Apollo-Ridge had a two-hour bus ride to Jefferson-Morgan for Friday's WPIAL Class A playoff game. The ride home was unlike any other trip an Apollo-Ridge team had ever endured -- and it had nothing to do with time.

For once, Apollo-Ridge rode home from a playoff game with a victory. The Vikings defeated Jefferson-Morgan, 38-14, for the first playoff win in school history. Apollo-Ridge is a merger of Apollo and Elders Ridge high schools and coach Jerry Moore said the school opened in 1960.

The win was especially sweet for Moore, a 1982 Apollo-Ridge graduate. Earlier this season, he was suspended by school administration for one game for undisclosed reasons.

"That's all over with," Moore said of the suspension.

As for the win, Moore said, "It was such a long trip home that by the time we got home, it was bedtime. But the kids were excited. As excited as they are, they have their focus on moving forward, which is good."

Apollo-Ridge's quarterfinal game might be just a tad tougher. The Vikings (6-4) will play undefeated Serra (10-0) either Friday or Saturday. Serra is averaging 51.1 points a game and allowing only 6.9.

"But we feel like we're hitting our stride," said Moore, whose team has won four in a row and five of the past six. "We are where we want to be."

And where no other Apollo-Ridge team has ever been.

Keystone 0-4 again

It was another winless year for Keystone Conference teams in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. All four Keystone teams -- Mount Pleasant, Belle Vernon, Ringgold and Laurel Highlands -- lost first-round games Friday, which makes the Keystone 0-28 in the postseason the past seven years.

The games during the streak usually aren't close, either. This year, Keystone teams lost by a combined score of 172-51. In the 28 games, they have been outscored by an average of 39-10.

Three weeks off

Perry didn't make the City League playoffs, but that doesn't mean the Commodores' season is over.

Perry finished higher in the City League than any other Class AAA team, so the Commodores will represent the City in the PIAA Class AAA playoffs. But Perry won't play a PIAA game until the weekend of Nov. 23-24. Perry finished the regular season Thursday, which means the Commodores will have three weeks off between games.

Reed gets 4,000

Running back Antwuan Reed, a Pitt recruit from Johnstown High, rushed for 330 yards in a 36-34 victory against Penn Cambria and went over 4,000 yards rushing for his career. Reed now has 4,278 on 508 attempts.

Elsewhere

• Gateway's Shayne Hale and Cameron Saddler made official recruiting visits to the University of Virginia this weekend.

• Knoch and Highlands will play for the second time in three weeks when they meet in the Class AAA quarterfinals this weekend. Knoch beat Highlands Oct. 26.

• The Franklin High School football program in California has been given the "death penalty" for three seasons because of recruiting violations involving players from American Samoa, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The Sac-Joaquin Section, which is part of the California Interscholastic Federation, made the ruling after a six-month investigation that uncovered members of the Franklin coaching staff paying air fare and room and board for 10 American Samoan players.

Originally, Franklin was banned from the playoffs for five years for 54 violations and some players were ruled ineligible. But Franklin coach Tom Verner played three of the ineligible players anyway. That's when the program was hit with the death penalty.