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| Terrance Stephens |
It wasn't the regular season ending that anybody at West Allegheny wanted. The Indians went into last Friday's tilt with the Central Valley Warriors on the verge of clinching a #1 seed for AAA in the WPIAL Playoffs. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and CV crashed the party with a 23-13 win, spoiling the last regular season game that the Class of 2016 will ever play at Joe P. DeMichela Stadium. Now, the Indians will try to move forward and go on a deep playoff run.
The senior class understands that West A needs to step up in order to win a WPIAL Championship, and the Hollidaysburg Tigers will be their first hurdle. ''Tomorrow we need to go out, lock arms, and take care of business,'' said Max Clements, who has played a key role this season as a fullback/inside linebacker, as well as being a senior leader. Another senior leader who has stepped up this season is center/defensive tackle Justin Baker. Baker, who was named a co-captain at the team's annual end of year banquet this past January, stated: ''We need to get back to our old ways of not saying stuff but just going to work with our brothers''. Another team captain is Terrance Stephens, who has rushed for 1,176 yards this season and averages an excellent 10.2 yards per carry.
The White bothers, Whitney and Kenny, have also contributed to West A's running game, with Whitney as the teams second leading rusher with 567 yards. Nick Ross has been steady in his first season as starting QB, while sophomore Brandon Lipford has established himself as the team's #1 receiver. The boys up front have also made a difference, with Nick Lonerio, Justin Baker, Kieran Fiermant, Sam Hammers and Derek Clontz leading the way on the O-Line, making everything happen. With all of these weapons at their disposal, the Indians have scored in bunches for most of this season, and I see no reason why this can't carry over into the playoffs.
Bryan Cornell's defense has been rock solid throughout the year, as the Indians allowed only 12 points per game in the regular season. On the D-Line, Fiermant and Baker have combined for 95 total tackles. Tom Burke and Clements make an effective inside linebacker paring, and Joe Gluzmen and Kam Cornell are a solid pairing on the outside. The secondary includes the White brothers as well as Stephens and Skyler Mason, and they have done the job keeping quarterbacks from going deep. West A has the personnel on both sides of the ball to do some damage in the post-season, but they'll need to put it all together.
West A and Hollidaysburg last met in 2013, where the Indians cruised to a 38-6 win. Hollidaysburg has improved since than, as they are 6-3 and looking for an upset. The Indians could see two different QB's on Friday night, as Jarrett Cavalet and Ryan Adams have both seen a lot of action behind center this season. The Tigers are not to be taken lightly, and the Tribe will need to earn everything on Friday.
West Allegheny will be have last season's disappointing end in mind, and they would like nothing more than too see Central Valley again at Heinz Field - a possibility with CV as the #1 seed and West A at #3. This time,West A wants to stand on Heinz Field with the first place medals around their neck. As for now, however, all West A should have on their minds is Hollidaysburg.
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