District VI – The Road to Mansion Park -Part III

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Greg Ricupero | August 20, 2020

District VI The Road to Mansion Park Part III
By Greg Ricupero

My plans for this year are similar to last year.
Friday’s -I want to cover a Heritage Conference game and get to as many of the 9 fields as possible.
Saturday’s -I plan on going to an afternoon gamein either Conemaugh Valley, Ferndale or Westmont. Saturday night has a few Bishop Guilfoyle games.

The three main conferences that I hope to cover are the Laurel Highlands, WestPac and The Heritage Conference.

The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference is one of better football conferences in the state. The twelve team conference is a blend of 9 district VI schools and 3 district V schools. This year there are two A, five 2A, four 3A and one 4A schools. This really helps the better small schools when the playoffs start as the tougher schedule often pays huge dividends.
1.Greater Johnstown-4A D6 (1-9) The Trojans have won only one game over the last two seasons after a successful 2017 campaign. They are usually really good or they really struggle. What will 2020 bring?
2.Bedford-3A D5 (10-3) The Bison should compete for the conference title. They have a ton of talent coming back led by talented senior Steven Ressier who had over 500 yards rushing & receiving.
3.Somerset-3A D5 (3-8) The Eagles haven’t had a winning season since 2015. A successful season would see them finish in the middle of the pack.
4.Penn Cambria-3A D5 (2-8) The Panthers had a ton coming back and there is hope that they can make the playoffs. However they play all the heavy hitters.
5.Westmont-3A D6 (8-4) The Hilltoppers loss a lot of talent to graduation but should continue to be among the conferences top teams. They have not had a losing season since 2014.
6.Central Cambria-2A D6 (2-8) The Red Devils started 2-0 and scored 50 plus points in each game , they then loss 8 straight. CC has only won five games in the last three years as they seem to had trouble making plays to stop long losing streaks.
7.Forest Hills-2A D6 (1-9) The Rangers hadn’t had less than five wins in a season since 2007, until last year. It is hard to see FH having another off season with the football tradition the Rangers have.
8.Cambria Heights-2A D6 (5-6) The Highlanders should finish in the middle of the pack. They have a good chance to make the playoffs in their last season in the LHAC.
9.Chestnut Ridge-2A D5 (9-3) The Lions have won nine or more games every year since 2015. Senior quarterback Logan Pfister returns after leading the area in passing and rushing for over 700 yards. It should be another good year for the Lions.
10.Richland-2A D6 (13-1) The Rams have won the last two D6 2A championship. Ligonier Valley has moved to the WPIAL. Quarterback Kellan Stahl and wideout Griffith Larue are only juniors. Things look good for Richland.
11.Bishop McCort-A D6 (6-6) The Crimson Crushers have a lot of holes to fill. They may struggle to stay in the middle of the pack.
12.Bishop Guilfoyle-A D6 (12-3) The Marauders lost the state championship game in overtime. I don’t think many people pick them to be playing in December last year. This year they may be picking them.

Westmont plays Saturday afternoons and Bishop Guilfoyle plays a couple Saturday nights. I hope to catch as many LHAC teams as possible when I get a chance. Bishop Guilfoyle has a great program and I was able to see them go to the state championship last year as well as going to all three they won in the recent past. I love going to Westmont. The games are fun to watch as The Hilltoppers seem to try to win every game without throwing a pass. You know what’s coming but can you stop it.

The other main league in the Cambria County area is the Western Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (WestPac). It’s a ten team league with four teams from D6 and six from D5, four 2A and six A schools.All teams play each other team for a total of nine games. Week Ten is a crossover game with a team from the Heritage Conference who finished in the same spot in the standings.

1.Portage-A D6 (8-3) The Mustangs should compete for the conference title as usual. The big news is a new coach for the first time in 30 years. Marty Slanoc will start his coaching career.
2.Berlin Brothersvalley-2A D5(10-2) The Mountaineers had only 4 players graduate and should be set to make a run at the conference title. Senior quarterback Will Spochart who rushed for over 1000 yards will lead the offense.
3.Meyersdale-2A D5(9-2) The Red Raiders have a lot of holes to fill and will be hard pressed to match last years success. However if the 1st two weeks aren’t played their schedule gets a lot easier.
4.Windber-2A D5 (6-5) The Ramblers are set to make a run for the title. Sophomore back John Shuster returns following a 1400 yard rushing season as a freshmen.
5.Shade-A D5 (5-7) The Panthers seem to always finish in the middle of the pack, this year should be no different. They are always a fun team to watch with their wide open offense.
6.Conemaugh Township-A D5 (3-7) The Indians had a losing season last year, but should return to their winning ways. CT didn’t lose a lot to graduation and most of their offensive leaders are back.
7.Blacklick Valley-A D6(3-7) The Vikings are hoping a strong junior class will make up for a lack of depth. Senior QB/LB Jack Wurm will led BV on both sides of the ball.
8.Ferndale-A D6(2-8) The Yellow Jackets may be in for a long season. Ferndale lost about half its team to graduation.
9.North Star-2A D5(2-8) The Cougars are looking to move up in the conference. They have only a few holes to fill and a lot of experience coming back.
10.Conemaugh Valley-A D6(0-10) Things can only go up for the Blue Jays. Because of a lack of players and injuries they had to forfeit four games last year. The numbers appear to to up a little this year.

Saturday afternoons are my WestPac day. Both Ferndale and Conemaugh Valley play home games on Saturday. I’ve been to both fields many times. They have two very unique fields. When I’m at Ferndale it also seems to be 90 degrees and yellow jackets are flying all over. They play on a baseball field and the stands and press box aren’t center. CV stadium is at the bottom of a large hill. The weather always seems nicer there. Two of my favorite players play for the Blue Jays Noah and Nick Heltzel. Both are juniors maybe 5’5-6 and 135 pounds, but great heart. I saw them 2-3 times in supporting roles as freshmen and last year as starters, just awesome. They are high school football.

In Part IV I will cover the Heritage Conference, Bishop Carroll and Kiski School.

Pics-#1 Westmont #2 Ferndale #3-4 The Heltzel’s #7 Nick #14 Noah

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