We’re now three weeks into the high school football season and, with that, the start of conference play for most teams is coming up.
This week, however, a few teams got to dip their toes in the conference waters, and established themselves as contenders.
This week, a couple of ‘Key’s’ were, well, key. Plus, there were a pair of dynamic performances from two players with common last names around Western PA football.
Throughout the season, KDKA Radio will put together a watch list of some of the best players in the region. At the end of the year, the top performer from each WPIAL classification, and one member of the Pittsburgh City League, will receive the prestigious KDKA Super 7 Award.
Here are the four players who starred in Week 2:
Luke Cignetti, Shaler
Just like Petey Jones said in ‘Remember the Titans,’ “the Titans are here, ya’ll!”
Shaler is off to an impressive 2-1 start to the season, including Friday’s 47-14 smashing of Plum. And Cignetti has been pacing the way.
The senior ran for 283 yards and five touchdowns in the win. In three games, he has run for 580 yards and scored 11 touchdowns for the high-powered Titans attack.
The performance comes in a particularly tough week for Cignetti family, which lost legendary WVU and IUP coach Frank Cignetti, Sr., who passed away at the age of 84 Saturday.
Keyshawn Morsillo, Westinghouse
The City League’s top team got another dazzling performance from its quarterback Friday.
Morsillo passed for five touchdowns and 268 yards in a 59-6 drubbing of Perry.
Morsillo — the 2021 Super 7 Award winner from the City League — has Westinghouse off to a 3-0 start, including a stunning 39-18 triumph over the top Class 1A team in Pennsylvania, Steelton-Highspire, a week ago. Morsillo accounted for 346 yards of offense in that game.
Julian Dahlem, Upper St. Clair
It’s been a strong start to the 2022 season for Upper St. Clair, as the Panthers have outscored their first three opponents 132-27.
That has come with a bit of an unknown at the quarterback position, with three different players getting a shot under center.
But Dahlem appears to have taken control of the spot and, on Friday, ripped off 239 passing yards and four touchdowns, as well as 34 rushing yards and another score in the Panthers’ 53-14 runaway win over neighboring Baldwin.
Dahlem, only a sophomore, is the younger brother of former USC quarterback Ethan Dahlem, who accounted for over 5,000 yards of offense in his high school career.
Amir Key, Penn Hills
In the KDKA Radio Game of the Week, Key put a lock on a Penn Hills win with 216 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as the Indians topped Pine-Richland, 33-28.
Key racked up his yardage on 20 carries, including a 71-yard score.
As a sophomore last season, Key led the Indians in rushing with 842 yards. Through three weeks, he’s more than halfway to that mark with 462 yards, as well as six touchdowns.
The high school football season continues Friday, as KDKA Radio will once again provide award-winning broadcast coverage of the region’s biggest game of the week. This week, you can hear Mt. Lebanon vs Central Catholic on 100.1 FM and 1020 AM KDKA Radio. Follow @KDKARadio on Twitter for updates throughout the night.