Ryan Palmieri was the Post-Gazette Player of the Year, an award given to the top player in the WPIAL or City League. But Palmieri’s latest honor goes beyond district boundaries.
The Pennsylvania Football Writers All-State Football Team for Class 5A was released Friday and Palmieri, a senior quarterback/defensive back at Pine-Richland High School, was selected the state Player of the Year. Palmieri is the only WPIAL player who was selected Pennsylvania Player of the Year in any of the six classifications.
Palmieri wasn’t all that well-known coming in the season and certainly not after Pine-Richland started the season 1-3. That’s when Pine-Richland moved Palmieri from running back to quarterback — and never lost again. The Rams won WPIAL and PIAA championships, and Palmieri was the driving force in the team’s success.
He finished with 3,119 yards of offense. He rushed for 1,929 yards and completed 83 of 118 (70%) passes for 1,101 yards. And as a defensive back, he was Pine-Richland’s second-leading tackler with 133.
While Palmieri won Player of the Year honors, Pine-Richland’s Jon LeDonne was selected Class 5A Coach of the Year. LeDonne guided Pine-Richland to WPIAL and PIAA titles in his first year as the Rams’ coach. LeDonne is one of the few coaches who have won state championships at two different schools. His other came at Penn Hills in 2018, and he was also selected the Pennsylvania 5A Coach of the Year that season.
Palmieri was one of three Pine-Richland players to make all-state. The others were offensive lineman Ryan Cory and linebacker Max Heckert. Cory is a junior who has a number of major-college scholarship offers. Heckert, a senior, had 162 tackles this season.
Overall, the WPIAL had six players on the 5A team. The others were Penn-Trafford offensive lineman Joe Enick, Bethel Park linebacker Gavin Moul and Gateway defensive back Dallas Harper.
Here is the complete Class 5A all-state team:
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Ryan Palmieri, Pine-Richland – 5-10, 175 senior
Colin O’Sullivan, Upper Dublin – 5-11, 180 senior
Jalen Harris, Chester – 6-1, 175 sophomore
RUNNING BACK
Sam Steffey, Cocalico – 5-10, 180 junior
Jabree Wallace-Coleman, Imhotep Charter – 6-1, 195 sophomore
Nigel Linton, Whitehall – 5-8, 175 senior
Tavon Cooper, Greencastle-Antrim – 5-10, 163 senior
WIDE RECEIVER
Tyseer Denmark, Roman Catholic – 5-11, 185 junior
Braden Cummings, Elizabethtown – 6-0, 185 senior
Wakeem Page, Erie Cathedral Prep – 5-10, 170 senior
Thomas Smyser, Dover – 5-10, 165 junior
TIGHT END
Aiden Black, Delaware Valley – 6-3, 225 junior
Markus Dixon, Archbishop Wood – 6-5, 230 senior
OFFENSIVE LINE
Ryan Cory, Pine-Richland – 6-4, 280 junior
Joe Enick, Penn-Trafford – 6-3, 295 senior
Anthony Caccese, Exeter Township – 6-7, 280 senior
Andrew Kirlin, Marple Newtown – 6-6, 305 junior
Lucas Palange, Exeter Township – 6-1, 236 senior
ATHLETE
Joey Schlaffer, Exeter Township – 6-6, 215 senior
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Jamieal Lyons, Roman Catholic – 6-5, 257 senior
Kyle Lash, Exeter Township – 6-0, 220 senior
Kyree Butler, Upper Dublin – 6-0, 315 senior
Chuckie Drain, Cocalico – 5-11, 215 senior
Jason Patterson, Roman Catholic – 6-3, 230 senior
Tyler Hurst, Garden Spot – 5-10, 215 senior
LINEBACKER
Max Heckert, Pine-Richland – 6-1, 217 senior
Jordan Montgomery, Roman Catholic – 6-2, 225 senior
Semaj Bridgeman, Imhotep Charter – 6-2, 230 senior
Gavin Moul, Bethel Park – 6-1, 217 senior
Tyler Angstadt, Cocalico – 5-8, 165 senior
Jyree Roberts, Erie Cathedral Prep – 6-1, 235 senior
DEFENSIVE BACK
DaMario Crawford, Erie Cathedral Prep – 5-11, 170 senior
Andrew Osmun, Spring Grove – 6-1, 205 senior
Dallas Harper, Gateway – 6-1, 185 senior
Kenneth Woseley, Imhotep Charter – 6-0, 185 junior
Idriz Ahmetovic, New Oxford – 6-0, 175 junior
SPECIALIST
Ben Sosnowski, Hollidaysburg – 6-1, 192 senior
Mason Yohn, Northern York – 6-0, 175 senior
ATHLETE
Cole Bartram, Northern York – 5-10, 180 junior
Josiah Forren, Solanco – 6-0, 170 senior
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Palmieri, Pine-Richland
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jon LeDonne, Pine-Richland
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1975 and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: December 30, 2022, 5:00 p.m.
