2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: North Allegheny’s Jack Yatchenko

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, July 11, 2024 | 5:24 PM

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Jack Yatchenko was on the sideline for the play that pretty much clinched a WPIAL title for North Allegheny.

No, he didn’t start the play there, but that was how far the lineman traveled while blocking on that snap. He found an unblocked defensive back and drove him into the NA sideline, helping clear the way for a 76-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

It showed another side of a 6-foot-3, 290-pounder known mostly for his strength.

“I got the opportunity to get out in space, got one of the Central corners and I took him to the Gatorade cooler,” Yatchenko said with a laugh.

It was the kind of hustle play that North Allegheny coaches are learning to expect from the rising senior committed to Princeton.

Big blocks don’t show up in game stats, but Yatchenko’s effort on the WPIAL-winning touchdown drew NA coach Art Walker’s eyes when he watched the film. Walker often has called Yatchenko one of the strongest players he’s coached, yet Walker also is willing to say there’s more to him than muscles.

“Jack had an unbelievable block on that play,” Walker said. “He locked onto somebody and took them out of bounds. Everybody sees the run, but as coaches when you break it down and look at the point of attack, that’s an executed play.

“That’s the kind of thing Jack is trying to do on any given play.”

Yatchenko is unquestionably strong. He can bench press around 440 pounds, squats more than 500 and remains a regular in the weight room. He converted that strength into an eighth-place finish in shot put at the WPIAL track and field championships in May.

But in recent months, he has redoubled efforts to strengthen other skills, like his overall fitness and quickness.

“I’ve really focused on athleticism as opposed to past years where I was really just hitting the weight room hard,” Yatchenko said.

In fact, he said his broad jump has increased almost 18 inches in under a year. His best is now 8 feet, 6 inches. That’s not a skill he’ll typically need on Friday nights, but it captures the big picture of his improvements.

“He has worked on a lot of the finer things,” Walker said. “Instead of just being strong in the weight room, he’s been committed to wanting to improve his speed, his flexibility, his running form, his overall technique. Every single year, he wants to improve.”

Yatchenko joined the varsity roster as a freshman and became a two-way starter his sophomore year.

Last fall, his blocks helped the offense gain more than 3,000 yards in a season that ended with a WPIAL Class 6A title and a state runner-up trophy. Defensively, he made 42 tackles, including 11 tackles for a loss, and had two sacks.

Yatchenko is one of three returning starters on the offensive line, joined by juniors Lincoln Hoke and Ryan Logan.

Now a senior, Yatchenko wants to be on the field for 90% of snaps as a two-way anchor.

He’s also realistic about the fitness level that will take.

“At this point in the summer, I’m really focused on shoring up my conditioning,” Yatchenko said. “In past years I’ve had cramping issues. I’ve been running a lot, doing team stuff and running outside of team workouts. I think that’s going to be a big part of my game this year.”

Jack Yatchenko

North Allegheny

Senior

OL/DL

Stars: unranked by Rivals.com

Committed to: Princeton

Division I offers: Army, Columbia, Cornell, Bryant, Dartmouth, Harvard, Lafayette, Lehigh, Maine, Marshall, Navy, New Hampshire, Penn, Richmond, Robert Morris, Stony Brook, Towson, Villanova

Stats: On offense, 73 pancake blocks, zero holding penalties on 168 pass-block snaps. On defense, 42 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, two sacks, one pass breakup

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.

Tags: North Allegheny