Saturday, October 04, 2003

From local dispatches

Marquis Johnson caught a screen pass from Steve Collage and ran 90 yards for a touchdown last night to lead Elizabeth Forward to a 6-2 upset of West Mifflin in the Big Seven Conference.

The touchdown, which came with 1:10 left in the third quarter at Elizabeth Forward’s Warrior Stadium, broke a scoreless tie and came after West Mifflin place-kicker Corey Rodgers missed on two field-goal attempts and had another blocked.

West Mifflin (4-2, 2-1) drove to the Elizabeth Forward 1 late in the fourth quarter, but fumbled. The Titans scored their only points after the fumble on a safety when Warriors punter Drew Davic ran out of the end zone.

Elizabeth Forward (2-4, 2-2) had only 147 yards in total offense, including 110 yards passing by Collage. West Mifflin had 241 yards in offense.

Thomas Jefferson 19, Chartiers Valley 0

Ryan Hicks rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns, as Thomas Jefferson (6-0, 4-0), No. 1 in the WPIAL, remained unbeaten in this Big Seven Conference game. Hicks scored on an 11-yard run with 2:57 left in the first quarter, on a 2-yard run with 5:22 left in the second quarter and a 4-yard run with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars have recorded three shutouts. Chartiers Valley (2-4, 1-2) accumulated only 153 yards in offense.

Pine-Richland 49, Valley 8

Neil Walker made his first start at tailback, accumulating 144 all-purpose yards and scoring two touchdowns, as No. 3 Pine-Richland (6-0, 2-0) dominated in this Greater Allegheny Conference home game. Walker, who scored on runs of 9 and 5 yards, replaced Greg Hough, who had surgery Tuesday for torn tendons in his left triceps. Tim Newman also scored twice for Pine-Richland, on runs of 1 yard and 6 yards. Valley (2-4, 0-2) scored its only points on a 34-yard pass from Mike Girardi to Logan Downes.

Moon 48, Yough 0

The No. 4 Tigers (5-1) got seven touchdowns from seven different players and recorded their second shutout in this non-conference game.

Matt Dowdell ran for a touchdown and completed 7 of 14 passes for 167 yards and another score for Moon.

Yough (0-6) was shut out for the third time and has lost 14 of its past 15 games.

Highlands 14, Kittanning 6

Zack Bonatesta and Cecil Douglas each ran for a touchdown to lead No. 5 Highlands (5-1, 2-0) in a Greater Allegheny Conference game. Bonatesta scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter, while Douglas gave the Golden Rams an insurance touchdown on a 33-yard run in the fourth quarter. Kittanning (2-4, 1-1) scored its only points in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Brad Bothell.

Hampton 24, Knoch 20

Hampton (4-2, 1-1) rebounded from last week’s narrow loss to Pine-Richland with a Greater Allegheny Conference victory against Knoch (2-4, 0-2).

Dan Brode carried 25 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Jeff Passerrello had 11 carries for 109 yards and one score for Hampton, which never trailed. Mark Rupert ran for two touchdowns and passed for one for Knoch, which tied the game 7-7 and 14-14.

Peters Township 38, McGuffey 7

Jim Gallagher threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Peters Township (5-1, 2-1) to a win in this Big Seven Conference home game. Gallagher completed 6 of 13 passes for 140 yards and connected with Shane Sullivan on a 19-yard scoring strike and with Doug Fife on a 45-yard scoring pass. Gallagher also ran 3 yards for a touchdown. McGuffey (0-6, 0-3) scored its only points on a 3-yard run by Garrett Hunter in the fourth quarter. The Highlanders have lost 15 consecutive games.

West Allegheny 7, New Castle 0

West Allegheny (3-3, 2-1) recorded its third shutout of the season in a Parkway Conference game. The Indians, 3-0 at home, scored the only points of the game on a 1-yard run by Chris Carey with 1:42 left in the second quarter. Dave Brytus added the extra point. New Castle (1-5, 1-3) has been shut out five times.

Ambridge 44, Montour 10

Tom Pringle rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, as Ambridge (3-3, 2-1) dominated winless Montour (0-6, 0-4) in a Parkway Conference game. Pringle scored on runs of 5 and 13 yards in the second quarter.

Also rushing for touchdowns for Ambridge were: Shawn Besong, Ron Wilson, Andy Rodenbaugh and Matt McCall. Montour’s only touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Ray Toper.

Mount Pleasant 28, Uniontown 19

Jeff Marker scored two touchdowns and threw for another to lead Mount Pleasant (3-3, 2-1) to a Keystone Conference upset of Uniontown (3-3, 2-2). Marker ran 51 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, returned an interception 21 yards for a score in the fourth and hit Zach Bellush with an 18-yard scoring strike in the final quarter to rally the Vikings from a 13-7 deficit.

Uniontown was led by Greg Leonard, who scored on runs of 2, 10 and 2 yards.

Laurel Highlands 43, Derry 12

Tim Hirsch scored on runs of 2, 2, 1 and 1 yards to lead the Mustangs to a Keystone win at Derry. Teammate Corey Nesser rushed for 117 yards, including a 43-yard score, and Andre Ramsey passed for 147 yards, including a 25-yard score to Greg Palladino. Derry (0-6, 0-4) scored twice on the ground: 2 yards by Shawn Higgs, 1 yard by Nate George.

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