Valley playmaker Darnell Coaston grows into leadership role

By: Jerin Steele
Thursday, August 24, 2023 | 4:09 PM

Darnell Coaston proudly wears blue and white Penn State receiver gloves during Valley football practices.

It isn’t a secret that the Nittany Lions are his favorite college football team, and it would be a dream come true to play in Happy Valley.

But if another school were to offer him a scholarship to play at the next level, he’d be pleased with that as well.

“Penn State will probably always be my favorite, but if someone else offers, that’s where I’m going and that will be home,” Coaston said. “It’s always been my goal growing up to play college football at the D-I level.”

Getting a football scholarship is high on Coaston’s wish list for his senior year. Right up there next to that is winning at Valley.

It’s been an interesting four years for Coaston and the Vikings. This is the third coaching staff he has worked with in his high school career, and the team has won five games in three years, including only one last season.

A new era with the arrival of Mark Adams and his coaching staff has Coaston optimistic that Valley’s fortunes can change this fall.

“It’s been great,” Coaston said. “It’s a way bigger coaching staff, which makes it a lot better. They’re serious. They aren’t playing around. Everything is structured well, and they’re putting us in positions to make plays so that we can win this season.”

Coaston’s playmaking ability has been evident throughout his time at Valley. A great example was last year in the rivalry game with Burrell, when he caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage, ran from one side of the field to the other while breaking tackles and ended up zig-zagging his way for a 23-yard touchdown.

While he has created highlights on offense, Coaston said his play on defense can be overlooked. He feels he is one of the best tacklers in the WPIAL.

A new position he has added to his list is leadership. It’s a role he is growing into but enjoying.

“I feel like I can be the difference for the entire team and set the tone,” Coaston said. “I’m learning and trying my best to be a leader, but it takes time. I’m just making sure everyone is paying attention and taking it seriously.”

One of the main messages from Adams upon his arrival has been that it’s a clean slate at Valley, and Coaston said that has helped fortify unity within the team.

Coaston understands expectations aren’t high from those outside the program, but he’s out to prove doubters wrong and leave the program in a better position than when he arrived.

“We need to silence everybody,” Coaston said. “Nobody believes in us and, let’s be honest, nobody even cares about us. We need to make a statement, because I’m tired of losing. Every year that we lose, we could be a playoff team, but we make mistakes and the mistakes pile up. It’s a lack of discipline sometimes, but we’re in a better spot to clean that up.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Valley