CTK 2012 – WPIAL AAAA Foothills Conference Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 | 4:25 PM

Over the past three seasons, three different teams have won the Foothills Conference championship. Gateway won in 2009, McKeesport in 2010 and Penn-Trafford last year.

It’s a pretty safe bet one of those teams will end up on top of the standings again this year – and just about everyone has Gateway as the favorite.

The Foothills looks a little different this season, at least in size. The conference is bigger. Altoona and Kiski Area have moved from the Big East to the Foothills.

Here is a look at the Foothills Conference:

ALTOONA MOUNTAIN LIONS:

Since returning to WPIAL football in 2010, the Lions played in the Big East Conference. This year, they move into the Foothills with a new coach, who is in his second stint at Altoona. John Franco coached Altoona from 1986-93 and then went to Tyrone, where he built a strong Class AA program, winning a state championship in 1999. Can he turn around an Altoona program that has hit hard times?

Franco hopes to build on a little bit of progress the Lions made last year, winning three games. That may not sound like much, but Altoona was 0-9 in their first year in the WPIAL in 2010. But Altoona  has only two starters returning on offense and three on defense. While the offense must improve from last year, the defense needs to improve the most. Altoona gave up 30 points a game last season.
The returning offensive starters are linemen Austin Rosenberry (6-2, 285) and Noah Scheinberg (6-0, 250).

Returning on defense are lineman Brandon Bernazzoli (6-2, 250), linebacker Markief Knade (6-0, 210) and Jake Diveney (6-2, 185).
 

CONNELLSVILLE FALCONS:

Optimism is in the air at Connellsville. After some horrible years and suffering through a long losing streak, the Falcons finished 5-5 last year and made the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Another .500 season seems possible this year.

This team has skill-position players worth watching. Junior Jade Maher (6-4, 190) is a good-sized quarterback who showed promise as last year’s starter. He completed 67 of 125 for 657 yards last season.

The backfield is bolstered by a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic. Jordan McCrae, a 5-11, 180-pound senior, rushed for 1,167 yards last season at Greensburg Central. Zach Cree is another running back (also plays linebacker) who transferred from Greensburg Central.

The lines have three returning starters in Austin Heinbaugh (6-1, 250), Austin Brooks (6-2, 270) and Bobby Groff (6-0, 235). 
Jimmy Demarco (6-0, 215) is a talented junior linebacker who made 113 tackles last season. Other returning starters are receiver-defensive back Nate Ernesty (5-9, 155), running back-defensive back J.T. Stevenson (5-9, 165) and defensive back Grant Witt (5-9, 160).
 

GATEWAY GATORS:

The Gators finished second in the conference to Penn-Trafford last year, but it’s likely Gateway could finish on top of the heap this year, in what could be Terry  Smith’s final season as coach. Nine starters return on offense and 10 on defense from last year’s 9-3 team. Among the returning starters are a handful of Division I prospects who are both juniors and seniors.

Two Gateway seniors already have made verbal commitments to Division I colleges. Quarterback Thomas Woodson accepted a scholarship from the University of Arizona. He has been a starter since his sophomore season. Tight end Jaymar Parrish committed to Pitt in the spring. Parrish is a tight end, but was recruited by Pitt to play fullback.

Montae Nicholson is a junior defensive back who already has Division I scholarship offers.

Woodson will lead an offense that has six three-year starters. Woodson completed 63 of 105 for 1,184 yards last season. Senior Darin Franklin led the team in rushing with 823 yards on 124 attempts. Andre Martin also is back after rushing for 458 yards on 70 attempts.
Parrish led the team in receptions last year from his tight end position with 22 catches for 524 yards. Also back on offense are tight end Malique Ford, tackle Anthony Parente, tackle R.J. Hughes, center Joe Robak and receiver Delvon Randall.

On defense, six starters return. Parrish is a talented linebacker. Hughes and Brandon Madjerich are back at tackle and Parente is another returning starter on the line. The secondary should be solid with the return of Anthony Davis and Randall.
 

HEMPFIELD SPARTANS:

Rich Bowen has turned around struggling programs at Serra (twice), Elizabeth Forward and Yough. Can he do the same at Hempfield?
Bowen takes over a team that has won only 25 games since 2000 and won only one game in each of the last two seasons. Offense has been a problem as the Spartans scored only 95 points in nine games last year. Bowen, a former high school quarterback at Serra, has always had pretty good offensive teams.

Ty George saw considerable playing time at quarterback last year as a sophomore, completing 31 of 88 for 379 yards. Joey DeFloria was the team’s second-leading rusher last year with 152 yards on 33 attempts. Also back is lineman Max Adams, who was a second-team all-conference pick on defense last year as a sophomore.
 

KISKI AREA CAVALIERS:

The Cavaliers won only one game last year, but at least they can say they enter this season on a one-game winning streak. Kiski Area defeated Plum in the final game last season.

Kiski Area is new to the conference after playing in the Big East. This year’s team needs to improve offensively and defensively after being outscored, 306-100, last season. It certainly didn’t help matters when promising QB J.J. Consentino transferred after last season to Central Catholic. He was the starter last year as a sophomore before a knee injury ended his playing early in the season.

One of the top players this year is junior tight end Shane Kuhn, who was a second-team all-conference selection as a sophomore. Joe Brungo is back after catching a team-high 23 passes for 444 yards. Replacing some offensive lineman will be a key.

On defense, Nick Sharek was a second-team all-conference pick at linebacker. Jake Wiseman also returns at linebacker.
 

LATROBE WILDCATS:

Coach Ray Reitz’s team just missed out on the playoffs last year, going 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the conference (one game behind Connellsville for fourth place). It was the second year in a row Latrobe finished one game out of the playoffs.

If Latrobe finishes fifth this season, it will be in the playoffs. This year, five teams from each Class AAAA conference qualify.

The Wildcats did finish last season on a high note, winning three out of their final four games. Granted, those three wins came against lower-echelon teams, but it left the Wildcats feeling good heading into this year. Logan Carns saw considerable playing time at quarterback last year as a sophomore. The offense could be centered around Rob Vasinko, who led the team in rushing last year with 509 yards on 68 attempts (7.5 average).
 

MCKEESPORT TIGERS:

McKeesport features a future Division I college player on offense and defense.

Eddie Stockett (6-4, 215) is one of the WPIAL’s top throwing quarterbacks. A year ago, he completed 105 of 192 for 1,772 yards and 17 touchdowns and also ran 60 times for 136 yards in McKeesport’s spread offense. Stockett already has committed to Akron.

McKeesport also features linebacker Hodai Christian (6-1, 215), who already has made a verbal commitment to West Virginia. Christian had other Division I scholarship offers before choosing the Mountaineers. He also will play some at running back.

Four other starters return. They are lineman Brenndan Green, center Jaylin Short, lineman Jawan Hill and receiver-defensive back Aaron Knight. Jaquan Davidson was expected to start at receiver and defensive back, but he is now enrolled at Elizabeth Forward.

Allen Wright, a 5-10, 175-pound junior, is a player to watch at running back.
 

NORWIN KNIGHTS:

After finishing 5-5 and making the WPIAL playoffs in 2010, Norwin’s program is struggling. Last year, the Knights finished 0-9 and were outscored, 375-70.

Will Norwin improve this season? That’s hard to say, especially considering that only three starters return on offense and two on defense. The starters are linemen Dylan Keffer and Luke Milici, and receiver-defensive back Kyle Bayum.

For Art Tragesser, this is his 26th season as a head coach and third at Norwin. He also coached at Penn-Trafford and Jeannette.
 

PENN-TRAFFORD WARRIORS:

The 2011 season was one to remember for Penn-Trafford as the Warriors won their first conference title since 2001, beating both McKeesport and Gateway.

Third-year coach John Ruane’s team was experienced and talented a year ago. Although the Warriors are not void of talent this year, graduation hit the team hard. Only two starters return on offense and three on defense.

Two of the top returnees are receiver-defensive back Dorian Stevens and H-back-linebacker Brian McDonough. He caught 14 passes last season and had 50 tackles.

The other returning starters are linebacker Zach Diable and defensive back Dom Cima.

Senior Matt Arzenti looks to take over at quarterback. Also, kicker Matt Lughnane returns. He is one of the top kickers in Class AAAA after making 11 field goals last season.

MSA Sports Predicted Order of Finish:

9.  Norwin Knights

Tags: Altoona, Connellsville, Gateway, Hempfield, Kiski School, Latrobe, McKeesport