After losing playmakers to graduation, expectations remain high at Sto-Rox

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Saturday, August 19, 2023 | 9:18 PM

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Ever notice how Aliquippa never really has a rebuilding year?

“We graduated a lot of seniors. Going to be lucky to go 5-5,” said no Quip ever.

Sto-Rox coach Marvin Mills is a former Aliquippa assistant, which explains how he’s approaching this season, his second with the Vikings.

“I still have high expectations for the team,” Mills said. “My background, coming from Aliquippa, it’s a ‘it’s not a rebuild, it’s a reload’ mindset. These kids, they won when they were younger. They still have the culture in themselves. It’s still the same mentality to come in, work hard and win.

“We definitely won’t go into the season thinking that we’re young and we won’t win many games. I look around the section, and I think we can still compete for the section title.”

Even with that attitude born at The Pit, Mills is also realistic. He knows replacing the deep crop of playmakers the Vikings graduated in the spring will be a Herculean task.

Josh Jenkins, a 5,000-yard passer for his career, threw for 2,431 yards and 31 touchdowns last season.

The game-breaking crew of Jaymont Green-Miller, Amere Hibbler, Drevon Miller-Ross, Diego Ellis and Zay Davis combined to score 56 touchdowns.

The Vikings advanced to the WPIAL semifinals each of the past two seasons and the championship game the two seasons before that.

In other words, last year’s senior class was, as they say in international soccer, a golden generation.

“You definitely miss those guys,” Mills said.

The Vikings will look to compete in the Class 2A Century Conference first by leaning on the seven seniors and two juniors they have back.

It starts in the trenches with the returning conference lineman of the year, 6-foot-1, 245-pound senior Amare Harper.

“He’s a coach on the field, offense and defense,” Mills said. “Big presence on the line, in the weight room. I think our biggest thing out of him this year is getting him to be a little more vocal. He’s vocal, but now he’s got to be really vocal with younger guys, older guys. He’s a guy we’ll definitely rely on. He can play any position on the offensive line.”

Add in senior Calvin Griffin, for whom Mills predicts a big season, and sophomore center Dushawn Smith, and the Vikings have a promising line with some experience.

One of the players they’ll be blocking for is senior Eric McGuire, who can play both running back and wide receiver and will benefit from the graduation of the logjam of skill players ahead of him.

While the Vikings may have been known for their playmakers last season, that wasn’t strictly on offense. Their defense was a ball-hawking bunch that recorded five shutouts.

Sto-Rox brings back a few players with experience from that defense.

Most notably, junior Shaiky Yates is the vocal leader of the linebacking corps and senior Robert Sykes will lead the defensive backfield from his safety spot after slotting in at several positions last year. Outside linebacker Michael Jones is a player to watch as well.

The youth of the roster will force Mills to make a few changes to how things are done on game day, but it’ll still be Sto-Rox football.

“I won’t say we change much, but it’s definitely drawing back on some things that we did do,” he said. “Having a young quarterback and a lot of young receivers still understanding the game, trying to learn the game, there will be some things we do draw back from. However, I won’t hold them to the point where we’re going to baby them or treat them like they’re babies. They’re going into ninth grade, but they’ve definitely been working hard in the offseason.”

Editor’s note: Due to production scheduling conflicts, the preview for Century Conference school Charleroi will appear later this week.

Sto-Rox

Coach: Marvin Mills

2022 record: 9-3, 6-0 in Class 2A Century Conference

All-time record: 324-248-9

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.1 at Steel Valley, 7

9.8 Avonworth, 7

9.15 Charleroi*, 7

9.22 at Keystone Oaks*, 7

9.29 McGuffey*, 7

10.6 at Washington*, 7

10.13 Brentwood*, 7

10.20 at Waynesburg*, 7

10.27 Seton LaSalle, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Josh Jenkins*

134-221, 2,431 yards, 31 TDs

Rushing: Amere Hibbler*

84-709 yards, 11 TDs

Receiving: Jaymont Green-Miller*

32-652 yards, 12 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Sto-Rox had seven football players make college commitments last season — Josh Jenkins (Holy Cross), Drevon Miller-Ross (Howard), Jaymont Green-Miller (Cal Pa.), Zay Davis (Slippery Rock), Diego Ellis (Slippery Rock), Amere Hibbler (Clarion) and Dave Taravella (Wheeling).

• Sto-Rox was 10th-best in the WPIAL in both scoring offense (39.2 points per game) and scoring defense (12.6) last season.

• Sto-Rox has won two WPIAL championships in school history, taking the Class 2A title in 1987 and 1966.

• Since 1987, Sto-Rox has six WPIAL runner-up finishes.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

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