PSA: WPIAL-City League football prospects from the class of 2021 to watch out for
South Fayette's Offensive Lineman Ryan O'Hair visited Bucknell University for Junior Day back in February.
SOURCE: (TWITTER, @ryan_ohair)
Public Service Announcement: Everyone needs to know that the WPIAL-City League football prospects from the class of 2021 is loaded with talent. This fall, so many incoming seniors are going to try and win a WPIAL and City-League championship that it is going to be so fun to watch. For all of the years that I have been following WPIAL and City-League football, I am telling everyone right now that I've never been so excited for high school football until this year. So many incoming seniors want to play football at the collegiate level and win a championship that this year is going to determine if they will have the chance to play at the next level or not. My boys and I at Cover Three Athletics have created a list of WPIAL-City League prospects from the Class of 2021 that you all need to watch out and pay more attention too for this upcoming WPIAL, City-League, and PIAA football season.
The First-Team All-State Defensive End has 31 Division I football offers. His Elizabeth Forward football team has been so close to reaching a WPIAL football championship game in recent years but have come up short. This season, he is going to be the key for Elizabeth Forward to get over the hump and we should expect a ton of leadership of him in 2020.
Shane Kemper is a good wrestler but is also a dawg on the football field. Back in January, he was at a PA Nike Elite 7 on 7 workout, and as a defensive back, he was shutting down receivers left and right. You could basically say it was tough to get past "Kemper Island." Anyway, after his Burgettstown team lost to Riverside in the first round of the WPIAL 2A football playoffs in 2019, you know Shane did not like that and wants revenge in 2020.
Ryan O'Hair has gained so many pounds of muscle since the COVID-19 pandemic started that it is remarkable. With all the strength that he has gained, it is going to be harder for defensive players to get past him in the 2020 season. He currently has offers from schools such as Fairmont State, Notre Dame College, Lake Erie, and Ohio Dominican. Expect him to get some Division I offers in the near future.
The Gateway Defensive Back recently committed to the University of Delaware. With his college decision now out of the way, he can just focus on helping Gateway repeat as WPIAL 5A football champions. With a state title on Gateway's mind, Thrift wants to help in any way he can to help his Gators out. There have been times that not many quarterbacks have thrown in the direction of Thrift, and this upcoming season, I'll see if that will still be the case in 2020. His trash talking also helps him play good believe it or not. Thrift played his first two years of high school football at Seton LaSalle before transferring to Gateway. He also had offers from schools such as Wagner and William & Mary.
In his junior year in 2019, Hathaway made some very important tackles and a couple of cool looking interceptions for Blackhawk. He was a big reason why the Cougars made the WPIAL 4A semifinals this past season and wants to win a WPIAL championship before he graduates. Expect Hathaway to continue to help Blackhawk out in 2020 as he should be expected to receive some offers in the future.
What astonishes me is the fact that Waldier was ranked second in the WPIAL in receptions in 2019 with 72 but doesn't get that much attention from the media for some reason. With the way that Waldier played, he did not deserve to be on a 1-9 football team in 2019. However, things cannot get worst for Yough as you should all expect Waldier to play at even a higher level in 2020. He is definitely hoping that he can get his team back to the WPIAL football playoffs for the first time since 2013.
In Naman's first season as South Fayette's starting quarterback in 2019, he threw for over 3,000 passing yards. Like, that's pretty good if you ask me. After not reaching the WPIAL 4A football championship in 2019, Naman and the rest of his Lions are definitely angry. As the Lions move up to 5A for the 2020 season, the competition will be harder, but a lot of the Lions players seem excited. If Naman continues to play well in the 2020 season like he did in the 2019 season, he will get a bunch of more offers as he currently has an offer from Long Island University.
Brandon Coe made some important tackles and sacks against some well-known teams in 2019. In 2020, he will once again be depended on helping Upper St. Clair's defense. The way that he can get past offensive linemen is really good that it should be noticed by college coaches and recruiters. Winning a WPIAL and PIAA title would mean to the world to him and he wants to prove to everyone that him and his Panthers are the team to beat in 5A.
Even though Burrell had such a nice overall record (6-4) in 2019 that included a 4-4 section record, they did not qualify for the WPIAL football playoffs for the seventh straight season. Individually, Arledge was making noise as the team's starting quarterback in 2019 as he was ranked 6th in the WPIAL in passing yards (2,462), and 5th in the WPIAL in passing touchdowns (27). Arledge wants to end Burrell's seven-year playoff drought and wants to accomplish that in his senior year in 2020.
Ethan Dahlem continues to be one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the WPIAL as we try to give him all the attention and credit that he deserves. Dahlem passed for 2,218 yards, passed for 17 touchdowns and scored a total of 33 touchdowns in his junior year in 2019. He also rushed for over 951 yards in 2019. Ethan deserves offers to play at the collegiate level and we should all expect him to play college football as that is one of his goals in his life. With 5A being a whole lot tougher for this upcoming season, USC knows that they have to play a whole lot harder and Dahlem knows that. He is a hard worker and his coaches and teammates will tell you that. Expect another big year from him 2020.
Eli Jochem led WPIAL 6A in receptions (71, 3rd in WPIAL) and receiving yards (1,065, 4th in WPIAL) in 2019. Eli, one of the best wide receivers in the WPIAL, returns for his senior year at Pine-Richland as he definitely wants to continue to lead the statistic charts in receiving. His Rams losing to Central Catholic in the WPIAL 6A football championship in 2019 definitely made him and his teammates mad that they want revenge and get that 5A title in 2020.
Curtis Foskey led North Hills in rushing yards with 685 yards in 2019. Former North Hills football players, Dylan Pawling and Tommy McDonough also rushed for 600+ yards with the Indians in 2019. With Pawling and McDonough now, both graduated from North Hills, Foskey could be expected to rush for over 1,000 yards for the Indians.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anthony has been working on his craft to become a better player. He is expected to be the leader on Norwin's offensive line in 2020. To me, he is considered an offensive lineman that many people need to watch out for in the WPIAL due to his size and built. He currently has 10 Division I football offers from schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, Sacred Heart, Columbia and others.
Jack Dilts's ability to explode from the line of the scrimmage as a defensive end is remarkable to watch. Also, his ability to get to the quarterback is another reason why he is a valuable part on Kiski Area's football team. Jack currently has offers to play college football from schools such as the University of Pennsylvania, Duquesne, Bucknell, and Albany. Jack is hoping that he can help Kiski Area to a WPIAL playoff football win as his graduating class, Class of 2021, has never experienced a postseason win. Kiski Area has made the WPIAL football playoffs the past two seasons, 2018 & 2019, but lost in the first round.
Max is hoping to have a big senior year in 2020. This past WPIAL & PIAA football season, 2019, Max led his Mustangs in receiving yards (527), was ranked second on the team in receptions (26), recorded 138 tackles, recorded 5 sacks, and was named First Team All-Conference Linebacker. He has made a big name for himself on Plum's football team as he has recorded 1,105 receiving yards in his first three seasons at the high school. So far in Max's high school career, Plum's football record is 8-22. Even though Plum's record isn't spectacular, that record doesn't represent the hard work that Max puts in every day to get better and college coaches know that. Max is going to do everything he can to help get Plum into the WPIAL football playoffs for his senior season. He currently has offers to play college football at NCAA Division I schools such as Duquesne, Robert Morris, Columbia, Princeton, Ball State, Yale, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and others.
Noel recently committed to the University of Akron as former Penn Hills football star Corey Thomas Jr. currently plays for Akron. For Roach, his focus will be on helping Penn Hills get back to WPIAL and PIAA championships after they unfortunately lost to McKeesport in the WPIAL 5A Quarterfinals in 2019. Once again, Penn Hills will expect Roach to lead the defense in 2020 as he is definitely ready to lead Penn Hills.
Roman recorded 63 tackles, four sacks, one fumble recovery, and forced one fumble in 2019. Roman is expected to lead the line for both sides of the ball for Highlands in 2020. His ability to bully the opponent offensive lineman or defensive lineman is fun to watch. He never quits on each play and gives it his all until the whistle is blown. He currently has offers from schools such as Rutgers, Toledo, and others.
For Charley about to be a senior in the fall, it can be easily said that he has a lot of experience under his belt. He even already has a WPIAL football championship ring as he won with the Lions in 2018. Seriously though, with all the experience he has, he knows that there are no excuses for not winning another WPIAL title in 2020. He currently has an offer from Sacred Heart.
In 2019, Ethan was named 1st Team All-Conference Outside Linebacker as he recorded 64 tackles (13 of them were tackles for losses), broke up 8 passes. On offense, he was able to score 6 touchdowns while recording for 940 All-Purpose yards. He currently has football offers from schools such as Richmond, Duquesne, Richmond, Army, New Hampshire and others. It seems that the Raiders just cannot get over the hump when it comes to getting that WPIAL championship. However, Seneca Valley could be a sleeper in 6A and expect Ethan to be one of the leaders, on both sides of the ball, for the Raiders in 2020.
I'm telling you all right now, Eric Benson Jr.'s work ethic is very good. He is working every day to get better as he is hoping his Central Catholic Vikings can repeat as WPIAL football champions next season. His goal of wanting to play college football helps him wake up morning in the each day. If you haven't already look at his Twitter page and see all the videos of him working out. He wants to make it to the top.
You know who led WPIAL 6A in rushing yards with 2,047 yards in 2019? Eddy Tillman did. He returns to Central Catholic for his senior year of high school. The fact that he returns the running game for the Vikings in 2020 is huge. He definitely wants to repeat as WPIAL 6A champions and we're going to find out if he can rush for over 2,000 yards again in the fall. Tillman could be considered one of the best running backs in the WPIAL as he has offers from schools such as Seton Hill, Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst and others. Expect Tillman to receive an offer from a Division I school in the near future.
22. Teddy Ruffner, Mars, RB
Ruffner rushed for 1,919 yards for Mars in 2019. He will try to rush over 2,000 yards in 2020 and hopes he can lead the WPIAL in rushing. Mars will move down to 4A in 2020 and he will play against different teams. How will facing new teams affect Ruffner? We'll find out sooner rather than later.
When you have a punter that can kick the ball far that results in the opposing offense having bad field position, that's a good sign. When you have a kicker, that can do well on kickoffs, make a bunch of extra-pointers, and kick some field goals, that's a good sign. Gateway has received a lot of attention from their offense and defense, but even their special teams is good with Jenkins as their kicker and punter. Jenkins was ranked sixth in the WPIAL in extra-pointers (52) and was tied for fifth in field goals (4) in 2019. Jenkins ability to kick the far is a factor that can result in Gateway winning games. He is considered one of the best kickers in the class of 2021 and expect his leg to make some meaningful kicks for Gateway this upcoming season. Maybe one of his kicks can result in Gateway repeating as WPIAL 5A football champions.
Mike Dorn is expected to lead the line on both sides of the ball for North Allegheny. He plays every down like it is his last down and that is very good for a North Allegheny team that is hoping to get back to Heinz Field for the first time in a while.
Antonio is an athlete. He has made a name for himself in both football and basketball. The fact that he led South Allegheny in receiving yards (376), receptions (17), and rushing yards (1,307) in 2019 shows that he is quite the athlete. With the Gladiators missing the WPIAL football playoffs in 2019, Antonio wants to make sure they can get back to the postseason in 2020. He's got one last season at South Allegheny, so he is going to give everything that he has. Duquesne, Richmond, and Sacred Heart are some of the schools that have offered Epps.
Brentaro Yamane: bkyamane@gmail.com and Twitter/Instagram @BYHilton13