Deep backfield gives Latrobe options in running game

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, August 17, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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When teams prepared to play Latrobe last season, their focus was on stopping bruising running back Robert Fulton.

No. 3 was a big problem.

With Fulton gone, though, the Wildcats’ rushing attack will branch out like a spider vein.

“That’s the nature of high school sports,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “You lose guys every year. But the best programs who turn guys over manage to keep more guys coming through. We’re not going to have a 1,600-yard guy, but we have four guys who can run the ball.”

From junior quarterback John Wetzel to junior running backs Brady Prohovic and Alex Tatsch to sophomore running back Chris Cochran, the Wildcats have options in the backfield as they look to follow up on one of their best seasons in recent history.

The team went 7-5 and won its first playoff game since 1968.

“We’re going to create ways to get them the ball,” Prady said. “They have to be able to run outside zone, inside zone. That’s our bread and butter.”

The 205-pound Fulton ran over and past people for a school-record 1,567 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The multifaceted, by-committee approach is ready to roll now, with two-back sets and power packages getting the Wildcats into position.

“(Fulton) was a home-run hitter,” said Tatsch (6-3, 210), who has Division I offers to play linebacker at Connecticut and Marshall. “We have more guys who can get us going. Brady is such a hard runner. It’s going to open the passing game more. We’re going to have more balance, and I think we can be better than last year.”

Wetzel, a dual-threat quarterback who said he has improved his speed and arm strength, likes the forward and upward progression of the team — like a jet taking off from nearby Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

Clear the runway. The Wildcats think they can soar.

“We aren’t really changing a lot, but we’re working to perfect plays from last year,” said Wetzel, who has bulked up to 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. “I sure hope I am not the only one in that locker room who is not satisfied with what we did last year.”

Prohovic (5-8, 175) runs with a physical style but can bounce outside too.

“I think the running game is going to let us pass the ball more,” he said. “Our pass protection should be way better. You want to have a good relationship with your linemen and we do.

“We’re a team that is never going to be satisfied.”

Cochran (5-11, 180) stands to add depth to the running game.

“I think we can be just as powerful as last year,” he said. “I think our defense is going to be physical. That comes from our coaches. They have us more disciplined.”

And look for a number of screen passes and dump-offs as the aforementioned ball carriers catch the ball in space.

Tatsch, the team’s leading tackler, will play more inside the box on defense at linebacker, as opposed to playing on the outside last season.

Wetzel will be a key at safety.

“I think we can go head to head with any team,” Tatsch said. “We need to be able to win the close games that we didn’t win last year.”

Latrobe lost by 10 against Thomas Jefferson (31-21) and only fell three points shy of Laurel Highlands (10-7).

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Latrobe