1st-year coaches look to lead Highlands, Latrobe into playoff win column

By: George Guido
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | 6:54 PM

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Two teams with first-year coaches will square off Friday night in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

Latrobe’s Ron Prady will lead the No. 11 Wildcats into Golden Rams Stadium to play No. 6 Highlands, led by coach Matt Bonislawski.

Prady came to Latrobe after serving as an assistant with last year’s WPIAL and PIAA champion, Penn-Trafford. Bonislawski, who quarterbacked Highlands to the 2001 Class 3A semifinals, returned to the sidelines after a hiatus of several seasons following a stint at Riverview.

Latrobe finished fourth in the Big Seven Conference with a 3-3 mark (6-4 overall) after dropping from Class 5A. With a 6-4 record, this is Latrobe’s first winning season since going 5-4 in 2011.

Since winning the WPIAL title in 1968 over Kiski Area, the Wildcats have been eliminated 10 times in the opening round.

Highlands (9-1, 5-1) finished second to Armstrong in the Greater Allegheny Conference, losing only to Armstrong.

The Golden Rams are 10-22 in WPIAL playoff games, including last year’s first-round setback against New Castle.

Highlands is looking for its first playoff win since defeating New Brighton in 2014. Highlands quarterback Chandler Thimons needs 104 yards to become the first Alle-Kiski Valley player to pass for 5,000 career yards.

Golden Rams running back/linebacker Luke Bombalski has missed several games with an injury, and the coaching staff said he is getting closer to coming back.

Both coaches have used the same formula to reach postseason play: worry only about your upcoming opponent.

Bonislawski has said on a number of occasions that his team’s secret has been a week-by-week approach.

“Everybody’s been saying about the brackets and everything else,” he said, “I’ve told the kids if we don’t bring our ‘A’ game against Latrobe, we won’t have another game. Same approach, we have to bring it.”

Said Prady: “Our players have done a great job preparing each week and have bought into what we are doing.”

Defense becomes a big part of the postseason. Both teams have been solid with one exception: Week 8. Latrobe gave up 54 points to McKeesport, and Highlands allowed 56 to Armstrong.

Still, Latrobe in conference play yielded 21.0 point per game. Highlands gave up 15.4.

“We have a pretty solid defense, taking away that McKeesport game,” Prady said. (McKeesport’s) attack is hard to defend. Other than that, we’ve been solid.”

Last week, Highlands had to overcome a sluggish first half at Hampton that featured four turnovers before picking up steam and posting a 19-7 win.

“We just wanted to play our game after a rough outing against Armstrong,” Bonislawski said. “It was important to get another home game for our kids.”

Each coach offered effusive praise for his opponent.

“They look really good,” Prady said. “You don’t go 9-1 without doing some things right. They run the ball well, and their quarterback can beat you with his feet and throwing the ball. It’s not going to be easy.”

Said Bonislawski: “They’re big and strong and have a great running game. We’ll have to stop the run first. Solid defense. They play aggressive and fly to the ball. Anybody we play now in the playoffs is good. (Class 4A) has a lot of good teams.”

The game will be streamed live on tribhssn.triblive.com. It will be replayed in the A-K Valley on Channel 190 at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Series history

Highlands and Latrobe have played four times in the past:

2019: Latrobe 20, Highlands 18

2018: Latrobe 39, Highlands 13

1983: Highlands 17, Latrobe 6

1982: Latrobe 14, Highlands 7

Tags: Highlands, Latrobe