Steel Valley braces for potent offense
Even on a gloomy, rainy afternoon, Steel Valley was all smiles Saturday after beating South Side Beaver to win the program’s fifth WPIAL title.
As the crowd flowed out of Robert Morris University’s Joe Walton Stadium, a Steel Valley fan shouted some words so loudly that they might have been heard by folks all the way back to Homestead and Munhall.
“We’re ready for Hershey. Is Hershey ready for us?”
Steel Valley would love to get back to Hershey and have a chance to win its second PIAA title in three years, but the Ironmen (12-1) first must get ready for District 10 champion Wilmington (12-1). The two meet in a Class 2A semifinal Friday at Ambridge.
Not long after producing a memorable championship performance that consisted of 300 total yards and three touchdowns in Steel Valley’s 48-6 win, senior running back Kam Williams already had his eye on the state playoffs.
“It’s very important,” he said. “We can’t get too happy [about the WPIAL championship]. This game means a lot, but we still have two more games to go. We’ve got to keep working. It’s nowhere near over. There’s still people coming for us.”
The first of which is Wilmington, which was a member of the WPIAL before leaving for District 10 after the 1993-94 school year. Wilmington won WPIAL Class 1A titles in 198788. Terry Verrelli guided the program for 40 years and won 14 district titles before stepping down after last season. Longtime assistant Brandon Phillian took over as head coach this season.
Verrelli is gone, but Wilmington has continued its winning ways. Wilmington is in the semifinals for the third year in a row and the seventh time in the past 13 seasons. The Greyhounds lost to Steel Valley, 49-13, in 2016, but defeated Washington, 49-42, last season before falling to Southern Columbia in the championship.
“It’s going to be tough. Wilmington has got a great program. They’re always around. They’re always playing in this game,” Steel Valley coach Rod Steele said.
They’re always running the wing-T, too. Even after all these years, the old-school approach is paying dividends for Wilmington. Steel Valley boasts a strong offense averaging 44.6 points per game, but Wilmington’s offense has been even more potent. The Greyhounds average 48.8 points a game. They’ve scored at least 40 points in all of their wins, one of them a 42-12 triumph against Class 3A semifinalist Sharon. Wilmington’s only loss was against Class 1A semifinalist Farrell, 42-12.
Senior running back Cameron Marett fuels Wilmington’s rushing attack. He had 39 carries for 290 yards in a first-round win against Chestnut Ridge and has rushed for 1,595 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. Senior quarterback Robert Pontius has rushed for 18 touchdowns and passed for 13 scores. The Greyhounds rolled up 468 rushing yards in a 56-14 win against Ridgway in the quarterfinals.
“They run a similar offense that we’ve seen the last two weeks with South Side and Freedom,” Steele said.
Freedom and South Side Beaver also run the wing-T. Steel Valley beat Freedom, 400, in the WPIAL semifinals and held South Side Beaver to 78 rushing yards on 29 carries. When Steel Valley and Wilmington met two years ago, the Ironmen limited Wilmington to 156 total yards.
“I feel like they’re a pretty good team, but we just have to come out and be physical and do what our coach puts down,” Steel Valley senior running back-linebacker Todd Hill said. “We have to follow our schemes, watch film and just go back to work.”
Williams and Hill continue to do work lighting up opposing defenses as one of the best running back tandems in the state. Williams has rushed for 2,005 yards and scored 25 touchdowns. Hill has rushed for 1,736 yards and scored 33 touchdowns. They combined to run for 314 yards (Williams 196 and Hill 118) and score six touchdowns last week against South Side Beaver.
The Steel Valley-Wilmington winner will play the Southern Columbia-West Catholic winner for the championship Dec. 7 at Hersheypark Stadium.
However, first things first. The Ironmen know beating Wilmington will be no easy task.
But if they do, they will be ready for Hershey … officially.