The 2021 WPIAL football season has reached its midway point, and the Friday night action was perhaps the best that it’s been all season.
From a Class 6A Championship Game rematch you heard on KDKA Radio, to a thrilling finish on ‘The Beach’ at Belle Vernon, Week 4 was loaded with great games.
At the end of the high school football season, we will honor seven local players who stood out the most during 2021.
The awards will go to the top player in each WPIAL classification, as well as the best performer in the Pittsburgh City League.
Leading up to that, each week, we will highlight players who are in the running for the prestigious postseason award.
Previous Watch Lists: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3
This week, you’ll notice a nod to some smaller classification schools who have players putting up big numbers. We also feature a quarterback who turned on the jets to upset a top-ranked team and a dominating defensive linemen who led the way in a statement victory.
Tommy Burke, Leechburg
A program that has not had buckets of success is off to a stellar start thanks, in large part, to its quarterback.
Leechburg is 4-1, and senior signal caller Tommy Burke is a big reason why.
So far this year, Burke has passed for 1,175 yards and ten touchdowns.
This week, Burke led the WPIAL is passing with 328 yards.
He added three touchdowns and a rushing score.
In addition to the gridiron, Burke is also a solid baseball player, earning first-team all-section honors last spring. He also plays basketball.
Donovan Hinish, Central Catholic
One of the top defensive linemen in the state, Central Catholic big man Donovan Hinish put on a show Friday night, as the Vikings took down a Class 6A rival, North Allegheny, 24-7.
Hinish was superb all evening, earning the KDKA Radio Player of the Game Award after holding the Tigers to just 234 yards of offense.
A 3-star recruit, Hinish is currently committed to Notre Dame, where his brother, Kurt, is a standout defensive lineman.
He had offers from Pitt, Virginia Tech and UCF, among others.
Luke McCoy, Laurel
Luke McCoy is just racking up the yards and the touchdowns and has played his way onto the Super 7 Watch List.
So far this season, McCoy has rushed for a WPIAL leading 836 yards. He also is tied with Central Valley’s Landon Alexander for the district touchdown lead, with 14.
It’s all helped Laurel get off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1977.
On Friday, the Spartans topped Riverside, 48-0, and McCoy again had the hot hand, rushing for 183 yards and three touchdowns on just 18 carries.
McCoy, a senior, also plays baseball at Laurel, and was an all-section selection last season. What makes his story even more impressive, McCoy is not far removed from a torn ACL suffered in his sophomore season. He is on the verge of a third 1,000-yard season in his high school career.
Nijhay Burt, Steel Valley
Speaking of guys racking up rushing yards, just take a peek over to Munhall.
Nijhay Burt is currently second in the WPIAL in rushing with 779 yards.
Remarkably, Burt is averaging 13.3 yards per carry. He has hit the end zone 13 times.
This week, he ran for 200 yards and four touchdowns on only nine carries, as the Ironmen toppled Brentwood 42-6.
Burt, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior, has received scholarship offers from Buffalo, Seton Hill, Walsh and Bluefield State.
Devin Whitlock, Belle Vernon
Last but certainly no least, our first repeat player on the Super 7 Watch List! And it’s certainly deserved.
Devin Whitlock had quite possibly the play of the WPIAL season to this point, rushing for a 40-yard touchdown with just 4.5 seconds to go, as Belle Vernon took down top-ranked Thomas Jefferson 28-21.
Whitlock, who plays quarterback but can be used in a variety of ways, ran for 163 yards and scored twice. He also added 44 passing yards.
The senior had 444 passing yards and 532 rushing yards this season, and has accounted for 12 touchdowns.
Whitlock has one Division I offer, from Youngstown State, and several other offers from lower tier programs.
KDKA Radio’s coverage of WPIAL football continues this week with the Quest for the Best Show at 6 p.m. on Thursday night. On Friday, Dan Zangrilli, Johnny Lee, Robert Mangino, Dorin Dickerson and Cale Berger bring you live coverage of Laurel Highlands at Belle Vernon.
You can hear the show, and the game, on 100.1 FM and 1020 AM News Radio KDKA.