BG faces offensive juggernaut McCort-Carroll for LHAC football title
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This season's Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship game will pit the top-ranked team in District 6 Class 1A against the top-ranked team in District 6 Class 2A when diocesan rivals Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and McCort-Carroll Catholic square off at Saint Francis University's DeGol Athletic Field.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday between McCort-Catholic, which brings a perfect 9-0 overall and conference record into the game, and Guilfoyle, which sports an 8-1 overall and conference mark.
It will be the second straight appearance in the LHAC title game for BG, which won the LHAC East section this year, and West section frontrunner McCort-Carroll, and it shapes up as a barnburner.
"The teams are pretty much mirror images of each other -- tough, physical, run-based teams that can throw a little bit, so I think that it will really be an even game,'' BG coach Justin Wheeler said. "This is back to back years for us representing the East in the Laurel Highlands championship game, and there are some great teams in the East, so we're pretty proud of making it back to the championship game.
"We've been battling injuries, but our guys are finding a way to win,'' added Wheeler, whose Marauders punched their ticket into the conference championship game by rallying in the fourth quarter to grind out a 20-13 come-from-behind victory over Clearfield last Friday night at Hollidaysburg's Tiger Stadium. "I'm definitely very proud of their effort. I think that our guys just have this belief in games that they're going to win.''
That kind of positive outlook will definitely be needed against a powerful McCort-Carroll team that has outscored its first nine opponents this year by a composite 423-85. The Crushers' offense has averaged nearly 60 points per game over its last five games, including 73 in last week's 73-47 victory over Forest Hills.
McCort boasts a talented, diversified offense led by 6-foot-4 junior quarterback Bentley Bainey, who has completed 84 of 141 passes for 1,295 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, while rushing for 346 yards and six scores. Senior back Jon Delia leads the Crushers' rushing attack with 963 yards on 139 carries and 15 touchdowns, and has also caught 16 passes for 203 yards and three TDs.
McCort-Carroll has several outstanding wide receivers. Senior Nick Dressick has a team-leading 19 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns, junior Ka'leem Taylor has 16 catches for 285 yards and six TDs, and senior Josh Spontak has 13 catches for 280 yards and two TDs.
Senior Angelo Gallucci, who has been used as both a quarterback and a wideout this year, has rushed for 390 yards on 68 carries and six touchdowns, while catching 13 passes for 156 yards.
Defensively, McCort-Carroll has allowed an average of less than 10 points per game.
"There is no doubt that they are good everywhere,'' Wheeler said of the Crushers. "They had a very good team last year and they brought back almost every starter from that team this year. I think that everybody assumed that they would run the table this year and be representing the West in this game, and they have not disappointed.''
Neither has Guilfoyle, which graduated several big contributors from last season's PIAA Class 1A state championship team and has weathered some injuries to key players this year. Senior fullback-linebacker Taurean Consiglio, an all-state selection last year, was lost for the season in late August with a triceps injury, leaving a big void on both sides of the line of scrimmage for BG, but other players have stepped up to fill those roles and keep the Marauders on the winning track.
"I think they're a very good team,'' McCort-Carroll coach Tom Smith said of the Marauders. "Obviously, they're playing in the league championship game, so they're one of the best teams in the league, and they have been consistently for years.
"We believe that we're going to have our hands full Friday night in a conference championship game against a program that has been there several times in the past, and is probably the best team in Class 1A in the entire state.''
BG senior Jake Kissell has put the Marauders on his back for most of this season. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound Kissell, who is being recruited by several NCAA Division I FCS football programs, has rushed for 1,128 yards on 160 carries and 19 touchdowns this year. He has also completed 28 of 44 passes for 373 yards and five TDs, and has caught 15 passes for 202 yards.
Kissell has been used as a quarterback, running back, and tight end on offense, and is also an outstanding linebacker on defense who leads the Marauders in tackles this season with 105, including 40 solo stops. He is also tied for the team lead with senior Hayden Hosgood in sacks, with both have recorded eight.
"We think a lot of the Kissell boy,'' Smith said. "He's a Division I athlete, and, having watched him on film, we know that he's a heck of a football player, and he has been with them for the last couple of years. We think that he is really, really good.''
Guilfoyle also has plenty of other weapons though. Wheeler's son, Justin, a sophomore quarterback, has been battling back from an arm-shoulder injury that he sustained in the sixth game of the season. In last week's game, he broke off a key 29-yard run late in the game that set up Kissell's game-winning touchdown run, and also completed four of six short passes.
"We've definitely been missing him,'' Coach Wheeler said of his son, who has passed for 746 yards and three touchdowns this season, while rushing for 502 yards and two scores. "Hopefully this week, he will be back to as close to 100 percent as he is going to be for this season. We plan to get him more involved with the offense.''
Senior wideout Tyson Lestochi leads the Marauders in receptions with 32 for 506 yards and five touchdowns, while senior wideout Evan Schimminger has 18 catches for 178 yards, and junior back Jack Gioiosa has 11 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Gioiosa has also rushed for 185 yards for the Marauders, whose freshman back, Keegan Hewitt, has rushed for 256 yards and three TDs.
The fact that BG possesses so many offensive options makes the Marauders very tough to defend.
The same can be said about McCort-Carroll, which has what Smith feels are three solid future Division I college prospects in Bainey, along with senior linemen Caleb Rodriquez and Rocco Fetzko.
"Their quarterback can run and throw, and he also has four great receivers and a running back who is good,'' Wheeler said of the Crushers. "Their skill positions are outstanding, and they also have the biggest (offensive) line in the Laurel Highlands. Those guys have been playing together for a couple of years now.
"So this game is going to be a tough task for us,'' added Wheeler, who also pointed out that he has been especially pleased with the recent defensive contributions of Marauders' senior cornerback Jake Marasco, who made an interception and several tackles in last week's game.
With the District 6 playoffs beginning next weekend, the LHAC championship game will serve as a fine tune-up. BG dropped a 28-27 heartbreaker to Penn Cambria in last year's conference championship game, but Coach Wheeler said that winning playoff games is his team's top priority.
"We would have liked to have won this game last year, but whether you win it or not, you still have (at least) one more week (to play),'' Wheeler said. "That's not the case in the playoffs. We're looking forward to the playoffs and making a run there.''
LHAC championship
Where: DeGol Field, Saint Francis University
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Teams: Bishop Guilfoyle Academy (8-1) vs. McCort-Carroll (9-0)
Radio: WRTA-FM 98.5
TV: WJAC Channel 6
Coaches: Justin Wheeler is 156-40 in 15 seasons at BG. Tom Smith is 23-35 in six seasons at McCort-Carroll.