The Montour High School football team will have the number seven in mind when it travels to West Allegheny for a Parkway Conference showdown tonight in a game televised by the FSN Pittsburgh.

"We have to win by seven or more points to clinch second place and home-field advantage in the first round [of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs]," Montour coach Lou Cerro said. "If we don't, then we finish fourth."

West Allegheny enters the game with a 4-1 record in the conference, while Montour comes in with a 3-2 mark. Hopewell is 5-0 and has clinched the top spot. New Castle has completed its conference schedule with a 4-2 record. All four teams have qualified for postseason play. The only thing left to be decided is who will finish second, third and fourth.

"The most important thing is to get invited to the dance, and we've already reached that goal," West Allegheny coach Bob Palko said. "The next goal is to play at home in the first round. We can reach that goal with a win against Montour."

West Allegheny can also reach that goal with a loss by fewer than seven points. A Montour win would put the Spartans in a three-way tie with West Allegheny and New Castle for second place. Because the three would have beaten one of the other two and lost to the other, the tie would be broken by point differential in conference games. The Indians enter the game with a plus-29 in tiebreaker points. New Castle has a plus 22 and Montour a plus 16.

"That puts the pressure on us to win by seven or more points," Cerro said. "It will also change my coaching strategy. A win isn't good enough. We need to win by seven."

All three teams have lost to Hopewell. West Allegheny dropped a 34-26 decision to the Vikings in week seven. Montour lost to the Vikings, 30-23, last week. The Spartans also dropped a 7-0 decision to New Castle in week six.

"We were so close in both losses," Cerro said. "We had a 14-10 lead going into the fourth quarter of the Hopewell game. The kids were dejected, but I reminded them just how close we were. A couple breaks and we win those games."

Montour is averaging 25.1 points per game with young kids at three key skilled positions.

"We have a very young team," Cerro said. "We have a sophomore at quarterback [Dillon Buechel] and a sophomore [Darren Massey] and a freshman [Devin Wilson] at wide receiver. I'm very pleased with the way we've progressed during the season. All three have gotten better each week."

Buechel has completed 104 of 186 passes for 1,240 yards and six touchdowns. Wilson has 28 catches for 409 yards and three touchdowns. Massey has 26 for 332 yards.

Tailback Phil Peckich has provided senior leadership for the Spartans. Peckich has rushed for 824 yards and 13 touchdowns on 138 carries.

"Phil is a four-year starter on defense [at cornerback] and a two-year starter on offense," Cerro said. "It's nice to have his leadership on both sides of the ball."

Palko is impressed by Montour's balanced attack.

"Montour has good balance," Palko said. "They have a good running game and a solid passing game. They make you defend the whole field. They also do a nice job defensively."

Montour ranks first in the conference in defense, allowing only 12.1 points per game. Conversely, West Allegheny ranks second in the conference in offensive output with a 33.3 points-per-game average. The Indians have allowed 14.6 points per game.

"I'm very pleased with our offensive output," Palko said. "The key has been the play of our offensive line. We need our offensive line to perform and can't be one dimensional."

West Allegheny has been led by tailback Mike Caputo, who has rushed for 1,360 yards and 16 touchdowns on 172 carries. Tailback Mike Cherokee has contributed 392 yards and two touchdowns on 55 carries.

"Caputo is one heck of a back coming out of the Wildcat position," Cerro said. "He picks his holes well."

Quarterback Jared Buck gives the Indians a dual threat as a passer. He has completed 40 of 76 passes for 641 yards and nine touchdowns. His favorite target is Ben Simmen, who has 16 catches for 239 yards and four touchdowns.

West Allegheny High School's Mike Caputo carries the football against Hopewell earlier in the season.

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