U.S. Steel Game of the Week: Penn Hills at Woodland Hills

For the team sitting atop the AAAA Quad Southeastern conference, the Woodland Hills Wolverines, there is not much left to prove. But there is a whole lot left to play for.

“You always want to do better and improve, and the guys are working hard and improving every week,” said Woodland Hills’ head coach George Novak.

Novak’s Wolverines enter Friday’s contest with a 7-1 record (6-0 in conference) and are looking to finish off the regular season with a big win against conference opponent Penn Hills.

The winner will earn the top seed from the Southeastern Conference.

The Wolverines bounced back from a tough loss to Triple-A power West Allegheny two weeks ago to rout Mt. Lebanon 47-0 last Friday.

The Woodland Hills offense is led by Penn State commit Miles Sanders at running back. Sanders has rushed for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Sanders picked up 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground last week against Mt. Lebo, and added an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown in the victory.

“Miles is a great kid,” Novak said of his star, still just a junior. “He has all the intangibles, works hard in practice, and leads by example.”

Not to be outdone, Miles’ counterpart at running back, Jo-El Shaw, also ran for 75 yards and a touchdown last week. Shaw has 522 yards on the season coupled with eight touchdowns. The two complement each other well and provide a healthy challenge in the backfield for any defense.

The 6-2 Penn Hills team that will be tasked with stopping the Sanders-Shaw combo is coming off a 55-28 win against Seneca Valley last Friday. The Indians run a very unconventional offense, one that allowed their quarterback Billy Kisner to not only throw for 71 yards and a touchdown last week, but run for 185 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Seneca Valley.

Kisner is surrounded by a talented backfield that includes Isaiah Jones and Te’Shaun Campbell. Jones ran for 77 yards and a touchdown last week while Campbell added 44 yards and two touchdowns.

Novak said his defense will have to be able to cover the whole field against the Penn Hills offense.

“Campbell is a powerful runner, and they run a lot of plays that are hard to simulate in practice because their offense is so diversified.”

Kickoff is 7:30 at the Wolvarena.