Under the Lights: Week Twelve
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 have stretched into the state playoffs.
Pitt linebacker commit Cam Bright's Montgomery (Ala.) Park Crossing squad still has yet to lose a game this season and the Thunderbirds just keep marching through the second-largest classification of Alabama's state playoffs. Park Crossing racked up a 52-26 victory over Bessemer City (Ala.) as Bright led his team in tackles (11) and sacks (3) and also forced a fumble. The quarterfinals of the Alabama 6A state playoffs will feature Park Crossing and the Eight Mile (Ala.) Blount Leopards on Friday night at 7 PM.
You can view Bright's highlights from the playoff victory at this link.
Dontavius Butler and the Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage Patriots secured a big victory in the first round of the Florida state playoffs, dominating Fort Pierce (Fla.) Westwood 55-12. Butler caught a score early on in the victory to give the Patriots a 13-6 lead, but the starters were able to rest for much of the game. Next week, American Heritage will find a rematch against a Cardinal Gibbons squad that they defeated 29-9 in October.
Grant Carrigan's senior season and first year at Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland ended on Friday night in a tough loss to Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic, by a score of 63-34. Central Catholic was the top-seeded team in the WPIAL's largest classification. It was an excellent senior year for Carrigan, who contributed four tackles and a tackle for a loss in the effort.
Kirk Christodoulou is still not participating in the American high school football season, as he resides in Australia.
It was a dominant affair on Friday for the Montclair (N.J.) Mounties and the leader of their offensive line, Pitt commit Owen Drexel. The Mounties rolled the Bloomfield (N.J.) Bengals in the first round of the New Jersey state playoffs, winning 40-14 in a comfortable effort. On Friday, they'll face Ridgewood (N.J.) in the North 1 Group 5 semi-final. Individual stats are not available for Drexel.
If it feels like Paris Ford's write-up is nearly the same every week, it's because Steel Valley (Pa.) has simply been that good. The Ironmen defeated Laurel 50-14 on Friday night in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs, in large part due to Ford's efforts. Ford carried the football just twice, but notched touchdowns of 57 and 20 yards on his limited attempts. Ford also scored a pick six from 32 yards out and and punt return from 62 yards out. It was business as usual for the Rivals100 Pitt commit, who will line up against Riverside (Pa.) in the WPIAL 2A semifinals this weekend.
You can view Ford's highlights from the win over Laurel at this link.
Gabe Houy's season has ended. Upper St. Clair (Pa.) fell to McKeesport (Pa.) in the first round of the Pennsylvania state playoffs.
Kyle Nunn's season has ended. Findlay (Ohio) fell to Dublin (Ohio) Jerome in the first round of Ohio's state playoffs.
Kenny Pickett led his Oakhurst (N.J.) Ocean Township squad to a win to end the season on Thursday night, scoring twice in a 28-13 victory over Robbinsville (N.J.). Pickett ran in one touchdown from two yards out and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass as well. Ocean Township finished the season 5-5 and did not qualify for the playoffs. You can view full highlights of the game embedded below, as Pickett (number 2 in red) contributed on offense and defense.
Despite a lot of talk about how tough of a match-up Johnstown-Monroe (Ohio) would be for the Steubenville (Ohio) Big Red and Pitt commit Charles Reeves, the result was never in doubt on Friday night. Steubenville won 26-8 behind a strong three-touchdown first-quarter effort. Reeves caught two passes for 62 yards and was a big part of a defensive effort that forced six turnovers on the evening. The Big Red will advance to take on the Shelby (Ohio) Whippets and impressive junior quarterback Brennan Armstrong in the regional title game.
SEE ALSO: Tracking Pitt commits and targets in the Ohio high school playoffs
New Castle (Pa.) Neshannock tight end Tyler Sear, a Pitt commit, and his teammates rolled to another explosive victory this weekend over Pittsburgh (Pa.) Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. After hanging 60 on Serra Catholic, Sear and the Lancers won 71-28 in their follow-up performance. Individual stats were not available for Sear. The Lancers will face off against Washington (Pa.) on Saturday for the WPIAL 2A semifinals.
SEE ALSO: Tracking Pitt targets and commits in the WPIAL Playoffs
Earning a victory over a high school rival is always sweet, especially when it comes in the playoffs. For the second year in a row, Pitt running back commit Todd Sibley was able to defeat Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary in the regular season and again to end their season in the playoffs. Sibley rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown (which is embedded below) in the 21-7 victory. Sibley's Hoban squad has now outscored their playoff opponents by a combined 58-7 tally with a regional final match-up coming against New Philadelphia (Ohio). Hoban seeks to repeat as state champions this year.
Darian Street's season has ended. Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty fell to Emmaus in the opening round of the Pennsylvania state playoffs.
There was no messing around, no games, and no surprises from Albert Tucker or his Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas teammates. Aquinas is considered to be among the very best high school football teams in the country and they triumphed 35-0 over Palm Beach Lakes (Fla.) in the first round of the state playoffs on Friday. Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Dwyer is up next for round two as Aquinas seeks to repeat as champions. Individual stats for Tucker are not available.
Carson Van Lynn's senior season with Worthington (Ohio) Kilbourne did not result in a playoff berth and his season has ended.
Carter Warren and his Wayne (N.J.) Passaic County Tech Bulldogs advanced into the second round of the New Jersey state playoffs on Friday night with a very comfortable 31-0 shutout victory of Hackensack (N.J.). Individual stats were not available for Warren as an offensive lineman, but when you win 31-0, it is safe to say that things went well. Warren and his team will face off against Union City (N.J.), a team they defeated 40-13 in September.