Published Oct 4, 2016
Under the Lights: Week Six
Ryan Donnelly  •  Panther-lair
Staff Writer

Find out how Pitt's commits fared in their high school action across the country as the future Panthers excelled under the Friday night lights. The high school seasons across the country stretch into week six and beyond.

Cameron Bright’s truly ridiculous senior campaign continues to march on as he once again helped to lead the Montgomery (Ala.) Park Crossing defense to a dominant performance. The Thunderbirds handed the Carver (Ala.) Wolverines a 55-7 loss. Bright caused a fumble, notched two sacks and three tackles for a loss, and racked up 11 total tackles in the huge victory. Park Crossing has reeled off five straight victories and their defense has allowed just over 5 points per game in that stretch.

You can view Bright's highlights from the game against Carver by clicking this link.

There was no messing around for Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage wide receiver Dontavius Butler and his teammates on the Patriots on Friday. Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan came to town and was subject to a 51-0 beatdown at the hands of Heritage as the Patriots improved to 6-0. Butler snagged one catch for 15 yards in the victory as Heritage controlled the clock and ran the football.

Grant Carrigan and Pine-Richland (Pa.) suffered their second loss of the season on Friday night to fellow Pittsburgh-area powerhouse Central Catholic. The Vikings defeated the Rams 48-35, handing Pine-Richland their second loss of the season and their first since the opening weekend. Carrigan notched two receptions for 26 yards on the offensive side of the ball and made three tackles for the Rams on the defensive side of things.

You can see a clip of one of Carrigan's catches from the game at this link.

Kirk Christodoulou resides in Australia and does not take part in the American high school football season.

Owen Drexel and his teammates on the Montclair (N.J.) Mounties suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night to local foe Union City (N.J.) in a rock fight of a game. The final score was 7-0 as Union City scored the lone touchdown of the affair with just over four minutes left in regulation, sealing their victory.

It’s difficult to track down statistic for linemen at any level, but especially the high school ranks. However, you can see highlights of Drexel’s performance at this link.

Paris Ford and the Steel Valley (Pa.) Ironmen’s dominance at the high school ranks hardly seems fair at this point. It was another week and another blowout for the Ironmen as the starters rested again in the second half of their 55-8 steamrolling of Vincentian Academy (Pa.). Ford abused his opponent, suplexing wide receivers and scoring two pick six touchdowns in the first quarter before taking a breather as the game went on.

You can see the four-star's highlights against Vincentian at this link.

Gabe Houy and the Upper St. Clair (Pa.) Panthers remain undefeated as they improve their record to 5-0 on the season. Houy and the Panthers defeated their opponents from Chartiers Valley (Pa.) in a tight affair that ended with a 17-10 Panthers victory. Houy got involved on both sides of the football, making a tackle and swatting a pass down on defense and playing his usual role on the offensive line.

You can see highlights of Houy's performance in the victory at this link.

Kyle Nunn and his teammates at Findlay (Ohio) just keep on finding a way to win every week. The Trojan earned perhaps the most important victory of their season so far, beating a Toledo (Ohio) St. John’s Jesuit team they were expected to lose to by a final score of 44-30. Findlay remains undefeated on the 2016 season, now with a 6-0 record, and this victory over a conference foe was a monumental part of that. Nunn played a key role in his return to action after sitting out two weeks with a knee injury, snaring two interceptions and racking up 11 tackles on the defensive side of the football. There was no drop-off in the linebacker/safety's game while he nursed an injury, clearly.

You can see Nunn’s highlights from the big conference match-up at this link and local coverage and highlights of the game from the Toledo Blade at this link.

After a tough loss to Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic last week, Pitt quarterback commit Kenny Pickett of Ocean Township (N.J.) and his teammates got back on track with a victory. The Spartans scored a shutout win over the Matawan Regional (N.J.) Huskies, closing things out 27-0. Conditions were poor and wet all evening, so Ocean Township didn’t try much in the passing game, but the run game was more than enough.

You can view one of Pickett’s scrambles here as he picked up 12 yards on the hoof.

With the exception of a lone upset loss on the road to Quaker Valley (Pa.), Tyler Sear and his teammates at Neshannock (Pa.) have continued to roll through their schedule in this 2016 season. The Lancers improved to 5-1 on Friday night, including a 3-0 record in conference play, with a 30-13 road victory over Laurel (Pa.). Sear had one of his best performances on the season, catching 6 passes for well over 70 yards and adding a 15-yard rushing touchdown. The big tight end commit also contributed multiple tackles on the defensive side of the ball.

You can view Sear's highlights against Laurel here.

Todd Sibley and his Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban Knights started off conference play with a statement on Friday night. The Knights took it to Mentor (Ohio) Lake Catholic, with a resounding final score of 41-10 over the familiar foe. Sibley, an Under Armour All-American, contributed a touchdown from 16 yards out with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter, a dagger that put things out of reach and made it 34-7. Conference play continues next week with a road game against Padua Franciscan.

The Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty Hurricanes and Pitt legacy/wide receiver commit Darian Street bounced back in a big way this week. After struggling with their crosstown rival at Bethlehem Catholic and falling down 10-0 early on to their opponent from Allentown (Pa.) Dieruff, Liberty bounced back and scored 37 unanswered points for a huge victory. The Hurricanes improved to 4-2 with the win heading into a road game against Northampton. Street is out with a rib injury, but he’s working towards becoming healthy and getting back on the field.

In what has been billed as perhaps the top high school game in modern history, two of the country’s most talented powerhouses met in the Las Vegas desert on Friday as Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas traveled to play Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman. Pitt commit Albert Tucker and his Aquinas Raiders teammates lost an absolute thriller of a game in triple overtime by a final score of 25-24. The game featured a ridiculous 45 high school players with scholarship offers from Power Five conference programs to date. There are no stats available for Tucker’s performance.

Carson Van Lynn and his Worthington (Ohio) Kilbourne Wolves returned to form on Friday night with a 28-6 victory over nearby Delaware (Ohio) Rutherford B. Hayes, bouncing back from an upset loss to Columbus (Ohio) Bishop Hartley last week. Kilbourne has improved to 5-1 under head coach Vince Trombetti. Although individual stats are not available for Van Lynn from the game, you can view clips of the two-way lineman showing off his impressive mean streak at offensive tackle at this link. He is committed to play defensive end at Pitt.