Open event might open up some doors
Limited year gives some teams extra time on the court
The Greensburg Salem boys basketball team went into a game Friday night with an 0-9 record and the Lions have been outscored by an average of 66-30.
But despite the record and lack of success, Greensburg Salem has decided it wants to be part of the WPIAL playoffs.
The WPIAL will have an “open” playoff tournament for boys and girls teams this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone was invited to participate, no matter records or number of games played. Schools had until 3 p.m. Thursday to inform the WPIAL if they wanted to be part of the playoffs. A total of 25 teams (11 boys and 14 girls) elected not to participate. Greensburg Salem wasn’t one of them.
“I understand why people would look at us and say we shouldn’t play in the playoffs. I get that,” Greensburg Salem coach Mark Zahorchak said. “In a normal year where we played 22 regular-season games, maybe we wouldn’t. But the main reason we decided to play is that with the COVID-19 situation, all the scheduling issues, getting shut down, losing games, this is basically a guaranteed extra game. Our kids want to play.”
The WPIAL playoffs begin Feb. 27. The league’s basketball committee meets Tuesday and pairings and seedings will be announced Tuesday night.
Teams with poor records have different feelings about participating in the playoffs. Zahorchak has no delusions of a playoff run but simply likes the fact his team can play an extra game. Greensburg Salem is in Class 6A and the 6A bracket will have 17 teams. Greensburg Salem almost assuredly will play a preliminarygame against the No. 16 seed, with the winner getting the No. 1 seed.
“Our kids want to play games,
so we’re taking it,” Zahorchak said. “The fact that it’s a playoff game is irrelevant to me.”
Greensburg Salem was one of five boys teams winless heading into Friday yet opted to participate in the open tournament. The others are Canon-McMillan, Woodland Hills, Beaver and Steel Valley. But Steel Valley has played only one game because of COVID-19 shutdowns. Jeannette and Northgate are the winless girls teams that will be in the playoffs.
This is only the second time the WPIAL has staged an open tournament. The previous time was 1984, when 12 boys teams and 23 girls teams elected not to participate. This year’s field will have three girls teams and 10 boys teams with one or zero wins (heading into Friday).
Greg Cercone is the coach of the winless Beaver boys team that elected to participate in the playoffs. Beaver was 0-13 heading into Friday, but Beaver plays in strong Section 2 of Class 4A.
“The first part of this is that we’re still living in the middle of a pandemic, and teams are still losing games, starting and stopping,” Cercone said. “This is about the kids, and our choice to play is nothing more than getting them another game and experience.”
The Bobcats compete against, among others, Lincoln Park, Quaker Valley, Central Valley and Montour.
“I don’t want to give anyone bulletin-board material, but our league is so good,” Cercone said. “Night-in and night-out, you’re going against some of the best around and also some legendary coaches. Our question is: If you’re given this opportunity for a playoff game, why not do it?”
Beth-Center is one of the 14 girls teams that elected not to participate in the playoffs. BethCenter is 3-9 and teams with worse records will be in the playoffs. But coach Steve Beyer said part of the reason for opting out of the playoffs is the team’s small roster. The Bulldogs started the season with only eight players and now are down to six.
“We sat down with the athletic director before the season and discussed how we wanted to handle these open playoffs,” Beyer said. “I’ve been coaching 29 years and I said, ‘Let’s just go with what the playoff format was last year. If we finish in the top
four in our section, then let’s go to the playoffs. If we don’t finish in the top four, is it really worth us getting that extra game or practice?’”
Beth-Center is 0-7 in WPIAL
Class 2A Section 2.
Quaker Valley’s Class 4A Section 2 contest against Central Valley marked the fourth night in a row the Quakers had played. While Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni said that resulted in the team coming out a little sluggish, it certainly didn’t have an impact on the end result.
No. 5-ranked Quaker Valley clamped down defensively and held a good Warriors team to their lowest point total of the season in a 62-33 victory.
“It was one of our better defensive games as far as helping and playing together as a unit,” Mastroianni said. “They are an outstanding team and when it got into a halfcourt game, we were able to defend really well.”
Marcus Frank posted a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds. Frank led the way, but it was an all-around solid effort by the Quakers (10-3, 9-2).
“We got good contributions across the board, which was good for us after playing so many nights in a row,” Mastroianni said.
Jayvin Thompson and Matt Merritt each had 10 points for Central Valley (10-3, 8-3).
More top boys games
• A 14-point performance by Jaymont Green-Miller lifted Sto-Rox (9-5, 9-1) past Carlynton (11-3, 8-2) in 2A Section 2, 37-30.
• Junior forward Lau Thompson scored 8 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to help Shady Side Academy (11-1, 9-1) extend its win streak to five by defeating ApolloRidge (6-3, 4-3) in 3A Section 3, 51-42.
• Chartiers Valley moved into the top spot in the 5A rankings this week and won its 10th game in a row by downing South Fayette (6-8, 2-5) in a Section 2 matchup, 68-48. Brayden Reynolds paced the Colts (17-1, 9-1) with 22 points.
• Brashear fended off Perry down the stretch and escaped with a 51-49 City League victory. Jayden Vincent netted 11 and Jacob Davis had 10 points for the Bulls (1-2, 1-2). The Commodores (1-4, 0-4) got 14 points from Jeremiah Davis and 10 from Tyreese Fearby.
• Allderdice (4-3, 4-0) posted 42 points by halftime before cruising to a 75-57 City League triumph against Carrick. Kiere Henning scored 20 points for the Dragons, followed by Ray’Quan Young with 14 and Malik Robinson with 10. The Raiders (2-2, 2-2) got 21 points from Vashon Howell and 10 apiece from Amaru Caldwell and Kishawn Jenkins-Jones.
• A 28-3 third-quarter run helped North Catholic (13-4) pull away from Nazareth Prep (3-12) and secure a 76-29 victory in the nonsection clash. The balanced Trojans got 13 points apiece from Max Rottman and Matt Gregor, and 12 from Andrew Ammerman.
• Vernon Settles pumped in 20 points and Zach Boyd chipped in 17 more for Elizabeth Forward (8-3, 8-1) as it outlasted Mount Pleasant (6-8, 4-5) in 4A Section 3, 42-38. The Warriors have won five consecutive games. The Vikings got 14 points from Jonas King and 10 from Nate Kubusky.
• Mt. Lebanon (8-6, 5-0) took control of its 6A Section 2 clash against Canon-McMillan (012, 0-8) with a 24-6 third-quarter run en route to a 66-36 triumph. Jake Reinke led the Blue Devils with 16 points. The Big Macs’ Aiden Berger knocked down four shots from behind the arc and totaled 14 points.
• Class 5A No. 4 Highlands (11-3, 7-1) stuffed the box score by putting 13 players on the score sheet in a 70-33 rout of Indiana ( 0 -12, 0-9) in Section 4. Sophomore Jimmy Kunst led the charge with 12 points.
• California (4-3, 4-2) raced to a 30-12 halftime lead and cruised past Bentworth (1-10, 07), 57-37, in 2A Section 4. Nate O’Savage paced the Trojans with 12 points, while Landon Urcho led the Bearcats with 14.
Top girls games
• North Allegheny, ranked No. 1 in 6A, trailed Penn-Trafford (10-4, 9-4) after the first quarter, but the Tigers defense clamped down in the second and third quarters to secure the 50-29 victory in Section 1. The Tigers (17-0, 12-0) held a 28-7 scoring advantage in the second and third combined. Lizzy Groetsch paced North Allegheny with 16 points.
• Kathryn Nardo scored more than half of Franklin Regional’s points as she powered the Panthers (3-8) past Kiski Area (3-14), 32-26, in a non-section matchup.
Star of the night
• Owen Newcomer played like a seasoned veteran as he drilled five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 27 points for Frazier (15-3) in its 73-37 non-section rout of Avella (6-10).
Prospects who put pen to paper during college football’s December signing period have a choice. They can finish out their senior year in high school, go to prom, walk at graduation, the whole bit. Or they can graduate early, enroll in college early and get a head start.
This recruiting cycle, that decision was made easier for some by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not a normal senior year for anyone,” said Terrence Rankl, a freshman offensive lineman from Massillon, Ohio, who enrolled at Pitt in January. “Before, you’d have prom, walking at graduation and stuff. But with the [coronavirus], it’s made it difficult for seniors. I’m not missing anything crazy.”
It’s no coincidence that Pitt has more early enrollees this year than it ever has under head coach Pat Narduzzi. Nine freshmen enrolled in January, including West Mifflin star defensive end Nahki Johnson. Pitt had six freshmen enroll early in 2020, two in 2019, two in 2018, four in 2017 and three in 2016.
It’s highly unlikely all nine prospects will play a key role come the fall with 13 “super seniors” returning thanks to the NCAA’s waiver. But at the very least, arriving on campus ahead of their classmates will boost their chances of becoming eventual contributors. That’s especially true for Pitt’s trio of fresh-faced offensive linemen.
It’s not uncommon for wide receivers to enter the fold and quickly make an impact. Everyone saw that last year with early enrollee Jordan Addison, who led all freshman wideouts nationally with 60 catches. Running backs, linebackers and defensive backs can get on the field early, too. But offensive linemen take some grooming.
Rankl knows that. So does Terrence Enos and Trey Andersen.
All three of Pitt’s early enrollee offensive linemen are learning Mark Whipple’s playbook and taking in advice from offensive line coach Dave Borbely. Rankl said Wednesday the process has been like “drinking water out of a fire hydrant.” It’s a lot of information at once. But while the three Panthers can bond over that, they also find themselves in unique spots in their early development.
Take Enos, for example. The three-star prospect out of Cass Tech in Detroit — who had offers from Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky and Maryland to name a few — said it has been “a smooth transition” picking up Whipple’s scheme. Still, he has had to navigate that and winter workouts while dropping weight and adjusting to a new position.
Enos, a 6-foot-5, 317-pound tackle in high school, said that he was 325 pounds at his last weigh-in. He wants to be around 310 or 315 by time spring camp rolls around so he can compete for a place on the depth chart. Enos currently is working at left guard, a position vacated by NFL prospect Bryce Hargrove. Enos isn’t expected to contend for the first-team spot, but enduring this transition to guard now as opposed to August increases the odds of him picking up emergency playing time in 2021.
While Enos is focused on dropping weight, Rankl wants to add a few pounds. The three-star prospect with offers from Arizona State, Cincinnati and Iowa State among others, enrolled at 295 pounds, weighed in recently at 309 and hopes to get to 320 in the next month. He’s eating six or seven peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a day in between meals, and he’s focused on turning fat into muscle with the help of strength and conditioning coach Mike Stacchiotti.
“This was a really good opportunity to get in the system early, hit the weight room early,” Rankl said. “The O-line position is developmental, and gaining or cutting weight is a big thing.”
Rankl emphasized not just healthy weight change, but getting comfortable and accustomed to playing at that weight. In that regard, the task ahead of Andersen might be the toughest of the three.
A Brigham Young commit in 2019, the Utah native backed out of that offer, put his football career on hold and went on a religious mission in California for a yearand-a-half. Andersen lived on his own without parental supervision, so that aspect of college life is no problem for him. But Andersen, a high school tight end, is juggling two positions now, learning the playbook as both a tight end and an offensive tackle.
“I need to start gaining weight if I’m going to play offensive tackle,” Andersen said. “They want to put that on me organically and naturally rather than shove a bunch of bad weight on me. Once we get to the fall, they’ll see where I best fit.”
Right now, Andersen is 247 pounds and counting. He said he recently returned from quarantine after testing positive for COVID19, causing his weight to fluctuate. Instead of taking one meal from Pitt’s facility back to his apartment, he’s taking two.
“I’m always trying to keep my mouth busy,” Andersen said with a laugh. “If I’m not talking, I’m eating.”
Andersen, more of a blocking tight end in high school, is confident he’ll be fine playing either tight end or tackle. His father, Jason Andersen, was a former offensive lineman in the NFL and Arena Football League in the early 2000s. He instilled in his son the importance of blocking, so understanding run schemes and gaps isn’t difficult for him.
Still, going through winter workouts is new for Andersen, Rankl and Enos. It’s new for quarterback Nate Yarnell, running back Malik Newton and others, too. But from the playbook to P.B. and Js, this period is a little different for early enrollee linemen.
Pitt’s freshman trio is finding that out firsthand.