Roster full of offensive weapons helps Beaver Falls reload

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Friday, August 18, 2023 | 7:01 PM

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Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone has no idea who is going to end up as the top rusher and receiver for his team this fall.

He’s kind of psyched about that.

“It’s not, ‘I have no idea because we have no talent,’” Nardone said. “It’s, ‘I have no idea because we have a lot of talent.’ I’m kind of looking forward to seeing who steps up. Those first few weeks, you might see eight different guys with five to 10 carries and probably five to six guys with three or four catches.”

Last year, it wasn’t like that. The offense ran through quarterback Jaren Brickner, the school’s all-time leading passer, who threw for 1,876 yards and ran for 709 more. His unquestioned No. 1 target was Trey Singleton, who had 1,080 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

The combination worked well for the Tigers, who went undefeated in the Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference, made it to the WPIAL championship game and finished 11-2.

Under a lot of circumstances, losing those two stars, as well as a few top-shelf linemen, would signal a rebuild.

That’s not really how things go with Beaver Falls, which has played in the WPIAL finals each of the last three seasons.

“I believe that when you develop a program with success like that, it’s a success-breeds-success type of thing,” Nardone said. “Kids learn what it takes to get to a championship. As freshmen and sophomores, they see the work that the guys ahead of them put in on and off the field in season, offseason, and those tendencies kind of get passed down to the next class, the next generation.”

The star of the next generation just might be senior DeSean Anderson. The team’s second-leading receiver last year, he figures to have the ball in his hands a lot more frequently this fall.

“He’s going to be one of the focal points of our offense,” Nardone said. “You’ll see him at wideout again, but he could be quarterback and possibly in that running back-type role too.”

Seniors Brixx Rawl and Da’Talian Beauford are top running backs. Transfer Gary Pugh, who played quarterback and wide receiver at New Brighton, should also factor in.

The wide receiver group is deep with seniors Meach Taylor, Mikey Blackshear and Di’Nari Harris and junior Za’Saun McElvy.

“They’re all guys that were that third, fourth option last year, but with Trey graduating and DeSean playing a little bit of quarterback, those guys will have opportunities out there,” Nardone said.

The line should be a strength on both sides of the ball, anchored by three-year starters Sy’Mauri McCoy and Damien Lee and two-year starter Damiano Sims, all seniors.

Anderson is also a key player on defense. Nardone said he will be used in a hybrid safety/linebacker role this season depending on down, distance and opponent.

Rawl, a three-year starter, should head up the linebacking corps.

The quintet of Harris and McElvy at corner and Taylor, Blackshear and Pugh at safety give the Tigers an experienced defensive backfield as well.

All told, Nardone said Beaver Falls returns 10 or 11 players who have seen significant playing time on defense.

“Those 10 guys that have started on defense, some of them are going to be first-time starters on offense,” he said. “There might be some jitters on offense, maybe some second-guessing, but they all have competed at a high level on the defensive side of the ball. We don’t expect there to be as much of a learning curve as there will be on offense.”

Beaver Falls

Coach: Nick Nardone

2022 record: 11-2, 7-0 in Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference

All-time record: 696-421-52

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 Blackhawk, 7

9.1 at Beaver, 7:30

9.8 Knoch, 7

9.15 at New Brighton*, 7

9.22 Neshannock*, 7

9.29 at Riverside*, 7

10.6 at Mohawk*, 7

10.13 Ellwood City*, 7

10.20 Freedom*, 7

10.28 at Western Beaver*, 12:30

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Jaren Brickner*

80-162, 1,876 yards, 16 TDs

Rushing: Brickner*

114-709 yards, 14 TDs

Receiving: Trey Singleton*

35-1,080 yards, 11 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Beaver Falls opens with a pair of nonconference games against Beaver County rivals — Class 4A Blackhawk and Class 3A Beaver. “Last season, against Blackhawk and Beaver, we had some really good crowds, people coming out because they know what those games mean to the county,” Nardone said. “It’s nice to start off that way with some nice rivalries. It’s definitely nice to play some bigger schools to get that competition to see how we stack up, not just in Double-A but how we stack up against anybody in the WPIAL.”

• The Tigers had the fifth-best scoring defense in the WPIAL last season, allowing 10.2 points per game.

• Beaver Falls beat Sto-Rox in the 2020 WPIAL championship game before losing to Serra Catholic in 2021 and Steel Valley last year.

• With four more wins, Beaver Falls will become the eighth WPIAL team to crack the 700-win mark. The first seven were Jeannette (770), Aliquippa (769), New Castle (755), Washington (731), Clairton (715), McKeesport (711) and Greensburg Salem (709).

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

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