Student Athlete of the Week: Junior Basketball and Football Star Levi Metheny

Levi Metheny started high school as a member of the football and basketball teams. Even though he made significant contributions in his freshman year, he only got better in his sophomore and junior years.

In his sophomore year, Levi Metheny became the starting quarterback for the BP varsity football squad. This is a big task for a sophomore, but Metheny had it under control. In his first year as a starter, he was 56 for 105, which equates to a 53.33% completion percentage. With his 531 yards thrown, came six touchdowns and one lone interception.

He also was a good rusher. He had 40 rushes for 96 yards, a big number for a quarterback. He also contributed six touchdowns on the ground, which was more than any other running back on the team had. With this balanced attack, he led the 6-4 (6-2 in conference play) Black Hawks into the playoffs, where they lost to North Allegheny at home in the first round.

Later that year, Metheny played on the varsity basketball team. However, the forward/guard only had 10 points in the whole season as the team (11-3, 18-7) lost to New Castle in both the WPIAL and PIAA tournament.

In the 2014-2015 year, the junior improved on his basketball stats from the previous year. With the move from guard and forward his sophomore season to solely forward his junior year came better results. As the fourth highest scorer on the team, he contributed 85 points for the season. This equates to 12.1 points per game. And, even though the team (10-4, 16-9) lost early again in the WPIALs and PIAAs, the season showed why Metheny was considered a great player.

However, he was even better on the football field, as he returned to the field as the starting quarterback. He completed 92 out of 161 passes with a 57.14% completion rate. Ten of those completions counted for touchdowns, while he had only four interceptions. This all contributed to 1,156 yards through the air.

In addition, he rushed 80 times for 92 yards and eight touchdowns, which was second on the team. He again led BP, who was 6-4 and 5-2 in conference play, to the playoffs, but only to suffer another disappointing first-round loss, this time to Altoona.

On the other hand, a big highlight was when he was selected by other conference coaches to be a member of The Almanac’s Pigskin Premier team. Metheny was one of four Black Hawk players to be selected.

Even with some disappointments, Metheny has showed why he is considered a star on the football field and the basketball court. And, we should expect even more from him next year in his last seasons as a high school athlete.