New-look New Castle strives for a much-improved season

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, August 11, 2023 | 11:22 PM

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New Castle is coming off a down year, as the Red Hurricanes went just 1-9, but second-year coach Stacy Robinson is determined to turn the ship around.

The Canes had quite a few seniors, but by the end of the season, the underclassmen made up most of the lineup on both sides of the ball.

“A lot of the younger guys were pressed into playing time, so we got a lot of experience,” Robinson said. “Hopefully it was good experience. We played a lot of younger guys by the end of the year. It’s a challenge because I’ve only got one four-year starter on the squad this year, and that’s Malik Jefferson.”

Jefferson led the team in rushing with 200 yards and scored three touchdowns last season, and Robinson expects him to do even more this year.

“Malik Jefferson is our leader, and there is no doubt about that on both sides of the ball,” Robinson said. “He brings experience and toughness. The best type of leader can lead by example, and he does that.”

Another starter returning is junior Kyrell Harris. Harris started at quarterback and threw for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Kyrell was thrown into the fire as a sophomore last year,” Robinson said. “It’s a tough job playing quarterback at any level. He had his bright spots, and he had his low moments, but he’s resilient. He’s having a good summer so far and he’s ready to play.”

Robinson also expects junior Nate McKnight and junior Kaevon Gardner to step into leadership roles this year. Gardner missed the majority of last season due to injury, but Robinson anticipates a productive season.

“He can be a force, so we just need to keep him on the field and keep him healthy,” Robinson said. “That’s the main thing. We don’t have a lot of depth this year, but if we can just keep our guys healthy, we’re curious to see where we can end up when the dust settles.”

Robinson admits it was a rough year last season. Nonetheless, he is an experienced coach who led Union for 26 years. He has been in a predicament like this before, and he’s excited to see how the team does with a newfound confidence.

“We went 1-9, and that’s not good for anybody, but I’ve been around long enough to know you don’t use that as a hammer to beat them over the head with, but it is a tool to motivate,” Robinson said. “I don’t think it lingers. I don’t think it’s at the forefront here. Our guys are getting confidence, and I know that we were a better team than what we showed last year. We just have to be able to put things together for four quarters.”

The Red Hurricanes are in a newly renovated stadium that was remodeled last season, have a second-year head coach and have a much different lineup coming back. Robinson is thrilled to see how things play out after an offseason of change.

“They’ve had a good summer,” Robinson said. “They’ve been attentive, and they’ve been coachable. You have to remain coachable, and they’ve been.”

Robinson mentioned that the offensive line jelling together is what gets a team going. He added that 7-on-7 football doesn’t indicate what a team and its line will do when the pads come on, but he has high hopes for an improvement this season.

“Naturally my goal is always the same,” Robinson said. “We want to stay healthy. We want to play our best football, and we want to make sure we can try and get into the tournament and then take it from there getting to the second season. You never know what can happen there. You get on a hot streak or things start rolling.”

Robinson added that he wants to take it week by week in a deep 4A Parkway Conference.

“We play in a tough conference with programs that are steeped in tradition,” Robinson said. “We want to make sure we can stack up to them and fight our battles each week because there’s not a there’s not an easy week in the Parkway.”

New Castle

Coach: Stacy Robinson

2022 record: 1-9, 0-7 in Class 4A Parkway Conference

All-time record: 755-428-69

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.26 at Summit Academy, 12:30

9.1 Mars, 7

9.8 at Armstrong, 7

9.15 West Allegheny*, 7

9.22 at Central Valley*, 7

9.29 Montour*, 7

10.6 at Chartiers Valley*, 7

10.13 Aliquippa, 7

10.20 at Ambridge*, 7

10.27 Blackhawk*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Kyrell Harris

41-90, 564 yards, 7 TDs

Rushing: Malik Jefferson

26-200 yards

Receiving: Tyler Leekins*

16-307 yards

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• New Castle has the third-most WPIAL titles with 11. Their last championship came in 1998.

• New Castle has had 12 players make it to the NFL. Malik Hooker and Geno Stone are both current players as Hooker plays for the Cowboys and Stone plays for the Ravens. Bruce Clark, Sam Manos, Rick Razzano, Bill McPeak, Lindy Lauro, Mike Roussos, Ben Ciccone, Alec Shellogg, Paul Cuba, and Nick DeCarbo all also made the league.

• New Castle became one of the first high school teams to play under the lights in 1929 when they installed lights at Franklin Field, which is now known as Taggart Stadium.

• Taggart Stadium installed new lighting, new turf and a resurfaced track last season. They added new restrooms, a concession stand and locker rooms.

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