Mohawk in good position after ups and downs of 2022 season

By: Dave Mackall
Friday, August 18, 2023 | 7:01 PM

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At this time a year ago, the Mohawk football team was grappling with the effects of a hazing incident that resulted in disciplinary action for multiple students and forced the cancellation of the Warriors’ first two regular-season games.

Fast-forward to the present.

“We’re focused on the current season,” Mohawk coach Tim McCutcheon said.

The Warriors return 15 lettermen, including 1,000-yard passer Jay Wrona at quarterback, from a team that overcame a slow start to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs for the fifth time in eight seasons under McCutcheon’s watch.

Mohawk finished the year at 4-5, but rallied to a 4-3 mark in the Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference.

“We’ve got seven or eight starters back on both sides,” McCutcheon said. “For a Double-A school — for any school, for that matter — when you return that many guys, it’s a good foundation.”

Aside from a heartbreaking, 34-29 first-round playoff loss to McGuffey, Mohawk’s above-.500 league record likely factored into McCutcheon being named MAC coach of the year and earned the Warriors’ then-vulnerable program a measure of respect after its early season struggles.

“We certainly feel like young men, sometimes, make mistakes. I make mistakes,” McCutcheon said. “We’ll continue to learn from them, and we’ll not look behind us.”

The Warriors open a new season Aug. 25 with a short trip to Union.

“We played a tough (McGuffey) team in the playoffs that had 17 seniors and we played them at their place,” McCutcheon said of Mohawk’s final game of the 2022 season. “We were the underdog, and we had a shot with a minute left. We bring back a lot of guys from that team.”

No one in the program, he surmised, was happy with the outcome.

“We certainly acknowledge that we were close, but we also acknowledge it wasn’t good enough,” McCutcheon said. “With this group, it’s not about ‘feel good.’ We want to get the job done and make some real noise.”

Though McCutcheon’s teams over the years have shown a desire to balance rushing and passing, he hinted that his current squad could be capable of a producing a stronger-than-usual aerial attack.

“We have a pretty good receiving corps, in general. And with Wrona, an all-conference quarterback last year, we feel we can take advantage of that,” McCutcheon said. “But, yeah, we like to be balanced.”

Leading rusher Justin Boston, a senior, and leading receiver Bobby Fadden, who caught 20 passes — seven for touchdowns — as an all-conference freshman, also return. Both are two-way players while at defensive back.

Boston and junior Sam List are expected to start out the year splitting the running back duties. Senior Dante Retort and junior Blake Logan are two more experienced receivers who return.

Senior linemen Brian Burchfield (6-3, 255), Alex Chatman (5-11, 245), Jack Mays (5-9, 270) and Scooter McPherson (5-11, 240) will go to work on both sides of the ball for the Warriors.

Junior Dillon Sumey (6-2, 270) and sophomore Dan Monaco (6-0, 250) are bidding for playing time on either line as well, while senior linebacker AJ Verdi and Retort also return to strengthen the defense in the secondary.

“We’ve had some battles up front and in the secondary,” McCutcheon said. “We’ve let those guys work it out for themselves. There’s been some good individual battles.

“It’s another year and guys are bigger, stronger and faster.”

And, hopefully, for Mohawk’s sake, free of any distractions.

“Just trying to get through this conference schedule is no joke,” McCutcheon said.

Mohawk is joined in the MAC by defending champion Beaver Falls, Neshannock, Western Beaver and Riverside as other returning playoff teams. Ellwood City, Freedom and New Brighton round out the conference.

“You can have a real good football team in this conference and barely come away with a winning record,” McCutcheon said. “It’s a meat grinder.”

Mohawk

Coach: Tim McCutcheon

2022 record: 4-5, 4-3 in Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference

All-time record: 367-481-40

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.1 at Quaker Valley, 7

9.8 Laurel, 7

9.15 at Riverside*, 7

9.22 New Brighton*, 7

9.29 at Ellwood City*, 7

10.6 Beaver Falls*, 7

10.13 at Freedom*, 7:30

10.20 Western Beaver*, 7

10.27 at Neshannock*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Jay Wrona

71-125, 1,029 yards, 13 TDs

Rushing: Justin Boston

117-402 yards, 6 TDs

Receiving: Bobby Fadden

20-462 yards, 7 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Josh Wilkins, Mohawk’s all-conference kicker who returns for his senior year, is the nephew of former NFL All-Pro kicker Jeff Wilkins (Eagles, 49ers, Rams), who attended Youngstown State. “Josh had a good teacher,” Mohawk coach Tim McCutcheon said. “He can boom them. He got us a bunch of touchbacks last year. And when we get down in to the low 40-yard range, we’re confident he can put in through there (for a field goal).”

• Mohawk’s 10-game schedule includes just four home opponents. The Warriors will open with two consecutive road games and are scheduled for just one home matchup in the first four weeks.

• While a large group of interior linemen are returning this season, the Warriors lose two-way, all-conference lineman Coleton Root (6-3, 310), who was attracting college interest last year but elected not to continue playing.

• Mohawk’s 40-player roster includes similar number in each of the top three grades — 10 seniors, 11 juniors and 10 sophomores.

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