Beaver looks to carry over momentum despite major graduation losses

By: Antonio Rossetti
Tuesday, August 15, 2023 | 12:55 AM

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Beaver is coming off a strong season, an eight-win campaign that included a playoff victory over Deer Lakes.

Junior linebacker Gabe Lutton liked the taste of playoff football he got as an underclassman.

“That was awesome,” Lutton said. “I’ve never had that good of a season before. I’ve always made it to the first round of the playoffs, so we always play a really good team and lose, so it felt really good to go to the second round of the playoffs. Just getting my first experience as a starter helped me a lot. Now I know what to expect from last year to this year.”

This year, Cort Rowse is going into his second season as head coach. The Bobcats have captured three WPIAL titles in their history and Rowse wants to continue with that winning culture.

“Beaver football has a long, storied tradition and a culture of winning and toughness, a culture of selflessness,” Rowse said. “When we all come into that program, our job is to continue that tradition. We preach that with our kids day in and day out. You’re not playing just for you. You’re playing for the guy next to you, the guy that came before you and the guy that will come after you.”

Last season was a good start to continuing the winning tradition. Nevertheless, Beaver has a brand-new team this year as just one starter returns.

Rowse knows the roster is inexperienced, but he was very impressed with the team’s summer.

“I’ve been pleased with the work that kids have been putting in,” Rowse said. “They’ve been coming, they’ve been putting the work in the weight room, they’ve been putting the work in on the field. We’re a super young group. These guys are dedicated to making sure they’re doing what they need to do to be successful.”

Last season, the Bobcats had a balanced offense. This year, Rowse said that there will be more diversity in the passing game with the personnel the team has to work with.

Two of those players in the receiving corps are juniors Amari Jackson and Brady Mayo.

“Amari Jackson is going to be a first-year starter for us at corner and wide receiver,” Rowse said. “He’s done a really good job through the summer. Brady Mayo is another kid for us on offense and defense, wide receiver and safety. He played quite a bit last year, and I’m looking for him to take those next steps going into the fall.”

Mayo said he is appreciative of the coaching staff and has enjoyed having Rowse as a coach so far.

“I love it,” Mayo said. “He’s a very intense coach. He makes sure we’re in the right place and that we’re doing the right things on and off the football field. It’s really great to have him as our coach.”

Mayo said that over the offseason, he has been lifting, running and doing plyometrics.

With a small number of seniors, Mayo understands that he will be jumping into a leadership role.

“We don’t have very many seniors,” Mayo said. “Some of us juniors are going to have to step up and like a senior would be.”

Rowse realizes how experience is an important factor in football, but he is confident the underclassmen can overcome the obstacles.

“It’s going to be the first time they’ve ever been out there on a Friday night, so everybody has to go out there for the first time sometime,” Rowse said. “It’s just the fact that we’re going to have such a large collective number of them. That’s just a little bit of a negative, but eventually, after a couple games, you understand what it takes to get your feet up underneath you.”

Sophomore Travis Clear will be under the lights as the starting quarterback.

“Travis has been running (with the first team) all summer,” Rowse said. “He’s doing a lot of good things. He’s definitely put the time in in the offseason to prepare his body and mind to be the guy so far this summer. I’ve been very pleased with his progress.”

Lutton said he has been impressed with some of Clear’s potential targets in the offseason and also sees some new starters on defense as possible impact players.

“Both of our receivers, Amari Jackson and Brady Mayo,” Lutton said. “My brother Damien, he’s a freshman and he’s blowing it out of the water. I’m very impressed with him. I think I’m going to have a really good season. Drey Hall and our other linebacker Marco Gutierrez.”

Lutton said he is ecstatic to be able to don the maroon and gray when the season starts. He mentioned that the offseason has been fantastic.

“We brought in a new coach, coach (Jake) Wickline,” Lutton said. “He’s been getting us up at 9 o’clock three days a week, working out, doing drills, lifting, and then we have practice from 6-8, going over plays and getting better. All the coaches are helping us doing everything and it has just been pretty good.”

Lutton looks forward to stepping into a leadership position, and as middle linebacker, he is ready to be the “quarterback” on defense.

“I want to make sure everyone’s in the right position, everyone knows what they’re doing and what coverage we’re in,” Lutton said. “I have to make sure nobody’s getting down on themselves if they mess up because you have to play the game. You can’t really get upset with yourself. If you do, it’s just going to be bad, so I have to make sure that nobody’s getting down on themselves.”

With a brand-new group of starters this year, Rowse wants to take it one step at a time.

“Our goals are day-to-day goals,” Rowse said. “We want to get better with each rep, each practice, each day. If you continue to stack those, we always talked about stacking good days, so if you keep stacking good days, the rest of those will just take care of themselves. We always have the goals of having a winning season, winning playoff games. We always want to push for championships, but those things take care of themselves if you do the right things every day.”

Beaver

Coach: Cort Rowse

2022 record: 8-4, 4-2 in Class 3A Western Hills Conference

All-time record: 666-419-55

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.26 at Western Beaver, 12:30

9.1 Beaver Falls, 7:30

9.8 at Freedom, 7:30

9.15 South Park*, 7:30

9.22 at West Mifflin*, 7

9.29 Brentwood, 7:30

10.6 Avonworth*, 7:30

10.13 at Seton LaSalle*, 7

10.20 Quaker Valley*, 7:30

10.27 at Hopewell*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing : Isaac Pupi*

89-170, 1,040 yards, 4 TDs

Rushing: Liam Gibson*

126-796 yards

Receiving: Gerrell Leeper*

25-384 yards

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Beaver won back-to-back WPIAL titles in 1981-1982 and was the only team to win back-to-back WPIAL titles in separate classifications (at 3A in 1981 and 2A in 1982) until Thomas Jefferson did so in 2015-2016. Beaver won its first WPIAL title in 1972.

• Beaver is the fourth-oldest program in the WPIAL with its inaugural season coming in 1899.

• Coaches Jeff Beltz and Pat Tarquinio combined for 403 of Beaver’s 666 all-time wins.

• Offensive coordinator Jake Wickline played college football at Edinboro and Slippery Rock. He earned first-team All-PSAC-West honors and also won PSAC defensive player of the week twice during his senior year in 2011.

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