Notes, anecdotes and thoughts after Week 5 of the high school football season. Newest WPIAL and state rankings are at the end.
Zach Chandler missed most of the past two seasons with injuries. Boy, is he putting the hurt on other people now.
Chandler, a senior quarterback at Avonworth, is on a passing pace that has never been seen in the WPIAL. He now has a shot at breaking a WPIAL record held by an NFL quarterback.
Chandler has thrown for 1,717 yards in five games (82 of 133). That's 343 yards a game and he's completed 62 percent of his passes. Chandler has a chance to break the record for WPIAL regular season passing yardage.
Seton-LaSalle's Bruce Gradkowski (a Steelers quarterback) set the record in 2000 when he threw for 2,754 yards (173 of 298). But Gradkowski did that in a 10-game regular season. Nowadays, WPIAL teams play only nine games.
But Chandler would seemingly still have a shot at the record. He needs 1,037 yards in four games, an average of 259 yards a game. It is reachable. And won't it be interesting to see how Chandler does in two weeks when Avonworth has a showdown with Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.
Chandler, who is 6 feet 4, 235 pounds, actually is ahead of Gradkowski's pace of 2000. After five games 15 years ago, Gradkowski had thrown for 1,436 yards (96 of 181). But don't forget, Gradkowski had that one extra regular season game at the end. After six weeks, Gradkowski had thrown for 1,854 yards (121 of 212). (By the way, how about the throwback photo of Bruce in his Seton-LaSalle days. Stud, right?).
But Chandler already has made some history. He is the first WPIAL QB to ever throw for 400 yards or more in two games. He threw for 447 Friday against Fort Cherry and 405 earlier this year against Shenango. True, Chandler throws a number of short passes that turn into long gains and that helps his yardage totals. But what is impressive is his completion percentage, and he is not piling up these yards in blowouts. Avonworth beat Fort Cherry by only 28-6 and Shenango by only 28-20.
Game stopped
Saturday's Monessen at Wilkinsburg game was stopped in the third quarter after an altercation on the field between some players. Officials agreed to stop the game after consultation with both teams coaches. Monessen was leading at the time, 18-0.
WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley said Sunday the league has no comment on the matter until it reviews a report from both schools and game officials.
Leanne Spazak, superintendent of Monessen schools, issued a statement Sunday, saying district officials met and reviewed video of the incident. Lezak's statemnt said, "After a preliminary investigation, I am thankful that officials agreed to call the game. Clearly, our students and staff were put in an environment that lacked security, and the situation could have escalated to unknown levels if the game was to continue. I am confident the athletic director and coaches handled the situation as professionals, and exercised due diligence in regards to the safety of our players."
Fantastic Friday
In terms of big games, this Friday is undoubtedly the best of the regular season. There are showdowns in all classifications of the WPIAL.
There are five games between teams that are tied for first place in their conferences - Ringgold vs. Belle Vernon, Freeport vs. Highlands, South Fayette vs. Steel Valley, Clairton vs. Jeannette and Frazier vs. Beth-Center.
Plus, there are five more games involving teams that are in first place and another team only a game behind - Seneca Valley vs. Pine-Richland, Bethel Park vs. Mt. Lebanon, Hampton vs. Franklin Regional, Aliquippa vs. Beaver and Shenango vs. South Side Beaver.
St. Joe's loses; Woody High No. 1
There is a new No. 1 team in the Post-Gazette state rankings. Woodland Hills goes to No. 1 after St. Joseph's Prep of Philadelphia lost to Malvern Prep, 33-21. Malvern Prep is not a PIAA school. Malvern sophomore O'Shaan Allison ran for 149 yards on 29 carries.
Woodland Hills is 5-0. The Wolverines have a big non-conference game next week against West Allegheny. West Allegheny is the Post-Gazette's No. 1-ranked team in WPIAL Class AAA.
The new rankings are at the end of this blog.
6A vote
Wednesday is a big day for high school football in Pennsylvania. That is when the PIAA board of directors meets in Harrisburg for one final vote on the 6A idea. If the proposal passes, there will be six classifications in Pennsylvania football starting next year.
Check this out
**** Pine-Richland defeated North Hills, 47-7, on Friday. Ouch. North Hills has been hurt by some key injuries and the Indians were really hurting after this one. That was the most points scored on North Hills since West View High School became North Hills in 1959.
**** I'm going looking for gold Friday. I will most likely be at the Ringgold-Belle Vernon game, which will be on Belle Vernon's new gold turf.
**** When Gateway dropped to Class AAA last season, some thought the Gators might be dominant. Nope. The Gators were 4-6 last season and are 3-2 this season.
**** Tom Nola is 7-8 in his two seasons with Gateway. His old team, Clairton, is 20-1 in the same time. I wonder what he thinks.
**** Just wondering if Tom Loughran really knew what he was getting into by taking the Fox Chapel job after he left South Park? He won more than 200 games at South Park, two WPIAL titles and two PIAA championships. The Foxes are 0-5 and Canon-McMillan just ended a 17-game losing streak by beating the Foxes. Now, Fox Chapel must play Shaler, a team that ended a 34-game losing streak two weeks ago. Will it be win No. 2 for Shaler?
**** Southmoreland hasn't made the playoffs since 1979 and the Scotties' chances were hurt with a loss to Derry Friday. Southmoreland, Derry and Burgettstown are all tied for fourth place in the Interstate Conference.
Rankings
Here are the new Post-Gazette WPIAL and state rankings:
WPIAL
CLASS AAAA
1. Woodland Hills 5-0
2. Penn-Trafford 5-0
3. Pine-Richland 5-0
4. North Allegheny 4-1
5. Central Catholic 4-1
CLASS AAA
1. West Allegheny 5-0
2. Ringgold 5-0
3. Hampton 5-0
4. Belle Vernon 5-0
5. Central Valley 4-1
CLASS AA
1. Aliquippa 5-0
2. South Fayette 5-0
3. Beaver Falls 5-0
4. Washington 5-0
5. Steel Valley 5-0
CLASS A
1. Clairton 5-0
2. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 5-0
3. Avonworth 5-0
4. Jeannette 5-0
5. Shenango 4-1
CITY LEAGUE
1. Allderdice 3-2
2. Brashear 4-1
3. University Prep 3-2
PIAA
CLASS AAAA
1. Woodland Hills 5-0
2. Central Dauphin 5-0
3. Parkland 5-0
4. Downingtown East 5-0
5. Wilson 4-1
CLASS AAA
1. Imhotep Charter 5-0
2. Archbishop Wood 5-0
3. Bishop McDevitt 5-0
4. West Allegheny 5-0
5. Conneaut 5-0
CLASS AA
1. Aliquippa 5-0
2. South Fayette 5-0
3. Wyomissing 5-0
4. Berks Catholic 5-0
5. Southern Columbia 5-0
CLASS A
1. Clairton 5-0
2. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic 5-0
3. Sharpsville 5-0
4. Camp Hill 5-0
5. Bishop Guilfoyle 5-0