by Malik Vincent
The doormat in front of Perry’s locker room doesn’t say ‘home sweet some’, though it should.
Perry (2-0, 2-2) has won its two games within the league, despite two losses to nonconference North Hills and Fort Hill, MD. The latest was 14-12 survival of North Side foe Oliver at Cupples Stadium on Sept. 23.
It could be the last regular season game between the two, as the Pittsburgh Board of Education is slated to close the school (Oliver) at the end of this school year.
“It’s always a great North Side rivalry,” Perry coach Bill Gallagher said. “The (tight margin of victory) is what we expected.”
Oliver (0-3, 0-4) opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run by LeAndre Harrison in the first quarter.
The Commodores evened things up with a touchdown pass of yards from Darelle Carson to Daron Clark in the second. The teams took a 6-6 tie into the half.
Perry would go ahead 14-6 in the third on a 14 yard run by Robert Willie. Perry would tack-on a two point conversion on a pass from Carson to Deacon Blackwell. But the city’s defending champs would experience a scare when Oliver scored on a rush from 3 yards out by Joquet Foster. The two-point conversion to tie the game was a fade route that was broken up by Perry defenders in the corner of the endzone.
“It’s a big thing for those guys on the North Side,” said former Perry three-year starter Greg McGhee. “The Oliver/Perry game is what they talk about all year. It’s a very competitive game that’s very important in the community for the two schools to be able to have those bragging rights until that next year. It’s sad that rivalry may be no longer.”
USO (University Prep, Sci-Tech, and Obama) 36, Langley 0
The first two wins in program history are both shutouts as the USO defense forced Langley to turn the ball over four times.
Senior quarterback Dante Forte completed 9 of 15 passed for 193 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also had two on the ground.
Myles Catlin opened the scoring for USO with an 18-yard touchdown run and then added a score through the air from 16 away from Forte in the second quarter.
“We’re finally getting on track,” USO coach Lou Berry said. “We’re getting things in place so that we can be successful this season. We have some challenges coming in the next couple of weeks, but we’re looking forward to them and getting prepared.”
Forte’s other touchdown strike came in the third when he found Chazz Daniels who took it 45 yards to the end zone to give USO a 26-0 lead.
In addition to his 1-yard run in the first quarter, his second came from the same distance in the third.
“We had high expectations for Dante coming into the season,” Berry added. “He has experience. He was a three-year starter at Peabody. He has a knack for the big play and we’re looking forward to leading our team throughout the course of the season.”
Other games:
Allderdice dropped a 27-9 decision to nonconference Fort Hill, MD and Westinghouse evened their record to 2-2 on the season with a 31-0 loss to Brashear, just a week after crushing Carrick, 36-0, in their City League opener.
(Follow our continuing coverage of the City League and add your comments to our website at newpittsburghcourier.com. Malik Vincent can be reached at malikvincent@gmail.com.)
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