PIAA Class 2A Semifinals, Final Four, Key Matchups
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Steel Valley (11-0) VS. Westinghouse (12-0) Cruce Brookins PA #22 ATH #3 HEIGHT 6'2" WEIGHT 180 POS ATH CLASS 2023 View Profile Cruce Brookins Twitter State: Pennsylvania School: Steel Valley Highlights Keyshawn Morsillo PA #110 QB #10 HEIGHT 6'3" WEIGHT…
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Continue ReadingSteel Valley (11-0) VS. Westinghouse (12-0)
Highlights
Steel Valley and Westinghouse each took care of their previous opponents handily. Cruce Brookins Cruce Brookins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Steel Valley | 2023 State PA is scheduled to see a boost in his rank, which is rare for a prospect that is already highly regarded on our site. I truly believe this kid should be a national prospect worthy of Power Five looks. The Kent State commit is backed by the Barksdale brothers, JeSean Wright JeSean Wright 5'8" | 170 lbs | LB Steel Valley | 2023 State PA and Greogry Smith. I smile ear to ear when projecting Brookins to the next level, but let us ground ourselves here, he’s on a mission to lead this Steel Valley program to a Championship.
Cruce Brookins Cruce Brookins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Steel Valley | 2023 State PA is the athlete behind center, who can break a game open on either side of the football. An elite defensive back who has fun on offense. Westinghouse is going to have to do their best to contain this young man, they won’t stop him completely, he’s too good of an overall prospect to be quieted completely.
Gregory Smith is doubling down on his high ranking as well. Steel Valley might be led by Cruce Brookins Cruce Brookins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Steel Valley | 2023 State PA , yet Brookins would have a hard time running free without Smith’s incredible production in the trenches. Westinghouse has these two names circled for sure. They aren’t going to win this game if these two prospects are left unscathed after.
Westinghouse might not possess the FBS talent, (I believe they do), yet you can argue they have the depth to beat Steel Valley. You aren’t going to find a bigger Keyshawn Morsillo Keyshawn Morsillo 6'3" | 190 lbs | QB Westinghouse | 2023 State PA fan than me. The kid checks off so many boxes at the quarterback position, he’s ready to lead a Westinghouse offense that will deploy Sincere Smith Sincere Smith 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR Westinghouse | 2023 State PA . Sincere Smith Sincere Smith 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR Westinghouse | 2023 State PA is the feature weapon that boasts a whopping 31 yards per catch. He’s yet another prospect that is in need of a rankings boost.
Key prospects that will turn the tide of this game, some that may put Westinghouse over the top, are Roderick Jeter Roderick Jeter 6'0" | 200 lbs | LB Westinghouse | 2023 State PA , Khalil Taylor Khalil Taylor 5'11" | 180 lbs | ATH Seton LaSalle | 2027 State PA and Sincere Shannon Sincere Shannon 6'2" | 200 lbs | DL Imani Christian | 2024 State PA . Each prospect is ranked and more than capable of leading WH to a vicotry over Steel Valley. Long story short, Steel Valley will have their work cut out for them. They have the fire power to keep up with Westinghouse, not sure about the depth.
Southern Columbia (10-3) VS. Trinity (9-4)
Highlights
Like the matchup above, Trinity and Southern Columbia cruised to victories this past weekend. Many will speak on Trinity’s chances to end Southern Columbia’s reign in this class. They will certainly have their work cut out for them, but are far from a program that Southern Columbia can beat up on or look past.
Caleb Wray Caleb Wray 6'3" | 180 lbs | QB Trinity | 2024 State PA is the junior behind center. Wray’s offense relies heavily on a ton of young talent outside of senior wideout Trrey Weiand. Running back Messiahfdc df Mickens Messiahfdc df Mickens 5'11" | 185 lbs | ATH PA is a freshman that has all of our attention. Mickens is going to trust his linemen to block SoCo Tigers like Garrett Garcia Garrett Garcia 6'0" | LB Southern Columbia | 2024 State PA and Dominic Fetterolf Dominic Fetterolf 6'1" | 215 lbs | LB Southern Columbia | 2025 State PA in order to get open lanes and keep Southern Columbia honest in stopping the running game. Tough task. Southern Columbia is well equipped in all factes of the game.
Tyler Arnold, Colden Bloom Colden Bloom 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Southern Columbia | 2024 State PA and Jake Hoy are more notable names to keep an eye out for on this Southern Columbia defense. Blake Wise Blake Wise 6'1" | 155 lbs | QB Southern Columbia | 2024 State PA will be the junior behind center. Wise and Wray both carry similar builds and somewhat similar playstyles at that. One thing that’s for sure, Wray doesn’t have an elite prospect like Braeden Wisloski Braeden Wisloski 5'10" | 185 lbs | ATH Southern Columbia | 2023 State PA to throw the ball to. Wise does. No game is settled because of one player, yet deploying a talent like Wisloski alongside an already bloated roster leaves us leaning towards Southern Columbia earning their 60th PIAA victory.
You can argue this game would be relatively even in terms of skill and talent without the Maryland commit present. Sadly for Trinity, they are going to have to come up with a way to slow this kid down on both sides of the ball, something many programs fail at doing effectively. Trinity shouldn’t get the brakes beat off them, they still have talent top to bottom, albeit raw and untested.