Scholastic Notebook – 12/10/2010

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, December 10, 2010 | 12:00 AM

With each win, South Fayette and Christian Brumbaugh are going against a "running" tradition. They're proving that you can win by throwing in November and December.

South Fayette used a strong passing attack to win a WPIAL championship and the Lions will play tomorrow in the PIAA Class AA semifinals. Brumbaugh was the WPIAL's leading passer in the regular season, which means his postseason success is unheard of in these parts.

In the previous 26 seasons, the leading passer in the WPIAL won a grand total of two playoff games. TWO! Sto-Rox's Adam DiMichele won one playoff game in 2002, and Penn-Trafford's Tony Zimmerman one game in 1995.

The last time the leading passer in the WPIAL made it to a title game was Frazier's Ray Ciferno in 1983. That means Brumbaugh is the first player to lead the WPIAL in regular-season passing and also win a PIAA playoff game.

Brumbaugh knows the history of passers who haven't had much success in Western Pennsylvania postseasons.

"We are kind of like breaking a trend," Brumbaugh said. "People are so used to seeing so many great running backs and so many rushing records. I think rushing is just a little more well-known in Western Pennsylvania."

Lions Den of QBs

On his way to becoming the second-leading passer in WPIAL history last week, Brumbaugh passed, of all people, a South Fayette quarterback.

Andrew DiDonato, a 2006 South Fayette graduate, was the second-leading passer in WPIAL history with 6,573 yards – until Brumbaugh passed him last week. Brumbaugh has 6,691 yards and will likely break the WPIAL record of 6,741 tomorrow when South Fayette plays Forest Hills in the PIAA Class AA semifinals at Hempfield.

The WPIAL record is held by 2004 Sto-Rox graduate Adam DiMichele.

The possibility of passing DiDonato was brought up to Brumbaugh when he made an unofficial recruiting visit to the Univesity of Buffalo this past summer. DiDonato was working with Buffalo's coaches at the time.

"I remember joking with Andrew and some of Buffalo's coaches when I was up there," Brumbaugh said. "They asked me if I was going to break all of Andrew's records. I remember saying that we'd really have to make a run in the state playoffs to have a chance. And we did."

Two More Jobs Opened

Two more football coaches in the WPIAL were let go this week. Brian Pritts was not rehired after six seasons as Southmoreland's coach. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Forward opened Garry Cathell's position.

Southmoreland's move was a little surprising, considering Pritts went 4-5 this year. That was progress for the Scotties after finishing 0-9 the past two seasons in Class AAA. They dropped to Class AA this year.

Cathell was let go after four seasons. His record was 9-28 and he did not win a game in two of his four seasons.

Do You Remember?

The North Allegheny football team is in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals for the first time in 20 years. The last time the Tigers made it this far, one of their assistant coaches was a 1,000-yard rusher on the team.

Kevin Rock, a North Allegheny assistant, was one of three talented running backs on North Allegheny's WPIAL and PIAA championship teams in 1990. The others were Mike McKnight and Jon Craig. Rock went on to play at Pitt. Before that, he helped North Allegheny win the PIAA title.

Tournament Time

High school basketball starts Friday night around the state and if you're looking for some good games, one of the best tonight is Chartiers Valley vs. Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the Model Cleaners/Upper St. Clair Tipoff Tournament, which can be heard here on the MSA Sports Network.

Beaver Falls vs. Perry in the New Castle Tournament is another good one, along with Erie Prep-Butler at Hollidaysburg, and Moon-Sto-Rox at West Allegheny.

Where Are They Now?

* Former McKeesport basketball standout Quentin Harding is the leading scorer on the California, Pa., basketball team at 14.5 points a game. He also averages 5.3 rebounds.

* California had a big win Thursday night against Bowie State, the No. 11-ranked team in Division II, and former Central Catholic guard Joe Berenato scored a team-high 17 points. Berenato is averaging 7.3 points a game.

* Clarion is off to a 5-0 start and one of its top scorers is Mike Sherry, who is averaging 12.2 points. Sherry, a Chartiers Valley graduate, has 17 3-pointers and is shooting 45 percent behind the arc.

* The UCLA womens team is off to a 7-0 start and former Schenley star Markel Walker is averaging 10.9 points, 3.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds.