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Look at any national high school football rankings and Florida teams are always prominent. Western Pennsylvania got to see why Saturday.
If the Rally at the Wolvarena proved anything, it was that Florida football is darn good -- and definitely a cut above the WPIAL. Two teams from Florida -- Manatee and Cocoa -- crushed two of the WPIAL's top programs during a four-game event at Woodland Hills' stadium in Turtle Creek.
Cocoa pounded Thomas Jefferson, 43-7, while Manatee defeated Woodland Hills, 39-16. Cocoa and Manatee are two top programs in Florida. Throw in Central Catholic's 35-0 loss to Lakeland, Fla., two years ago, and that makes it Florida 117, WPIAL 23 -- in case you're keeping score.
But maybe it wasn't so much the WPIAL's reputation that took a hit in the Rally at the Wolvarena, as it was that Florida's reputation was enhanced. After all, you would've been hard-pressed to find anyone before this event who thought Western Pennsylvania football was as good as Florida.
When asked after the game if his team would face any team this season as good as Manatee, Woodland Hills coach George Novak simply answered, "I hope not."
PDFMost Florida teams play a different style than most Pennsylvania teams. A faster style. Even Manatee's defensive linemen were extremely quick and athletic. Manatee's star running back, Mike Blakely, might have put it best after the Hurricanes came on strong in the second half -- Woodland Hills actually took a 10-9 lead in the third quarter -- to beat Woodland Hills.
"It was a very physical game," Blakely said. "Where we're from, a lot of teams try to spread us out ... Every play [Woodland Hills] hit us, hit us and hit us. We weren't used to that. But we had to show that we had a little toughness in us. On top of that, we had the speed."
Ken Halloy, a Columbus, Ohio, resident whose sports marketing company ran the Rally at the Wolvarena, said he didn't have a final attendance figure yet, but it was only around 5,000. Halloy and Novak said earlier in the week they were hoping for 10,000.
"I was disappointed in the crowd," Halloy said.
Steubenville, which defeated McKeesport, sold the most tickets (more than 1,000).
Halloy had planned to run another four-game event at the Wolvarena next year. He is not ready to scrap that idea, but said, "My heart says come back, but the attendance was a disappointment. Maybe we have to analyze what the price of tickets [$18] were. We have to analyze other variables.
"Maybe it's more important for fans in Pittsburgh and the area to see a compelling league game involving two district teams than it is to watch the novelty of, say, Florida or Ohio teams."
Woodland Hills running back/defensive back Lafayette Pitts sustained an injured knee late in the first half against Manatee and didn't play in the second half. Novak was unsure of the severity of Pitts' injury and said Pitts will have an MRI Tuesday.
Also, Woodland Hills linebacker Ejuan Price, who also has Division I scholarship offers, missed much of the game with an injured ankle. But Novak expects him to play Friday against North Hills.
After Cocoa beat Thomas Jefferson, Cocoa standout running back Chevelle Buie faced a small gathering of media members at a news conference. After a few minutes, Halloy asked if there were any other questions from the media. Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak, standing near the gathering, said: "Yeah, do you [Buie] have any relatives that want to move to Pittsburgh?"
Two girls are kicking for WPIAL teams.
Hopewell's April Goss, a 5-foot-7 senior, made both of her extra-point attempts in Hopewell's 14-7 victory against Belle Vernon Friday.
Chartiers Valley's Kristina Coyne, a 5-11 sophomore, made all four of her extra points in the Colts' 35-28 loss to Montour Friday. Coyne also plays on the girls' basketball and soccer teams for Chartiers Valley. On Friday, she played a soccer game after school and left immediately after the game and drove to Montour.
"She's a very good athlete, a very competitive person," Chartiers Valley coach Chris Saluga said. "Her mother played major-college basketball at Kansas State."
One of the top games in the WPIAL this week is Thursday night when Aliquippa, No. 1-ranked in WPIAL Class AA, plays host to No. 5 Beaver Falls. It is the first telecast of FSN Pittsburgh's Thursday Night Game of the Week.
Beaver Falls-Aliquippa has become a favorite of FSN Thursday telecasts. This is the third time in six seasons the two teams will play on Thursday. The others were 2005 and '08.
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