2022 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the new coaches

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, August 26, 2022 | 1:08 AM

Nearly three dozen WPIAL and City League football teams changed coaches since last season, some involving head coaches who’d spent a decade or more in one place.

Among them, Hampton assistant coach Steve Sciullo was promoted to replace Jacque DeMatteo, who resigned after 14 seasons with the Talbots.

Others were in one place even longer.

Union’s Stacy Robinson left his high school alma mater after 25 years as the Scotties’ coach, but he didn’t move far, taking over at nearby New Castle. The Red Hurricanes’ job came open when Joe Cowart resigned after 10 seasons.

At Mars, Scott Heinauer is no longer coach after three decades with the Planets.

TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here’s a look at the top coaching changes for the 2022 season.

1. Eric Kasperowicz

Mars

Kasperowicz returns to the WPIAL sidelines this fall after working last season as a volunteer assistant at Pitt. Previously, he went 85-18 in eight seasons at Pine-Richland with four WPIAL championships and two state titles, but his contract there was not renewed in 2021. At Mars, he replaces longtime coach Scott Heinauer, who won more than 200 games in 30 seasons with the Planets. Mars is coming off a 2-8 season last year.

Read about Eric Kasperowicz

2. Jon LeDonne

Pine-Richland

When LeDonne was hired at Pine-Richland, he changed schools but not conferences. The former Penn Hills coach went 46-13 in five seasons with the Indians, winning WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2018. Both Pine-Richland and Penn Hills compete in the Class 5A Northeast Conference. He replaced Steve Campos, who resigned after one season. The Rams went 7-5 last season and finished in a three-way tie for the conference title.

Read about Jon LeDonne

3. Charles Morris

Penn Hills

Charles Morris, a 2005 Penn Hills graduate, was hired in February at his alma mater, where he’ll be a first-time head coach. Morris spent almost a decade as an assistant at Plum and was head coach Matt Morgan’s defensive coordinator from 2012-21. At Penn Hills, he takes over a team that went 8-4 last season and finished in a three-way tie atop the conference standings. The team starts this season ranked third in Class 5A.

Read about Charles Morris

4. Dan Bradley

Ellwood City

The Wolverines haven’t won a game in three years, but they now have a coach with championship experience. Ellwood City in January hired Bradley, who went 49-19 in six seasons at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. His OLSH teams reached the playoffs every year, won a WPIAL Class A title in 2018 and were WPIAL runners-up last season. He previously led Sto-Rox to the WPIAL finals twice. Bradley replaced Joe Lamenza, who went 0-25 in three seasons.

Read about Dan Bradley

5. LaRoi Johnson

Imani Christian

Johnson previously coached one of the WPIAL’s highest-scoring offenses at Sto-Rox, where he went 37-9 in four seasons and reached the WPIAL finals twice. He resigned in December and was hired a few weeks later at Imani Christian, where he worked as offensive coordinator in 2016-17. At Imani Christian, he takes over a program that went 4-22 combined in the past three seasons.

Read about LaRoi Johnson

One to watch

Tim Storino

Seton LaSalle

Storino is Seton LaSalle’s fourth head coach in a three-year span. After Mike Zmijanac went 1-6 in 2020, the school hired Mauro Monz to coach, but the WPIAL suspended Monz for recruiting allegations. Assistant coach Chris Siegle stepped in and went 3-7 last year. Now, the Rebels turn to Storino, a former assistant at Central Catholic, who went 3-15 as Vincentian Academy’s head coach in 2012-14.

Read about Tim Storino

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Position breakdowns

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | CB | S | K

Top five coaching changes for 2022

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.