Leechburg’s Braylan Lovelace, Apollo-Ridge’s Nick Curci carry A-K Valley flag on signing day

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 | 5:46 PM

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Braylan Lovelace and Nick Curci may be headed to different colleges, but the two Alle-Kiski Valley football standouts on Wednesday shared a similar celebratory atmosphere.

They finalized their college decisions to Pitt and Duquesne, respectively, along with friends, family, teammates and coaches on the first day of the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent early signing period.

Curci, who rushed for 1,571 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior and was named the Valley News Dispatch Offensive Player of the Year, signed with Duquesne early Wednesday morning.

“It is such a blessing to have this experience and share it with all the people who mean so much to me,” Curci said. “I had seen all the guys on social media in previous years announcing their decisions and celebrating all the hard work they put in. It’s a great feeling to be able to do the same thing. All the early mornings and late nights, the hard work was worth it to be able to be here and sign (with Duquesne).”

About 45 minutes later, Lovelace, who earned numerous all-star accolades in a career in which he surpassed 4,000 rushing yards, signed to play at Pitt, where he will begin his collegiate career at linebacker.

Lovelace is the first Leechburg football player to sign with a Division I program since his father, Dave, did so with Rutgers in the Big East 30 years ago.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Lovelace, who finished with 1,305 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on 135 carries in 2022 for a Blue Devils team that went 7-4 and qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the second year in a row.

“It was kind of hard to sleep because I was so excited for this. This is very special, especially since the last time somebody did something like this (at Leechburg) was my dad. I’ve looked up to him so much all these years. To be able to do what he did is pretty awesome.”

Lovelace and Curci were two of a number of WPIAL standouts who signed Wednesday with schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) and the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA).

Lovelace is joined in the 2023 Pitt recruiting class by Steel Valley defensive back Cruce Brookins.

“The recruiting process with Pitt was a great experience,” Lovelace said. “From the first day I stepped foot on campus, it all felt like home. It felt like a family. It was such fun to get to know my future teammates. The coaches and players all took me in with open arms.”

Peters Township graduate Donovan McMillon, a four-star defensive back who played this fall at Florida, has joined the Panthers through the transfer portal, as has former Pine-Richland star quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who most recently played at Boston College after transferring from Notre Dame.

Curci, who rushed for 338 yards and five touchdowns in leading Apollo-Ridge to an upset of Serra Catholic that helped propel the Vikings to a berth in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, is one of a number of WPIAL standouts who will join the Dukes.

Also signing with Duquesne on Wednesday were Gateway’s Matt Brooks, Franklin Regional’s Nate Chiarizio, North Allegheny’s Abdallah Daud and Kevin O’Donnell and Penn-Trafford’s Daniel Tarabrella.

Curci said he fell in love with Duquesne after attending a camp there in the summer of 2021. He stayed in contact with the Dukes coaches from there.

“I love the coaching staff. They are all stand-up guys and very genuine,” he said. “I love the city of Pittsburgh, the campus, the educational opportunities and just everything Duquesne has to offer.”

Curci joins 2022 Apollo-Ridge graduate Greg Klingensmith (William & Mary) and 2015 grad Tre Tipton (Pitt) as Vikings’ Division I signees this past decade.

“We faced a lot of adversity this past season, but we all stepped up and played as a team,” Curci said. “We all got after it every single play. We all worked and grinded, and that was the mentality we had this season. We put together a great campaign, and I couldn’t have been prouder of this team.”

The D-I early signing period lasts until Friday. The regular signing period begins Feb. 1 for D-I and D-II and extends until April 1 for D-I and Aug. 1 for D-II.

Several others from the A-K Valley are expected to sign letters of intent at that time.

“The recruiting process has ended, but the real preparation begins now,” Lovelace said of the next seven months until Pitt preseason practices begin in August. “This will determine a lot of my future. I have a lot of work to put in.”

Said Curci: “Now it is time to really get after it. The journey is just beginning, in a way. We can’t let down or rest. Next fall will be here very soon.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Leechburg