All Schools 6A-1A:
Here are the 4th Down Player of the Week nominees from Bishop McDevitt’s 34-27 loss to Aliquippa in the PIAA Class 4A championship game:
Stone Saunders, fr., QB — It was not Saunders’s most flawless game, but the rookie with just a handful of starts under his belt acclimated himself well on the biggest of high school football stages. Saunders, who need it be reminded is just a freshman, went 13-of-24 for 239 yards and three touchdowns in Thursday’s loss. He hit Kamil Foster for a 55-yard score, M. Williams for an 18-yarder and the next guy for …
Mario Easterly, sr., WR/DB — 59 yards in the game’s opening minute. The Saunders-to-Easterly connection gifted the Crusaders (12-2) a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game, and McD briefly boosted that to 13-0 barely a minute later. The advantage didn’t last ,but Easterly finished with four catches for 126 yards and the early TD. He also had five tackles.
Marquese Williams, jr., RB — Williams was held to just 36 rushing yards on 12 carries, but he scored on the ground and through the air Thursday. His first trip to the end zone came from 15 yards out just 2:13 into the game to give McDevitt a 13-0 lead. His second came in a late comeback bit when he hauled in Saunders’s 18-yard TD with 3:02 left to set the final score. Williams ended with three catches for 24 yards.
Ryan Russo, sr., TE/LB — Now we get to the middle of the Crusaders’ rugged defense. Russo recorded a game-high 12 tackles, more than double any Quips defender, and added half a tackle for loss for a Bishop McDevitt defense that impressed all postseason. He finished the season with more than 120 total tackles and 15 tackles for loss.
Riley Robell, jr., TE/LB — And Russo’s running mate. Robell added 7.5 tackles in Thursday’s loss, easily outpacing all Quips defenders as well. He also tied for a game-high 1.5 TFLs. Robell finished third on the team (Russo was first) with more than 80 tackles
