 Bryan Scott, RB-DB, Central Bucks East
1997 Dave Armstrong, FB-LB, Central Bucks West
1996 LaVar Arrington, RB-LB, North Hills
1995 Dave Robbins, QB, Berwick
1994 Dan Kendra, QB, Bethlehem Catholic
1993 Floyd Wedderburn, OT, Upper Darby
1992 Ron Powlus, QB, Berwick
1991 Cliff Stroud, OL-DL, Highlands
1990 Greg DeLong, TE-DE, Parkland
1989 Kyle Brady, TE, Cedar Cliff
1988 Sean Gilbert, OL-LB, Aliquippa
1987 Curtis Bray, TE-LB, Gateway
1986 Greg Skrepenak, OL, Wilkes-Barre G.A.R.
1985 Michael Owens, RB, Carlisle
Sep 22 2009
By Mike White | Tuesday, Sept. 22, 10:00 p.m.
What states are producing the most NFL players? No surprise that California, Texas and Florida are the top three. But this year Pennsylvania is 10th.
USA Football recently perused all of the opening-day rosters in the NFL and found that 205 players come from California high schools. Texas is second with 179 and Florida third with 176.
Next in line is Ohio with 90, Georgia 80, Louisiana 80, Alabama 53, South Carolina 51, Virginia 51 and Pennsylvania 50. Here is the interesting part. Five of those 50 Pennsylvania players are from one WPIAL high school - Woodland Hills. They are Ryan Mundy (Steelers), Lousaka Polite (Miami), Jason Taylor (Miami), Steve Breaston (Arizona) and Shawntae Spencer (San Francisco).
Breaston, pictured on the left, missed the first game this season with a knee injury, but played last week. After Pennsylvania, Michigan is 11th with 49, followed by North Carolina with 46, Maryland 43 and New Jersey 43.
I think the Ohio number further illustrates what I've come to realize: Ohio football is definitely better overall than Pennsylvania. Ohio has more top teams and produces more top-notch players, especially at running back and receiver.
Miami is the town that has produced the most players this year in the NFL. Thirty-one players are from Miami. Houston is next with 23 and, maybe a little surprisingly, Detroit third with 15.
This Week In High School Sports
For the latest edition of the Post-Gazette's "This Week In High School Sports," here is the link:
http://www.post-gazette.com/multimedia/?videoid=102328
Sep 21 2009
By Mike White | Monday, Sept. 21, 10:05 p.m.
North Allegheny offensive lineman Tom Ricketts hasn't played the past two games because of a knee injury, and will miss at least two more games.
Ricketts, a senior and a Penn State recruit, sustained a sprained MCL in his left knee in practice the Monday after the first game of the season. He did not play against Mt. Lebanon or Upper St. Clair the past two weeks.
"I just had a checkup on it and they told me it's really healing a lot quicker than what they thought it would," Ricketts said. "I did the same thing Troy Polamalu did. Realistically, I'l be back for the Pine-Richland game [Oct. 16]. Or maybe Shaler the week before. I'm not sure."
Dawson to return
Center's Preston Dawson, one of the top quarterbacks in Class AA, did not play last week because of undisclosed reasons. But he is expected back this week.
Still pointless
Joining WPIAL football has not been a pleasant experience for West Shamokin. Since joining the league in 2004, the team is 6-45. But could this be the worst year? In three games, West Shamokin has been outscored, 154-0.
National Prep Poll
Gateway and Upper St. Clair have moved into regional rankings of the the National Prep Poll.
The National Prep Football Poll is compiled by high school sports journalist Jamie DeMoney with input from sportswriters, experts, and coaches. The national Top 25 and regional Top 10's follow with won-loss-tie records:
#1. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Aquinas (2-0-0), coach George Smith 335 wins
#2. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes (4-0-0), dominated Woodland, 85-8
#3. Miami, Northwestern (2-0-0), led by talented jr. QB Teddy Bridgewater
#4. Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes (4-0-0), seeks fifth state title in 11 years
#5. Cleveland, St. Ignatius (4-0-0), defending Division I champ
#6. Anaheim, Calif., Servite (3-0-0), beat state-ranked Crespi, 38-28
#7. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco (1-0-0), plays at defending Ala. champ Prattville Friday on ESPNU
#8. Cedar Hill, Texas (4-0-0), escaped Arlington Martin’s upset bid, 47-39
#9. Chesapeake, Va., Smith (3-0-0), led by Alabama-bound QB Phillip Sims
#10. Ventura, Calif., St. Bonaventure (3-0-0), OL Giovanni Di Poalo headed to USC
#11. Westlake Village, Calif., Oaks Christian (3-0-0), beat then-No. 9 Skyline (Wash.), 28-25, on ESPNU
#12. Miami, Central (3-0-0), outscored foes by combined 129-3
#13. Cincinnati, St. Xavier (4-0-0), crushed four-time defending Ky. champ Trinity, 43-13
#14. Lakeland, Fla. (2-0-0), plays at Calif. power De La Salle Friday on ESPN2
#15. Cincinnati, Elder (4-0-0), TE Alex Welch committed to Notre Dame
#16. Peoria, Ariz., Centennial (4-0-0), defeated state-ranked Brophy, 24-12
#17. Loganville, Ga., Grayson (4-0-0), beat then-unbeaten South Gwinnett, 27-16
#18. Dallas, Skyline (3-0-0), nine seniors committed to FBS colleges
#19. Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha (3-0-0), smacked then-unbeaten Friendship, 45-12
#20. Jenks, Okla. (3-0-0), seeks 10th state title since 1996
#21. Round Rock, Texas, Stony Point (3-0-0), state 7-on-7 titlist
#22. River Ridge, La., John Curtis (2-0-0), topped state-ranked Salmen, 24-23 (OT)
#23. Charlotte, N.C., Independence (5-0-0), has won 138 of last 142 games
#24. Hampton, Va., Phoebus (3-0-0), average win margin is 46-3 during 18-game win streak
#25. Denver, Mullen (4-0-0), won at Mo. power Rockhurst, 17-7
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^Northeast=
#1. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco, 1-0-0
#2. Lansdale, Pa., North Penn 3-0-0
#3. Harrisburg, Pa., McDevitt, 3-0-0
#4. Oradell, N.J., Bergen Catholic, 2-0-0
#5. Montvale, N.J., St. Joseph’s, 2-0-0
#6. Wayne, N.J., Wayne Hills, 2-0-0
#7. Monroeville, Pa., Gateway, 3-0-0
#8. Upper St. Clair, Pa., 3-0-0
#9. Easton, Pa., 3-0-0
#10. Central Valley, N.Y., Monroe-Woodbury, 3-0-0
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