Trio of Westmoreland County running backs poised for big things in PAC

When Kyrie Miller, Justin Flack and Justin Huss were playing football in high school in Westmoreland County, they torched opposing defenses.

Now the trio is doing the same in the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

Miller starred at Ligonier Valley, where he rushed for 3,742 yards and 58 touchdowns during his career. He ran for 1,876 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season.

The 5-foot-7, 175-pound Allegheny College junior rushed for 273 yards and five touchdowns while sharing the running duties last year.

Allegheny coach Rich Nagy said Miller had a really good freshman season.

“He’s a good player,” Nagy said. “He was dealing with some (shin) injuries, and I think we’re over that. I’m excited to see what he can do this year.

“In the offseason, we found out there was some injury things. I’m looking for more out of him. He’s in competition to be our starting tailback.”

Flack (2018) and Huss (2019) starred at Derry and were named Tribune-Review Player of the Year during consecutive seasons.

The 5-7, 190-pound Flack is a starting running back at Waynesburg.

At Derry, he helped the Trojans reach the WPIAL Class 3A finals when he rushed for 1,334 yards and 38 touchdowns.

He had a huge game against North Catholic in the WPIAL semifinals, and his interception return for a touchdown capped a big comeback win for the Trojans.

Flack rushed for 788 yards and four touchdowns in 2019 and for 578 yards and three touchdowns in 2021. He had a 177-yard game against Thiel.

“First and foremost, Justin is a great kid,” Waynesburg coach Cornelius Coleman said. “He’s an exceptional football player, but he’s even better young man and he’s a great mentor.

“Honestly for us, Flack is one of those young men that he’s so competitive, he’s so driven, he wants to get to that next step, and he wants to help his ball club and university get to that next step. So he’s going to push the young men in the weight room, at practice and on the field.”

Coleman said he believes Flack will take a leadership role in the running backs room.

“I’m excited to see how he’s going to develop going into this year under coach Gab (Luvara) and the new offense,” Coleman said. “I’m also excited to see overall from a leadership standpoint how he’s going to help us grow and be competitive in our next step as a team.”

Huss and Flack were in the same backfield at Derry. An injury during Huss’ junior season cut down his playing time, but he shined his senior season when he rushed for 1,995 yards and 32 touchdowns.

The 5-9, 170-pound sophomore rushed for 254 yards on only 25 carries and two touchdowns last year for Washington & Jefferson. He also caught 28 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown.

But he made his mark on special teams. He returned two punts for 70 yards and a touchdown of 45 yards. He also returned 21 kickoffs for 727 yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yard score.

“Justin is a playmaker,” Washington & Jefferson coach Mike Sirianni said. “He was explosive when he touched the ball last season. We will need to find ways to get him more touches this fall. The offensive coordinator — that was me — did a poor job last season. This is his offense.”

Sirianni said he became so dangerous, teams avoided kicking to him.

“Justin can score any time he touches the ball,” Sirianni said. “Justin and Aaron (Krepps) are similar players. Aaron maybe a little bigger and stronger, but Justin is quicker and a little faster.

“If you don’t want to kick him the ball, fine, we’ll take the ball at the 40-yard line. I admit, I didn’t do a good enough job getting him touches, especially in big games. That won’t be a problem this year.”

It’s a trio that should plenty of touches in big games in the future.