Ambridge hopes patience pays off for experienced senior class

By: Josh Rowntree
Saturday, August 10, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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Sherm McBride admits that he has discovered the meaning of one, very important word over the last three years as the head football coach at Ambridge.

“Patience,” said McBride, the former Aliquippa standout tasked with turning around a Bridgers program that has struggled over the last decade.

“It’s all about patience. I try to get this out of my players, that you don’t have to be where you’re at right now. You can be where you want to be.”

That’s the message that McBride has tried to drive home over consecutive 2-8 seasons in which the Bridgers were far more competitive than they were before his arrival, but fell short of the postseason.

“We need to finish what we start,” said McBride, who took Ambridge to the postseason in 2021. “If you looked at our games last year and saw the first quarter scores, we were in all of the games. But in the third and fourth quarters, we fell apart. That’s the motto going into this season: Finish what we start.”

There was no common thread to those losses last season. A turnover here, a big play allowed there — particularly in the final two weeks of the season in which Ambridge fell to New Castle and Chartiers Valley by 10 points each, costing them a trip to the postseason.

“It was a number of things,” McBride said. “We have to put everything together. We have to play four quarters of smart football.”

One positive for Ambridge will be continuity. The Bridgers return nine players on each side of the ball, many of which have started since their freshmen year in 2021, McBride’s first season.

“We have 55 kids,” said McBride, who is happy with that number, but would also like to see the returning starters pushed more by the depth players behind them.

“Hopefully, over the three years those guys have played for me, they’ve learned a little something. They know this is their last year. Hopefully we can get some change going.”

The Bridgers will need to replace one key player in Carlito Chandler, who led the team with 927 rushing yards a year ago.

Stacey Jones, who tore his ACL before last season, is now healthy and will get the bulk of the carries. He was one of the team’s top offensive weapons in 2022.

“He’s about 6-foot, 215 pounds,” said McBride of Jones, who also plays on the defensive line. “He’s a big running back. I’m looking for bigger and better things from him on both sides of the ball.”

Ambridge will play to Jones’ strengths and run a power system offensively, behind four returning offensive linemen and with AJ Gerace back at quarterback — at least to begin the year.

“We’ll give AJ the first crack at it,” McBride said. “DJ Kane though has come along real well. He’s 6-foot-3 and he’s doing well. He’s running second team right now.”

Adam Fernandez, who played some quarterback last season, will work in the slot at receiver alongside Jayce McCracken.

The defense will be anchored by inside linebacker Blaze Kolar, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior.

“In three years, he’s recorded 90-plus tackles in all three years,” McBride said. “He has a nose for the ball. I’m looking for senior leadership from him this year, as well.”

McBride isn’t exactly content with where the program is right now. He comes from the great lineage of Aliquippa, where losing simply isn’t tolerated. But he also understands that grace is an important trait when trying to revitalize the program.

“I’ve heard, ‘you’ve gotten these kids to be competitive,’” McBride said. “That’s a pat on my back for me. But I know where I came from. I know where I was at.”

And, while Ambridge will have to navigate the choppy waters of the always-challenging Parkway Conference and Class 4A — including a matchup with McBride’s alma mater — he’s daring his team to take the next step.

“This could be our time,” said McBride of what he tells his players each day. “It’s all about hard work and putting in the effort. It’s not all sunshine and blue skies every day. You have to work at this.

“If they want to have a successful senior year and get back to the playoffs, where they were their freshman year, they have to put the work in.”

Ambridge

Coach: Sherm McBride

2023 record: 2-8, 1-6 in Class 4A Parkway Conference

All-time record: 441-509-40

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 Western Beaver, 7

8.30 Laurel Highlands, 7

9.6 at Hopewell, 7

9.13 Mt. Pleasant, 7

9.20 at Greensburg Salem, 7

9.27 at West Allegheny*, 7

10.4 Blackhawk*, 7

10.11 Montour*, 7

10.18 at New Castle*, 7

10.25 at Aliquippa, 7

* Conference game

FAST FACTS

• Ambridge finished 2024 on a six-game losing streak, picking up wins over Blackhawk and Freedom in the season’s first four weeks.

• In nonconference play, the Bridgers will host Western Beaver, Laurel Highlands and Mt. Pleasant, while traveling to Hopewell and Greensburg Salem.

• Following graduation at Aliquippa, McBride went on the play at Ohio University.

• The Bridgers last finished .500 or better in 2015, when they went 5-5 and lost to Ringgold in the WPIAL Class 3A first round.

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