Penn-Trafford looks to bounce back, meet lofty expectations
By:
Thursday, August 8, 2024 | 6:01 AM
Penn-Trafford quarterback Derek Carr throws during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
Penn-Trafford’s Michael Botti looks in a touchdown catch during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
Penn-Trafford’s Quentin Lucov pulls in a catch during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
Penn-Trafford quarterback Jonny Lovre throws during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
Penn-Trafford’s Tasso Whipple pulls in a catch during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane during the WCCA 7-on-7 competition at Latrobe in July.
When a team wins WPIAL and PIAA titles, expectations within the football program are set high.
With that said, the past two seasons at Penn-Trafford didn’t reach the expectations set in 2021.
Injuries, inexperience, little mistakes and not playing up to their abilities saw the Warriors go 11-11, ousted from the WPIAL playoffs in the first round.
But a productive offseason has coach John Ruane excited.
“Our team chemistry is a lot better,” Ruane said. “It’s been a good summer. The team has worked extremely hard.”
A year ago, the Warriors began the season with inexperience at the skill positions. The team finished 5-6 overall, the first losing record since 2010 when they finished 4-6.
But what was a weakness in 2023 is a strength in 2024.
Carmen Metcalfe was the lone returning wide receiver last year, and juniors Jonny Lovre and Derek Carr were set to share duties at quarterback.
But the quarterback plan was short-lived as Carr was lost for the season in the Week Zero game against Canon-McMillan after he ran six times for 31 yards.
Lovre was pressed into more playing time than planned, and he responded with a decent season, completing 102 of 193 passes for 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns. But he also threw 13 interceptions.
“Turnovers are huge in a game,” Lovre said. “It can be the deciding factor, and I threw too many. I have to protect the ball better.”
Lovre will be sharing the load behind center with Carr, who has recovered from his injury.
“Derek and I are best friends and competing against each other all the time, so we’ve been battling each other every day,” Lovre said. “Coach Ruane likes to use a two-quarterback system.
“The team has made a lot of strides, especially in the skill positions. We’re looking a lot better.”
Ruane said the team is having a good summer and showing improvement.
“Last year, we were inexperienced at the skill positions,” Ruane said. “But as the season went on, that group improved a lot. Now it’s the strength this season. Jonny is more experienced and has made great strides.
“The best part of the summer is the internal camaraderie of the team. We’re getting better at what we need to do.”
Ruane said he likes how Lovre and Carr are meshing with the receivers.
“They have a friendly competition,” Ruane said. “I’m comfortable with both. It’s always good to have competition at that position. Derek will definitely play.”
The wide receiver group is led by sophomore Nick Ponko, who caught 18 passes for 218 yards as a freshman. Senior Jack Weishaar returns after snagging 11 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Rounding out the unit is senior Jessie Lisbon, who had three catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Tyler Boss, who had one catch for 9 yards.
Penn-Trafford’s offense runs best when there is a balance between the running and passing game.
The Warriors running game features a tandem of senior Tasso Whipple and sophomore Ben Grabowski. The duo combined to rush for more than 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023.
Whipple rushed for 1,388 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Grabowski gained 779 yards and had 10 scores. Whipple also caught 19 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns.
Ruane said opponents should not overlook senior Joe Jackson this season as well.
“Joe is more of a downhill runner,” Ruane said. “He’ll be in the mix this season.”
Ruane hopes the productive summer will carry over to the fall when the Warriors can display their offseason improvements and challenge for another WPIAL title. The first came when these seniors were freshmen.
Another area Ruane is excited about is the progress of the offensive line.
All-conference center Ethan Septak is back. He is surrounded by a hungry group looking to make a name for themselves.
“We have a lot of good candidates fighting for jobs,” Ruane said. “We actually could two-platoon the group because they all are equal in talent. We’ll see how things work out once the pads are on.”
Kellan Taylor and Stew Pfeil are two physical players that have caught Ruane’s eye. Others include Brandon Long, Bryce Ruby, Aiden Toth, Lucah Butler and David Dziedzic.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Ruane said. “We have 10 to 12 players we like.”
Defensively, Ruane said the group has to tighten things up.
“We gave up too many big plays last year,” Ruane said. “We have to create more turnovers and force teams to work harder to move the ball against us.”
Pfeil, Taylor, Michael Cheplick and Jacob Briggs are a few of the players working up front.
Jamison Yurt, Whipple, Dom Smith and Nick Laskey return at linebacker while Ponko, Boss, Lisbon, Grabowski, Brady Newell, Ben Lenart, Carr and Weishaar are in the secondary.
Both units have to be strong considering the strength of the Big East Conference. Others in the conference are Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Gateway, Woodland Hills, Kiski Area and Armstrong.
“Our conference is really strong, but so is Class 5A,” Ruane said. “There is a lot of talent in Class 5A.”
Penn-Trafford
Coach: John Ruane
2023 record: 5-6, 4-1 in Class 5A Big East Conference
All-time record: 331-206-10
SCHEDULE
Date, Opponent, Time
8.23 at Norwin, 7
8.30 Mt. Lebanon, 7:30
9.6 Moon, 7:30
9.13 Woodland Hills*, 7:30
9.20 at Kiski Area*, 7
9.27 Plum, 7
10.4 at Gateway*, 7
10.11 Franklin Regional*, 7:30
10.18 at Armstrong*, 7
10.25 at Latrobe*, 7
*Conference game
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing: Jonny Lovre
102-193, 1,314 yards, 8 TD s
Rushing: Tasso Whipple
200-1,388 yards, 14 TDs
Receiving: Carmen Metcalfe*
47-574 yards, 2 TDs
*Graduated
FAST FACTS
• Penn-Trafford was a Class 5A WPIAL and PIAA champion in 2021. The Warriors lost WPIAL finals in 1997, 2015 and 2017.
• Trafford and Point Joint each played in a WPIAL champion game and lost. Trafford lost to Bridgeville in the 1949 Class B title game and Penn Joint fell to Albert Gallatin in the 1961 Class A championship game.
• Penn-Trafford has won or shared 14 conference titles.
• The Warriors have had four undefeated regular seasons.
ROSTER
No., Name, Pos., Ht./Wt., Cl.
1, Tyler Boss, WR/DB, 5-10/175, jr.
2, Colton Tyburski, WR/DB, 5-9/175, jr.
3, Heath Dunlap, HB/LB, 6-1/210, sr.
4, Joe Jackson, RB/LB, 5-11/200, sr.
5, Cody Yacamelli, QB/DB, 6-1/180, fr.
6, Owen Gisi, WR/DB, 6-3/185, sr.
7, Michael Botti, TE/LB, 5-11/215, sr.
8, Ben Grabowski, RB/LB, 5-11/205, so.
9, Brady Newell, WR/DB, 6-0/180, sr.
10, Nick Laskey, TE/LB, 6-4/215, jr.
11, Derek Carr, QB/DB, 5-11/195, sr.
12, Jack Weishaar, WR/DB, 6-0/180, sr.
13, Blake Branthoover, WR/DB, 6-1/175, sr.
14, Mason Driskill, WR/DB, 5-9/165, jr.
15, Jonny Lovre, QB/DB, 5-11/195, sr.
16, Jessie Lisbon, WR/DB, 6-2/205, sr.
17, Jacob Campbell, QB/LB, 6-1/185, so.
18, Nate Desmond, QB/DB, 6-0/175, jr.
19, Will Sarsfield, WR/DB, 5-9/160, so.
20, Nico Casciato, WR/DB, 5-9/175, jr.
21, Ben Lenart, WR/DB, 5-11/180, jr.
22, Jacob Briggs, TE/DL, 6-4/230, jr.
23, Dom Smith, HB/LB, 6-1/215, sr.
24, Reese Radocay, HB/LB, 5-11/205, jr.
25, Trent Brown, WR/DB, 5-11/175, so.
26, Nick Ponko, WR/DB, 6-2/180, so.
27, Jamison Yurt, HB/LB, 6-0/210, jr.
28, Ben Miller, WR/DB, 6-0/170, so.
29, Jordan White, WR/DB, 5-11/165, so.
30, Ian Savering, WR/LB, 5-11/180, so.
31, Ny’Shawn Morris, RB/LB, 5-9/175, so.
32, Nathan Kravetz, TE/LB, 5-11/185, so.
33, Landyn Stikkel, HB/LB, 5-11/195, so.
34, Tasso Whipple, RB/LB, 6-1/205, sr.
35, Nico Cox, RB/DB, 5-10/180, jr.
36, Noah Haslam, K/P, 5-9/155, so.
37, Brayden Desantis, TE/LB, 5-10/190, so.
38, Alex Nicolette, RB/DB, 5-9/165, jr.
39, Elijah Pecorari, RB/DB, 5-9/165, jr.
40, Cal Doughty, WR/DB, 5-8/160, so.
41, Caleb Kerstetter, WR/DB, 5-9/160, so.
42, Quentin Lucov, TE/LB, 6-0/200, sr.
43, Brody Chappie, HB/LB, 5-11/170, so.
44, Michael Cheplick, RB/DL, 6-0/205, sr.
45, Evan Sadler, K/P, 5-7/155, jr.
46, Parker Wensel, RB/LB, 5-8/170, so.
47, Jonaven Klemm, WR/DB, 5-8/155, jr.
48, Brayden Tirpak, WR/DB, 6-2/170, so.
49, Blaise Burrell, TE/DL, 6-2/200, jr.
50, Logan Hunter, K/P, 5-9/160, so.
51, Lucah Butler, OL/LB, 6-0/220, jr.
52, Bryce Ruby, OL/DL, 5-11/225, jr.
53, Grant Burk, OL/DL, 6-1/220, so.
54, Stew Pfeil, OL/DL, 5-11/255, sr.
55, Aiden McCaw, OL/DL, 5-11/265, so.
56, Travis Moorhead, OL/DL, 5-10/265, so.
58, Ethan Septak, OL/DL, 6-0/265, sr.
59, Marlo Robinson, OL/DL, 5-11/250, so.
60, John Zarod, OL/DL, 6-0/270, jr.
61, Aiden Corbett, OL/DL, 6-2/245, so.
62, Garrett Meyers, OL/DL, 5-11/250, jr.
63, David Dziedzic, OL/DL, 6-3/265, jr.
64, Aiden Toth, OL/DL, 5-11/250, jr.
65, Santino Moio, OL/DL, 6-2/245, jr.
66, Brandon Long, OL/DL, 6-3/235, sr.
70, Joseph Boulware, OL/DL, 5-11/225, jr.
71, Robert Volovic, OL/DL, 5-10/225, jr.
73, Dylan Ridley, OL/DL, 5-10/215, so.
76, Jayden Haggard, WR/DB, 5-8/145, jr.
77, Kellan Taylor, OL/DL, 6-1/225, sr.
80, Donovan Hogan, WR/DB, 5-8/155, so.
80, Jayden Connelly, WR/DB, 6-0/165, so.
81, Alexis Brown, K/P, 5-7/135, sr.
82, Dustin Heidenreich, HB/LB, 5-11/160, so.
88, Chris Conte, TE/LB, 5-10/170, so.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Penn-Trafford
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