Times' high school notebook: OLSH football short-handed, WPIAL golf championships start
When it comes to injuries, there might not be a WPIAL team that’s been hit as hard this season as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart's football team.
The latest injury occurred late Saturday afternoon when OLSH lost 19-13 at Burgettstown, and it was a scary one.
With less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Chargers wide receiver/defensive back Dorrien Tate was knocked unconscious and had to be taken off the field by ambulance and then transported to a hospital by helicopter.
Fortunately, Tate was out of the hospital on Sunday and apparently is OK although it’s not known when he’ll play again this season.
After Tate’s injury, the OLSH High School Football account on Twitter posted this message: “Please pray for one of our own who is in the hospital! He will be ok but needs the prayers! We are #OLSHSTRONG.”
On Facebook, Tate’s father, Curtis Tate Sr., posted this message: “Thank you everyone from the OLSH Football family for your love, concern and prayers! They are truly appreciated. Dorrien is up, alert and is moving all of his extremities and is with his parents at this time.”
Tate, a senior and one of OLSH’s co-captains, caught a touchdown pass in the game against Burgettstown.
Among other injuries OLSH has suffered this season was the loss of quarterback Vann Kavals, a talented junior who suffered a broken leg in the third game of the season. At the time of his injury, Kavals had completed 60 percent of his passes (41 of 63) for 640 yards and five touchdowns.
Kavals has now suffered a major injury in each of the past two seasons. Last year when he was a starting wide receiver and also playing defensive end as a sophomore, Kavals missed most of the season with a knee injury.
Among key contributor who OLSH lost to injury is senior wide receiver/defensive back Dereon Greer, who suffered a knee injury after catching eight passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the first game of the year, a 32-10 win over Shenango. Last year, Greer led OLSH with 46 catches for 834 yards, an average of 18.1 yards per catch.
OLSH, 8-3 last year, opened the season as a serious playoff contender in WPIAL Class 1A. But with all the injuries they’ve had, the Chargers are 3-4 overall and 2-2 in Black Hills Conference play. They’re tied for fourth place in the conference with Burgettstown (3-4, 2-2).
On Friday, OLSH, which opened the season with just 28 players on its roster, travels to Avella (3-4 overall, 1-3 Black Hills).
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES ON THE FOOTBALL FRONT
—With three weeks left in the regular season, only seven of the WPIAL’s 117 teams have perfect unbeaten records. Two of them are from Beaver County: Aliquippa (6-0), which leads the Class 4A Parkway Conference, and South Side (7-0), which is tied with Union (6-1) for first place in the Class 1A Big Seven Conference. The Rams and Scotties are both 3-0 in conference play and play on Oct. 20 at Union.
Other WPIAL teams yet to lose are Peters Township in 5A; Elizabeth Forward and Avonworth in 3A; Washington in 2A, and Fort Cherry in 1A. Those five teams are all 7-0.
—There were some mind-boggling numbers racked by WPIAL running backs this past weekend.
How about Pine-Richland’s Ethan Pillar, a workhorse who carried the ball 56 times for 303 yards in a 26-19 win over Central Catholic?
Pillar’s 56 carries are believed to be a WPIAL record.
How about Beth-Center’s Ethan Varesko, who rushed for 438 yards on 22 carries in a 52-37 win over Bentworth?
According to Mike White, the main high school sports writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Varesko’s 438-yard effort was the eighth-best single-game performance in WPIAL history.
And how about Ellwood City’s Elijah Palmer-McCane?
Palmer-McCane “only” carried the ball 23 times in a 62-40 win over New Brighton. But he racked up 285 yards on those 23 touches.
So far this season, Palmer-McCane is one of the few RBs in the WPIAL to surpass 1,000 yards. He now has 1,089 through seven games for the 4-3 Wolverines.
Unofficially, his 176 carries are the most by any back in the WPIAL.
SEWICKLEY ACADEMY NAMES JIM DUDAS AS INTERIM BOYS BASKETBALL COACH
Sewickley Academy has recently named an interim boys basketball coach who will succeed the late Win Palmer, who died on Aug. 31.
Palmer, who was 65, had served as the Panthers’ athletic director and boys basketball coach for 22 years. He had also been Sewickley Academy’s boys golf coach since 2006.
At least for the 2023-2024 season, Jim Dudas will coach the Sewickley Academy boys hoops team.
Here’s the statement from Sewickley Academy regarding Dudas’ hiring:
“Coach Palmer left behind a lasting legacy. He impacted a countless number of athletes throughout his career as a mentor and coach. He will be greatly missed this basketball season. It is very challenging to replace such a respected and renowned pillar of our community. During this time of transition, Jim Dudas will serve as the interim varsity boys basketball head coach for the 2023-2024 season.
“Coach Dudas is excited and honored to serve as the head of the basketball program. He has kept the team unified and focused throughout these past several weeks. This is Coach Dudas's second season with Sewickley Academy. He has previously served as the head and an assistant coach for numerous successful, section winning, girls basketball teams, as well as serving as a boys varsity assistant at North Allegheny. Coach Dudas brings years of experience, a love of the game, and a commitment to the Sewickley Academy community.”
Among those who will serve as assistants on Dudas’ staff will be longtime Panthers’ assistant Al Thiero.
WPIAL GOLF TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN TUESDAY
Six boys teams from the Beaver County Times coverage area will tee it up Tuesday in the semifinals of the WPIAL Golf Team Championships
A total of 42 teams – 18 in Class 3A, 24 in Class 2A – qualified by finishing first or second in their respective sections.
In Class 2A, Hopewell, New Brighton, Quaker Valley and South Side are among 12 teams playing in the semifinal at Beaver Valley Country Club in Patterson Heights.
South Side (12-0) won the Section 6 title while Hopewell (9-3) and New Brighton (9-3) tied for second. Quaker Valley (8-2) shared the Section 9 title with Eden Christian.
In Class 3A, Moon and Blackhawk are among nine teams playing in the semifinal at The Links at Spring Church in Apollo.
Moon (8-2) tied for first in Section 7 while Blackhawk (7-3) finished in Section 5.
The top three teams from each of the four semifinals -- two in 3A, two in 2A -- advance to the final round which will be played Thursday at Cedarbrook Golf Course in Belle Vernon.
Meanwhile, because there aren’t many girls golf teams in the WPIAL, section champs and runners-up advance directly to the finals at Cedarbrook.
In Class 3A, Moon (8-2) is one of eight teams that advanced to the final while Central Valley (6-0) will be one of five teams in the 2A finals.
The boys and girls winners at Cedarbrook on Thursday advance to the PIAA Championships that will be played Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the White Course (2A) and Blue Course (3A) at Penn State University.
WPIAL TEAM TENNIS TOURNAMENT UNDERWAY
The WPIAL girls team championship started with first-round matches in Class 3A on Monday at various sites and then first-round matches in 2A on Tuesday.
Only one Beaver County area team qualified in the 16-team 3A bracket. That would be Moon, the No. 11 seed.
Bethel Park earned the No. 1 seed in 3A.
In 2A, four local teams qualified: No. 2 seed Sewickley Academy, No. 6 Beaver, No. 7 Quaker Valley and No. 13 Central Valley.
Knoch earned the No. 1 seed in 2A.
Both the 3A and 2A finals will be played Oct. 18 at the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Times' high school notebook: OLSH football short-handed, WPIAL golf championships start
