First, it seems WVU WR Vaughn Rivers just can’t stop talking about playing Pitt. He must really be bitter about Pitt not recruiting him.

Vaughn Rivers was like a lot of other football players in Pittsburgh’s City League. He dreamed of playing college football, preferably at Pitt.

And, like most other City League players, it was only that — a dream.

Pitt simply doesn’t recruit the City League very hard, or at least the Panthers didn’t under former coach Walt Harris. And, truth be told, it’s hard to place any blame. City League football, quite frankly, just isn’t very good from top to bottom.

But that doesn’t stop players like Rivers and Eric Wicks, a pair of Perry Traditional Academy graduates, from having a little special incentive to beat the Panthers. Both of them came to West Virginia when Pitt didn’t show much interest, and every year they get a chance at some payback.
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Rivers knows all about the West Virginia-Pitt rivalry because he used to watch the games when he was growing up in Pittsburgh. And he always figured if he ever played in the game, it would be for the Panthers.

But Harris didn’t recruit the undersized wide receiver and kick returner, nor did he seriously pursue his Perry teammate, strong safety Wicks.

“They only have one City League player on their roster now and the last one they had before that was Rod Rutherford, who came from my high school,” Rivers said. “You always wonder why they don’t look at City League kids.”

Looking at their numbers, Rivers has 6 catches for 38 yards, 8 punt returns for 98 yards and 6 kickoff returns for 135 yards. Wicks on the other hand has 1 interception returned 31 yards for a TD, 47 tackles (5th on the team) and 3 sacks. So why the hell is Rivers even talking? Wicks has more right to yap.

Still more Western Pennsylvania natives playing at WVU stressing how much they want to win the game.

West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee’s former teachers at Pittsburgh’s Plum High School have wished him well–until he tries a game-winning field goal.

“Then they hope I choke,” McAfee said.

That’s the nature of next week’s Backyard Brawl between Big East foes Pittsburgh and West Virginia, and lately, it’s become a rivalry again after the Mountaineers dominated the series in the 1990s.

Pitt’s 16-13 win over West Virginia last year denied the Mountaineers their first Bowl Championship Series.
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“As soon as I got here, people would talk about the Pitt game before anything,” said McAfee, a freshman. “As long as we beat Pitt, that’s all that matters. I guess it’s funny that they are not worried about the Big East championship, just Pitt. Just beat ‘ol Pitt.”

The 98-game series is the longest in the Big East.

“I have heard it all my life, the Backyard Brawl,” said WVU linebacker Boo McLee, a native of Uniontown, Pa. “It is very important to me to go out and play a good game and come out with a win. Everybody puts in extra effort for the Brawl.”

McAfee is another player who seems bothered by Pitt not bothering with him.

McAfee said Pitt never looked at him during his senior year at Plum, when he made all seven field goal attempts, including one that cleared the crossbar with ease from 48 yards out.

“I’d like to put some points on the board and show them what they missed,” McAfee said. “They kind of gave me the cold shoulder. Whatever. They already had a great kicker in (senior) Josh Cummings.”

Some Hoopie players, though, are still learning.

The No. 13 Mountaineers start four key freshmen on offense, including quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton. That’s four players who have never played in the Backyard Brawl, and four players who are surprisingly settled.

“I’m not sure what it’s like because I was not on the field for a game,” said White, a native of Daphne, Ala. “Alabama-Auburn is a big one where I come from.”
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So much so that freshman Slaton, recruited out of Levittown, Pa., near Philadelphia, had to be told about the game’s significance.

“This just comes into play now because I am a Mountaineer. Other than that, I am removed a bit,” he said. “I played in a big rivalry game in high school and I can kind of understand. The veterans tell me it is a big rivalry game.”

I’m sure they will learn quickly. As Kicker Josh Cummings did.

“The week leading up to last year’s game was something else,” he said. “I couldn’t believe how intense practices were and the coaches were all psyched and the fans were into it; it was a lot of fun.

“These games are a big deal and given what’s a stake for us, the fact that we want to extend our season and play in a bowl game, it is even that much bigger of a deal.”

Beyond the rivalry, however, Cummings is excited about the game for another reason: he could play a major role for the Panthers as he may be their best offensive weapon.
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“Obviously, I’m biased, I’d love us to beat West Virginia by kicking field goals, but I wouldn’t mind kicking extra points all night, either,” said Cummings, who transferred to Pitt last year from College of the Canyons (a junior college in California). “I think I’ve just tried to be steady and consistent and I’ve accomplished that in my two years here.

“But I can’t think of a better way to end my career than to kick a game-winner, down in Morgantown to beat West Virginia and send us to a bowl game. That would be special. I haven’t had one of those this year, so maybe this game will be my chance.”

I’ll take that.