LOWER BURRELL - Brendon Knuckles is starting to find his stride. The Valley senior quarterback may have liked to find his way earlier in the season, Vikings coach Mark Adams is happy to see him come along.

Knuckles passed for 94 yards and two touchdowns during a 41-21 loss to Burrell Friday night on the road. Knuckles threw two touchdown passes to Sean Wilkerson, including a 35-yard touchdown strike that tied the game at 14 in the second quarter.

It was a positive sign for Valley (0-7, 0-3).

​"He's grown tremendously, leaps and bounds," Adams said. "We knew that with time, we would need to mesh them together. It's snap after snap, it's conversation after conversation. I've seen the lights go on in his eyes and the game is slowing down for him."

Chartiers Valley, Trinity crash the party in the Big Six
Thomas Jefferson has earned its status as the boogeyman in the Big Six Conference. But the defending WPIAL Class 4A champion Jaguars will need help if they want to reach the top of the conference standings again. Trinity (3-4, 2-0) picked up its second win over Thomas Jefferson in the past three years Friday night, collecting a 33-22 victory.

The Hills having a losing record is misleading. Trinity's non-conference schedule is loaded up with 5A opponents, including Bethel Park, Peters Township and Moon. The Hillers were trailing Thomas Jefferson 22-7 at the halftime before rallying for a win.

The Colts (6-1, 2-0) went for two points in the waning seconds to knock off Belle Vernon 36-35. Chartiers Valley has two wins by one point this season. The Colts also beat West Allegheny in overtime in Week 1. The Colts will find out a lot about themselves in the next two weeks when they play Trinity and TJ.

Warriors grab hold of the bell
Penn-Trafford evened its all-time series with Gateway at 13 wins apiece. The Warriors won the battle from the bell after rallying from a 16-point deficit.

Ben Grabowski scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Grabowski finished with 151 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Can Butler get to a sixth win?
The Golden Tornado went independent in football a few years back to build the program back into one that could possibly rejoin the WPIAL. Butler picked up a win over University (W.Va.) to improve to 5-2 on the season. The Golden Tornado are a win away from their first winning season since 1997.

Butler's next opponent, City League opponent Allderdice, the Golden Tornado beat 7-0 last season. Allderdice has a better team this year. The Golden Tornado close the season with Wheeling Park (W.Va.) and PIAA Class 2A runner up Central Clarion. If the Golden Tornado can't beat the Dragons, things may get dicey to reach that sixth win.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

MONROEVILLE - Gateway football coach Don Holl didn't care how the Gators won Friday night. He knew they needed a lift. Gateway avoided a four-game losing streak by making two key stops on defense in the fourth quarter at Antimarino Stadium.

The Gators saw their lead shrink from 15 to three points over a six-minute stretch. But Gateway's defense forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs to seal a 34-31 Big East Conference win over Kiski Area.

"You gotta find a way to win," Holl said. "People talk about complimentary football. Tonight, sometimes the defense had issues. Sometimes, the offense and special team had issues. You have to find a way to win a game. I think our defense said this is going to be us if the offense can't put it away."

The Gators (1-3, 1-0) helped themselves by getting off to a fast start. Gateway scored 28 points in the first half. The Gators recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and scored three plays later. Gateway quarterback Mayson Mitchell made several big plays for the Gators.

Mitchell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 34-19. He also threw three touchdown passes. Mitchell was also intercepted three times.

Mitchell said he wanted to move on quickly from mistakes.

"You have to talk to your coaches," Mitchell said. "You have to flush it you know. You gotta go to the next play and just keep going. You have a whole game."

Shaler snaps losing skid
The Titans had lost each of their first three games by eight points or fewer. Shaler threw its hat in the ring for the Northeast Conference playoff race by picking up a 27-20 win over Plum. The Titans forced six turnovers and made life miserable for the Mustangs.

Penn Hills blows by Fox Chapel
The Indians (1-3, 1-0) struggled to score during the first three weeks of the season. All of Penn Hills' scoring issues went out the window during a 49-14 win. Doryean Peay led the Indians with 180 rushing yards.

Putting the work in
Aliquippa's J.J. Work helped pull the Quips out of the Flames Friday night. Aliquippa won 19-6 over Mars, but the game was closer than the score may indicate.

The Planets were ahead 6-0 after three quarters. But Aliquippa rallied behind two touchdowns from J.J. Work. Qalil Goode iced the win with a 43-yard pick-six with 6 seconds remaining.

Josh Rizzo is the editor of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

 Clairton's football team appeared set to return to the WPIAL Class A summit last season. But the Bears had an injury to quarterback Jeffrey Thompson in the postseason. He wasn't able to throw the ball in the WPIAL Championship game, which played a key role in Clairton's loss to a talented Fort Cherry team.

The Bears will christen Tyler Boyd Stadium this Friday at 7 p.m. against Imani Christian. Clairton coach Wayne Wade said the new turf should make the Bears faster. Imani Christian, which also has its eyes set on WPIAL and PIAA gold, will be an excellent first test for both sides.

The Saints won their first 11 games last season before falling to eventual WPIAL champion Avonworth in the Class 3A finals. Imani brings back plenty of Division I talent in junior defensive back Gabe Jenkins, who is a four-star recruit and defensive back. Senior athlete David Davis has committed to Penn State.

Clairton, which finished 13-1 last season, shut out 10 of its 14 opponents last season. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Murphy has already drawn plenty of Division I interest. The Bears also return Thompson under center.

Here's a look at a few other games worth keeping an eye on for Week Zero:

Vikings Ready for Tough Test
La Salle College is seen as one of the handful of teams with a chance to knock St. Joseph's Prep off its perch as the PIAA's top team in Class 6A. Pittsburgh Central Catholic would like to throw its hat in that ring. The Vikings reached the 6A final before falling to St. Joseph's Prep last season.

The Vikings have plenty of beef returning up front. Matt Bowers, who is 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Jimmy Kalis (6-7, 280) and Jon Sassic (6-6, 280) will provide protection up front. The Vikings have won a state title since 2015 when they beat St. Joseph's Prep in a Class 4A game to claim their fourth crown.

The Explorers turned heads last season by beating St. Joe's in the regular season. However, St. Joe's upended La Salle in the district playoffs. Explorers quarterback Gavin Sidwar will test Central Catholic's resolve. The Mizzou commit passed for 2,747 yards and 31 touchdowns last season.

Jeannette, Mt. Pleasant ready for rematch
The Jayhawks fought off a three-game slide toward the end of the regular season to reach the WPIAL Class A semifinals. Jeannette started last season with a bang. The Jayhawks erased a late deficit to stun Mt. Pleasant, 28-27, on a 74-yard touchdown catch by Jayce Powell with 3 minutes,15 seconds remaining.

Jeanette will bring back quarterback Kymone Brown and running back Eli Jones. Mt. Pleasant saw its roster swell to 60 players and is hoping to make a splash in Class 3A. The Vikings saw a major exodus in the backfield. Quarterback Cole Chatfield graduated and the Vikings lost three players from the program.

The two Westmoreland County rivals should produce another interesting contest.

Can Gateway get its groove back?
The Gators missed the playoffs last season, which was the first time in Don Holl's nine seasons leading the program. Gateway finished 3-7, but the Gators also were able to get freshman Elvis Koutsakis a year of experience under center. Koutsakis threw for 1,587 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Gators will hit the road to take on State College, which won District 6 and reached the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals. The Little Lions are getting a boost this season as running back D'Ante Sheffey, who spent the last two seasons with Harrisburg returns to the program. Sheffey ran for 1,725 yards and scored 24 touchdowns as a freshman for the Little Lions.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo.