Penn Hills youth football team comes together, plays for championship

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, November 6, 2022 | 11:01 AM

Being a sideline dad didn’t become a reality for Brad Phillips. The 34-year-old North Hills graduate originally wanted his son, Braden, to play for the Penn Hills teams in the Western Pennsylvania Youth Athletic Association. He didn’t want to be anything more than a spectator.

Once Brad was convinced to coach the Penn Hills team, his opinion on being more involved quickly changed.

“I originally wasn’t attracted to the opportunity, I didn’t even think I wanted to be an assistant or help out,” Phillips said. “I wanted to take my son to practice and that’s it. But when I started coaching I thought it was cool. The impact we had on the kids. They were listening to what I was saying and I knew I was hooked.”

Penn Hills’ 10U Termites, which is supported by the Penn Hills Youth Football and Cheer Association, went 13-2 this season. Penn Hills played a team from the Hill District in the championship game, losing 6-0.

The Hill District team scored the winning touchdown with four minutes remaining. They then successfully executed an onside kick to seal the win.

“That was a tough loss,” Phillips said. “We had two or three drives that got down to the 2- or 3-yard line, but we made a few mistakes that drove them back.”

Having his son play football wasn’t something Phillips planned on. But he knew from when Braden was young that he would want to play.

“When he was 2 or 3, we watched NFL RedZone all day and he didn’t pay attention to it,” Brad Phillips said. “By the time Sunday Night Football rolled around, I heard him making noises and he had put a toy football in a shoe and was trying to kick.”

Phillips, a union drywall installer, has been pleased with the program’s growth over the past two years. That made sacrificing driving from whatever job he was working at — Hill works all over the area — worth the trip.

Two years ago, Penn Hills started the season with 28 players, but only had 13 by the end of the season. Penn Hills finished that season 5-6 before bowing out in the second round.

Phillips said 90% of Penn Hills’ roster lives in the municipality. Penn Hills also had players from Turtle Creek, New Kensington, Brackenridge and Ar-Ken.

Contributors to the team included: running back/linebacker Kyle Taylor, wide receiver/safety Tyree Green, running back/middle linebacker William Hopkins, wide receiver/defensive back Brandon Anderson, wide receiver/defensive back Nico Pogorzelski, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Derrick Clemons, offensive/defensive lineman Eric Snow, running back/linebacker Kam Walker, running back/defensive end Daimer Shelby, wide receiver/defensive back Noah Fielder and center/defensive end Kam Taylor.

“We wanted to get as many kids as possible before this season,” Phillips said. “We wanted to make sure that we had enough to get through the season. These kids came from a few different schools, but we didn’t have any problems. They were like brothers.”

Tags: Penn Hills