By GREG CLARKEra Sports Writer

The 2014 edition of the Smethport High School football team is fully cognizant of the Hubbers’ storied gridiron past.

These young men also realize the Hubs haven’t won a District 9 playoff game since 1998 or an Allegheny Mountain League crown since 2001 when they reached the title game 12 times and won seven from 1989 to 2001.

“The kids are aware of all that stuff,” said Jim Berlin, third-year (9-11) head coach and 1997 Smethport graduate. “Those are some of the goals we are striving for. We did make the playoffs the last two years and now were striving for a win. The kids are starting to buy into this after seeing some success.”

The Hubbers were 5-5 overall last season and 4-1 in the AML North losing a tiebreaker to Sheffield for first place honors.

“We have to play better on the road,” Berlin said of the 2-9 mark the past two years. “That’s another hurdle we have to overcome.”

The Hubs must also replace 15 seniors includ-ing four Big 30 All-stars.

“We have a lot of young guys filling in holes and hopefully they can step in and play,” Berlin stated. “We have some skill guys back with our quarterback and two running backs.”

Senior Dustin Zetwick (6-1, 185 pounds) returns at QB, junior Adam Shunk (5-6, 150) is the tailback and junior Jimmy Duffy (5-9, 165) will be the fullback.

“I like Zetwick’s toughness and how much he has matured these last couple of years,” Berlin offered. “Adam Shunk will be our primary back

and Jimmy Duffy will be our fullback. We also have two sophomores in Akete Kindle (5-6, 155) and Devon Brown (5-8, 170) in the backfield.”

The wide receivers should be senior Andy Price (6-1, 170) and sophomore Dalton Palmer (6-1, 150), and junior Dylan Dinch (6-4, 280) returns at right tackle.

“We have only one returner on the offensive line and that could be our Achilles Heel,” Berlin admitted. “All the other line positions are up for grabs.”

On defense Dinch is set at one defensive end, Shunk and Duffy will be the linebackers, and Zetwick returns for a third year at safety.

Other returning lettermen are seniors Daniel Confair (5-9, 160), Charles Burdick (6-0, 175) Caleb Wian (6-4, 330) and Justin Elder (6-1, 180); and junior Brayden Howard (5-10, 270).

More key members of the squad are seniors Stone Spencer (6-6, 290) and Tristen Duffy (5-3, 140); juniors Billy McDowell (5-4, 140) and Nick Dibble (6-0, 200); sophomores Kevin Long (6-0, 160), Robbie Arnett (5-3, 170), Austin Crooks (5-6, 145), Robbie Ruffner (5-5, 150), Justin Aharrah (5-3, 130), Brendan Dickinson (5-11, 230), Andrew Bunting (6-3, 245), Lucas Frontino

(5-5, 140), Ethan Dennis (6-1, 150), Bryce Hale (5-3, 110) and Bailey Kinner (6-1, 220); and freshmen Lance Herzog (5-8, 220), Braedon Southarn (6-1, 240), Matthew Stratton (5-7, 220) and William Pezer (6-1, 130).

The assistant coaches are Jim McGuire, Ryan Yingling and Rob Cosper.

“The keys to the season are winning on the road and the young guys filling in for the graduated seniors,” Berlin surmised. “We played for the North champion-ship last year and we feel it will be the same deal this year.”

Maybe they should bring back the end zone cannon for the home opener versus Brockway on Aug. 29.

“I miss the cannon,” Berlin con-cluded. “The kids would like that.”

By GREG CLARKEra Sports Writer

There is some unfinished business in the Black Cherry Capital of the World when the Kane Area High School football team opens the 2014 season on Aug. 29 in Emporium.

It was a banner 2013 campaign for the 12-1 Wolves with an Allegheny Mountain League South crown and then a victory over Sheffield in the AML title game to capture their fourth league championship overall (2002, 2007, 2008).

“Last year was special for the whole town in terms of rallying around the football team,” said Todd Silfies, third-year (19-5) head coach.

“We accomplished several of our goals and we're excited about moving on to this year.”

The Wolves are hunting bigger prey after Kane was denied PIAA playoff consideration with a loss to those nasty Gremlins of Karns City in the District 9 Class AA champion-ship for the second straight year. The D-9 title occurred in 2007 with a Class A win over Cameron County.

“They (Gremlins) have a great program down there and we went at them two years in a row but fell short,” Silfies admitted. “You get there and you’re so close. It’s heartbreaking. We’re Single A this year and away from Karns City, but that's not to say there’s a whole slew of good Single A teams this year.”

The Wolves lost nine seniors and eight of those were invited to the Big 30 game, including quarterback Kevin Cleer. Senior Jack Kocjancic is the heir apparent.

“He (Kocjancic) battled with Cleer in camp last year and we named Kevin the starter after the second scrimmage last year,” Silfies recalled. “Jack is another guy we're looking at for just one year at quarterback, but he's paid his dues and we're looking for good things from him.”

Kocjancic’s backfield should be one the most formidable in D-9 with 1,000-yard rushing senior John English at running back and senior James Lingenfelter at fullback.

“We have our two running backs returning,” Silfies noted. “We like to stay balanced on offense at 50/50 (pass/run).”

To keep the defenses honest Kocjancic can throw down field to wide receivers junior Shane Rolick, twin brother Tyler Rolick, junior Tyler Weidenhoff, senior Devon Gregg and sopho-more Davis Gardner plus senior tight end Logan Zuzek.

“We have a bunch of guys competing for snaps at the wide receiver positions and they’re all making plays," Silfies said.

The offensive line appears set with junior returnee Jake Shrubb at center and incumbent senior Andrew Peterson at left tackle. The other starters are senior Ryan Swanson at left guard, sophomore Keaton Rounsville at right guard and senior Griffin Greenawalt at right tackle.

“The right side of our line is significantly larger than our left side,” Silfies declared.

The Wolves must plug some holes in their base 4-3 defense, especially up front where only Peterson returns at defensive tackle. Vying for defensive line positions in an “open competi-tion” are Greenawalt, Rounsville, Shrubb, senior Colton Lawton and freshman Erik Delong.

The leading candidates at linebacker are Lingenfelter, Zuzek and Swanson.

In the

secondary fans should see the Rolicks at the cor-ners, English at strong safety and Weidenhoff at free. Gardner and Gregg are also in the second-ary mix.

Senior Dillon Mattis is the placekicker and Tyler Rolick inherits the punting duties once again.

“Mattis is better than ever,” Silfies stated. “He made a 50-yarder in practice so we’re look-ing to kick more field goals this year.”

Other members of the squad are seniors Bryden Jordan and Matt Cecchetti; juniors Tanner Morehead, Kyle Elliott, David Kibbie, Rya Avenali and Raistlin Paar; sophs Austin Labesky, Dylan Tuttle, Mike Good, Toby Fox, Justin Taylor, Jordan Blackburn and Issac Walters; and freshmen Ang Costanzo, Marcus Morgan, Frank Truden, Reed Williams, Chucky Gardner, J.T. Stewart, Joe Stanko, Anthony Smith, Tyler Snyder, Gunnar Fryslewicz, Cyrus Novosel and Ray Maze.

Silfies will be assisted by offensive coordina-tor Tyler Smith, Jim Sirianni, Josh Lindemuth, Mike London, Jesse Olson, Royce Novosel-Johnson, Chris Barber, Doug Caldwell and Mike Szymanski.

After the season opener at Cameron County, the Wolves return home on Sept. 5 to face an improving Smethport club. Later in the sched-ule a trip to Curwensville could decide the AML South.

“Our goals are to beat Cameron County and get better every day,” Silfies said. “You have no control on how good teams like Curwensville, Brockway or Clarion are going to be. You also have no control over injuries. As cliche as it is — we need to stay health, because we’re a little thin in areas. Another key is how fast these guys can mature with a lot of them seeing their first varsity snaps.

“The AML plaque is hang-ing in our hallway and we’d like another one this year,” Silfies concluded.

2 — The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Five-year trend

Kane Wolves

2009 — 5-52010 — 4-62011 — 4-52012 — 7-42013 — 11-1

Era file photoKane running back John English looks for running room in last season’s D-9 Class AA playoff game

Smethport’s goal: Playoff success in 2014Smethport Hubbers

Head coach: Jim Berlin(3rd season 9-11)

Five-year trend

2009 — 1-82010 — 4-62011 — 2-72012 — 4-62013 — 5-5

Era photo by Wade AikenShown are the returning lettermen for the Smethport High football team. Front row, left to right, are Daniel Confer, Braydon Howard, Justin Elder, Adam Shunk. Back row are Ryan Burdick, Dylan Dinch, Caleb Wian and Dustin Zetwick. Missing are James Duffy, Devon Brown and Akete Kindle

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordera.com

The Otto-Eldred football program has been close, very close, in fact to breaking through the last two seasons.

In 2012, the Terrors were 3-7, but found themselves in most games.

A season ago, they went 4-6, with five of those losses coming by 14 points or less, includ-ing two by a single point and another by six.

“I don’t like to speculate,” said fifth-year (11-29) Otto-Eldred coach Virgil Graham on whether this current group uses that as motiva-tion. “We were close to breaking through and our record could have been better, but I don’t like to speculate.”

Because of such close calls, Graham felt that his team last year was driven, almost to a fault, to turn the corner.

In 2014, he’s trying to keep things simple.“This sounds cliché, but I want to see these

guys get back to having fun, because that’s really what it’s all about,” he said. “Because we’ve had these years where we’re very, very close, we’ve been driven almost to the point of too much. There’s a point where it becomes not helpful anymore, because you’re losing sight of the fact that it’s supposed to be fun. What’s nice so far is that we’re keeping that in mind. We’re working, the output is as high as before,

but we’re having fun. We’ll see where that takes us.”

Although they lost some key players to grad-uation, the Terrors have ten returning lettermen with plenty of skill and experience.

“We’ve got a decent amount of returning guys,” Graham said. “If we’re looking at it from the offensive side of the ball, we have a starting receiver and running back returning, plus five guys on the offensive line that played a fair amount of time. We’ve got guys with good experience.”

One position O-E must replace is quar-terback, where they lost dual-threat Dakota Vaughn to graduation.

Insert 6-2, 170-pound senior Nick Appleby, who, as a pure pocket passer, provides a bit of a change from the past couple of years.

“Nick is more of a dropback-type passer and he’s very comfortable with that,” Graham said. “Our passing game should be very solid this year.”

Of course, it helps to have experienced guys to throw the ball to, and Appleby will have just that in senior wide receivers Hobie Milliron and Dakota Eaton, as well as junior Heath Stewart.

“He’s got guys to throw it to,” Graham said. “Heath Stewart is a three-year starter and Dakota Eaton is basically a three-year starter playing different positions.”

Graham and his staff also have the luxury of returning sophomore starter Seth Drummond at running back.

Drummond is the Terrors’ leading returning rusher (90 carries, 673 yards) and receiver (26 receptions, 432 yards). With 1,000-yard rusher Sam Colebert gone to graduation, Drummond figures to see his workload increase signifi-cantly in 2014.

“His name should ring a bell to a lot of people,” noted Graham. “He’s going to do big things for us.”

Returning letterman Damon Palmer also fig-ures to get some carries.

O-E also has experience along the offensive line, with seniors Khalieb Garthwaite, Sydney Stone, Kyle Wilcox, Tyler Grimes and Braden Graham all returning lettermen.

That bodes well for an offense that, on paper, looks to be very balanced.

“You have to make the system fit the person-nel,” said Graham. “If you watched our games last year, it’s not going to look the same. But as far as teaching it, it’s not an overhaul. It’s not new to these guys, it just appears a little bit dif-ferent. We’re going to rely on different ways to move the football. Nick (Appleby) has the abil-ity to throw the ball. I’m not saying we’re going to throw the ball 25 times a game, but it will be different with the personnel we have.”

Defensively, O-E will feature many of the same faces they do on the offensive side of the ball.

The secondary will be the most experienced unit, with Milliron and Stewart returning to man the corners.

“They are very talented guys,” Graham said.Drummond, Stone, Palmer, Stewart,

Garthwaite and Graham all will figure in to the equation at linebacker in O-E’s 3-5 look.

“The guys we have there might not have started, but they’ve played a good amount of snaps,” Graham said. “We’ve got guys with experience, so we’re not lacking there.”

Graham said he also expects some of his freshmen to step up and play significant roles.

“It always seems like we have a few standout freshmen that come in,” he said. “They’re raw, but they’re going to be guys that we can rely on at some point later in the year. A couple are sticking out right now to me.”

As for his core group of returning players, Graham likes what he sees.

“What I’ve told them over and over so far is that I like that

they’re tactical,” he said. “I like the way they pay attention to details. This is probably one of the strongest if not the strongest group as far as doing things exactly how they are supposed to be done and with the best effort. That to me is probably their strongest point at this stage.”

Otto-Eldred opens against traditional District 10 Class A power S h a r p s v i l l e before get-ting into its A l l e g h e n y M o u n t a i n League sched-ule.

G r a h a m is assisted by Troy Cook, Kyle Milliron and Brian Freer.

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordera.com

The face may be different, but don’t expect a lot to change with the Port Allegany football program.

Justin Bienkowski takes over as head coach for Mike Bodamer, who went 59-38 in his nine seasons, including a trip to the PIAA Class A semifinals in 2012.

Bienkowski takes over with a tremendous sense of familiarity, having served on Bodamer’s staff with Jason Luther, Nate Zitnik and Chad Saltsman, all of whom remain on the current staff as assistants.

“Jason, Nate and Chad have done a great job,” Bienkowski said. “I don’t ever for a second have to second-guess what those guys are doing. It’s been very easy from that standpoint.”

And as for how he would describe himself as a coach?

“I would say very demanding,” he said. “I’m always preaching little things to the kids. I’ll steal a line from Mike (Bodamer) that he always like to use; ‘Hear what we’re saying, not how we’re saying it.’ For me, I’m a very matter of fact guy. I always want the kids to know where I stand with them and where they stand with me. We preach life lessons all the time and I want that stuff to matter and I really think it does.”

As far as the offensive side of the ball goes, this won’t be your older brother’s Port Allegany, but it won’t be completely different either.

Gone are the days of record-setting quarter-back Matt Bodamer and receivers Tyce Miller and Nick Conway from 2011 and 2012.

That being said, the Gators have a lot of dif-ferent options to choose from, starting at quar-terback.

Jordan Seefeldt took the snaps last season as a sophomore and he returns, but will also see time at running back.

“We’re trying to get different guys in different spots,” Bienkowski said. “If we can get Jordan getting QB reps every day and get him ready to go from a running back standpoint, that will make us a better football team. Jordan’s a ‘do whatever the coach says’ kind of kid. The more versatile he is, the better our team will be.”

Jake Kallenborn, a 6-1, 150-pound freshman, is also vying for the quarterback spot.

There is recent precedent for freshman start-ing at quarterback for Port Allegany, as Bodamer did it in 2009.

“It’s a big thing for a freshman to possibly play quarterback, but he’s listened to everything the coaches are saying and Jordan has been a great teacher for him as well,” noted Bienkowski. “We’re a different team when one guy is taking the snaps versus the other guy, but we’re pretty much a two-headed monster with those guys.”

Chris Lashway and Tre Garzel return at receiver, as do R.J. Veilleux, Dylan Evens and Daniel Fernstrom at running back, although those guys will also see time split out in the Gators’ spread offense. Hunter Freer will also contribute to that group.

“Our skill guys are very talented and athletic,” said Bienkowski. “Formation-wise we are going to be very similar to what we’ve been. We’re going to be multi-faceted. You’re going to see one guy in the backfield a lot, sometimes two with a heavier concentration on running the ball. In that aspect, it will be run-heavy with the idea that we want to spread it out. We want to elimi-nate as many guys in the box as we can. That gives us a better opportunity for our lineman to execute.”

Along that offensive line, 6-1, 220-pound junior Ethan Budd, who is a co-captain along with Lashway, will be the anchor. Chevy Smith and Nate Lowery also return.

“Those guys are going to be the anchors,” Bienkowski said.

Still, the coach noted that spots will be up for grabs.

“We’re going to be a quick, athletic line,” Bienkowski said. “Our lineman are learning the ropes. We’re going to try and get guys in space and things of that nature. This is a year that if you’re a lineman trying to earn a spot on our squad, this is the year to be around.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Bienkowski expects his squad to be very aggressive, noting that they will run a base 4-3.

“We’re going to be an attacking-style defense,” he said. “We can move into a nickel, we can look to move guys around with twisting linebackers with our defensive lineman and blitzing corners. We want to put the pressure on the offense.”

Lashway, Garzel and Fernstrom will all see time in the defensive backfield, with Veilleux, Evens, Cullen McDowell, Bryan Stahlman and

Seefeldt at linebacker and Smith, Budd, Lowery and Jesse Rush on the line.

Bienkowski also said that he has several freshmen who are competing for starting spots.

“Trey Stiles is one freshman and Wyatt Dean is another freshman who likes to stick his head in and isn’t afraid to hit,” he said. “I think it could be benefi-cial for us to have youth in the lineup. I look at it as a great thing. It’s a great opportunity for those guys.”

Youth will be served, that much is certain for Port Allegany in 2014.

Bienkowski and his staff are excited, however, and have a very simple philosophy of how they

approach not only their young players, but the more experienced ones as well.

“We have a concept where we want to win the day,” he said. “We want to get better every day and improve as much as we can. If we’re better in the fourth week than we are in the first week and are play-ing our best football in mid-to-late October, that’s something we can feed off of.”

The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014 — 3

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New face, similar philosophy for Port AlleganyPort Allegany Gators

Head coach: Justin Bienkowski(1st season)

Five-year trend

2009 — 6-42010 — 7-52011 — 12-22012 — 13-12013 — 3-6

Era photo by Pam FischerShown are the returning lettermen for Port Allegany. Front row, from left, are Daniel Fernstrom, Chris Lashway and Nate Lowery; (row 2) Jesse Rush, Jordan Seefeldt, Dylan Evens, Chevy Smith; (back) RJ Veilleux, Tre Garzel, Bryan Stahlman, Ethan Budd and Cullen McDowell. Missing is Mac Tanner.

Otto-Eldred looking to take the next step in 2014Otto-Eldred Terrors

Head coach: Virgil Graham(5th season, 11-29)

Five-year trend

2009 — 2-82010 — 2-82011 — 2-82012 — 3-72013 — 4-6

Era photo by Andy CloseShown are the returning lettermen for Otto-Eldred. Front (L-R): Heath Stewart, Seth Drummond, Dakota Eaton, Hobie Milliron. Middle (L-R): Braden Graham, Damon Palmer, Kyle Wilcox, Nick Appleby, Tyler Grimes, Sydney Stone; Back: Khalieb Garthwaite

Era file photoOtto-Eldred’s Heath Stewart hauls in a pass against Elk County Catholic last season.

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordra.com

The 2013 season was chal-lenging to say the least for the Bradford High football team.

The Owls were on the wrong end of some lopsided scores and won just one game on the field (they were credited with a second win after Oil City was forced to forfeit for use of an ineligible player).

That’s not to say they didn’t learn anything from last sea-son’s struggles as they look for-ward to the 2014 season.

“The kids learned how to play through adversity,” said Bradford coach Jeff Puglio, now in his fifth season guiding the Owls. “We had a lot of guys go down and we had to deal with more suspensions then I’ve ever seen before. But those younger guys stepped in and got

a feel for varsity football. A lot of guys got a lot of playing time at a lot of different positions and that really helps.”

One thing Puglio empha-sized last season was offseason commitment in terms of hitting the weight room and staying in football shape.

While he admits things still aren’t perfect in that depart-ment, this offseason was a major step in the right direction.

“It was better,” he said. “I’m not saying it was great, but we had a core group of guys that wanted to get stronger and do things the right way. Most off-season we’ll tell the kids that we’ll see them after Christmas, but they wanted to start imme-diately, which was nice to see. We had a consistent group of guys and more and more kids showed up as we kept going.”

On the field this season, the Owls look to be much improved.

Zach Bartlebaugh was pressed into service at quarter-back after an injury to starter Sean Siffrinn in Week 1 last season, and the coaching staff has been pleased with his prog-ress in the Wing-T attack.

“He’s changed quite a bit from last year,” Puglio said. “We’ve been focusing with him in camp to attack all the fakes and take care of the ball. I like where he’s at.”

Sophomore Kyle Kirk also saw action at quarterback in 2013 and has also looked solid.

“His size (5-4) is an advan-tage in the Wing-T and what I like the most about him and Zach is that they are making good decisions,” noted Puglio.

The starting backfield trio returns a wealth of experience and looks to be a team strength.

Senior Kyle Langdon returns at fullback and is the biggest of the three backs, while junior

Alex Colosimo, the lone Owl starter in the backfield to play in every game last season, is back at right halfback.

Senior Justin Fishkin, who missed all but one game due to injury this season, will man the halfback spot and is poised to have a breakout campaign.

“He’s back and healthy,” Puglio said of Fishkin. “Alex got a lot of experience last year and really hit the weight room hard. Kyle Langdon is back and healthy as well. He’s a down-hill, physical runner, which is what you love to see out of your fullback.”

The offensive line, while less experienced, returns a solid core.

Kyle Whitmer returns to anchor the line from his cen-ter position, while Brandon Hughes and Steve Zawatski have the inside track at the guard positions and Taylor

Brautigam, Steve McNinch and Pat Robinson are battling at the tackle spots. Returning letter-winner Rob Rice, who missed the first week of practice due to injury, is also positioned to play a major role.

“The offensive line is pret-ty much up for grabs,” Puglio said. “We also converted Tim Schuster from fullback to guard and are hoping to fit him into our plans. The hope is to get a solid five guys there.”

John Pantuso returns to as a three-year starter at tight end, while Brandon McWilliams, Mitchell Velminckx and Rob Taylor are competing at split end.

“I like John (Pantuso) out in the open field,” noted Puglio. “He got stronger in the offsea-son, you can tell that. From our split ends, we’re looking for guys that can get us block-ing on the edge. We call them touchdown blocks, because if they’re sealed off, we can go for big plays. As pass catchers they do the job. “

On the defensive side of the ball, the Owls look to be in attack mode.

Zawatski and Pantuso will man the defensive end spots, with Puglio calling Pantuso ‘very steady’ and describing Zawatski as ‘having an aggres-siveness we need.’

(See, BRADFORD, Page 5)

4 — The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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BRADFORDAugust

29 — St. MarysSeptember

5 — Oil City12 — at Meadville20 — at Olean26 — Central Tech

October3 — at Franklin10 — DuBois17 — Conneaut24 — at Brookville

SMETHPORTAugust

29 — BrockwaySeptember

5 — at Kane13 — at Elk County Catholic19 — Clarion-Limestone26 — Sheffield

October3 — at Otto-Eldred10 — Cameron County17 — at Port Allegany24 — at Coudersport

KANEAugust

29 — at Cameron CountySeptember

5 — Smethport12 — Sheffield19 — at Port Allegany 26 — at Ridgway

October3 — Brockway10 — at Curwensville17 — Elk County Catholic24-25 — Open31 — at Clarion-Limestone

OTTO-ELDREDAugust

30 — SharpsvilleSeptember

5 — at Curwensville12 — Ridgway19 — at Brockway26 — at Coudersport

October3 — Smethport11 — at Port Allegany17 — Sheffield24 — Cameron County31 — at Cowanesque Valley

PORT ALLEGANYAugust

30 — CurwensvilleSeptember

5 — at Elk County Catholic12 — at Moniteau19 — Kane26 — at Cameron County

October3 — at Coudersport11 — Otto-Eldred17 — Smethport25 — at Sheffield

CAMERON COUNTYAugust

29 — KaneSeptember

5 — at Ridgway12 — Brockway19 — at Curwensville26 — Port Allegany

October4 — at Sheffield10 — at Smethport

17 — Coudersport24 — at Otto-Eldred

COUDERSPORTAugust

29 — Elk County CatholicSeptember

5 — at Brockway12 — Curwensville19 — at Ridgway26 — Otto-Eldred

October3 — Port Allegany11 — at Sheffield17 — at Cameron County24 — Smethport

ST. MARYSAugust

29 — at BradfordSeptember

5 — at A-C Valley12 — Karns City19 — Keystone26 — at Brookville

October3 — at Clarion-Limestone10 — Punxsutawney17 — at Clarion24 — Moniteau31 — Elk County Catholic

ELK COUNTY CATHOLICAugust

29 — at CoudersportSeptember

5 — Cameron County13 — Smethport20 — at Sheffield26 — at Curwensville

October3 — Ridgway11 — Northern Cambria17 — at Kane25 — Brockway31 — at St. Marys

RIDGWAYAugust

30 — at SheffieldSeptember

5 — Cameron County12 — at Otto-Eldred19 — Coudersport26 — Kane

October3 — at Elk County Catholic10 — Brockway

17 — Union24 — at Curwensville31 — at St. Joseph’s Catholic

AcademySHEFFIELD

August30 — Ridgway

September5 — at Clarion

12 — at Kane20 — Elk County Catholic26 — at Smethport

October4 — Cameron County11 — Coudersport17 — at Otto-Eldred25 — Port Allegany31 — at Eisenhower

The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014 — 5

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(Continued from Page 4)Whitmer, Brautigam and Robinson will all see time at

defensive tackle, where Puglio and his staff hope to have a steady rotation.

Schuster and Langdon will man the inside linebacker posi-tions, with Colosimo and Hughes on the outside.

“Langdon and Schuster are looking really good inside, it’s a matter of positioning, reading keys and doing things with the right technique,” Puglio said. “Colosimo and Hughes have been physical.”

Bartlebaugh, Vleminckx and Garrett Kornacki will all see time at cornerback, as will Rob Taylor.

Fishkin will make the switch from outside linebacker to safety.

“He’s been doing a nice job of picking up the nuances of the position. He’s really been putting the time in to learn the position and he always seems to be around the ball,” Puglio said.

With no freshman team this season, the Owls have 52 play-ers on the roster, freshman through seniors, with Puglio stating that the young guys are ‘looking better and better’ and that a lot guys are in the mix for playing time.

The schedule will feature a familiar foe back in the mix (Olean), as well as another traditional rival not on the schedule (Warren), while also adding Brookville.

“The schedule is what it is,” Puglio said. “You hate to lose the Warren game, because that’s a game people look forward to. Getting Olean back is a big game for us and for both com-munities. It’s a big deal for our kids. We’re excited that the schedule also has more of a District 9 flavor.”

Owls looking to turn the page in 2014

Photo by Shawn MurrayShown are the returning lettermen for the Bradford High football team. Front row, from left, are Alex Colosimo, Garrett Kornacki, Bryce Skaggs, Kyle Whitmer, Zach Bartlebaugh, Rob Taylor, Kyle Kirk and Mitchell Vleminckx; back row are Justin FIshkin, Taylor Brautigam, Tim Schuster, Rob Rice, John Pantuso, Steve McNinch and Kyle Langdon.

Local schedules

6 — The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Bradford OwlsHead coach: Jeff Puglio

(6th season, 23-27)

Five-year trend

2009 — 6-42010 — 8-22011 — 3-72012 — 4-62013 — 2-8

EraphotobyAndyCloseTheBradfordHighfirst teamoffenserunsaplayduringpractice inpreparationforthe2014season.TheOwlsopentheregularseasonhostingDistrict9foeSt.MarysonAug.29atParkwayField

FilephotoApairofDuBoisdefendersbringdownBradfordquarterbackZachBartlebaughduringagamelastseason.

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordera.com

Last season was the dawn of a new era for Ridgway football.

With low numbers at rival Johnsonburg, the Rams football program dissolved and joined forces with the Elkers.

The results were positive, as Ridgway fin-ished 5-6, bowing out in a hard-fought 31-26 defeat to Redbank Valley in the District 9 Class A quarterfinals.

This season, Ridgway returns plenty of firepower and is looking for bigger and better things.

“It’s been a very strong preseason,” said Ridgway coach Mark Heindl. “Like any other team, we are really excited to get things going.”

And who wouldn’t be with the type of tal-ent the Elkers have coming back.

It starts with senior dual-threat quarterback Ben MacDonald.

The senior threw for 1,216 yards and

rushed for 751 more and accounted for 17 touchdowns.

Cole Myers, J.P. Cerroni, Dane Cappiello and Luke Pierce all return in the backfield, with Myers rushing for 458 yards in 2013.

“A lot of these kids have been with the

program since their seventh-grade year,” Heindl said. “A lot of our guys are three year starters and they’re hungry.”

Receivers Cody Delhunty and Jeremy Breier return, giving MacDonald good size to throw to on the outside. Breier, 6-4, was the leading scorer on the Elkers dis-trict championship basketball team last season. Jack Toncich will start at tight end.

Along the offensive line, Ryan Geyer, Dalton Feldbauer, Brian Feronti, Troy Quail, Nate Steis returns.

Heindl also noted the strong overall numbers the Elkers have.

“We have 39 sophomores, juniors and seniors,” he said, a number that is one of the tops in the district among D-9 schools. “The big thing that we’re excited about is we have a separate ninth grade teams and a seventh and eighth grade team.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Mike Covac, Toncich, Breier and Justin Kuzmerski will be at ends, with JJ Klase, William Peluso and Ricky Shipe at defensive tackle.

Mitchell Anderson, Logan Brunner and Feldbauer will man the inside linebacker spots, with Cerroni and Myers on the outside competiing for playing time.

MacDonald will play the lone safety spot and Delhunty, Pierce and Cappiello at the corners for an Elkers defense that held its opponents under 10 points five times last season, including a pair of shutouts.

Expectations are high for the Elkers, but Heindl said he and his staff are preaching a one game at a time approach.

“We always try to keep the kids in check,” he said. “They want to look long term, but we have to take it one game at a time. Our biggest game is Sheffield (Week1 ).”

And as far as the schedule in the AML is concerned?

“The AML speaks for itself,” Heindl said. “There are no easy games on our schedule. There’s no such thing as an off year.”

By Jim MelaroSpecial to The Era

A year ago, Mike Kunes headed into his first year as the varsity football coach at Cameron County High School with a pretty tall order.

His Red Raiders had to open the season against Brockway, a team that returned a wealth of experience and talent from 2012 and was listed among Pennsylvania’s Class A honorable mentions in the preseason.

Some were surprised when Brockway ‘held on’ for a 21-18 victory. A week later, Kunes’ charges, who had managed just two victo-ries in each of the two previous years, played Curwensville tough before falling short, 21-20.

Cameron would go on to finish at 3-7 last year with two more setbacks by seven points or less — the Red Raiders lost to Coudersport (26-19) and Port Allegany (16-14).

So you kind of get the idea that Kunes, in his first season calling the shots, had Cameron County poised to play.

Or was it his players?“It was a tough season for us in the sense

that we were knocking on the door to victory in almost every game we played,” Kunes noted.

“Last year’s seniors really did a great job in lifting the program.They got us to the point where we were very tough and could compete hard.

“Where we fell short last year is knowing HOW to win those close games. It was like we knew how to work hard but didn’t know how to win.”

Not Kunes is hoping to take the next step.“We had a great win over Eisenhower (35-27)

to end last season,” he said. “Everybody on the team came together and we looked like a cohe-sive unit.

“Hopefully, we can use that game as a spring-board into this year.”

But that’s easier said than done, especially when you have athletes who ONLY play football.

“We have a situation here where a lot of the kids in our system are one-sport athletes,” Kunes said. “A lot of kids played football two years ago and then took the rest of the school year to concentrate on lifting weights.

“Don’t get me wrong. While I want our guys to be strong, there’s more to this game than brute

strength.“If you’re an athlete then, by all means, be

an athlete,” he said. “Teaching PE at the high school, I keep harping on these kids to get involved in other athletic endeavors.

“I would prefer these guys get involved with some of the other sports the school has to offer.”

Kunes feels that participating in more sports helps bring his player together without pointing fingers.

“Our battle cry since last year has been ‘Effort and Toughness’ and, so far, our kids seemed to have bought into it,” Kunes said.

“It’s what we’ve preached to these guys every day.

“And by tough, I don’t mean I expect you to play if you are hurt. What I mean is, can you be tough enough to deal with the daily grind of practice, the long hours in the weight room and display the ability to overcome your mistakes without pointing fingers.

“When you see stuff like that coming from your kids, you know they are coachable,” Kunes added. “And as for me, I want to be tough on them. Not in an abusive manner, but tough.

“I’m young enough to know that a key to building team chemistry is having a good rela-tionship with the player. I think you have to be

able to throw (verbal) jabs at them and allow them the opportunity to throw some back at you without let-ting it get out of hand.”

Part of that chemistry is based on trust.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that Cameron County is the smallest school in the entire state of Pennsylvania, in terms or enrollment figures, that offers foot-ball without a coop agreement with somebody else,” Kunes said. “We have to know that we are there for each other.

“These are high school kids and high school kids are going to make mistakes. But if you’re going to make a mistake, make it going 100 mph.

“And here’s t he important part,” Kunes added. “Don’t bail on the next play. Line up where you know you are supposed to be and know that the guys around you are there to pick you up.

“Based on what I’ve seen all summer, that’s what these guys are trying to do. And for that, I have nothing but high praise for them.”

So what, exactly, does Kunes look for in his second campaign?

“We were not that big a year ago,” he said. “And we were pretty young.

“We’re still going to be a little young, but we have kids with a lot of playing time. In terms of size, well, let me just say that our freshmen class is ginormous. We have some huge freshmen coming up this year and, while it may take some time to acclimate them to the varsity, I believe they will be a factor

“The key for us is to get all of the older guys on the team to play as close to perfect as pos-sible,” he said. “I look at a freshmen and expect him to be perfect 50 percent of the time. When he’s a sopho-more, those expectations jump up to 75 percent, 90 percent when he’s a junior and, let’s face it, by the time a kid is a senior and if he’s been with us for four years, he should know

what we expect of him and how to produce.“Even in practice, we need to see kids doing

the right things. I don’t want to see anybody walking back to the huddle. I want to see hustle.

“If we miss a handoff,” Kunes said, “a block or a snap ... so what?

“We might chirp at each other. But I don’t want anybody to get down on anybody. You roll with it, pick yourself back up and get at it again.

And if I can see that kind of effort from these guys, we’ll have a good season.”

Assisting Kunes this season are Brian Lovett (wide receivers and defensive backs), Scott Burnside (offensive coordinator, offensive and defensive line), Nick Keller (linebackers and running backs) and George Smith (defensive backs and wide receivers).

The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014 — 7

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Cameron County primed to build on ‘close calls’Cameron County

Red RaidersHead coach: Mike Kunes

(2nd season, 3-7)

Five-year trend

2009 — 10-22010 — 8-42011 — 2-72012 — 2-82013 — 3-7

File photoCameron County’s Austin Doud (81) looks to make a tackle against Eisenhower last season.

Ridgway geared to build on success of last seasonRidgway Elkers

Head coach: Mark Heindl(7th season, 20-40)

Five-year trend

2009 — 3-72010 — 1-92011 — 6-42012 — 3-72013 — 5-6

File photoRidgway quarterback Ben MacDonald looks to pass in a game last season. MacDonald is one of many key returning pieces for the Elkers in 2014.

File photoRidgway running back Cole Myers looks for room in a game last season.

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordera.com

There’s a new coach with some old blood-lines for the St. Marys football program.

Tony Defilippi takes over for Joe Schlimm, who went 51-52 in 10 years as head coach of the Dutch.

If Defilippi’s name sounds familiar, it should.He was head coach of St. Marys from 1999 to

2003, compiling a record of 12-38.His last head coaching position came at

Cameron County High School from 2005 to 2008 where he had a record of 32-14, includ-ing a District 9 Class A championship in 2008. Over his final two seasons with the Red Raiders, Defilippi’s teams went a combined 23-4, and also made an appearance in the D-9 Class A title game in 2007.

“I have some big shoes to fill,” Defilippi said. “Joe Schlimm is a great man and a great coach. Joe has brought a winning culture to St. Marys and we want to continue to succeed. Also, we want to continue to produce good young men through the core values of the program.”

Defilippi, who was a standout player for the Dutch under his father, Ed Defilippi, and later for Juniata College, served as an assistant to Schlimm in 2004 and then again from 2009 through last season.

His current group of Dutchemen are coming off a 6-5 season and a loss to Karns City in the District 9 Class AA playoffs.

“We have looked young at certain positions,” Defilippi said of his squad, which includes 17 returning lettermen and 44 total players. “We have had some good practices and some bad.”

Some of the more the experienced position players battling for spots include junior Nick Cunningham and sophomore Pat Schlimm at quarterback (both saw action last season), junior, Dalton Bauer and sophomore Matt Marconi at

linebacker and junior Richie

Williamson and senior Mike Rearick at corner-back.

Offensively, the Dutch will employ a Wing-T look.

“The kids are organized and hard-working,” Defilippi noted. “They’re very dependable. They show up every day.”

Defensively, Defilippi noted that they will run multiple fronts.

He also noted that former coach Schlimm continues to remain integral to the program.

“Coach Schlimm has been great during the entire transition process,” he said. “He is still a very important part of the football program.”

And as far as goals he has for his current group?

“I just want to them grow personally and have a meaningful experience,” he said.

The Dutch open up their season at Bradford Aug. 29.

By ANDY CLOSEEra Sports Reportera.close@bradfordera.com

It was a trying time for Elk County Catholic in 2013.

Coming off a playoff appearance in 2012, the Crusaders failed to win a game last season, albeit they were hit heavy by key losses to graduation.

This season, ECC’s young group is now a year older, a year more experienced and ready to take the AML head on.

“We only had four or five seniors last year, so the sophomores and juniors were able to get a lot of playing time,” said sec-ond-year head coach Tony Gerg. “I think the big thing is just experience. We’re play-ing with a chip on our shoulder. We played some teams that took their shots at us last year and we didn’t forget that.”

That’s something this current group has used as a motivating factor heading into the 2014 season.

Gerg emphasized that his squad will be run-heavy on offense, with a couple of key players in the backfield leading the way.

Seniors Mitchell Smith (QB) and Dan Singer will get the bulk of the carries and fellow senior John Dippold will also figure in to the mix.

“We’re running the single wing,” Gerg explained. “It’s kind of a challenge with running backs, but Mitchell and Dan are going to be the guys handling the ball.”

Noah Werner will serve as the primary fullback.

“Noah is probably the most talented kid we have,” noted Gerg.

Along the offensive line, Joey Tamburlin, Matt Feldbauer and Josh Zelinski return, as do ends Kyle Huff and Ryan Seelye.

“Ryan and Kyle are big kids who are very athletic and tough,” Gerg said.

Gerg also expects big things from Michael Dinsmore.

“Michael is probably the hardest work-ing kid I’ve ever seen,” Gerg said. “He was just big last year but now he does a 5K. My hats off to him. I probably couldn’t run that and I can really appreciate that.”

Defensively, Elk will look a little differ-ent than last season, going from a 4-4 to a 4-3.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Gerg said. “It’s going to come down to our defensive line. We have some bigger kids who have moved up and we have the ability to substitute this year.”

Seeing time along the defensive front will be Tamburlin, Feldbauer, Dinsmore, Kyle Schatz and Zelinski.

“We have a lot of kids who we can mix and match,” Gerg said.

Werner, Dippold and Tom Wolf will all see time at linebacker, as will Singer, Smith and Seelye in the defensive backfield.

With a new offense and a new defense, things will certainly look different than they did in 2013.

Gerg and his staff, which includes, Travis Skrzypek, Eric Weisner, Andy Retger and Tom Young, hope that equates to more success on the field.

“We’ll see how the kids react to the new offense and defense,” Gerg said. “Starting out it was pretty rough, but the kids are picking it up. We’ll get up to game speed and see where we’re at.”

By NEIL LINDERMANSpecial to The Era

COUDERSPORT — There was a time not so

long ago that the Coudersport football program stood head and shoulders above much of its AML North competition — in multiple respects.

The playing field has evened significantly in recent years as the Falcons began grappling with the same sort of numbers problems encountered by most area football squads.

This year, as in others this past half-decade, the Falcons are one contender of many — no longer the annual odds-on favorites.

Still, as even as last year proved to be, Coudy, fielding a roster in the low 30s and featuring only four seniors, could find itself in the mix.

Coudersport went 4-5 last season in its fourth year under head coach Chris Fink, finishing in the middle of the pack in the North. Three teams — including Fink’s — sported identical 2-3 league marks.

Even so, the Falcons were within eight or fewer points in three of their losses — against Curwensville (6), Sheffield (1) and Kane (8). And the latter of those was no slouch. The Wolves won 11 straight games last season before bowing to Karns City in the District 9, Class AA championship.

“Every year, I think our team goal — and we did talk about this — should be to win the AML North,” said Fink at the team’s media day Thursday afternoon. “No matter what it looks like on paper or how much experience we have coming back, that’s a goal.”

“We know there’s not going to be any easy games. The AML had some pretty good balance to it last year. I know Kane ended up undefeated, but it wasn’t like every game they were going out

and blowing out teams. And I think it could be something similar this year. There’s pretty good balance, I think, in the league.”

That said, Coudy does have some factors to overcome, even aside from numbers.

The Falcons lost their entire starting back-field — three running backs and a quarterback — to graduation. Fresh faces will start in those spots now, including junior quarterback Darren Keglovits. Eight graduated in total, among them three linemen.

Fink expects sophomores Brock Wilson, Aaron Wolfinger and Zach Layag, along with junior Logan Labar and freshman Derek Keglovits, to lead the way as running backs.

Size in the backfield could be an issue as well.

Two of that number — Wilson and Labar — are listed at 150 pounds, but the rest are in the 140 to 145 range.

“We may have to vary our offense a little because of that, which I’m finding more and more you have to do every year,” said Fink. “Your offense sometimes, when you’re going with the numbers we’re going with, has to be based on personnel.

“We’re very small. But they’re pretty tough kids.”

The line both ways stands to be one of the Falcons’ strengths.

Of 13 returning letterwinners — and six returning starters — eight play on one of the lines.

“I’d like to be balanced this year,” said Fink. “I’d like to be 50/50. Other years, I’d love to be heavier on the run. But I do like the line, and if they can open some holes and get us into the secondary so that (running backs) are taking on maybe safeties and corners instead of backers, that might be a good thing.”

Although Coudersport will have a first-year varsity starter at quarterback, Fink is looking for the passing game to hold up its end of the equation. Navada Waterman is a returning starter at split end, giving Keglovits an experienced target. Fink listed the team’s receivers, including split ends and slot backs, as a potential strength.

“The first-year quarterback thing doesn’t bother me because of Darren,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in him. He’s intel-ligent, he’s tough. If he can stay healthy, I expect him to have a

pretty good year this year.”But, as has been the case the past five years or

so, the Falcons’ luck staying away from injuries and their ability to overcome the ones that do crop up will be of utmost importance. So will the young roster’s response to the learning curve ahead of it. Coudy’s roster lists eight freshmen and 11 sophomores.

“Every football season you’re going to have adversity,” said Fink. “You get some injuries, you end up with 23 kids in practice or 18 kids healthy in practice some nights. We’ve got to have great chemistry and handle adversity well.

“Several of these guys have really done a great job in the offseason — weight room, run-ning and conditioning and also some of the skill guys getting together on their own. Along with our regular 7-on-7 stuff that we did, they were even getting together on their own some. So with youth sometimes comes hunger and enthusiasm. That’s definitely a good thing — hunger, enthu-siasm and coachability.”

Coudersport’s assistant coaches this year are Dan Counts, Mike Russell, Ben Cary, Jake Wilson and Scott Easton.

8 — The Bradford (Pa.) Era, Wednesday, August 27, 2014

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Youth will be served for Coudersport in 2014Coudersport

FalconsHead coach: Chris Fink

(5th season, 20-21)

Five-year trend

2009 — 9-32010 — 4-52011 — 9-22012 — 3-62013 — 4-5

Elk County CatholicCrusaders

Head coach: Tony Gerg(2nd season, 0-9)

Five-year trend

2009 — 4-62010 — 7-32011 — 6-42012 — 8-32013 — 0-9

Elk County Catholic hasn’t forgotten 2013

File photoElk County Catholic quarterback Mitchell Smith looks for running room in a game last season

Defilippi once again head man for St. Marys

St. MarysFlying DutchmenHead coach: Tony Defilippi

(1st season; coached St. Marys from 1999-2003; Overall Record

as head coach, 44-52)

Five-year trend

2009 — 6-42010 — 6-32011 — 5-52012 — 5-62013 — 6-5