Sunday, February 16, 2025, 9:16PM |  31°
MENU
Advertisement
Mt. Lebanon quarterback James Stocker is ready to lead the Blue Devils against all Class 6A competition, including matchups against the rugged Northern Seven Conference.
1
MORE

New football coaches prepare for kickoff

Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette

New football coaches prepare for kickoff

After more than four months of getting his players on the same page, instilling his own culture and preparing them for the season opener, Chartiers Valley coach Dan Knause just wants the season to get underway, already.

“I’m very anxious and I had some restless night’s sleep this week, just because you put so much into it the first few months, but I’m just ready for the season to start,” Knause said. “There’s no doubt.”

Knause is one of 24 first-year WPIAL coaches edging closer to their debut at a new school, with Chartiers Valley facing Peters Township at 7:30 p.m. today. Most, like Knause, are experienced coaches starting over at a new school.

Advertisement

Still, that leaves them with the questions leading up to kickoff — do you manage your expectations for Year One, or set the bar high? Have you installed every new play, new technique successfully? Will offseason work translate to the field?

Mapletown running back Dylan Rush is the leading returning running back in the WPIAL. Last season, he ranked fifth in the WPIAL with 1,852 rushing yards.
Brad Everett
Small-school running backs have big-time results

To Knause, hired in April, the Colts have done just about everything they can do in a four-month period to prepare. Looking at the talent he’s working with, he has set his sights high from the start.

“These kids are hungry for it,” Knause said. “I think the previous staff had done a nice job with the kids and put them in positions, even last year, to come close in some really good games. I just think based on the type of kids we have, they’re coachable, they’re competitive, so therefore I’ve set the expectations high.”

That itch to start the season is the same for Baldwin’s Loran Cooley, who’s ready for less anticipation and more football.

Advertisement

“It’s funny, I feel like almost an administrator,” Cooley said, laughing. “One of the best things for me is I surrounded myself with a great coaching staff.”

Cooley gets another week to prepare for Baldwin’s season opener against Woodland Hills Sept. 1, as the Highlanders don’t have a Week Zero game.

“We’ve definitely taken significant amount of strides over the summer,” Cooley said. “It’s night and day from the first day I started coming out. With that being said, we’ve got a lot of room to improve before Woodland Hills.”

Mt. Lebanon

New Castle's defense takes down an Aliquippa ball carrier in last season's game between the two teams.
Sarah K. Spencer
Game of the week: New Castle at Aliquippa

With Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and Central Catholic, the Class 6A Northern Seven Conference is packed with powerhouses.

That doesn’t intimidate Mt. Lebanon coach Mike Melnyk. The Blue Devils, in the Southeastern Conference, lost to Pine-Richland, 42-31, and North Allegheny, 22-15, last year, but strive to dominate in a similar fashion.

“We recognize that the teams in the north have raised the bar a little bit,” Melnyk said. “The competition between Central [Catholic] and [North Allegheny] and [Pine-Richland] is as good as any in the state… we don’t shy away from that challenge, in fact, that’s where our sights are set.”

“Whether it’s 4A, 6A or whatever, at our school, we have a commitment to excellence and we strive to be the absolute best in everything we do,” Melnyk said. “And in the city of Pittsburgh there are obviously programs that are as competitive as any in the state. And so I’ve always been of the mentality that you either shy away from that challenge or you meet that challenge head on.”

Mt. Lebanon scrimmages North Allegheny and Pine-Richland in the summer, Melnyk said, so the team can learn from the competition. The Blue Devils will play North Allegheny and Pine-Richland again this year and open against Fox Chapel tonight.

Week Zero

In Week Zero, there are 35 non-conference games scheduled for Friday.

While playoff berths aren’t exactly at stake, many teams use the week as extra preparation for conference play, according to Chartiers Valley coach Dan Knause. It’s an opportunity to assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses before wins and losses carry more weight.

“This year, having week zero, it shortens camp but I think it kind of ups the focus and the intensity,” Knause said. “Kind of like in college, having an opener against a really strong opponent. I’ve always heard coaches say that and it’s kind of in the same vein … we’ve been on a really strict timeline as far as preparation.”

First Published: August 25, 2017, 11:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
In this March 1933, file photo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his first radio "fireside chat" in Washington.
1
opinion
David M. Shribman: Is Donald Trump another Washington, Roosevelt, Trump?
Citing the substance's risks, the FDA in late 2023 issued a public safety alert warning that consumers "should not purchase or use any Neptune’s Fix products, or any other product with tianeptine."
2
news
‘Gas station heroin’ arises as a new threat
3
news
Medicaid on the chopping block: Proposed cuts threaten coverage of vulnerable Pennsylvanians
Novo Asian Food Hall on Thursday May 23, 2024, Strip District.  (John Colombo/For the Post-Gazette)
4
news
Legal battle stirs the pot at Novo Asian Food Hall
Elizabeth Sagan Quinlin
5
news
Dr. Elizabeth Sagan Quinlin, trailblazing surgeon in female urology, dies at 71
Mt. Lebanon quarterback James Stocker is ready to lead the Blue Devils against all Class 6A competition, including matchups against the rugged Northern Seven Conference.  (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story