Apollo-Ridge aims to bounce back after 1-win season
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Friday, August 15, 2025 | 6:01 AM
Apollo-Ridge’s Chris Dailey runs reps Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Connor Bogdanski runs defense drills with teammates Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Nathan Fryer listens to coaches Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Logan Schrock runs defense drills with teammates on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Logan Schrock runs drills Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Jordan McCray, center, runs defense reps with teammates Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Connor Bogdanski holds the pad, left, while Parker Gourley, right, runs defense reps Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Avery Grant runs reps with teammates Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Connor Bogdanski runs drills Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge’s Avery Grant runs offense drills Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 during practice at Apollo-Ridge School District.
Apollo-Ridge took its lumps in and out of Allegheny Conference play last year.
The Vikings won just one game out of nine, with the lone triumph a conference victory by three points over Ligonier Valley in the season finale.
But with the struggles, veteran head coach John Skiba said, came opportunities to improve, learn and grow.
And with nine starters back on offense and seven returning on defense, Skiba has an optimistic tone that a marked improvement in the win column is on the horizon.
“The kids were very excited to get to work this spring and summer,” Skiba said.
“We were young last year, and we knew we were going to face some steep challenges. We faced some really good teams. We did have some bad games where we didn’t play very well, especially early on. We had some injuries, too, that didn’t help. (Senior wide receiver/nickel) Jayden McCray went down in Week 3, and (junior quarterback/linebacker) Chris Dailey got hurt in the second week. It kind of put a wrench into a lot of things we were doing.
“But we’re healthy. There are 53 on the roster, which is the best we’ve had for a long time. We have a big freshman class coming in. Those are some big things, and there is excitement around the program.”
McCray and Dailey are back and ready to roll, and they will be joined by fellow returning starters in Alex Clawson (quarterback/free safety), Avery Grant (running back/inside linebacker), Nathan Fryer (tight end/linebacker), Connor Bogdanski (offensive tackle/nose tackle), Parker Gourley (offensive guard/defensive end), Kingston Staley (center/defensive tackle), Gino McCullough (offensive guard/defensive end), Logan Schrock (wide receiver/defensive back), Gage Wingard (wide receiver/defensive back) and Taye Bradshaw (running back/inside linebacker).
Clawson, a senior, took over at quarterback when Dailey went down and threw for more than 1,800 yards and 12 touchdowns.
McCray, Skiba said, will be a strong target in the passing game and a solid defender against the pass and the run.
Skiba is expecting a highly experienced offensive line with Bogdanski, a senior three-year starter at 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds, as well juniors in Staley and Gourley and McCullough, a senior, to open holes in the run game and protect in the pass game.
“They all played a lot of football last year, the last two years,” Skiba said.
“We have a young kid also, Noah Stewart, who we’re going to plug in there as a sophomore. They are all bigger and stronger. Kingston is a natural leader at center, and he jumped right in with (three-year starter and conference all-star) Ryan (Lydon) graduating.”
Schrock, a junior, led the way in 2024 with 32 receptions for 463 yards and a touchdown. Fryer, a junior who Skiba calls a “steady, solid contributor,” had a team-best three receiving scores.
Grant comes back with that experience at running back after carrying the ball 44 times for 203 yards and four touchdowns.
“We’re going to be pretty balanced offensively,” Skiba said.
“We have the line to make that happen and also talent at the skill positions, too, that will give us some good options. We’re definitely not going to be one dimensional, I know that for sure.”
Skiba said players such as sophomore Preston Clemons (running back/defensive back), who had 11 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Ligonier Valley, are ready to take the next step.
“He has a lot of burst and a lot of speed that we haven’t had lately at that position,” Skiba said.
Skiba also will look to junior Beck Andree, also a member of the Leechburg/Apollo-Ridge boys soccer co-op, to take over the full-time kicking duties for the graduated Gabe Suman.
“We’re going to attack more defensively than we ever have,” Skiba said.
“We got a lot taken to us the past couple of years. We’ve simplified some things, and I am confident we’re going to get after people with the bodies that we have. These kids understand the system. They’ve been through it all summer.”
South Park is the defending Allegheny Conference and WPIAL Class 2A champion, and Steel Valley, South Allegheny and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart were playoff qualifiers. The Vikings will travel to OLSH for a Saturday evening game in Week 5.
“The WPIAL champion (South Park and Steel Valley) has come out of this conference the past two years,” Skiba said. “With that alone, we know what we have to deal with. It is solid from top to bottom. Everyone in the conference is going to play their butts off, and it will be a tough game. The Saturday night game at OLSH is something new for the kids. There’s always the unexpected when we get into this conference.”
Apollo-Ridge opens at home in Week Zero with its rivalry game against Leechburg. The Blue Devils won a close one last year, 19-14.
“It is great to open with Leechburg every year because it goes back to the old traditions, and both communities love it,” Skiba said.
“It’s heated, and the kids really look forward to it with the bragging rights that go along with it. They did a nice job in beating us last year. We didn’t play very well, and they did. This year, we host the game, and we’ll see what we can do. That rivalry needs to stay.”
Apollo-Ridge
Coach: John Skiba
2024 record: 1-8, 1-5 in Class 2A Allegheny Conference
All-time record: 236-304-9
SCHEDULE
Date, Opponent, Time
8.22 Leechburg, 7
8.29 Jeannette, 7
9.5 at Greensburg Central Catholic, 7
9.12 Carlynton, 7
9.19 Shady Side Academy*, 7
9.27 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart*, 7
10.3 Steel Valley*, 7
10.10 at South Allegheny*, 7
10.17 at South Park*, 7
10.24 Ligonier Valley*, 7
*Conference game
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing: Alex Clawson
136-241, 1,762 yards, 12 TDs
Rushing: Clawson
81-213 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving: Logan Schrock
32-463 yards, 1 TD
FAST FACTS
• Apollo-Ridge has missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, but the Vikings own eight postseason trips since 2012 and 17 in the history of the program.
• John Skiba begins his 15th season as head coach of the Vikings. Only Freeport’s John Gaillot (18th season with the Yellowjackets) owns a longer continuous tenure at the same school in the Alle-Kiski Valley.
• Alex Clawson accounted for 1,975 yards of total offense last year, 63% of the 3,120 yards produced by the offense as a whole.
• The Vikings scored 19.5 points a game last year and surrendered 36.3.
ROSTER
No., Name, Pos., Cl.
1, Alex Clawson, QB/S, sr.
2, Gage Wingard, WR/DB, jr.
3, Anthony Massari, WR/CB, jr.
4, Richard Peach, RB/OLB, sr.
5, Zach Myers, RB/ILB, jr.
6, Taye Bradshaw, RB/ILB, jr.
7, Roger Shearer, RB/OLB, fr.
8, Preston Clemens, RB/OLB, so.
9, Beau Gourley, QB/S, fr.
10, Avery Grant, RB/ILB, sr.
12, Logen Schrock, WR/CB, jr.
14, Chris Dailey, QB/OLB, jr.
17, Jordan Mull, QB/S, so.
20, Jaden McCray, WR/OLB, sr.
21, Matt Guntrum, RB/OLB, fr.
24, Austin Ross, WR/CB, fr.
25, Drake Akins, RB/OLB, fr.
25, Brennan Faulkner, WR/S, fr.
27, Austin Coughanour, WR/S, fr.
29, Beck Andree, PK/P, jr.
30, Blake Haugh, WR/CB, fr.
32, Hunter Oakes, RB/CB, fr.
33, Jeremy Master, TE/ILB, so.
35, Gavin Orvosh, RB/OLB, fr.
40, Matt Faulkner, WR/S, so.
41, Javan Shearer, RB/ILB, fr.
44, Ryan Feeney, RB/ILB 10
47, Michael Girdano, TE/ILB, fr.
51, Bentley Stango, C/DL, fr.
52, Zac Dohmen, C/DT, so.
53, Kingston Staley, C/DT, jr.
54, Gino McCullough, OT/DT, jr.
55, Noah Stewart, OL/DL, so.
56, Elias McCullough, OL/DL, fr.
57, Parker Gourley, OG/DE, jr.
58, Landon Bieda, OL/DL, so.
59, Landon Morrow, OL/DL, fr.
63, Jesse Colwell, OL/DL, fr.
63, Breydan McCarthy, OL/DL, fr.
64, Jason Pisarcik, OT/NG, jr.
66, David Rybarczck, OL/DL, so.
72, Dante Bradshaw, OL/DL, so.
75, Grant Harless, OL/DT, so.
76, Connor Bogdanski, OT/DT, sr.
79, Andrew Patterson, C/NG, jr.
81, Colton Bureau, TE/DE, fr.
82, Wil Shank, WR/CB, jr.
86, Nathan Fryer, TE/S, sr.
88, James Limmer, WR/CB, fr.
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
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