Backs play key roles in 6A showdown
Pine-Richland’s Luke Meckler and North Allegheny’s Ben Maenza have waited their turn in becoming the feature running back for their respective teams.
Meckler didn’t get many carries last season as one of the backups to all-state performer Jordan Crawford, while Maenza was the Tigers’ No. 2 running back behind Turner White.
A year later, both have increased roles and both have produced in a big way, so much so that they enter Friday’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown as the top two rushers in WPIAL Class 6A.
Meckler and Maenza hope their success continues when No. 1 Pine-Richland (8-1, 7-0) travels to No. 2 North Allegheny (9-0, 7-0) with the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL playoffs at stake. Meckler has rushed for a Class 6A-best 897 yards, while Maenza is right behind him at 894. Both have scored 16 touchdowns, tops among Class 6A players.
It’s a little surprising that Meckler (5 feet 10, 175 pounds) leads the class in rushing considering after five games he had carried the ball just 23 times for 177 yards. Since then, Meckler has been on a tear, rushing for 720 yards in the past four games. He gashed Central Catholic for 263 and ran for 209 last week against Seneca Valley.
“Luke’s our workhorse. For us to keep going in the [playoffs], he’s going to need to get the ball,” Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz said of Meckler, a three-year starter at safety.
A junior, Meckler has great speed. He placed sixth in the 300-meter hurdles at the PIAA Class 3A track championships and has five touchdown runs of 50 or more yards, including a 92yard score last week.
“It seems like he has something over 50 yards every single week,” North Allegheny coach Art Walker said. “His big-play ability can change a game fast.”
Maenza, a senior, isn’t very big (5-8, 155), but he has excellent speed and also packs a punch. He has rushed for more than 100 yards five times, highlighted by a 177-yard outing against Central Catholic.
“He’s got really good speed and plays a lot bigger than he is,” Walker said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s deceptive. I don’t think he gets a lot of credit for how quick he is.”
Maenza rushed for 526 yards and scored nine touchdowns last season.
“He’s a great back,” Kasperowicz said. “He’s nothing new to us. He was one of their best rushers last year. A real quick, speedy guy. Has some power. I’m sure he’ll touch the the ball a lot Friday.”
Gateway
Sure, the Gateway offense averages 51 points per game — most of any WPIAL Class 6A or 5A team — but have you noticed how dominant the Gators have been defensively?
These Gators have bite. They have allowed 37 points through nine games, an average of 4.1 a game. Aliquippa (3.7 per game) is the only WPIAL team in any class with a stingier defense.
And get this: Over its past five games, Gateway has given up just three points … total.
“They’ve played extremely well,” said Gateway coach Don Holl. “We have a lot of talented kids who have experience. They play with the right mindset. They take defending their end zone personal and do a good job of protecting it.”
Gateway won the WPIAL Class 5A title and reached the PIAA final last season, but even that team allowed 21 points a game. Eight starters returned from that defense, and that cohesiveness combined with an extra year of seasoning has showed.
Holl called senior safety and Miami (Ohio) recruit Jeremiah Josephs the glue of the defense. The secondary and line have both been stout, but the unit’s biggest strength might be a group of linebackers that includes four underclassmen: juniors Jordan Stancovich, Jay Johnson and Tui FaumuinaBrown, and sophomore Derrick Davis.
That defense will be tested Friday when the Gators (9-0, 6-0) host McKeesport (8-1, 5-1) in game that will decide the Big East Conference title. The Tigers average 45.8 points per game.
Just sayin’
An online sportsbook that lists betting lines on select high school games has lines on two WPIAL games Friday. In case you were wondering, as of Monday night, Pine-Richland was a 5½point favorite against North Allegheny with an over/under of 58 and Gateway an 11point favorite against McKeesport with an over/ under of 60. The games were selected because they can be seen nationally on certain cable packages. Pine-RichlandNorth Allegheny is on Stadium (as well as 22 The Point) and McKeesport-Gateway is on AT&T SportsNet.