Chad Hagan was celebrating before Friday's game against Central Catholic.

Hagan, a senior at Canon-McMillan, received word just before pregame warmups that he had been cleared to play this season. Hagan's status for the year was in question because of a heart condition -- Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which can sometimes cause a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

Hagan, a running back/defensive back and an Ohio State recruit, had a catheter ablation procedure in August and was not sure when, or if, he would be cleared to play. Although he received clearance Friday, Hagan didn't play because doctors suggested he wait until this Friday. Canon-McMillan coach Guy Montecalvo also said he didn't want Hagan to play because he had not hit in practice yet this season.

The heart condition was discovered in the spring.

"I'm extremely excited this is all over," Hagan said. "It was a lot to go through, but I learned a whole lot through this process. Basically, I just learned to never have just one thing as your plan in life and never doubt the will of God. Before, football was everything. But this made me realize that I should concentrate on other things, too, like grades."

Hagan will certainly be a welcome addition to Canon-McMillan (1-1), which lost to Central Catholic, 21-7.

"That's a very good football team and it's about to get a lot better with Hagan back," Central Catholic coach Terry Totten said.

The Post-Gazette ran a story Friday on a number of sophomores who are having big impacts in the WPIAL. Add another one to the list.

John Matarazzo, a sophomore quarterback at New Castle, completed 15 of 20 passes for 368 yards in a 35-16 victory against Indiana. Matarazzo's effort was 11 yards short of a school record, set last year by Mike Bongivengo.

Mattarazzo is the son of former New Castle player John Mattarazzo, who played at Pitt in the early 1980s.

Another New Castle sophomore, Darrian Rice, caught four passes for 126 yards.

Bethlehem Liberty senior Anthony Gonzalez, one of the top quarterbacks in the state, will have surgery on his left knee this week to repair a torn meniscus. Gonzalez suffered the injury in the season opener against North Penn, but still played Friday against Parkland. He was only 3 of 18 for 45 yards and rushed for 66.

It is not known when Gonzalez will be able to play again this season. Gonzalez led Liberty to the PIAA Class AAAA championship last year and has a number of Division I scholarship offers. Pitt is one of the schools Gonzalez is considering.

Liberty lost to Parkland, 21-14, and is now 0-2.

An Illinois football program has been suspended from competition indefinitely because the team and its fans were involved in a fight during a game Sept. 4. The Illinois High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) ruled North Chicago High had to forfeit its game against Vernon Hills Friday.

The fight occurred in a game a week earlier. It erupted with five minutes left in the first quarter when North Chicago trailed Simeon, 21-0. The game was stopped at that point and North Chicago forfeited the contest.

Not too many games -- at any level -- have started like the West Mifflin-Derry Area game Friday. Derry's Nick Sofranko returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Not to be outdone, Imir Sanders returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.

• FSN Pittsburgh's first Thursday night game of the week is three days from now when Latrobe plays at Gateway. The game will be televised live.

• Sto-Rox sophomore quarterback Jordan Latimer has done well filling in for injured starter Paul Jones. In two games, Latimer has completed 19 of 36 passes for 371 yards.

• The annual rivalry game in Oklahoma between Jenks and Union drew a crowd of 18,573.