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Saturday, October 19, 2024 | 9:13 PM
Andrew Palla | For TribLive
Zier Williams and his Deer Lakes teammates have qualified for the playoffs for the third season in a row.
Deer Lakes bounced back in a big way from a pair of tough shutout losses to roll past Valley, 44-13, on Friday and solidify its automatic WPIAL Class 3A playoff berth from the Allegheny 7 Conference.
It marks the third year in a row the Lancers have qualified for the postseason, extending the program record for consecutive playoff trips.
Deer Lakes (7-2, 4-1) suffered a 42-0 nonconference defeat at the hands of Beaver on Oct. 4 and was dealt a 48-0 setback last week at Imani Christian.
Senior Zier Williams helped Deer Lakes’ cause against the Vikings with 10 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season.
Rivalry renewed
Plum and Penn Hills last played in 2017 when the Indians topped the Mustangs, 26-0, to open the season.
Before that, Plum scored an emotional 17-6 victory at Penn Hills in the first round of the 2014 WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
The teams will be on the same field again this Friday as the Mustangs (2-7, 2-2) and Indians (5-4, 3-1) meet to close out Northeast Conference play.
A win for Plum would create a three-way tie with Penn Hills and North Hills behind conference leader Pine-Richland (7-1, 4-0). Tiebreakers would come into effect to determine the second and third automatic bids from the conference to the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. If Plum wins by nine points, via the WPIAL tiebreaker points, the Mustangs will finish third. If they win by 10 or more, they move into second place. If they lose or win by eight points or less, they will have to hope for a wild-card selection.
Plum played North Hills down to the wire Oct. 4 before the Indians scored a 21-14 victory. The Mustangs bounced back in the conference last week, rolling past Fox Chapel, 49-10.
Plum has lost three games this season by a touchdown or less.
Cavaliers still breathing
Kiski Area’s 15-14 home nonconference win Friday over Plum was its third in a row after five consecutive losses.
While the Cavaliers, 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big East Conference, are not able to grab one of the three automatic bids from the conference, they are still in the picture for one of the three available Class 5A wild cards that will be handed out by the WPIAL selection committee.
Kiski, which owns conference wins over Latrobe and Armstrong, can bolster its case significantly this Friday with a win in its regular season and conference finale at Woodland Hills (7-2, 5-0).
Seeking positive finishes
There’s one final chance for victory for Springdale, Valley and Apollo-Ridge.
Something will have to give as Springdale, 0-8 overall and 0-6 in the Eastern Conference, will pay a visit to Frazier (1-7, 0-5) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Frazier school officials called off its conference game Friday with Greensburg Central Catholic because of a rising number of injuries. There is hope the Commodores will be able to play Friday.
Valley (0-9, 0-5) will host Highlands (4-4, 2-3) in the Allegheny 7 Conference finale for both teams. The Golden Rams are out of contention for an automatic WPIAL berth from the conference, but a wild-card spot is within reach.
Apollo-Ridge (0-8, 0-5) visits Ligonier Valley (3-6, 1-4) in the Allegheny Conference to close out its season. The Vikings hoped for an upset Friday at home against South Park, but the Eagles (8-1, 5-0) had other ideas and posted a 34-10 victory.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at [email protected].
Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Kiski Area, Leechburg, Plum, Springdale, Valley
