Quick hits

Trinity's Eric Richards has already had an interesting high school career. He played football at Trinity as a freshman and sophomore before he transferred to Avella.
During baseball season, Richards was the Eagles top player.
Avella was counting on Richards during football season as well, so much so that first-year head coach Ryan Cecchini made Richards the starting quarterback. He spent time there during training camp.
"Then I get a phone call two days before the start of the season, and it's from an administrator," Cecchini said. "They said Richards moved back to Trinity. We had a game in two days and our quarterback was gone. We had to scramble."
No doubt Richards could have greatly helped the Eagles. No doubt he is helping the Hillers.
Richards is seeing considerable time at linebacker and is getting an increased work load on offense. He played a vital role in Trinity's win over West Mifflin.
"Really, the only thing he doesn't have going for him is he's not 6-2," Dalton said. "He's every bit as physical as anyone we've had here."

* Bumped into Burgettstown athletic director Jon Vallina during Wednesday's WPIAL Division I Boys Individual Golf Championship & PIAA Qualifier, he said playing football games on Saturday afternoons this year has negatively affected attendance.

* Washington's Eric Ellis, a senior defensive end, has six sacks the past two games, including four at Keystone Oaks.
Ellis is also the starting right guard for an offensive line that is playing well.
"He's a tough kid, and one defense he's really giving people trouble," Prexies coach Mike Bosnic said.

* Count Chartiers-Houston coach Terry Fetsko among those surprised to see Fort Cherry lose to Brentwood in overtime.
"We didn't know how the game ended, but when we saw the final score, I'd say we were a little surprised," Fetsko said. "When I watched the game on tape, Brentwood is very disciplined and they execute well. They have a good system and they run it well."
The Bucs play at undefeated Brentwood Friday night. The winner has the inside track on finishing second in the Black Hills Conference.

* Waynesburg's Emily Rohanna won the WPIAL Division II Girls Golf Individual Championship Tuesday at Longue Vue Club in Verona. It was Rohanna's second consecutive title, and the fourth for the family.
Her older sister Rachel won two WPIAL titles (when there was one division) and two PIAA championships.
Rachel Rohanna golfs at Ohio State and spent the opening round at this year's U.S. Women's Open on the leaderboard. Emily Rohanna will golf at Youngstown State, where her father Tom played football.
There's a chance the siblings, who both played for the Waynesburg boys golf team, could compete against each other.
"I'm not sure if we do, but there might be one tournament where they might be there with us," Emily Rohanna said. "Hopefully it happens. It'll be different. She's still intimidating."

* Peters Township sophomore Veronica Latsko already has 30 goals this season. Latsko scored 26 as a freshman.

* Penn State linebacker Mike Hull carved out quite a legacy at Canon-McMillan. Hull was an Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Year, Football Player of the Year, two-time first team All-State selection (should have been three), WPIAL team wrestling and team track champion and a PIAA baseball champion.

Now, another Hull is playing football for the Big Macs.

Senior Ashley Hull, Mike's sister, is Canon-McMillan's kicker and she is the first female in Big Macs history to score points in a football game. Hull is also the starting goalie on the soccer team.

* Trinity got sophomore Pat Frey back from injury, and Frey certainly helped the Hillers beat West Mifflin. Did you know that Trinity is 6-0 versus West Mifflin since dropping to Class AAA?
It's not all good news for the Hillers this week.
Standount tailback Tyler Yocca, who has excelled in the Hillers' triple-option offense, suffered a knee injury.
"It's possible that we've lost him for the year," Dalton said. "It's a fast track at West Mifflin and not as giving as turf at most other place. (Yocca) was having such a good season."
The injury could force a switch in offensive philosophy.
"We might go out of our three-back role," Dalton said. "We could become more formation-oriented, more two-back formations."

Checking up with ...

Anyone see the Big Ten Network bus rolling around? If you answer is "Yes", then chances are you noticed No. 42 for the Ohio State Buckeyes depicted. That's former Trinity standout Andrew Sweat.

One of several area players primed to make an impact for a Division I program this year, Sweat (6-2, 238) is a bit bigger than he was during his days with the Hillers, and the senior ranks as the Buckeyes most experienced linebacker. He'll start on the weak side, and Sweat has earned praise for his play leading into the season.

Chad Hagan, Sweat's teammate and a Canon-McMillan graduate, has worked his way onto the depth chart at linebacker. Hagan (6-1, 225) has all the tools and it appears the Buckeyes coaching staff is getting the best out of the redshirt freshman. Hagan is the backup to injury-prone Etienne Sabino at strong side linebacker and could see considerable playing time.

Mike Hull, who graduated from C-M with Hagan, is a redshirt freshman at Penn State and the backup at weakside linebacker. Hull (6-0, 225) is backing up junior Gerald Hodges has continued to show his knack for finding the football that he displayed at Canon-McMillan, which should come in handy on special teams.

Mike Yancich graduated Trinity with Sweat and opted to play linebacker for Penn State. Last year, it looked like Yancich was poised to make an impact and he saw considerable action but was moved to tight end for spring practice. The athletically gifted Yancich (6-2, 235) has moved back to linebacker and is No. 3 on the depth chart at middle linebacker.

Jeravin Matthews, like Yancich, has bounced around from offense (wide receiver, running back) to defense while at Northwestern but the speedy Canon-McMillan product seems to have found a home at cornerback. Matthews (5-11, 180), a former Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, will see his share of action as he starts opposite All-Conference honorable mention corner Jordan Mabin.

Photo courtesy of Lance Vallee