Sto-Rox impressive in season opener
Josh Jenkins caught a pair of impressive scoring passes from Austin Jones as WPIAL Class 2A Sto-Rox opened the campaign with a convincing 19-7 victory against visiting Bishop Sycamore (Ohio) Friday night at the Wolvarena in Turtle Creek.
The Vikings were stymied on the ground as they lost 31 yards rushing.
Jones compensated by completing 8 of 12 passes for 121 yards. Jenkins only caught two passes, both going for touchdowns on plays covering 20 and nine yards.
Jamont Green Miller was the top receiver for Sto-Rox with five catches for 77 yards.
The Vikings fell behind, 7-0, in the first quarter when Trillian Harris threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Naborne. The halftime score was 7-7 thanks to a Jenkins touchdown.
Tre’shaun Barron’s 18-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter gave the Vikings a cushion to work with going into the final quarter of the contest.
More Class 2A
Washington 42, Monessen 7: Davoun Fuse led the WPIAL No. 5ranked Little Prexies to an impressive win against the host Class 1A Greyhounds by returning a punt 41 yards for a touchdown. Fuse also scored on a 4-yard run and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Taiviare Vereen.
South Side Beaver 19, Freedom 14: Parker Statler scored on runs of 25 and 9 yards to lead the Golden Beavers past the visiting Bulldogs. Statler finished with 98 yards rushing on 10 carries. Freedom led in first downs, 14-13, but had three costly interceptions compared to South Side Beaver which did not turn the ball over once.
Chartiers- Houston 27, Fort
Cherry 6: The Class 2A Buccaneers outgained the visiting 1A Rangers in total yardage, 276122, and forced four turnovers in rallying against Fort Cherry. The Buccaneers led, 7-6, after three quarters before exploding for three unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter.
Class 1A
Carmichaels 54, Waynesburg 33: The host Mikes rallied big in the second half to send the Class 2A Raiders down to defeat. Waynesburg led 27-26 at halftime. Carmichaels was led by Trenton Carter’s four touchdown passes, three occurring in the second half. Carter also scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, both on three-yard runs. Carter completed 11 of 20 passes for 114 yards. The Mikes
also rolled up 257 yards on the ground.
Leechburg 69, Jefferson-Morgan 16: Braylan Lovelace rushed for 216 yards on eight carries to lead the Blue Devils past the host Rockets. Tom Burke completed seven of nine passes for 111 yards for Leechburg.
Springdale 20, Deer Lakes 12: Class 1A Springdale claimed a hard-fought road victory at 3A Deer Lakes, jumping to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Logan Dexter led the way for the Dynamos by rushing for 139 yards on 19 carries. Dexter scored on runs of one and 20 yards. Legend Ausk threw a 24yard scoring pass to Ashton Krebs to catapult Springdale to an early two-touchdown lead.
Our Lady Sacred Heart 28, Apollo-Ridge 22: Last season’s top returning passer, Neimiah Azeem, completed 10 of 16 passes for 171 yards to lead the visiting third-ranked Chargers to victory against the Vikings. Azeem got OLSH off to a 21-0 lead midway in the second quarter by completing a 52-yard scoring pass to Dereon Greer. Greer also scored during the early outburst on a three-yard run. B.J. Vaughn added to the 21-0 run by returning an interception 52 yards for a touchdown.
Northgate 22, Carlynton 6: The Flames snapped a 32-game, fouryear losing streak by dominating the visiting Class 2A Cougars.
Mapletown 42, Avella 8: The Maples started the season off with an impressive home win against Avella. And they got it done with a lethal rushing attack — rushing for a total of 220 yards -— 159 of those yards coming from running back Landan Stevenson on 16 carries. Stevenson also had two rushing touchdowns from eight and 13 yards out. The Maples dominated on defense as well, allowing just eight points, which came in the fourth quarter. Mapletown’s leading tackler was Cohen Stout, who racked up 10 tackles.
Laurel 56, North East 6: Laurel started their season with a bang by beating North East at home in a convincing manner. Laurel compiled 427 total yards of offense and 345 of those yards came on the ground. Laurel running back Luke McCoy, who had over 1,000 yards rushing last year, had a stellar performance -- rushing for 155 yards on five carries and three touchdowns, averaging 31.0 yards per carry. Laurel running back Kobe DeRossa also had two touchdowns.
Shady Side Academy 38, Riverview 12: Shady Side Academy rolled to a non-conference victory against Riverview at home, handing Riverview its 12th consecutive loss dating to 2019.