Greensburg Central Catholic trending upward
After a 6-5 finish in its first season under coach Marko Thomas, expectations were high for Greensburg Central Catholic going into year two — and they’re likely to keep rising after the Centurions’ Week 0 performance.
Greensburg Central opened the season with a 5635 win at Class 3A foe Mount Pleasant on Friday, and the Centurions cracked this week’s Post-Gazette’s Class 1A rankings at No. 5 as a result. Thomas knows it’s still early and the team has a lot of room to improve, but he certainly won’t complain about starting 1-0.
“They’re a tough team. That’s definitely the way we wanted to start the season,” Thomas said. “We haven’t proven anything yet. It’s the first game. It could have been a fluke. You never know. … I didn’t expect to put up that many points [Friday] night, but I thought we had a chance to be a potent offense.
“It’s going to come down to our defense. We can’t expect to score 50 points a game.”
Some teams have one or two talented playmakers on offense capable of scoring any time they touch the ball, but Greensburg Central has several. Junior Da’sjon Craggette led the way with 114 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns vs. the Vikings, while senior Jaydin Canady ran for 77 yards and also scored on a pair of TD runs.
Freshman Samir Crosby enjoyed a big debut for the Centurions, as he threw a TD to Dlugos after scoring on a 34-yard touchdown catch of his own from Tyree Turner.
“It’s basically the exact opposite of last year. Last year, we were more defensive and it took the offense a while to get there,” Thomas said. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Tyree [Turner]. He made a lot of very good reads last night. There were a couple times we had third and long, and he scrambled and was able to get enough yardage. I think he did it three or four times [Friday] night. We definitely were clicking, and hopefully it doesn’t slow down.”
Amari Mack gets most of the headlines as Greensburg Central’s most heralded receiver, and he scored on a 35yard TD reception from Turner. But senior Nate Dlugos was actually the team’s leading receiver a year ago, and he scored on a 32-yard touchdown reception and 85-yard fumble recovery.
Having starred on Jeannette’s 2020 team that won a WPIAL Class 1A title and reached the PIAA championship game, Canady’s biggame experience should rub off on the rest of his teammates come playoff time. He wasn’t able to play in last year’s postseason, when the Centurions lost in the first round vs. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, due to PIAA transfer rules.
“I definitely think we can be a contender, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just about keeping everybody healthy,” Thomas said. “I think we have a nice, skilled group.”
Westinghouse
Friday night had its fair share of eye-opening results, but one of the most shocking box scores came courtesy of a high-profile matchup on Saturday night.
Last year’s City League runner-up, Westinghouse is fresh off a 10-2 season and looking to get back on top of the city hierarchy after winning back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020. And it’s clear the top-ranked Bulldogs aren’t taking any shortcuts to get back there.
Westinghouse welcomed Class 1A No. 3 Clairton — traditionally one of the top programs in the area — to Cupples Stadium on the South Side on Saturday, and the Bulldogs certainly made a statement to start their season. After falling behind in the second quarter, 8-7, Westinghouse put up 33 unanswered points en route to a 40-8 win. Senior quarterback Keyshawn Morsillo went 7 for 11 for 149 yards with three TDs for the Bulldogs.
Bentworth
Ever heard of a player passing for two touchdowns, rushing for three more and sacking a quarterback for a safety on defense? Well, now you have, because that’s what Bentworth’s Vitali Daniels did on Friday night.
A 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior quarterback who is also a standout wrestler for the Bearcats, Daniels had a game for the ages in Bentworth’s season-opening 50-12 win at Brownsville. After falling behind, 6-0, Daniels tossed a pair of touchdown passes with a 43-yarder to Benjamin Hays and a 6-yard score to Lucas Burt. Daniels then ran for a 7yard TD to give the Bearcats a 29-6 halftime lead.
Daniels, who converted from receiver to quarterback after catching 39 passes for 430 yards as a sophomore, scored again on a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter. He then sacked Brownsville quarterback Harlan Davis in the end zone for a safety in the fourth quarter before tacking on one more 24-yard TD run, finishing the game with 135 yards rushing and five total touchdowns.
Fort Cherry
If you forecasted Fort Cherry, California and Laurel to be the three highestscoring WPIAL teams coming out of Week 0, take a bow.
After dropping from Class 2A to 1A, the Spartans opened their season with a 63-7 rout vs. New Brighton. Another quarterback who doubles as a wrestler in the winter, Laurel quarterback Chase Tinstman finished 6 of 8 passing for 106 yards and a touchdown and ran for three more. But that was only good enough for the third-highest point total of the week.
The Trojans racked up more than 300 yards on the ground in a 65-13 win at Frazier, with juniors Jake Layhue and Zach Geletei leading the way. Layhue finished with 184 yards and a pair of scores and Geletei also crossed the century mark, racking up 124 yards and two TDs. But the high score of Week 0 belonged to the Rangers of Fort Cherry.
In a 69-20 win vs. Northgate, Fort Cherry freshman quarterback Matt Sieg passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more, all in the first half. Sophomore receiver Braydon Cook caught a pair of long TDs from Sieg, scoring from 50 and 43 yards out.
West Greene
After rushing for 1,444 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore, West Greene junior Colin Brady picked up right where he left off last year.
Although the Pioneers came up just short in a 41-31 loss vs. Cameron, W.Va., Brady had one of the standout performances of Week 0 across the WPIAL. The 6-2, 185-pound tailback ran for 256 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries on Friday night, and he also scored on a 74-yard TD reception, totaling 330 yards from scrimmage with four scores.