Sports

Season Recap and Final Season Stats for Baldwin Varsity Football

The Highlanders finished 4-5 overall. Junior Dorian Brown rushed for 1,200 yards.

's varsity football team finished 4-5 overall in 2011 under third-year Head Coach Jim Wehner, including a 1-4 record in the WPIAL's AAAA Great Southern Conference. Baldwin High finished fifth out of six teams in the Great Southern this year, one spot shy of the WPIAL playoffs.

Still, Baldwin earned its most wins in one season since the 2004 Highlanders also won four games (4-6). Baldwin's 4-5 mark in 2011 equates to a .444 winning percentage, the school's best since its 2003 team—the last with a winning record—went 6-4 (.600).

The Highlanders season truly came down to one game: at home to  on Oct. 14 in which Baldwin fumbles on three straight possesssions in its own territory led to all 21 points for Peters Township. Peters (4-5, 2-3) captured the Great Southern's final playoffs spot.

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Despite falling short of the postseason, the Highlanders had much to hang their hat on this season, other than the school's best record since 2003.

Junior running back Dorian Brown emerged as one of the WPIAL's best players, for instance. Brown amassed exactly 1,200 rushing yards this season on 197 carries (a 6.1-yard average), including 10 touchdowns. Brown also caught 11 passes for 78 yards and one TD and returned eight kickoffs for 223 yards (a 27.9-yard average), including a 96-yard TD return in over Fox Chapel Area High School on Sept. 2. He had 1,501 all-purpose yards this year for an average of 166.8 all-purpose yards per game.

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After Brown rushed for 278 yards and two TDs on 34 carries, including a game-winning 80-yard TD with less than two minutes to play, to lead the host Highlanders to a  over Thomas Jefferson High School on Sept. 23, WPXI honored Brown with its . And because of that weekly win, Brown is in the running for WPXI's Player of the Year award.

The Higlanders searched for an answer at quarterback at times in 2011, rotating between freshman passer Doug Altavilla and sophomore passer Luke Smorey, as well as Brown and senior utilityman Zack Denardo out of a wildcat formation.

The coaching staff eventually settled on Altavilla, who finished the year going 49-for-99 passing for 479 yards, three TDs and seven interceptions. Smorey went 11-for-20 for 132 yards, no TDs and three picks. Denardo threw the ball five times, completing two passes for 43 yards and a TD. He did not throw a pick. Brown attempted no passes.

Senior wide reciever Malon Howell was Baldwin's top passing target this year, notching 15 receptions for 175 yards. Howell did not score a TD, though. Senior wide receiver/defensive back Jeremy Joyce (nine catches, 77 yards), senior running back Tarief Green (eight catches, 83 yards), Denardo (seven, 84) and Brown each had one TD reception. Junior wide receiver Marvin Sheppard was the other Highlander pass-catcher to break the century mark for the season, grabbing eight passes for 108 yards.

Green also ran the ball seven times for 33 yards (a 4.7-yard average), including one TD, and Denardo rushed 26 times for 70 yards (2.7 average), including two TDs. Denardo also ran for a two-point conversion this year.

Sophomore running back Stephon Harris was Baldwin's second-leading rusher, carrying the ball 27 times for 198 yards (7.3 average), including one TD.

Joyce led the Highlanders with seven punt returns for 45 yards (6.4 average) and also recorded a team-high two interceptions.

Joyce broke up two passes, as well, to lead Baldwin with four passes defended this year. His 37 tackles finished fifth on the team behind senior fullback/linebacker Dominick Barca Jr. (47), Brown's brother and sophomore safety Jay Morrison (45) and senior defensive linemen Joe Persichetti (40) and Nick Malaskeivitz (39).

Barca, Persichetti, Malaskeivitz, senior defensive lineman Andrew Bannister and even Green all finished with a team-high two sacks.

Barca also rushed 15 times for 55 yards (3.7 average), including a TD. His brother, sophomore Nick Barca, had Baldwin's other rushing TD as part of a three-carry, 38-yard season (12.7 average).

Baldwin did not attempt a field goal this season, but its sophomore placekicker/punter Jared Tuite went 17-for-17 in extra-point kicks and even faked one to rush for two points on another conversion try. Tuite punted the ball 28 times for 1,001 yards (35.8 average), including a long of 59 yards—one of three that went for at least 50 yards—and three punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He suffered only one touchback, and no kicks were blocked.

Interestingly, despite being outgained for the season as a team, 2,507-2,263, the Highlanders' opponents also punted a total of 28 times.

On average, Baldwin was outscored per game, 21.0-16.3 (189-147 total), and for the season, the Highlanders allowed 123 first downs while earning 107 of their own. Average time of possession was in the opponents' favor, as well, 25 minutes and 53 seconds to Baldwin's 21:45.

Baldwin fumbled the ball 22 times in nine games, but its opponents actually fumbled more often—23 times. However, Baldwin lost 14 of its fumbles and recovered just nine of its opponents. The Highlanders also threw 10 interceptions but came up with just five of their own.

Click on the PDF located toward the right side of this page (below the photo) to see Baldwin's updated season statistics. Note that the games played statistic may not be accurate on a player-by-player basis.

Was Baldwin's season a success? The team did not make the playoffs, but it put together its best winning percentage since 2003. Give us your opinion in the comments section below.


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