Hampton seniors help spur football program’s growth

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 20, 2017 | 11:42 PM

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As the spring practices wound down, the juniors on the Hampton football team sent a message for the upcoming season. Things were going to be different.

Something certainly had to change after a rough beginning to the new WPIAL alignment. Hampton, a perennial playoff contender in the old Class 3A, fell flat. The team went 0-10 and by the end of the year fielded only 38 players.

“We put the hammer down a little bit,” senior quarterback Ross Andersson said. “It's about football when we're in here. In the locker room, on the field. We're not worried about what we're doing afterwards or before. We're in the moment. We like to have as much fun as the next guys, but after last season we don't have time to be goofing off.”

It could take a dose of getting serious and then some to get Hampton back to where it was only two years ago. Andersson was then a first-year starter as a sophomore and helped guide the team to the second round of the WPIAL 3A playoffs. Now, he stands at the helm of a team looking to bounce back.

“It's little things in practice that they've learned to self-correct,” said Jacque DeMatteo, in his ninth season as coach. “They talk football talk. It's pretty neat. They're talking about football, they're not talking about other things.

“I don't like to dwell on the past but I want to learn from it,” he said of the winless campaign. “There's some things that kind of hit me. I had to look at myself, and I still am looking at myself. I'm not perfect and neither are these kids, but we're in this together. We just need to prepare every single day because we can't get it back.”

DeMatteo talks about Andersson and this group of seniors glowingly. After leaving the field last year, they were tasked with a homework assignment more important than the typical practice and workout routine.

With many teams in Class 5A doubling them in size, the program could ill afford to stagnate. Low numbers made the quality of players, and practices, difficult to manage, and DeMatteo knows it directly correlated to the win column.

“My hat goes off to our assistant coaches and players,” he said. “They did a good job of sparking interest and reaching kids in our school district.”

Andersson knew he and his fellow seniors had to do their part.

“We went after some guys that used to play and stopped playing. Some guys we knew were athletic. We got a couple guys that moved in from out of state. And then we had a good number of freshmen come up.”

The result was a 50 percent increase to 57 players. Couple that with the number of seniors in the class doubling from eight to 16, and the reasons for optimism in Allison Park are clear.

“It elevates me as a coach,” DeMatteo said of having experienced players on the field. “It's a really strong senior-oriented team. I really think they will do well this year, not just in the win column, but I think it's a team that's going to represent Hampton well after high school.”

That thought starts with Andersson, whom DeMatteo described as an “Ivy League-strong student.” The coach knows his quarterback has a personality suitable for leadership.

“He has an ‘it' factor that I can't coach. I don't know what it is … the thing he does is it elevates people around him. Their character, effort and enthusiasm. When you're around the kid you get a certain calmness as a coach.”

Andersson can't show up alone, though, and there are plenty of experienced skill players who will surround him. Maybe the toughest task the typically run-oriented Talbots faced was replacing running back Alex Bianco, the team's only all-section selection this year.

Tyler Steedle will move from wideout to running back and join a committee with fellow senior Vinny Schmitt.

Andersson and Steedle are close friends off the field, and the former thinks the chemistry will limit mistakes.

“Anytime we're running a zone read or I'm pulling the ball we're on the same page,” he said. “And Vinny, it will be nice to have another guy out there that's the same caliber as Tyler.”

Improvement also was needed from the line, and this year's unit, which DeMatteo classifies as “an unselfish group,” will rotate in and out, with some depth to be mined.

Senior Carson Etters will start the season as center because junior John Clagett is nursing an injury. Seniors Dan Glock, Jesse Berzonski and Tommy Rengers also will see time, and senior Blaise Smith will start at guard.

“We've got a couple of big dudes,” Andersson said. “It makes me feel safe when I'm lining up in shotgun and see three 300 pounders in front of me.”

The run game is paramount in DeMatteo's offense. But would he switch to a pass-heavy style because he has a quarterback who can sling it?

“I hope not,” he said with a laugh. “I'm old school and stubborn. But the kids have really bought into it. That's our mentality, and that's what we're going to stick to. Make no mistake about it, Ross can throw and he has some kids on the perimeter. We hope the run game can open up the pass game.”

The wideouts will run in rotation, as well, with junior Brandon Sickles and sophomore Will Schiut as taller targets on the outside. Senior Zach Mattiuz can man the slot.

On the other side of the ball, Andersson will play safety and Steedle will be the top cover corner. Schmitt, Schiut, Sickles and Mattiuz will rotate in.

Jack Bish, who figures to see time in the offensive backfield, as well, will help man a faster unit this year with juniors Brandon Stephany and Max Obenrader. DeMatteo praised Bish's offseason, not only in the weight room but from quickness and conditioning standpoint.

Berzonski, Jasen Simon, Doug Obenrader and Mike Yakich are all seniors who will rotate in on the defensive line. DeMatteo would like to spell more players with his depth.

“I wish we could play with about 18 to 20 guys, but we will see where that number holds,” he said. “We have some guys that maybe are some diamonds in the rough that will surprise us.”

More depth can only help in the�Allegheny Nine, which was created last year after the PIAA restructured the classifications. It was a step up in competition from some of the schools in Class 3A. Last year, Hampton had the second-smallest enrollment of the Class 5A schools.

“I think we have a sense of excitement,” Andersson said. “It's completely different from last year. It was brand new coming to 5A. We were probably a little intimidated, even if it was subconsciously, with some of the names we were playing like West Allegheny and Woodland Hills.

“After going through the ringer already, we're not scared of anybody anymore … we're going into every game with the mentality that we're going to give them a run for their money and expecting a dog fight.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hampton