Daugherty, Tutino carry Ligonier Valley into title game

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 | 6:54 PM

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Ligonier Valley football coach Roger Beitel chuckled when asked if he had nicknames for Jackson Daugherty and Aaron Tutino.

“Probably some you can't print,” Beitel said with a smile. “Not really, just 6 and 12.”

But the dynamic passing-catching duo could easily be called “The Nightmares” because of the sleepless nights opposing coaches have, thinking of ways to slow them down as they prepare for high-scoring Ligonier Valley.

The Rams average 48.6 points, and Daugherty and Tutino are a big reason why.

They certainly will be the focus for Bishop McCort coach Brian Basile this week as he prepares his squad for a rematch with the Rams (12-0) in the PIAA District 6 Class 2A championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Altoona's Mansion Park.

Ligonier Valley won its first district title with a 35-7 victory over the Crushers last season.

Basile said he has vivid memories of what the duo did in last year's game and the focus of his defense will start with Tutino.

“They kept making play-after-play,” Basile said. “They run their offense through No. 6. We'll prepare for him and then will worry about 12 (Daugherty) and 42 (Aaron Sheeder).”

Daugherty, because of an injury to sophomore starting quarterback Sam Sheeder on Sept. 15, now shares quarterback duties with junior John Caldwell, who has completed 72 of 108 passes for 1,303 yards, 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Beitel now runs the offense differently, and Daugherty has adapted his talent to the position. He's rushed for a team-high 957 yards and 17 touchdowns, completed 24 of 32 passes for 515 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 38 passes for 819 yards and nine touchdowns.

Tutino has a team-high 52 catches for 1,018 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 290 yards and five scores and is a dangerous punt returner. He has 522 return yards and a total of 24 touchdowns. He leads the team with five interceptions.

Daugherty said he wouldn't want to try to defend him and Tutino.

“I know it's pretty hard for them,” Daugherty said. “I'm on the outside of it. I'm with Tutino, and we just ball out and we do what we do.”

And while there is competition between the two, it's friendly because both want to win more than anything.

“We have a friendly competition to see who has more yards,” Tutino said. “It keeps us going. We try to work harder than anyone.

“We heard before the season that we had those numbers last year because of (graduate) Collin Smith. We wanted to show people that wasn't the reason why.”

Beitel said because of Sheeder's injury, the offense had to change slightly. But Daugherty's and Tutino's statistics haven't changed much at all.

“The numbers are what they are,” Beitel said. “But since the Homer-Center game and moving forward, in meaningful games, their performances stepped up. They are two guys we count on, all-state kids, and we expect them to play at that level.”

While Ligonier Valley's offense has been unstoppable, the Rams will be facing an offense that averages 322 yards on the ground.

The Crushers have two 1,000-yard rushers — seniors Carnell Andrews and Anthony Walters. Andrews has run for 1,408 yards and 13 touchdowns and is the leading receiver with 18 catches for 176 yards.

Walters has scored 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,026 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Will Miller has rushed for 676 yards and completed 30 of 69 passes for 313 yards. His status for the game is questionable after he left last week's win over Westmont Hilltop with a leg injury. Andrews also is batting a foot injury.

“We played them last year, and they pretty much have everyone back,” Beitel said. “There offensive and defensive lines are where it starts for them. Walters is a very good fullback, and Andrews runs the misdirection well. We have to be able to stop the fullback and stop the run.”

Basile said the running game is the team's strength.

“We're confident running the ball,” Basile said. “We feel that way because we usually dominate the line of scrimmage.”

The Bishop McCort defense is led by linebackers Ridge Phillips and Walters and linemen Noah Hughes and Devin Nau.

“The line is older and they have an outstanding corps of linebackers (Phillips and Walters),” Beitel said. “They play downhill and are aggressive. They have a young secondary, but it won't matter if we can't block up front.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Ligonier Valley