Depth key for Avonworth
Since winning a WPIAL Class 2A title in 2019, Avonworth has remained one of the WPIAL’s most consistent and successful programs after moving up to Class 3A before the 2020 season.
The only issue for the Antelopes was a team by the name of Central Valley, which reigned supreme over Class 3A from 2019-21 before moving up to Class 4A this year.
Now that the Warriors are out of the way, Avonworth is among the short list of top contenders to assume the throne in Class 3A. Ranked No. 3 at the midway point of the regular season, the Antelopes are trending upward while riding a threegame winning streak that included a 21-18 win vs. Class 2A No. 4 Sto-Rox — a team that had defeated Avonworth in each of the past two seasons.
“We’re 4-1, so that’s a good spot to be in. We’re happy with that. We lost to a tough Central Valley team, but our kids played well,” said Antelopes coach Duke Johncour. “We have a little bit of a revenge tour this year with Sto-Rox [in Week 2] and North Catholic in Week 7. They loaded up our schedule, for sure.”
Avonworth boasts one of the deepest and most experienced rosters in the WPIAL, especially at the skill positions. Senior Nate Harper is a three-year starter at quarterback, and he may be on his way to his best season yet. Harper completed 60 of 110 passes for 857 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a sophomore, then completed 100 of 181 passes for 1,232 yards with 11 TDs and eight interceptions as a junior.
So far this year, Harper has completed 54 of 84 passes for 682 yards with seven touchdowns and only one interception.
“He’s getting better all the time,” Johncour said. “He works really hard, and he threw some great balls on Friday night. He’s a great leader, he’s a good kid, and I’m just really happy for him.”
The Antelopes also feature a FBS recruit in 6-4, 230pound senior tight end Peyton Faulkner, who is committed to Kent State. Faulkner leads the team with 15 catches to go with 171 yards and three touchdowns, and he is also a menacing force at outside linebacker.
Along with Faulkner, Avonworth has several receiving threats on the outside, including 5-11 junior Andrew Kuban, 6-1 senior Colin Crawford and 6-8 senior Austin Johncour. Kuban has 12 receptions for a team-high 207 yards and a pair of TDs, while Johncour has 10 receptions for 144 yards and Crawford has eight catches for 82 yards.
“That’s the thing — who are you going to cover and how are you going to cover him? You’ve got Peyton, who is a Kent State tight end, and [Andrew] Kuban and [Colin] Crawford are also talented in the slot,” Johncour said. “Definitely matchup problems all over.”
Meanwhile, senior running back Luke Hilyard is carrying the load in the backfield and picking up right where 1,000- yard rusher Ian Syam left off last year. Hilyard has 516 yards rushing on 73 carries and a team-leading 10 touchdowns so far this season, and junior Brandon Biagiarelli has contributed 196 yards and three scores on 35 carries for the Lopes.
Now, with two crucial home games coming up in back-to-back weeks vs. West Mifflin and Beaver that could very well determine the Western Hills Conference champion, Johncour knows his team will need to bring its A-game every time from here on out.
“I would say the three teams at the top of the conference are us, West Mifflin and Beaver,” Johncour said. “It’s going to be a confer-encedeciding couple of weeks for us.”
Monessen
Monessen might not be fully restored to its once-held place as one of the WPIAL’s premier football factories, but the Greyhounds certainly seem to be on the right track under second-year coach Wade Brown.
Taking over a team last year that was coming off a winless season in 2020 and with only 15 or 16 players on the roster, Brown went right to work in assembling a lineup that could compete and maybe even win a few games in Class 1A. The work paid off immediately, as Monessen finished 3-4 in conference play and 4-6 overall during the regular season while reaching the playoffs in Brown’s first year as coach.
“That was very important to our progress,” Brown said. “Just making the playoffs and just getting a taste of the playoffs, seeing what it’s like and how the level is turned up and how much better the competition is in the playoffs. We were the last seed in, so we had to play the No. 2 seed in Cornell. The step up in competition was really drastic, but I’m glad they got to get a taste of it.”
An 0-2 start had some questioning whether the Greyhounds were heading in reverse in year two, but they have quickly righted the ship with three consecutive wins — not to mention both losses coming vs. highcaliber opponents in Washington and Cornell.
Monessen won at Frazier, 42-6, on Sept. 9, then picked up another blowout win on the road at Bentworth, 49-9, on Sept. 16. Last Friday, the Greyhounds picked up their biggest win yet this season, knocking off previously unbeaten California, 28-20. The Trojans came into the contest averaging nearly 55 points per game, but Monessen’s defense kept them in check and controlled the game from start to finish.
“We were up, 28- 8,” Brown said. “They capitalized off of a couple of our turnovers in the second half.”
Now above .500 at the season’s halfway point and with another big conference test on the horizon this week vs. West Greene and the WPIAL’s leading rusher, Colin Brady, Brown believes the next few games could make or break the Greyhounds’ season. After facing the Pioneers, Monessen will have a pair of pivotal showdowns on the road at Carmichaels and Mapletown over the next three weeks.
“This year, we’re on a different mission,” Brown said. “We feel like we’re a good team. Even though we started off 0-2, we played two really, really good teams to see where we were as a litmus test. I think it’s going to work out well for us down the road.”
Sophomore Tim Kershaw is the Greyhounds’ leading receiver with seven catches for 181 yards and four TDs on the year, while his brother, freshman Tyvaughn Kershaw, has 15 carries for 200 yards and also has four touchdowns. Junior Daevon Burke leads the team with 235 yards rushing and five scores.
Sporting one of the youngest rosters in the WPIAL, the future looks bright for the Greyhounds — but right now, they’re only worried about the present.
“It’s great. It bodes well for our future, but young guys always find a way to do young things,” Brown said. “So we’ve got to try to make sure we don’t hit on a lot of the bad things that come with being young.”