The West Allegheny High School football team has combined a potent running game and a solid passing game to move into a tie for the Parkway Conference lead.

The Indians, ranked No. 4 in WPIAL Class AAA, are tied with Hopewell for first place with a 3-0 record, while Montour is a half-game back at 2-0.

"I'm very pleased with the way we've played in our first three conference games, but we can't afford to get complacent," West Allegheny coach Bob Palko said. "You've got to be prepared every week in this conference. It's clearly the strongest of the four Class AAA conferences. Every week is a battle."

West Allegheny opened its conference schedule with an impressive 46-6 win at Moon Area, then registered a 35-21 victory against Ambridge. Last week, the Indians came up with their biggest win of the season, a 28-21 road victory against New Castle, ranked No. 5 at the time.

"The key to our win against New Castle was keeping the ball away from their big-play offense," Palko said. "We kept the clock running with a ball-control offense."

The key to West Allegheny's ball control offense was the running of junior tailback Mike Caputo, who rushed for 297 yards on 40 carries and scored two touchdowns.

"I was surprised to see that Mike carried the ball that many times," Palko said. "We've been rotating him with another junior, Mike Cherokee. But [Cherokee] suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff. He tried to continue playing, but wasn't up to his normal play, so we shut him down. We're hoping the injury will not keep him out of the lineup very long."

It was the second 200-plus performance in three games for Captuto, who had 240 yards against Moon.

"I'm not sure if either is a school record," said Palko, referring to the 297 yards and 40 attempts against New Castle. "I'm not a stat guy. We did have a workhorse in Matt Majocha in 1997, but I don't know if he matched either of those totals."

In five games, Caputo has rushed for 848 yards and seven touchdowns on 119 carries. Cherokee has 307 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries.

"As a team, we are averaging 283 yards a game on the ground," Palko said. "The key to that success is the play of our line. The guys up front are playing their tails off."

The main cogs on the Indians offensive line are senior tackle Tim Johnson and senior guard Alex Zupanovich, who both play on the right side of the line.

"Tim is a three-year starter who has matured into a quality lineman," Palko said. "Alex played next to Tim last year."

Another senior, Sam Bailey, has stepped into the starting lineup at left guard. The other two positions have been filled by five different players, as injuries have kept the Indians from fielding the same five linemen.

"We've been hit by a few injuries, but have been fortunate to have kids step in and fill the holes," Palko said. "It's allowed us to build depth on the line."

The other five linemen who have seen significant playing time are Nate Bell, Zach Skank, Cole Campbell, Greg Kaulius and Matt Bruni.

"I have to give offensive line coach Ed Marcellus a lot of the credit for our success on offense," Palko said. "He's done a great job, especially considering the changes we've made."

West Allegheny does not throw the ball much, but senior quarterback Jared Buck has done the job when called upon. He's completed 22 of 41 passes for 355 yards and six touchdowns, while throwing only one interception. His favorite target has been senior wide receiver Ben Simmen, who has 108 yards and three touchdowns on eight receptions.

"We haven't been throwing much, but I'm confident Jared can do the job when we need to throw," Palko said. "We threw three times against New Castle and Jared came up with two completions on third down that gave us huge first downs."

West Allegheny continues its conference schedule with tomorrow's game against visiting Blackhawk. At 0-2 in the conference, the Cougars are facing a must-win situation.

"Blackhawk must win to stay in the playoff race," Palko said. "That makes them more dangerous. We have a lot of respect for [coach] Joe Hamilton and his staff."

Palko doesn't like to look ahead, but the Indians travel to Hopewell next week and play host to Montour the final week of the regular season.

"We can't afford to look ahead," Palko said. "We're not good enough. We just have to keep playing the way we have thus far."

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