Friday Night HighLights – 10/08/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 8, 2011 | 11:56 AM

Fresh into the second half of the regular season, new life seemed to be breathed into several players as their performances rose just as the mercury outside was on the rise from the last two weeks. The first Friday in October had more of a first Friday in September feel to it as the gaudy number put up seemed to indicate. Here are the players who rose to the occasion and came up large in Week Six of this 2011 campaign.

Luke Hagy – Mount Lebanon

The athletic resume of Luke Hagy continues to impress and continues to grow. The WPIAL’s 4-A best overall athlete is perhaps a carry away from going over 4-K on the football field. Friday, Hagy rushed for 208 yards and scored three touchdowns, leaving him 18-yards shy of becoming the seventh running back in Class AAAA history to rush for 4,000 yards in his career, as his Mount Lebanon Blue Devils remained in a tie for first place in the Great Southern Conference with a 32-7 victory over the host Baldwin Highlanders.

Jordan Brown – Seneca Valley

For all the highlights and memorable moments Seneca Valley has put together in the first five weeks, including three wins, the one thing they had yet to do coming into Week Six was win a Northern Seven Conference game. In jeopardy of falling behind the playoff pack, quarterback Jordan Brown had a huge game, hitting on 24 of 36 passes for 324 yards and two touchdown passes along with a scoring scamper as the Raiders came back in the final quarter to knock off the host Pine-Richland Rams 29-21 to move to within a game of fourth place in the conference.  

Jaquan Williams – Penn Hills

Despite losing four of their first five games, Penn Hills still controls their own playoff destiny with a shot at still be home for the opening round of said playoffs. Quarterback Jaquan Williams big game was a big step toward achieving both of those goals. Williams was 9 of 11 passing for 267 yards and four long touchdown tosses of 28, 74, 16 and 65 yards, plus he ran for a score from 14-yards out as the Indians cruised past the visiting Altoona Mountain Lions 40-6 to close to within a half-game in the Class AAAA Big East Conference.

Robert Foster – Central Valley

In a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Class AAA championship game, host Montour had a chance at revenge as top-ranked Central Valley came calling in a Parkway Conference showdown. Robert Foster and his mates made sure there would be no redemption on this night. The numbers may not tell how good Foster was on both sides of the ball as the star wide out gained 130 all-purpose yards and scored on a 55-yard run. But he also had two touchdowns, a 35-yard reception and a 70-yard interception return wiped away because of penalties in the Warriors impressive 27-16 triumph over the Spartans.

Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin – Knoch

When all was said and done and everything was added up in this shootout battle of 5-0 teams, you could say Knoch star running back Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin was the sum of both record and turned in a perfect ‘10’ performance. Rumburg-Goodlin rushed for 241 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Knights outscored host Indiana 35-7 in the second half to beat the Little Indians 56-31 and take over sole possession of first place in the Class AAA Greater Allegheny Conference.

Weslley Nesmith – Beaver Falls

Yes, the win allowed Beaver Falls to stay within striking distance of both Aliquippa and Beaver in the chase for the Class AA Midwestern Conference, but this victory was a little more sweeter than most for BF. Quarterback Weslley Nesmith enjoyed another big day at the office, hitting on 11 of his 15 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers torched the Freedom Bulldogs 49-26 to become the eighth WPIAL school to win 600 career football games.

Isiah Neely – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

In last week’s HighLights, it was mentioned that Isiah Neely was able to gather his troops and guide the second-year program to a victory. Now it appears Isiah could be trying to lead Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to the football promise land…the WPIAL playoffs. Neely rushed for 370 yards and scored SIX touchdowns as the Chargers moved to within a half-game of a playoff berth in the Class A Eastern Conference with a 41-21 victory over the host Riverview Raiders.

Tanner Garry –Fort Cherry

Playing up the hill from McKeesport High School, the hoe of the WPIAL’s leading passer through five week, Eddie Stockett, Tanner Garry made a statement that when it comes to chuckin the pigskin, he’s no slouch…even when doing trick tosses from his couch. Garry connected on 15 of 19 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns, plus a scoring dive from one-yard out as the Rangers blanked the host Serra Catholic Eagles 36-0 to take over third place in the Class A Black Hills Conference.

Lenny Williams – Sto-Rox

I’m no math major, but I do know that when 5-0 takes on 0-5, the game is not going to be a work of art. However Lenny Williams performance Friday in McKees Rocks was like a Picasso or Rembrandt. The Sto-Rox quarterback hit on 8 of 10 passes for 309 yards (with calculator, that’s a whopping 38.6 yards per completion) with five touchdown passes and a scoring run as the Vikings remained unbeaten with a 62-14 pasting of the winless South Side Rams.

Sal Faieta – Beth-Center

What was expected to be a battle of the titans with control of the Class A Tri-County South Conference turned into a major blowout thanks to a big night cooked up by the Beth-Center quarterback. Sal Faieta was 8 of 11 passing for 211 yards and two touchdowns strikes (including a 93-yard nail-in-the-coffin) and he ran for the games opening scores as the host Bulldogs raced out to a 40-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 46-0 dismantling of the once third-ranked Monessen Greyhounds to take control of the TCS.

Tags: Beaver Falls, Beth-Center, Fort Cherry, Knoch