WPIAL Friday Night HighLights for Week Eleven

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 9, 2013 | 11:05 AM

In a span of back-to-back postseason Friday nights, we have gone from the Sweet Sixteen in each classification, down to the Elite Eight and now at the halfway point…The Final Four. Some of the performances from the second Friday night in November were flashy and record-setting while others were work-man-like and rock solid. No matter how you look at it, these ten showings were winning performances…which on the Highway to Heinz…is all that matters as we head down the playoff road to next weeks WPIAL football Semifinals.

Joe Repischak – Upper St. Clair

Jim Render's recipe for success in the first ten weeks was to spread the ball around in the ground game on offense and play a suffocating defense. A 10-0 mark and top-seed in Quad-A spoke volumes for the success that the combo was delivering. But in Week 11, the team was forced to changed by three-time defending champion North Allegheny as USC took to the air. Quarterback Joe Repischak delivered with the added offensive responsibility by hitting on 11 of 14 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns tosses along with a pair of scoring runs as the Panthers knocked out the Tigers in a Quad-A Quarterfinals battle by the score of 41-23.

Harry Randall – Woodland Hills

We've seen this movie before from Woodland Hills where they struggle out of the gate in September, only to shine bright and surge on the gridiron in November. Playing without star backfield mate Miles Saunders, Woody High signal caller Harry Randall took matters into his own hands while relying on his legs to advance. Randall rushed for 172 yards and scored two touchdowns, the second coming in the fourth quarter that put the Wolverines up to stay in a 28-14 triumph over the Seneca Valley Raiders in a Class AAAA Quarterfinals matchup between the 4th and 5th seeds in the classifications postseason tournament.

Luigi Lista-Brinza – Pittsburgh Central Catholic

When Pittsburgh Central Catholic senior running back Luigi Lista-Brinza was injured and sidelined late in the regular season, there was concern whether he would be able to come back and if so, would he be as effective since he was one of the leading rushers in the WPIAL at the time of the setback. Well he has returned and is ready to carry the workload…literally. Lista-Brinza carried the ball 32 times and gained 193 yards while adding three short touchdown runs of 1, 1 and 4 yards as the Vikings remained unbeaten, but not without a scare in a 27-21 victory over the Gateway Gators in a Class AAAA Quarterfinals contest.

Tom Stinelli and Devin Austin – Penn-Trafford

After getting thumped in Week 7 by 20 points to Kiski Area, Penn-Trafford was 4-3 overall and on nobody's radar. Yeah, they were likely going to make the playoffs out of the Foothills Conference, but that is where the expectations ended. However P-T has ripped of four consecutive wins and are headed back to the Class AAAA Semifinals for the first time since 1997 after a Quarterfinals stunner on Friday. Devin Austin rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in the second half with an injury, which is when Tom Stinelli pounded his way to 161 yards on the ground and a touchdowns as the Warriors shocked the unbeaten McKeesport Tigers 35-20.

Chase Winovich – Thomas Jefferson

It was the first time all season that undefeated Thomas Jefferson had been in a dog fight from start to finish and instead of panic setting in, second-seed TJ turned to their senior Michigan recruit as the calming influence in their 11th victory of the season. Chase Winovich enjoyed another big game on the ground, rushing for 200 yards and scoring three times on runs of 73, 2 and the fourth quarter game-winner on a 6-yard jaunt as the Jaguars won this Class AAA Quarterfinals battle with the scrappy Highlands Golden Rams by the score of 23-14 as the Jags head to the Semifinals for the 15th time in the last 16 years.

Brett Brumbaugh – South Fayette

The al-time leading passer in WPIAL history continues to add to his total as Lenny Williams of Sto-Rox has the Vikings headed to the Class A Semifinals (see below), but there is a junior gunslinger who is quickly rising up the ranks and could threaten Williams final number come the fall of 2014. The hit-man, Bret Brumbaugh of South Fayette got off to a slow start and did not enjoy one of his most accurate nights ever, but he is now in the record books for most passing yards in a single game when he connected on 31 of 53 passes for 472 yards and three third quarter touchdowns as the Lions roared past the game Seton-LaSalle Rebels 31-7 in a Class AA Quarterfinals battle of Century Conference rivals.

Terry Swanson – Aliquippa

Both Dravon Henry and Terry Swanson are a talented, dynamic and now record setting duo who usually are threats turned spectators by the second half because of the many one-sided contests Aliquippa in involved in. But in this Class AA Quarterfinals game at Moon Stadium with Quaker Valley jumping out to an early lead and with a banged up Henry in and out of the game, it was Swanson's time to shine as he rushed for 264 yards and scored on a pair of touchdown runs of 1 and 36 yards as the Quips remained undefeated with a 43-26 win, ending a memorable campaign for the Quakers.

Alex Rowse – Beaver

No matter what happens, Beaver always seems to get stuck on the very large shadows cast by fellow Midwestern Athletic Conference foes Aliquippa and Beaver Falls. Well now, like the Quips and Tigers, Beaver is on their way to the Double-A Final Four and with the leading passer in the WPIAL leading the way, maybe some much deserved kudos are headed the maroon and grays way. Signal caller Alex Rouse connected on 13 of 21 passes for 220 yards and tossed three touchdowns, including a game capping 90-yard strike to Dylan Goff in the fourth quarter in leading the Bobcats to a 21-7 victory over the previously unbeaten Mount Pleasant Vikings in a Class AA Quarterfinals contest.

Lenny Williams – Sto-Rox

With all of the above talk about passing leaders and record breakers and other top passing performances, you know we had to bring the King of Kings into the conversation…and the article.  Williams continues to add to his District 7 career passing record with every completion and can further boost it with each victory. His latest accomplishments came in a Class A Quarterfinals battle at Deer Lakes High School as he hit on 17 of 29 passes for 304 yards with three long touchdowns passes of 48, 62 and 27 yards, plus a pair of scoring runs as Sto-Rox beat Apollo-Ridge 42-20 in the Battle of the Vikings.

P.J. Fulmore – Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic

Many felt that Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic had a championship make-up for a team that was in the final year at the old high school on Troy Hill. But when quarterback Adam Sharlow went down and out for the season in Week 8, some believed that would end the championship dreams for CWNC. Star running back P.J. Fulmore disagrees and continues to show why as he continues to get comfortable as the duel-threat signal caller. On Friday, Fulmore rushed for 175 yards and connected in the games first score on a 46-yard pass to Ryan Kirby while ending the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard run that helped the Trojans beat the Avonworth Antelopes for a second time this season 14-7 in a Class A Quarterfinals clash of Eastern Conference rivals.

Tags: Aliquippa, Beaver, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, North Catholic, Upper St. Clair, Woodland Hills