3 Things to Watch in Week 6

It’s week 6 and we take a look at some things to watch. Really good matchup between two of the best in the WPIAL, a Philly RB, LB matchup, and a young QB looks for its first win against a powerhouse WPIAL program. &nbsp; <strong>Laurel Highlands [player_tooltip player_id="27735" first="Rodney" last="Gallagher"] Vs. Belle Vernon’s [player_tooltip player_id="64565" first="Quinton" last="Martin"]</strong> This matchup is going to be very interesting Our 4^th ranked junior going up against our 4^th ranked sophomore. Offensively, Gallagher has accounted for 19 touchdowns. 9 touchdowns through the air and 10 on the ground.  He’s also combined for over 1,000 total yards. He is dangerous in the return game as well, fielding 6 punts for 154 yards and another touchdown. Martin in no stranger to the endzone as well accounting for 7 total touchdowns. He also dynamic in the return game, fielding 4 kickoffs for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, Martin did get injured last week, so we’ll see if that will affect his performance. These are 2 explosive players and it’s going to be fun to see who comes out on top in this big matchup. <strong> </strong> <strong>St. Joe’s Prep LB [player_tooltip player_id="27736" first="Josiah" last="Trotter"] Vs. La Salle College RB [player_tooltip player_id="27560" first="Samuel" last="Brown"]</strong> Trotter our 6^th overall ranked player in the ’23 class going up against Rutgers commit and our 16^th overall ranked player in the 2022 class Brown. Brown has the size advantage, but these are two physical players. Trotter has the quickness to get into the backfield and stuff brown at or behind the line of scrimmage. While there are no stats for either player this season, I did find something interesting.  After watching game highlights from both players against each other last season, in Brown’s highlights Trotter wasn’t in the game. My interpretation is that Trotter may have gotten the best of Brown last year. This matchup has gotten me more intrigued and I cannot wait to see what happens. &nbsp; <strong>Penn Hills QB [player_tooltip player_id="98220" first="Julian" last="Dugger"] Vs. Pine-Richland Defense</strong> I harp on Dugger a lot only because I really want him to succeed. To be the best you have to beat the best and he hasn’t yet. He’s a 2^nd year starter at the 5A level and has not beaten the top WPIAL programs such as Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Gateway, and Pine-Richland. Between those four teams, Dugger is a combined 0-5 including playoffs. In those game Penn Hills has been outscored 173-26. Penn Hills starts their in-conference play after a brutal start to their schedule. This should be their last toughest game of the season though, pending playoffs. Just like last week when they played Gateway's QB, Birch, I expect [player_tooltip player_id="27578" first="Jeremiah" last="Hasley"] and the PR defense to confuse Dugger. I also expect Hasley to Spy Dugger because he can make big time plays with his legs. I really hope Dugger can take the next step and beat a top-notch program like Pine-Richland this week.