Clairton vs. Monessen Thursday Night Football.

            The Clairton Bears are the three time defending state champions in class A. They have a 50 game winning streak, and they will be putting it on the line Thursday night. They will travel to Monessen to take on the Greyhounds in what figures to be one of the biggest games of the Pennsylvania high school football season. Root Sports Pittsburgh will be covering the game live at 7:30.

            

  Clairton comes into this week as the consensus number one ranked team in class A on just about everyone's board. Monessen has some intriguing athletes and is ranked among the top ten teams in the state as well. This game will feature some pretty special players.  Clairton is led by four star recruit, Tyler Boyd. Boyd has been a key player for the Bears since his sophomore season. He serves as the Clairton running back, but is seen as a wide receiver/athlete at the college level. Boyd boasts offers from national programs like Wisconsin, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, and Michigan State among close to 20 others. Clairton also features Pitt commitment, Titus Howard. He plays receiver/defensive back for the Bears, and will play defensive back for the Panthers. Clairton's Terrish Webb is another future division one athlete that has committed to Kent State. He figures to be a slot receiver in college.These three athletes push the Clairton offense. They only have 34 kids on their roster, but many underclassmen figure to receive college interest as well.

         

Monessen will have their hands full with all the athletes of Clairton, but they are not short on skill themselves. The Greyhounds are one of the few single A programs across the state that can match up athletically with Clairton. Monessen is led by senior quarterback, Chavis Rawlins. Rawlins is committed to West Virginia as a dual threat quarterback. He held offers from Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Virginia among many others. He leads the Greyhounds in passing, rushing, and scoring. He will need to have a monster performance to out dual Clairton. The other star for Monessen is Rawlins' younger brother, Justice.  Hustice is a junior and will likely be another big time recruit. He already holds offers from Pitt and Rutgers, and has seen interest from programs like Ohio State and Michigan. 

        

 This is a monster game in the class A race. It is packed with story lines and division one athletes. It is very much reminiscent of the battles Aliquippa and Beaver Falls typically put on for small schools. Clairton is going for a fifth straight WPIAL championship, and a fourth straight PIAA championship.  Monessen is looking to take down the Bears' unbelievable winning streak. This will be a very passionate game and expect plenty of big plays. I am going to take Clairton to keep rolling. There have been teams during this winning streak that had D1 talent and athletes, but Clairton has yet to stumble yet.  Make sure you tune in for this game on Thursday night. It will be sure to be exciting.