Protime’s Pigskin Parlance – Milestones, Record Breakers & Game Shakers – Top Receivers Edition
Tagged under: News, pfn, Protime Predictions
Phil Myers | November 1, 2023
Protime’s weekly column will attempt to get readers up to date on current football facts, stats, and miscellaneous tidbits of information from across the entire state of Pennsylvania. His crack staff of one will peruse some, but not all newspapers and other sources for hopefully what will be up to date scoop on the previous week’s games, records, and hitherto unknown factoids of the sort.
Trivia question of the week: You really know your history if you can get this one. What PA high school did Kentucky standout and NFL Hall of Famer George Blanda play for? Extra Point: What 2 positions did Blanda play?
Program Wins Milestones
The South Side Rams won their 300th game this past week by beating the Rochester Rams. South Side out of District 7 (WPIAL) is a single A team and is currently unbeaten. You just might see them at Cumberland Valley playing for a state championship come December. Congratulations to the S.S. Rams!
Coaching Milestones
Tom Gravish of Jersey Shore was honored the other night for picking up his 100th career win at the Shore. Coach Gravish is the first coach in Jersey Shore football history to garner 100 wins. (He reached that milestone in September.) Chris Eiswerth of South Williamsport did earn his 100th win last Friday. His Mountaineers may make some noise in the D-4 playoffs too. Congrats to both coaches!
Team Achievements
Aliquippa just completed their 21st undefeated regular season. That is the most of any team in the history of the WPIAL (District 7). With their victory this past Friday, the Quips also became the all-time wins leader of the WPIAL (778) passing Jeannette. Jersey Shore completed their 4th straight unbeaten regular season. The Bulldogs have come a long way since going 0-10 in 2012.
The Mercyhurst Prep Lakers won the regular season scoring title and points allowed title. The Lakers averaged 59.6 points a game while allowing only 4.0 points. Central Clarion (58.9 pts.) and Jersey Shore (51.3) were the only other teams averaging at least 50 points per game. Downingtown East permitting 4.3 points per contest and Imhotep at 5.0 were second and third in scoring defenses.
Head Scratcher
Upper St. Clair had a great regular season finishing 8-2, losing only to Peters Township (PFN’s #2 team in 5A) and Bethel Park. Bethel Park, on the other hand, ended up with a 4-6 record and made the 5A WPIAL playoffs. Upper St. Clair did not make the playoffs. Woodland Hills at 6-4 also did not make the playoffs. But three other 5A teams with 5-5 records did. That is a travesty that needs to be addressed by the powers that be. Someone said, “you need to win your games.” That is true, but is it really fair that two teams with winning records are outside looking in while four teams that played no better than .500 ball are in?
State Record?
Central York’s Matthew Parker may have set a PA record when he kicked a 54-yard ‘free kick field goal’ right before the half in their game with William Penn. Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers holds the NFL record with a 52-yard ‘free kick field goal.’ Parker’s kick was not a state field goal record. The ‘free kick field goal’ is a rare play that is legal in high school and the NFL, but hasn’t been part of the college game since 1949. After a fair catch, the team has the right to take a free kick from the line of scrimmage on the very next play. If the kick goes through the uprights, the kicking team scores 3 points. What special rules apply? There is no snap. The defense must stand at least 10 yards from the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked. The ball must be placed or drop-kicked. Even if time expired on the preceding play, the fair-catching team may still attempt the kick.
Individual Achievements
Matthew Machalik of Palmerton became the first player in Pennsylvania to ever throw for 5,000 yards and rush for 5,000 yards in their career. He did it in dramatic fashion by running 76 yards for a touchdown. Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette and Hunter Merritt of Conneaut Area had been the only two quarterbacks to pass for 4,000 and rush for 4,000 in a career.
Fort Cherry’s sophomore QB, Matt Sieg, became only the second player in the WPIAL to ever pass for 1,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the regular season twice. Obviously, he has a chance to do it four times which never has been done in the WPIAL. Skyy Moore is the other player who did it. He played for Shady Side Academy and now plays wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Matt Sieg is very familiar with end zones.
Manheim Township’s Hayden Johnson polished off the regular season with this amazing stat. He threw 40 touchdown passes and had 0 (zero) interceptions.
Record Breakers
Colm McGroarity of Mahanoy Area set the new career rushing record with 4,134 yards. Punxsutawney’s QB Maddox Hetrick broke the 20-year-old single season pass yardage record. Jon Mellinger of Lampeter-Strasburg broke their single season rush yardage record (1,311) and touchdown record (17). Norwin had two players break school records. QB Trystin Tavares broke Jack Salopek’s single season passing yards record, finishing with 2,441. He also broke the season TD record with 25. His wide receiver, Luke Denny, set the program receiving yardage record for one year with 1,060. That broke a guy by the name of Mike Shanahan’s record. Yes, that Mike Shanahan. Matt Zollers of Spring-Ford broke single season passing records with 2,527 and 32 TDs. As the Rams enter the playoffs, he has a good shot at breaking career records as he is only 1 TD toss behind the leader and 480 yards back. East Pennsboro’s Keith Oates set the school record for pass yards in a year with 2,064 breaking a 36-year record. Da’sjon Craggette of Southmoreland broke his school’s single game rushing record by scooting for 335 yards. He did it on only 20 carries. Redbank Valley’s Mason Clouse broke the season receiving yardage record to go along with the touchdown record he broke earlier this year.
Top Receivers
Aaron Enterline of Manheim Central is the only receiver who makes the top three in receptions, total yardage, and touchdown passes caught so far in 2023. He ranks first in the state with 1,245 receiving yards, second in receptions (62), and he is tied for first in TDs with 22. Jaylen Andrews of Loyalsock is second in yardage with 1,148 receiving yards. North East Grape Picker receiver Jamari Curlett is third in yardage, one yard behind, with 1,147 and he is fourth with 18 touchdowns. Brockway’s Blake Pisarcik is number one in PA with 67 pass catches. He ranks fourth in yardage with 1,096. Kahale Burns of BEA is third with 60 grabs. Landon Kennel (Manheim Township) is tied with Enterline with 22 passes caught for touchdowns. Danville’s Aaron Johnson is third with 19 receiving TD passes.
Aaron Enterline goes up and brabs a pass among 3 defenders.
Odds and Ends
DuBois outgained Hollidaysburg 590 yards to 301 yards but lost 44-23. Now that doesn’t happen very often where one team practically has twice as much yardage as the other but is doubled up point-wise. The Trinty Hillers had 3 consecutive pick sixes in their win over Ringgold. The Springfield-Delco Cougar defense scored 3 touchdowns also, albeit not consecutively. They had a pick six and recovered 2 fumbles in the end zone in their game with Radnor.
A Blast from the Past
Cass Township went 9-0 in 1957, not giving up a point and then beat mighty Shamokin 2-0 in the rain on a very muddy field for the Eastern Conference Southern Division Class A title to up their record to 10-0. The Condors, as Cass Twp. was known as, blocked a punt with only seconds remaining and the ball rolled through the end zone for the only points of the game. Cass Township went on to shutout their first five opponents of the 1958 season, giving the Condors fifteen consecutive shutouts which is still believed to be a record today.
Game of the Week
Pope John Paul II won its first PAC crown by beating Spring-Ford 28-27 in the GOTW tilt. This District One contest matched the running game of PJP against the passing of S-F. And the stars came out on this night. Boyd Skarbek of PJP scored all 4 of his team’s TDs and ran for 217 yards. Matt Zollers of Spring-Ford tossed 3 TD passes, all in the fourth quarter when 34 points were scored. The game was tied 7-7 at the half and PJP led 14-7 after three. Each time the Golden Panthers scored the Spring-Ford Rams answered. The fourth time was with 27 seconds left. The Spring-Ford coaching staff elected to go for two points and the win instead of overtime, but the pass was knocked down, preserving the Golden Panther victory.
Answer to the trivia question: Youngwood High School, which later became part of Hempfield High School (District 7). Blanda, mostly known for his play with the Oakland Raiders, was a quarterback and placekicker.
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