Mt. Lebanon beats Central Catholic
Teams meet for first time since 2011 and both are in playoffs
Mt. Lebanon held a 17-7 halftime lead against Central Catholic in a Quad County Conference matchup of squads bound for the WPIAL playoffs.
By the end of the night, that score didn’t budge. Both squads shut each other out through the final two quarters of play and the Blue Devils escaped Highmark Stadium on the South Side with a 17-7 victory.
Seth Morgan hooked up with Lucas DeCaro on two touchdown passes for No. 5 Mt. Lebanon (5-5, 5-3). Casey Sorsdale booted a field goal as time expired in the second quarter for the Blue Devils’ final points.
The third-ranked Vikings (7-3, 5-3) scored when John O’Rourke ran it in from 38 yards out in the second quarter.
Mt. Lebanon has won two straight, while Central Catholic saw a three-game winning streak come to a halt.
Friday night was the first time the teams played since the 2011 season. The Vikings won that matchup with a 31-14 victory in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
More games
Canon-McMillan 43, Butler 13: In order to earn a spot in the WPIAL playoffs, all the Big Macs needed was to win. They did so convincingly by thrashing their Quad County Conference foe.
Josh O’Hare carried the ball 14 times for 184 yards and scored on runs of 54 and 2 yards. As a team, Canon-McMillan (4-5, 3-5) held an edge in rushing yards, 292-143. The Big Macs also led in total yards, 386254 and did not punt in the game. The visitors jumped out early with a 20-6 first-quarter lead.
After losing its first three games, CanonMcMillan has won four of its last six.
Kyler Calihan tallied 37 carries and ran for 104 yards for Butler (0-8, 0-10). He scored on a 3 yard run and also hauled in an 18-yard touchdown reception. Butler’s last win dates back to last season’s finale against Canon-McMillan.
Seneca Valley 21, Norwin 13: On a wet and rainy night, the Raiders (7-3, 5-3) relied on their running game to secure a Quad County Conference victory. Senior Jake Mineweaser toted the ball 19 times for 135 yards and scored on runs of 5 and 25 yards. Raiders quarterback Gabe Lawson completed just one of his seven pass attempts for six yards. He did, however, run in a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Gianni Rizzo hit Jake Merlin from 3 yards out from the wildcat formation for the Knights’ touchdown. Carter Breen booted a 22-yard field goal for the first score for Norwin (3-7, 2-6), which has lost four in a row.
Hempfield 49, Plum 20: The Spartans (3-7) racked up a season-high point total despite being shutout in the first and fourth quarters of the non-conference matchup. Hempfield dominated the running game by grinding out 407 yards on the ground, compared to just 27 for the Mustangs (2-8). Nathan Roby ran for a game-high 166 yards and scored three touchdowns. Mario Perkins added another 153 yards and two scores. Quarterback Blake Remaley got in on the action with a pair of rushing scores.
After losing seven in a row, Hempfield has won its past two by a combined 80-34. The Spartans scored 28 in the second quarter and another 21 in the third Friday night.
Plum quarterbacks Hunter Linhart and Jacob Miller combined to throw for 176 yards. No matter who was under center, the top target was Maximos Matolcsy, who hauled in three passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. The Mustangs have lost three in a row.