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Saturday, October 19, 2024 | 9:23 PM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
Carlynton’s Devonte Dean throws a pass during practice on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Roslyn Farms.
Carlynton football had little to celebrate in recent decades, a harsh reality coach John Tortorea doesn’t hide from his players.
In fact, he reminds them often how the Cougars last reached the playoffs in 2001 — the longest active drought in the WPIAL.
“I talk about that with the kids all the time,” said Tortorea, in his second season. “Twenty-three years is a super-long time, almost a quarter of a century.”
Carlynton’s wait might be ending.
A 28-27 victory over Washington on Friday night moved the team much closer to a playoff berth. Running back John Sciulli rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Devonte Dean also reached the end zone in the win.
Talking about the drought might seem overly negative for some, but Tortorea sees it differently.
“Last night I said to them, ‘Twenty-some football teams that have played here haven’t had the opportunity you could have,’ ” he said. “Go play for those guys. Go take advantage of it.”
Carlynton (5-4, 2-3) isn’t in the playoffs yet but has a favorable path to finish fourth in the Century Conference. The team must defeat Charleroi (1-8, 1-4) next week and get some help.
Washington (5-4, 3-2) and Waynesburg (5-4, 3-2) are tied for third. Washington hosts top-ranked Seton LaSalle (8-0, 5-0). Waynesburg hosts Sto-Rox (0-8, 0-5).
Should the three likely favorites win, Carlynton would tie Washington for fourth and own the head-to-head tiebreaker. If so, Carlynton likely gets one of the wild-card spots in 2A.
“That’s the plan,” Tortorea said.
Carlynton went winless in four of its past 10 seasons, so Tortorea hopes this year’s success might inspire some other struggling teams. A former head coach at Quaker Valley and most recently an assistant at Shaler, Tortorea has an affinity for those teams that might seem hopeless.
“It’s so rewarding for the community, the school and the program,” he said. “Hopefully this proves that you can do it.”
Friday’s win came on the heels of two heartbreaking losses. Carlynton lost to Keystone Oaks, 10-7, in Week 5 and in overtime to Waynesburg, 27-26, in Week 6. When Friday’s fourth-quarter lead was down to one point, Tortorea was concerned for his players.
“I was saying to myself, ‘This can’t happen to these kids three times,’ ” he said. “To their credit, they stepped up. They’ve learned how to play in those close games.”
Trophy case upgrades
WPIAL conference championship plaques are headed to some schools that haven’t won one in awhile.
After Friday’s win, Montour is guaranteed to finish atop the Parkway standings for the first time since 2012. Woodland Hills won its first conference title since 2009. Upper St. Clair waited seven years between conference titles.
Yet one school waited almost 30.
Ellwood City clinched its first conference title since 1997. The Wolverines (8-0, 6-0) defeated Union, 33-6, on Friday to earn the Midwestern crown. The conference title is the third in team history.
Wolverines QB injured
Woodland Hills won a conference title but lost one of the WPIAL’s top quarterbacks to injury.
Cameron Walter, a junior who’s already the program’s all-time leading passer, hurt his knee on the second play of a 27-17 victory Friday over Franklin Regional. Wolverines coach Brian Tarrant said Walter was out “indefinitely” while they waited to learn the severity.
The win improved Woodland Hills to 7-2 overall, 5-0 in the Big East. Wolverines junior Prince Tarrant, the coach’s son, will play quarterback in Walter’s absence.
This isn’t the first big injury to hit the Wolverines. They lost top running back Ziggy Moore to a season-ending leg injury early in their schedule.
Only need 11
Westinghouse played a City League semifinal with only 11 eligible players, but that sure didn’t show on the scoreboard Friday. The Bulldogs defeated Perry, 68-0, to return to the City League championship game.
A number of Westinghouse players were disqualified a week earlier for leaving the sideline during an altercation against USO, making them ineligible against Perry under PIAA rules.
Westinghouse (7-1) defeated Perry (1-6, 1-3) by the same 68-0 score when they met Sept. 12 in the regular season. The Bulldogs will face Allderdice in the City League finals.
No margin for error
Some losses are closer than others.
Two weeks in a row, Gateway lost by the slimmest of margins with identical 28-27 scores. And both times, a missed extra point in the fourth quarter contributed to the losses.
On Friday, an errant snap cost the Gators a chance to attempt the kick with 1 minute, 58 seconds left. A week earlier, they had a would-be tying kick blocked in a loss to Woodland Hills.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at [email protected].
