ÎÞëÊÓƵ

Nov 15, 2023 By Rob Burchianti 3 min read

There is an intriguing situation at the top of the ÎÞëÊÓƵ-Standard Touchdown Club standings after the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL playoffs.

Two California players remain first and second but the Trojans’ season has come to an end while two players whose teams remain alive in the postseason are lurking behind.

California fell to Bishop Canevin, 34-8, in the Class A quarterfinals with TD Club-leader Jake Layhue remaining at 170 points while second-place Spencer Petrucci added a 2-point conversion to move up to 166 points.

In third and fourth place are Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin (142) and Elizabeth Forward’s Charlie Nigut (140).

The top-seeded Leopards rolled past Deer Lakes, 49-6, at the Beach with Martin scoring touchdowns on receptions of 13 and 30 yard from quarterback Braden Laux and a 32-yard run for 18 points.

Kole Doppelheuer and Anthony Crews each scored two touchdowns in Belle Vernon’s win, Doppelheuer on runs of 30 and 35 yards and Crews on a 31-yard run and a 21-yard catch.

Doppelheuer jumped up into a tie for 16th place in the standings with his performance.

The third-seeded Warriors used a return-fest to overwhelm West Mifflin, 42-21.

Charlie Meehleib accounted for two of them with a 45-yard interception return and a fumble recovery in the end zone. Elizabeth Forward also got a 70-yard fumble return by Dom DeRenzo and an 85-yard kickoff return by Andrew Grese.

Nigut tallied EF’s two other TDs on runs of 1 and 14 yards for 12 points but he still dropped from third to fourth in the standings behind Martin.

The rest of the top 10 stayed relatively the same except for one change.

Southmoreland’s Da’Sjon Craggette is fifth at 114 points and is followed by Jefferson-Morgan’s Deakyn Dehoet (104), West Greene’s Billy Whitlatch (98) and the Pioneers’ Colin Brady and Waynesburg Central’s Breydon Woods who are tied for eithth at 96 points.

California’s lone touchdown against the Crusaders was on a 55-yard run by Lee Qualk whose six points pull him out of a tie with West Greene’s Johnny Lampe into sole possession of 10th with 92 points.

Belle Vernon and Elizabeth Forward will try to extend their seasons further Friday night when the Leopards play No. 4 East Allegheny at Norwin High School and the Warriors meet No. 2 Avonworth at Gateway High School in the Class AAA semifinals. If both win it will set up a rematch between the two in the WPIAL championship game next Friday at Acrisure Stadium.

Rob Burchianti | ÎÞëÊÓƵ-Standard

California’s Spencer Petrucci (20) runs for a 12-yard gain against Bishop Canevin during Friday night’s WPIAL Class A quarterfinal game at Norwin Knights Stadium.