Experience puts Montour in the mix as a challenger in deep Class 4A field

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, August 13, 2022 | 12:01 AM

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For the last 17 years under Lou Cerro, the Montour football program has always competed.

Even in years the Spartans finished under .500 or didn’t make the playoffs, they had a competitive team that usually is alive for the playoffs until the final week of the regular season.

Staring at a playoff miss for a third straight year, the Spartans edged Chartiers Valley in Week 9 last year to earn a postseason berth in the Class 4A Parkway Conference.

“Winning a win-and-you’re-in game is always exciting,” Cerro said. “Our kids knew what was at stake and played their hearts out. We probably shouldn’t have been put in that position if we would have closed out some fourth quarters during the year, so that is one point of emphasis we are working on.”

Under Cerro, Montour seems to build toward a championship run every four or five years. The Spartans won WPIAL gold in 2011 and finished as the district runner-up in 2007, 2010 and 2017.

Could another successful season deep into November be in the cards for Montour in 2022?

“We have a veteran senior group that has played a lot of football, and our underclassmen have a ton of talent,” Cerro said. “We are excited to see how everything comes together. We are not playing any easy games early, so we are excited for the challenge.”

Montour returns seven starters on offense and nine on defense from last year’s playoff team.

“We return a lot of starters,” senior offensive and defensive lineman Alonzo Labrie said. “The goal is to bring the WPIAL championship back home to the hilltop.”

One youngster who got a taste of varsity football last year is quarterback Jake Wolfe. The junior threw for 733 yards and rushed for 290 in moving from wide receiver to quarterback as a sophomore.

“Jake took major strides last year,” Cerro said. “He is very athletic and can run the ball as well as pass. He is not afraid to get down and dirty. He has probably grown two inches over the last four months and is standing at a solid 6-2. His upside is enormous and we are looking forward to what he can do.”

Other two-way senior starters expected to lead the Spartans on and off the field include the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Labrie, running back/safety Brock Janeda, fullback/inside linebacker Jimmy Hazard and tight end/outside linebacker John Midili.

“I can’t wait to get back to playing underneath the lights on Friday night,” Labrie said.

Depth is a question mark for every program in August, but Cerro likes how his depth chart is looking as the season grows closer. He also knows that can change quickly once the games begin.

“I am concerned that we need to stay healthy before our section games begin,” he said. “We have depth for the first time in a while, but they need to take a next step to get ready for varsity action.”

If Montour is going to reach the playoffs again and make a run toward a title in Class 4A, it will need to do so in the dreaded Parkway Conference, which is loaded with teams that have had recent success and golden resumes with Aliquippa, Central Valley, West Allegheny, Blackhawk, New Castle, Ambridge and Chartiers Valley.

“The Parkway is a very tough and competitive conference,” Labrie said. “It’s definitely going to have us playoff ready. I’m excited to have Central Valley and West Allegheny in our conference.”

Cerro agrees and is looking forward to the weekly battles.

“When you add Central Valley to the mix, it really gets tough with Aliquippa and others,” he said. “This conference will be a war every week just to make the playoffs.”

Montour

Coach: Lou Cerro

2021 record: 2-3, 4-7 in Class 4A Parkway Conference

All-time record: 447-347-20

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.26 Mars, 7

9.2 Moon, 7

9.9 at South Fayette, 7

9.16 Aliquippa*, 7

9.23 at Ambridge*, 7

9.30 New Castle*, 7

10.7 Central Valley*, 7

10.14 at Chartiers Valley*, 7

10.21 Blackhawk*, 7

10.28 at West Allegheny*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Jake Wolfe

60-123, 733 yards, 4 TDs

Rushing: Caleb Williams*

135-1,055, 11 TDs

Receiving: Diaun Pinkett*

24-342, 3 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Lou Cerro begins his 18th season as head coach at Montour. He also serves as the school district’s athletic director. He had some offseason back injuries that may force him to coach from the press box early in the season.

• Fifty-nine years ago, the Spartans won the first of their three WPIAL football championships with a win over Freeport in the 1963 Class AA title game, 29-12. Montour beat Arnold, 19-7, the next season to win the 1964 Class AA crown. The program’s most recent championship came 11 years ago when it rolled past Knoch, 42-14, in the 2011 Class AAA finals.

• In the last 15 years, Montour has only missed the playoffs twice, in 2018 and in 2020. In 2018, the Spartans finished in a three-way tie for fourth place and lost the tiebreaker to New Castle. Two years later, the Spartans finished in third place in the Class 4A Parkway Conference, but only the top two teams and two of the three third-place teams made the shortened playoffs due to covid-19 and they lost out to Hampton and McKeesport.

• This is the 91st season of Montour football, including preceding schools in the district.