By:
Sunday, October 20, 2024 | 3:27 PM
Christopher Horner | TribLive
North Allegheny’s Brady Brinkley (4) leads the Tigers onto the field before their game against Central Catholic on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, at Baldwin High School.
Trib HSSN football player of the week – Brady Brinkley
School – North Allegheny
Class – Sophomore
Height/weight – 6-foot-3, 175 pounds
Position – Quarterback, free safety
What coach says – “He showed a great deal of growth and maturity for a sophomore,” North Allegheny coach Art Walker said about Brinkley’s performance against Pine-Richland. “He had a turnover shortly before on the goal line and was upset with himself about it. It was an effort play that didn’t go his way, but he didn’t let it get him down. He responded the next series in a big way.
“It was a play action pass that gets him out on the edge,” Walker said about the 78-yard game-tying touchdown run in the fourth quarter. “He made his read progression and realized his best option was to run. He made a couple great moves then his speed took over. Once he gets his stride rolling, he is tough to catch up with.
“He has continued to make improvements week in and week out. He has evolved since the start of the season until now and our expectation is that will continue.”
“He is leading by example. He works hard in practice, competes, and gained his teammates’ trust over time. That is the only way to lead as a sophomore. Once that foundation is set it, will build stronger and stronger with each week.”
#Earned – It was a nonconference game in name only, but it is always special when northern rivals North Allegheny and Pine-Richland square off. Every time the Rams would score, the Tigers had an answer thanks in part to the play of sophomore quarterback Brady Brinkley. With Pine-Richland up, Brinkley connected with senior wide receiver James Donaldson on a 57-yard scoring strike to tie the game in the second quarter. Trailing by a touchdown right before halftime, Brinkley connected with Donaldson again on a 24-yard TD pass to tie the game again, 14-14. Then with the Rams leading again by seven points heading into the fourth quarter, Brinkley struck with his legs, scoring on a 78-yard touchdown run. North Allegheny took its first lead when Brinkley threw his third touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to senior tight end Dylan Langdon that put the Tigers up to stay, 28-21.
Background – In the win over Pine-Richland, Brinkley was 11 of 21 for 200 yards and three touchdowns, plus he rushed for 93 yards and the long scoring run for NA. For the season, he has now connected on 76 of 126 passes for 969 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has 414 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. He is second in rushing and tops in touchdowns for North Allegheny. Through the Tigers first three games, he only attempted 13 passes with six completions for 66 yards. Brinkley did not play varsity football as a freshman. He also is a member of the North Allegheny basketball team in the winter and the track team in the spring.
WPIAL Week 8 Honorable Mention
Tanner Pfeuffer, Bethel Park
A week ago, Bethel Park suffered its first loss of the season in heartbreak fashion to undefeated Upper St. Clair, 14-10. The bounce back from that tough loss at home was swift and impressive by the Black Hawks and their senior quarterback. Tanner Pfeuffer connected with senior Ryan Petras on touchdown passes of 28 and 62 yards, with senior Mitch Paschi on a 22-yard strike and to senior Jack Bruckner on a 10-yard TD pass, plus he scored on a 1-yard run…all in the first half. He finished with 261 yards passing as Bethel Park cruised past South Fayette, 35-14.
Armand Hill, West Mifflin
Entering Week 7, West Mifflin was in must-win mode at 0-2 in the Class 4A Greater Allegheny Conference and 2-5 overall. The Titans turned to sophomore running back Armand Hill, and he has answered the call. A week after rushing for 189 yards in a shutout of Indiana, Hill followed up by rushing for 334 yards on a busy 30 carries and scored four touchdowns on runs of 37, 24, 67 and 10 yards as the Titans rolled past Knoch, 48-21. The win moved the Titans into third place in the 4A wild card hunt.
Jacob Stephenson, Waynesburg Central
While Carlynton was stunning Washington to throw a monkey wrench into the Class 2A Century Conference playoff picture, Waynesburg Central was taking care of business to stay in control of its own destiny heading into Week 9. Senior quarterback Jake Stephenson completed 9 of 14 passes for 163 yards and a 65-yard scoring pass to sophomore Jack Ricciuti, plus he carried the pigskin 16 times for 197 yards and touchdown runs of 1, 7, 8 and 67 yards, lifting the Raiders past Charleroi, 49-23.
2024 HSSN Players of the Week
Week 7 – Kymon’e Brown, Jeannette
Week 6 – Tasso Whipple, Penn-Trafford
Week 5 – Julian Dahlem, Upper St. Clair
Week 4 – Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry
Week 3 – Trey Hopper, Montour
Week 2 – Tyler Eber, Thomas Jefferson
Week 1 – Donald Barksdale, Steel Valley
Week Zero – Drew Welhorsky, South Fayette
Tags: North Allegheny
