Imani Christian QB continues athletic ways
Kenny Robinson took the snap, ran to his right, reversed field and soared over a would-be-tackler on his way to the end zone. The touchdown was called back because of a hurdling penalty, but the sensational leap made its rounds on social media this week and further showcased the talents of one of the WPIAL’s best players.
Ronnell Heard, who is Robinson’s coach at Imani Christian, said his bluechip senior makes dazzling plays regularly during games and practice, so he wasn’t shocked watching Robinson’s ultra-athletic leap.
“These things happen all the time with Kenny. Once the ball is in his hands, it’s just what he’s going to do,” Heard said.
Robinson is playing a new position at a new school. He was one of the top wide receivers in the City League last season while at University Prep, but decided to transfer to Imani Christian. There he is standing out as a quarterback and safety. The Saints are 1-1.
Robinson (6 feet 2, 200 pounds) is being recruited by Division I schools as an “athlete.” Pitt, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Iowa State and Toledo are his top five. Robinson has scored in a variety of ways in his two games. Saturday against Riverview, he returned the opening kickoff for a score, rushed for two touchdowns and had a 15yard touchdown pass. Against Greensburg Central Catholic, Robinson scored on a kickoff return and run, and passed for a score.
Quaker Valley
Quaker Valley earned what many would call a surprising win last week when it defeated Neshannock, 25-20. The victory improved the Quakers to 2-0 and was fueled by an outstanding effort by junior Ricky Guss.
Guss typically plays running back, but started at quarterback due to an injury to starter Amos Luptak. Guss threw for 100 yards and had a 1-yard touchdown run, but it was his play on defense that was the difference in the game. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive defensive series, one from 44 yards and the other 53. They came during a second-quarter flurry that saw Quaker Valley score three touchdowns in less than three minutes.
“Guts. That’s all I can tell you. That’s a gutsy kid,” Quaker Valley coach John Tortorea said. “That’s our glue guy who keeps everybody together. He’s one of those silent leaders. He’s everything you want in a football player.
Quaker Valley opens up Class 3A Beaver County Conference play tonight at top-ranked Beaver.
Western Beaver
A total of 11 WPIAL teams have gotten off to 3-0 starts. The biggest surprise among them is Western Beaver, which went 0-9 last season and entered the season having lost 17 of its previous 19 games dating back to 2014. It’s the team’s first 3-0 start since winning their first five games in 2007.
Western Beaver has already scored more points than it had all of last season. The Golden Beavers have racked up 78 points in wins against Avella, Summit Academy and Cornell. They scored 70 points a season ago when they reached double digits just twice.
Junior quarterback Jeddy Young has been Western Beaver’s top playmaker. Young passed for two touchdowns against Avella, rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns against Summit Academy, and rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another against Cornell. The wins against Summit Academy and Cornell were Class 1A Big Seven Conference victories. The Golden Beavers host Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Saturday.
McGuffey
It’s becoming about as hard to tackle McGuffey’s Marcus Czulewicz as it is for some to spell his name. Czulewicz, a senior and second-year starter at quarterback, ranks among the top 10 rushers in the WPIAL, having accumulated 445 yards in three games. Czulewicz cranked out half of those yards when he ran for 226 in a season-opening win against Frazier. He rushed for 144 yards in last week’s win against Waynesburg. Czulewicz also has two 100-yard passing games under his belt. McGuffey is 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Class 3A Interstate Conference.