Big on talent
The best the WPIAL has to offer comes in a wide range of sizes
The Post-Gazette 2020 football Players of the Year is a group that has four players under 6 feet, including two who are 5-8. But yet the group also has two huge running backs who go at least 6-2 and 235 pounds, as well as a 270-pound lineman.
Size them up and they’re all gigantic in terms of talent and their worth to their teams was immeasurable this season.
This year’s WPIAL and City League Players of the Year include two “big” running backs who averaged more than 15 yards a carry, a quarterback who is among the top 10 passers in WPIAL history and a lineman who has more tackles for loss himself in two years than most teams have.
All told, the seven Players of the Year include two quarterbacks, three running backs, a lineman and a player who played everything from defensive back to two different positions on offense.
Here they come through the tunnel — the 2020 Post-Gazette Players of the Year.
WPIAL CLASS 6A
• Eddy Tillman, Central Catholic
Easy Eddy was slowed a little by an injury in the middle of the season, but came on strong down the stretch and helped Central Catholic win a second consecutive WPIAL Class 6A title. Tillman rushed for 982 yards and had 132 yards in the title game against North Allegheny.
Tillman, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior, was a key part of Central Catholic’s offense for three seasons. He rushed for 2,047 yards as a junior. Had it not been for a shortened 2020 season because of COVID-19, Tillman surely would’ve become only the third Central Catholic runner to rush for 4,000 yards (Damion JonesMoore and Eugene Jarvis were the others). Tillman finished with 3,855 yards on 529 attempts and scored 46 touchdowns.
A few Ivy League schools are interested in Tillman.
WPIAL CLASS 5A
• Cole Spencer, Pine-Richland
For someone whose future is in wrestling, the 5-10, 175-pound Spencer sure had many takedowns of opposing defenses. He helped Pine-Richland win WPIAL and PIAA titles and his senior season put him as the ninthleading passer in WPIAL history with 7,089 yards (496 of 757). He also threw for 84 touchdowns and had 1,457 rushing yards to give him 8,546 career yards.
Spencer’s marksmanship was impressive, completing 71% (157 of 221) of his passes this season for 2,626 yards and 33 touchdowns in 11 games. He also rushed for 302 yards on 55 attempts and scored 8 touchdowns (26 for his career).
In his career, Spencer, a senior, was 32-5 as a starting QB and was involved in 110 touchdowns. He was the Class 6A POY a year ago. His football days are over, though. He is one of the WPIAL’s top wrestlers and has decided to compete in wrestling at Pennsylvania of the Ivy League.
WPIAL CLASS 4A
• Devin Whitlock, Belle Vernon Whitlock moved from slotback to quarterback this season, and Belle Vernon’s offense suffered no setback as the Leopards made it to the WPIAL semifinals. Whitlock isn’t big (5-8, 165), but he was a big threat to opponents in many ways. He rushed for 1,082 yards on 101 carries and also completed 35 of 76 for 528 yards. He was an excellent defensive back, intercepting a team-high five passes and returning three for touchdowns.
Whitlock, who played at Monessen as a freshman, is only a junior and figures to be one of the WPIAL’s top playmakers next season. But he also is an excellent basketball player, averaging 19 points a game last season for a team that made the WPIAL Class 4A championship game.
WPIAL CLASS 3A
• Sean FitzSimmons, Central Valley FitzSimmons’ dominance as a two-way lineman was evident when the coaches in the Northwestern Six Conference voted for the all-conference teams and top players. The coaches picked FitzSimmons as the most valuable offensive lineman — and the most valuable defensive lineman.
FitzSimmons is a 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior offensive and defensive tackle who figures to be one of the most heavily recruited WPIAL players in the class of 2022. He already has a scholarship offer from Pitt. FitzSimmons’ dominance was most evident on defense this year. He had 36 tackles for loss, including 18 sacks. In two seasons, he has a jaw-dropping 62 tackles for loss and 26 sacks.
WPIAL CLASS 2A
• Josh Hough, Beaver Falls
The pronunciation of Hough’s last name rhymes with tough, and you’ll have a tough time coming up with a running back in WPIAL history who had statistics better than
Hough, as far as how far he ran every time he touched the ball. Hough helped Beaver Falls win the WPIAL Class 2A title.
Hough, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior who ran with power and speed, averaged a surreal 18.5 yards a carry in the regular season, the best YPC mark in the WPIAL in at least 40 regular seasons — and possibly ever. He scored 29 touchdowns and the average length of those scores was 48.3 yards. For the season (including playoffs), Hough ran for 2,048 yards on 124 carries (16.5-yard average). On top of that, he also played defensive end and had 46 tackles and a teamhigh eight sacks.
Hough had a number of FBS scholarship offers but decided last summer to play running back at Syracuse.
WPIAL CLASS 1A
• Dontae Sanders, Clairton When it came to tearing up opposing defenses, Sanders was not a gentle Bear.
After a decent junior year (553 yards on 70 carries), Sanders had a superb senior season for the Bears and averaged 15.5 yards a carry. In one WPIAL playoff game, he rushed for 428 yards, ninth best in WPIAL history in any game and second best in a postseason contest.
Sanders, a senior, was a bullish runner at 6-2, 235 pounds. He finished the season with 1,830 yards on 118 carries and scored 29 touchdowns.
He helped Clairton reach the WPIAL Class 1A championship game.
Sanders is undecided on a college.
CITY LEAGUE
• Darius Bruce, Westinghouse Bruce was a Bulldog who learned a number of tricks. He was a jack-ofall-trades who led the Bulldogs to a second consecutive City League championship. His best position was cornerback, but he also played some at wildcat quarterback, a little at receiver and returned kicks. He was the team’s leading tackler and intercepted a team-high four passes in seven games. A 5-11, 175-pound senior, Bruce had five touchdowns on kick returns — three on punts and two on kickoffs.
Bruce’s worth to Westinghouse is evident in this factoid: He was a team captain for three years.
Some Division II colleges are recruiting Bruce.