Pine-Richland’s Waryanka pulls double duty as force on defense, reliable kicker

By: Shawn Annarelli
Saturday, October 31, 2020 | 11:01 AM

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Most teams don’t account for blocking the kicker on returns, but a player such as Zach Waryanka doesn’t give them much of a choice.

He does, after all, top Pine-Richland’s charts in tackles.

“He’s awesome,” coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “I think he’s the only ‘mike’ linebacker that wears one football shoe and one soccer shoe on his kicking foot.”

Waryanka leads Pine-Richland’s defense with 35 tackles, six sacks and two interceptions. On special teams, he has 26 extra points, 2 field goals and a pair of blocked punts.

“He’s happy-go-lucky, always smiling, never really seeks attention, pretty unassuming, and he’s got to be one of the most productive kids on the team,” Kasperowicz said. “He’ll go sack the quarterback, get an interception and kick a 43-yard field goal within a minute of each other.”

Waryanka’s ascension on defense wasn’t a “shoe-in.”

He hopped around at different positions last season and tended to practice at defensive end. Then coaches told him to focus on linebacker, where Josh Rechenberg left a void after he graduated.

“Ever since fifth grade, I always wanted to play kicker and linebacker,” Waryanka said. “I kind of got away from that last year, and I missed it a lot.”

Waryanka began to prepare himself in the winter.

He ran on the treadmill in his house more often and adopted a healthier diet to slim down. He took meticulous notes on defensive plays, coverage responsibilities and gap assignments in Zoom meetings with coaches.

If he didn’t know the answer to something, he didn’t hesitate to text a coach, teammate or Rechenberg.

“I’m really good friends with Josh, so if I ever had a big question, I’d FaceTime him to see what was right and what was wrong,” Waryanka said. “He showed me how to play middle linebacker and how to be fearless. Everything combined, I just started to get it.”

With extra film study in his spare time, Waryanka won the starting job.

“He may be 190 pounds soaking wet, but he’s extremely bright, gets the defense set up, makes all of our calls and he’s physical,” Kasperowicz said. “He’s such an awesome surprise. That can happen with seniors. That switch goes off, and that’s Zach. He’s been an incredible force.”

Waryanka also credits his teammates with creating opportunities for him to make plays, noting defensive linemen, including Liberty-commit Miguel Jackson, often command double teams.

Kent State commit Luke Miller and Jeremiah Hasley, who will play Division I football, are Waryanka’s outside linebackers.

“Those guys motivate you in a way not many other people can,” Waryanka said. “Every single day you come to practice, and they’re ready to play and they’ll get on you if you’re not giving it your all.”

Waryanka still has double duty on special teams, where Pine-Richland relies on him to be consistent.

He has made 77 of 84 combined extra-point and field-goal attempts in his career.

“I really don’t think about changing my mindset going back and forth,” Waryanka said. “You have to know the calls at linebacker, read the offense and make the right play. At kicker, you take your time, don’t rush it and make those plays, too.”

Waryanka wants to play in college, but, for now, he is focused on getting his team back into a WPIAL championship game and beyond.

“Any time I can get on the field, I want to be there,” Waryanka said. “It doesn’t matter what side of the ball or what I’m doing as long as we are still out there in December playing.”

Tags: Pine-Richland