After roller-coaster regular season, Springdale turns attention to playoffs

By: George Guido
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | 11:37 AM

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Springdale finally reached the finish line last Saturday, being one of the final teams to qualify for the WPIAL football playoffs.

The 35-0 victory over cross-river rival Riverview put the Dynamos in the postseason for the 19th time, but the journey was filled with setbacks such as injuries, illnesses and, yes, a few covid outbreaks.

The Dynamos started the season 3-0 but lost to Greensburg Central Catholic, Bishop Canevin and Leechburg.

Four key starters were missing in the GCC game, including quarterback Legend Ausk, Logan Dexter, John Utiss and lineman Giovanni Galasso. Coach Seth Napierkowski had to play sophomore wide receiver Chase Weihrauch, who never played the position before.

Just as a trip to the postseason looked unlikely, a number of players got healthy again, and Springdale won three of its last four to grab the fifth and final playoff spot from the tough Eastern Conference.

“We had some injuries in the middle of the year, and those guys had to recover,” Napierkowski said. “We had some guys dinged up today, but they should be good to go for Friday.”

No. 13-seeded Springdale (6-4) will play at No. 4 West Greene (8-2) on Friday to open the playoffs. Covid problems didn’t attack Springdale as much as some of the other WPIAL schools.

“We had a couple guys out here and there, but we never had a total team shutdown, but we had guys in and out with that stuff,” Napierkowski said. “These guys have fought through a lot of adversity and battling through the middle of the season.”

The turnaround started with Springdale’s first victory over Jeannette after 13 setbacks. That was followed by a win over Imani Christian.

The Dynamos then lost to Clairton, 12-0, in a game closer than most observers expected, setting up the dominant win over Riverview.

Said Napierkowski: “Things were a little rocky in the middle of the season, and winning three out of four and putting up a good fight against Clairton shows what kind of football team we are and what kind of football team we can be.”

While Ausk has passed for 654 yards and nine touchdowns, the Dynamos have a strong ground attack with Dexter, Utiss and Chris Savko.

Dexter is a key playmaker. He caught a 12-yard pass on fourth down from Ausk against Riverview to sustain a drive, ran 43 yards to set up another touchdown, intercepted a pass to set up another score and caught a 35-yard pass, spraining his ankle at the end of the play.

Springdale fans shuddered at the thought of another injury to Dexter, but the 2020 Valley News Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year soon was jogging on the sidelines and politicking to get back on the field.

But Napierkowski held him out the rest of the game as a precaution.

“I wanted to get back in,” Dexter said. “We started out the season real well, and we had some injuries that set us back. But we’re healed and ready to go into the playoffs.”

West Greene will counter with running back Colin Brady, who has carried for 1,354 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The two schools never have played. The last time Springdale made a playoff trip to Greene County, however, the Dynamos knocked off Carmichaels, 50-44, in a 2016 thriller.

Springdale is 20-15 all-time in the WPIAL playoffs and has won four titles, and West Greene is 4-5.

Tags: Springdale