5 things we learned in high school football Week Zero: Kick returns liven up openers By: Saturday, August 24, 2024 | 9:05 PM Louis B. Ruediger | TribLive Kiski Area's Aven Shirley takes the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Knoch on Friday. Louis B.
Ruediger | TribLive Kiski Area's Aven Shirley (left) returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Knoch on Friday. Previous Next High school football has borrowed plenty of trends from the college and pro ranks, but the NFL's new kickoff format is one that traditionalists hope never makes its way to Friday nights. They say a long kickoff return nowadays is a rare thing of beauty.
"I think it's one of the most exciting things in the game," Kiski Area coach Sam Albert said. "Because they're so hard to get and when you do, it's just excitement." Albert would know.
Kiski Area junior Aven Shirley returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown Friday, sparking the team to a 42-7 win over Knoch. Shirley's kick return touchdown, which the junior predicted before the game, was one of six scored by WPIAL players in Week Zero. The longest was a 99-yard kickoff return by Woodland Hills' Scoop Smith, who flashed the speed as a reigning WPIAL 100-meter dash champion.
Southmoreland's Cameron Phillips returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, New Brighton's Michael Veon scored on a 59-yarder, Waynesburg's Teagan Crouse had an 89-yarder and Hopewell's Brody Rock took one back 85 yards to the end zone. "For us, it totally ch.