Despite all those squeaky sounds of basketball shoes and whistles blowing in high school gyms throughout Western Pennsylvania — a sure sign that a new season is upon us — the Pittsburgh Union Progress has been busy trying to put the wraps on another exciting football season. The third annual PUP all-star team will be unveiled Sunday, and trust me, there is nothing charming about this third edition. It means this strike “paper” still has a heartbeat because the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its unions have yet to come to terms on a new contract. But this third annual PUP all-star team is loaded with talent. It includes a record-setting quarterback, a pair of running backs who rushed for more than 2,000 yards this season, two of the nation’s top sophomores, and players who will continue their careers at colleges such as Pitt, Penn State, Alabama, Stanford and Princeton. What is so special about the Union Progress’ football all-star team is it is just that … an actual team. The PUP sports staff, with input from high school coaches, went position by position and put together an actual all-star team. We name the top players at every position to come up with a lineup of 11 all-stars on each side of the ball plus special teams, not just a handful of the top players, regardless of position. So, there won’t be the top six running backs who gained the most yardage and the top five quarterbacks who were standouts for their respective teams. There can only be one player at every position, just like a regular starting lineup. In addition to our all-star team, the PUP sports staff will also name its player and coach of the year. Who will win player of the year honors? Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers and Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg are the clear front-runners. The Duke-bound Gompers was a matchup nightmare on both sides of the ball while leading Central Catholic to the WPIAL Class 6A championship. Sieg, a Penn State recruit, accounted for 53 touchdowns (32 rushing, 20 passing, 1 punt return) and helped Fort Cherry defeat Clairton for its second consecutive WPIAL title. The finalists for coach of the year include South Park’s Brian Abbey, Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak, Avonworth’s Duke Johncour and Central Catholic’s Ryan Lehmeier. Abbey guided Class 2A South Park to its first WPIAL title since 2005; Cherpak won a record 10th WPIAL title; Johncour helped Avonworth, a No. 5 seed, win the WPIAL Class 3A championship and reach the PIAA final; and Lehmeier helped Central Catholic defeat two-time defending champion North Allegheny for the WPIAL Class 6A title before taking the Vikings to the PIAA title game. Check back Sunday morning when the PUP unveils its third annual all-star team along with its prestigious player and coach of the year awards.  Rick, an associate sports editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and working as sports editor for the Union Progress. Contact him at rdavis@unionprogress.com.

Despite all those squeaky sounds of basketball shoes and whistles blowing in high school gyms throughout Western Pennsylvania — a sure sign that a new season is upon us — the Pittsburgh Union Progress has been busy trying to put the wraps on another exciting football season. The third annual PUP all-star team will be […]

Despite all those squeaky sounds of basketball shoes and whistles blowing in high school gyms throughout Western Pennsylvania — a sure sign that a new season is upon us — the Pittsburgh Union Progress has been busy trying to put the wraps on another exciting football season.

The third annual PUP all-star team will be unveiled Sunday, and trust me, there is nothing charming about this third edition. It means this strike “paper” still has a heartbeat because the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its unions have yet to come to terms on a new contract.

But this third annual PUP all-star team is loaded with talent. It includes a record-setting quarterback, a pair of running backs who rushed for more than 2,000 yards this season, two of the nation’s top sophomores, and players who will continue their careers at colleges such as Pitt, Penn State, Alabama, Stanford and Princeton.

What is so special about the Union Progress’ football all-star team is it is just that … an actual team. The PUP sports staff, with input from high school coaches, went position by position and put together an actual all-star team. We name the top players at every position to come up with a lineup of 11 all-stars on each side of the ball plus special teams, not just a handful of the top players, regardless of position. So, there won’t be the top six running backs who gained the most yardage and the top five quarterbacks who were standouts for their respective teams. There can only be one player at every position, just like a regular starting lineup.

In addition to our all-star team, the PUP sports staff will also name its player and coach of the year.

Who will win player of the year honors? Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers and Fort Cherry’s Matt Sieg are the clear front-runners. The Duke-bound Gompers was a matchup nightmare on both sides of the ball while leading Central Catholic to the WPIAL Class 6A championship. Sieg, a Penn State recruit, accounted for 53 touchdowns (32 rushing, 20 passing, 1 punt return) and helped Fort Cherry defeat Clairton for its second consecutive WPIAL title.

The finalists for coach of the year include South Park’s Brian Abbey, Thomas Jefferson’s Bill Cherpak, Avonworth’s Duke Johncour and Central Catholic’s Ryan Lehmeier. Abbey guided Class 2A South Park to its first WPIAL title since 2005; Cherpak won a record 10th WPIAL title; Johncour helped Avonworth, a No. 5 seed, win the WPIAL Class 3A championship and reach the PIAA final; and Lehmeier helped Central Catholic defeat two-time defending champion North Allegheny for the WPIAL Class 6A title before taking the Vikings to the PIAA title game.

Check back Sunday morning when the PUP unveils its third annual all-star team along with its prestigious player and coach of the year awards.

Rick, an associate sports editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and working as sports editor for the Union Progress. Contact him at rdavis@unionprogress.com.