5 things we learned in high school football Week 1: Weather throws teams for loop

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, August 31, 2024 | 8:59 PM

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Thunderstorms barreled into Allegheny and Beaver counties Friday night causing lengthy lightning delays at games from Aliquippa to Avonworth.

Nearly a dozen games were suspended, and many never finished.

“About five minutes into halftime, it just opened up and people were running everywhere to get to some cover,” said West Allegheny coach Dave Schoppe, whose team hosted Chartiers Valley.

As the storms continued, the coaches, game officials and school administrators had to decide whether to reschedule for another day. And if the game was never finished, is anybody credited with a win or a loss?

“The guidance I give is the NFHS rule,” said WPIAL chief operating officer Vince Sortino, who oversees schedules.

The NFHS rulebook — used by the PIAA and WPIAL — says football coaches can “agree to terminate the game with the existing score” when extenuating circumstances warrant. Essentially, if they agreed to call the game complete, the score on the scoreboard is final.

If not — maybe it’s the first half or a close score — then the WPIAL considers that incomplete game as a no-contest, without a winner or a loser, Sortino said.

But that leniency applies only to nonconference games like those on Friday’s schedule. The WPIAL expects all conference games to be completed on the field.

“If this was a month from now, you’ve got to finish the game,” Sortino said.

Schoppe said coaches and athletic directors decided to resume their nonconference game Saturday morning but later reconsidered and canceled.

“After playing a half, some of these guys have bumps and bruises,” Schoppe said. “To have them get up early in the morning and play at the same level is tough. It was definitely erring on the side of caution.”

The Penn Hills and Woodland Hills game Friday was halted early in the fourth quarter by a nearby shooting. The teams decided to award the win to Woodland Hills, which led 26-6 with 10 minutes, 50 seconds remaining.

“Both schools decided that was what they wanted to do,” Sortino said. “The rulebook provides for that.”

Could WPIAL record fall?

The longest known field goal in WPIAL history was a 55-yarder — a record set 22 years ago — but North Allegheny’s Peter Notaro was within a few yards of that number Friday.

Notaro kicked a 52-yarder in a win over Gateway, setting a school record. The senior, ranked fourth nationally by Kohl Kicking Camps, is committed to Alabama as a preferred walk-on.

His kick was the longest field goal of this season, surpassing a 50-yarder in Week Zero by Southmoreland’s Jake Taylor.

East Allegheny’s Josh Miller set the WPIAL record Oct. 4, 2002, when he kicked a 55-yarder in a game against Steel Valley. A soccer player who later played goalkeeper at Duquesne, Miller also kicked a 50-yarder in the same game.

Breaking the streak

Four of the six WPIAL teams that went winless last season already have a win this fall, a sign their luck just might be changing.

Fox Chapel on Friday snapped a 22-loss streak that had stretched back to 2021, and Chartiers­-Houston ended a 10-game streak after going winless last year. A week earlier, New Brighton halted a 21-loss streak in Week Zero, and Summit Academy stopped its streak at 17.

A 27-loss streak by Ringgold remains the longest active in the WPIAL. Charleroi, which went 0-9 last season, saw its streak extended to 11 on Friday.

Relying on his legs

Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback, but the highly recruited junior was limited Friday as a passer by a broken thumb.

Despite the Week Zero injury, Sieg rushed for three touchdowns in a 41-14 win Friday over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. A couple of teammates temporarily are filling in as passers. The top-ranked Rangers (2-0) are the defending WPIAL Class A champions and PIAA runners-up.

A year ago, Sieg threw for 1,670 yards and rushed for 2,380. The 6-foot, 180-pound quarterback and defensive back has Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Southern Cal and Wisconsin among his top offers.

Big schools vs. biggest schools

Which class is stronger, 5A or 6A?

When Pine-Richland defeated Central Catholic for the third year in a row, the outcome fit a recent WPIAL trend. In a dozen matchups against Class 6A opponents, teams from 5A are 9-3 combined this year.

Two of the three wins for the biggest schools belong to Norwin.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.