Battle within the battle: A-K Valley defenses have challenge of facing various schemes, formations

By: Michael Love
Sunday, August 20, 2023 | 9:01 AM

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Legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.”

There are many examples in the history of football at all levels where a balanced offense and defense is key to bringing home a title.

But one needs not look any further than last year’s PIAA Class 3A title game between Belle Vernon and District 1’s Neumann Goretti for a case where defense ruled the day and the championship came down to an epic defensive stand.

The two teams battled well into the fourth quarter, and with the score 9-8 in favor of the Leopards in the closing minutes, Neumann Goretti was at the 1-yard line hoping to punch it in for the winning score.

But Belle Vernon held strong and made the stand to preserve the program’s first state crown.

The high school defenses of today change in form, scheme and fashion regularly to match the ever-changing offensive concepts and styles. Defensive coaches are matching wits with their offensive counterparts for a battle within the battle.

“In this day and age, where everything is built around offenses in college and the NFL, scoring a ton of points, you see so much emphasis put on that side of the ball,” Plum coach Matt Morgan said.

“You also see the 14-10 or 10-7 Steelers games, those bloody knuckle games, kind of go away, especially at the pro level. I think some of the best games Plum has had over the past several years have been those low-scoring defensive battles.”

In making it to the 2020 WPIAL Class 5A semifinals, the Mustangs matched up with high-scoring McKeesport in a quarterfinal contest.

The game didn’t go the way many might have expected in terms of points scored. Plum’s defense forced five turnovers and shut out the Tigers in the second half. Morgan, at the time, called it “old-school, smash-mouth football.”

It was a theme that served Plum well that season and has been what Morgan said he hopes to see from his team every year.

“The year before that, there were more than 100 points scored (McKeesport 62-40). The defenses really answered the call that night,” Morgan said.

“That is what happens a lot in the playoffs. You might expect a ton of points, but big plays defensively are what you get. We’re always looking for fast and physical with our defenses. That is what you see from a lot of teams, players who have those qualities and also can and/or need to play multiple positions. The way we changed our defense is that we have one less defensive lineman in there so we look for guys who have speed and skill and the ability to get to the ball as fast as possible to counter a lot of the spread offenses teams are going to these days.”

Morgan said he has that again this year with the return of several defensive starters, including seniors in strong side outside linebacker Jack Tongel, and linebacker/safety Dom Beyer, as well as junior linebacker/safety/corner Darian Nelson.

“I love the freedom,” said Tongel of his outside linebacker spot. “Half the time, I am going to be dropping back in coverage and almost playing like a safety on the outside. But I will also come down hill and blitz off the edge through the A and B gaps. There is a lot of variety. It is important to be versatile. I think that goes with a lot of defenses these days.”

Yellowjackets’ defensive sting

Freeport defensive coordinator Todd Durand, who has coached with the Yellowjackets for 15 years, said the key to a standout defensive unit comes down to finding the right group of players.

“We always look for the best 11, and it may not be in the exact position they want to play,” he said.

“But we’ve been fortunate enough to have kids move around to different positions to give us the most effective defense for the offenses we’re going to face in a particular year.”

Freeport, as a defense, recorded 106 tackles for a loss last year. Of those stops, 46 were sacks. Nine different Yellowjackets defenders recorded at least two sacks, with now-senior Colton Otterman tallying 13 from his outside linebacker position.

The Yellowjackets finished 10-2 overall and made it to the WPIAL semifinals before falling to eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion Belle Vernon.

The defensive unit battled through injury early in the season. Graduate Jacksen Reiser played through an ACL injury to tally more than 80 tackles and earn Allegheny 6 Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.

“A main objective is getting pressure on that quarterback using our strength and quickness and creating a lot of problems in the backfield,” Durand said.

“That is one of the reasons why we went to the 3-4. It’s a multiple defense, and I like to think it gives offenses we face some fits. I know of a number of teams who use it. Based on certain offensive formations, it can be countered with similar changes in formation. That comes with a lot of film breakdown and getting players in the right position to make plays. We love kids who possess a high motor.

“We pride ourselves in having athletic linemen, and you saw that last year with (conference all-star) Jake Bollinger. The thing with offenses which have more of a spread style with a stud quarterback and a couple of talented receivers, you try to isolate them and cover them one-on-one. That has always been a challenge for us. We try to come up with a couple of different schemes to help with that. But we predicate a lot of our pass defense on pressure.”

Otterman, an outside linebacker who has been a starter since his freshman year, says the key for a defense, no matter how seasoned or youthful, comes down to the willingness to be well versed at more than one position.

“A lot of talent graduated from both sides of the ball, including the defensive side,” said Otterman, who recorded 95 tackles last year for a Freeport defense which allowed the least amount of points among A-K Valley teams at 17.6 over 12 games.

That included 49 against Class 5A Armstrong and quarterback Caden Olsen in the regular season and 42 in the playoff loss to Belle Vernon.

“We are young this year, but I don’t think we are going to drop off as much as some people might think,” Otterman said. “We all trust in each other and know that there have been a number of guys ready to get their chance. That is the way it always has been. We’ve had consistency with the way our defenses have come together.”

Facing unconventional offenses

Riverview is one of a select few in the WPIAL that runs the Wing-T offense, with its tighter-packed lineman and skill players and formations that involve a great deal of misdirection.

Raiders coach Trevor George, also the team’s defensive coordinator, said his players on defense understand how their offense can give other defenses fits.

“Starting with (mandatory) heat (acclimation workouts), defensive coordinators put in all their base stuff, teaching and reviewing a lot of the work from the offseason,” George said.

“A lot of it is out of 2-by-2 and 3-by-1 spread sets. Then, all of a sudden, you get to play Riverview, and now you are working different condensed sets with tight end wings and these tight formations. That can be a headache because it changes some rules and alignment. Motions, shifts and misdirection can be a challenge for a lot of defenses.”

Springdale and Leechburg both will face Riverview’s Wing-T again this fall.

“The Wing-T is different, no doubt, and it’s been around forever,” Leechburg coach Randy Walters said.

“I had to coach it when I was the offensive coordinator at Gannon because Tom Herman is a Wing-T guru. It is a great offense for high school. I think Riverview going to it and the coaches selling it to their kids, the offense got much better.

“Most offenses are spread and read-option with things built off of that. It can be a definite change of pace from seeing similar offenses several weeks in a row and then having to prepare a different way for the Wing-T. It starts with a lot of film work. It’s not easy to stop.

“You basically have two choices to make from a defensive standpoint with the linebackers. They are either reading the guards or backs. With the guards pulling, you have to read through the guards to the backs. A lot of the time, the guards will take you to where you need to go. It is definitely a different idea that week.”

Walters said the defensive game plans each week will be in good hands with new defensive coordinator Tyler Vargo, a Leechburg graduate who went on to play at Thiel.

Vargo is back with the Blue Devils after previously coaching in the program.

“We lost some really good defensive football players from last year’s team, and they had come a long way,” said Walters, who guided the Blue Devils to their second straight WPIAL playoff appearance in 2022 after a postseason drought which extended back to 1988.

Area-wide talent

Several A-K Valley defenders found themselves selected to all-conference first teams last year, and a number of them return.

Deer Lakes defensive end Nick Rossi is back after creating havoc for opposing offenses in and out of the Allegheny 6 Conference.

He said he learned a lot from his junior season and what he needed to do in the offseason to be ready to go again in 2023. That included work in the weight room as he put on 15 to 20 pounds of muscle to reach 255 pounds.

“I think a big thing for me and what is important for a lot of guys who play my position, along with being quick and strong, is vision on the field,” Rossi said.

“I realized that I needed to use my eyes more. I had a bad habit of burying my head and sometimes losing sight of the play. A lot of that comes with experience. I feel I am really using my eyes better, trusting in seeing the play develop and get in a good position to make a play.”

Kiski Area senior defensive back Isaiah Gonzalez, who Cavaliers coach Sam Albert said could probably coach the secondary given his copious amount of defensive experience, picked up first-team honors in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

Highlands senior linebacker Luke Bombalski hopes to help the Golden Rams make another WPIAL-playoff run after their march to the postseason in 2022. Despite missing the final four games of the season, including the playoff game, Bombalski tallied 57 tackles and recorded 10 sacks.

Bombalski’s teammate Montrell Johnson picked up first-team all-conference laurels after making 32 stops and picking off a team-best four passes.

Rossi and Otterman aren’t the only defensive all-stars back from an Allegheny 6 team as Demetrius Ballard, a Valley senior defensive lineman returns to help the Vikings, 1-9 last year, get back to prominence under first-year coach Mark Adams.

Other 2022 first-team defensive all-stars back hoping to make an impact again for their teams are Eastern Conference standouts in Springdale senior linebacker Noah Bradley and Riverview senior linebacker Landon Johnson.

Johnson leads a core of 10 starters back for the Riverview defense.

“At a small school like Riverview, you have to build your system around the kids you have, and I think we’ve done that with our defense,” George said.

“Instead of having a cookie-cutter approach where you stick to, say, a 4-3 front and try to fit kids into that, we want to build to our strengths. This year, we have very few defensive linemen, but we have a lot of linebackers. We have been working on putting them in the best possible situations.”

Bradley, Springdale second-year coach Ryan Tempalski said, has a motor that doesn’t quit, loves to hit and make plays, and “is just built to be a linebacker.”

Spearheading a comeback

Springdale and Fox Chapel were two of eight teams in the WPIAL last year to finish with winless records.

First-year Foxes coach David Leasure knows defenses well having previously served as the defensive coordinator at Fox Chapel from 2005-10 among his time in the A-K Valley which included five years as the head coach at Springdale (2012-16) and a year as a defensive coach on John Skiba’s staff at Apollo-Ridge.

He was Freeport’s offensive coordinator last year.

Fox Chapel gave up 43.6 points a game in 2022.

Leasure knows that for any team hoping for a turnaround, play on defense has to be a hallmark of the game plan.

“If you’re in a situation like a Central Catholic or a Pine-Richland where you can platoon kids and have a lot of them go just one way, offensive or defense, you can get more complex with schemes,” Leasure said.

“You don’t have that luxury at smaller schools. Even at Fox Chapel, we might have one or two guys who play just one side. We have to be a little more simplified, including on defense, if you only get them for half of the practice time instead of having an entire week on that side of the ball.

“One of the things that will be super important for us, along with the X’s and O’s and being disciplined on every play, is the conditioning factor and the ability to make plays just as well in the fourth quarter as in the first quarter. A lot of those guys also will be on special teams. You try to find ways to get guys who are going 100 miles an hour and are making hits every play or every other play some rest if it won’t hurt you.”

Junior defensive tackle D’Angelo Hamilton, a Northeast Conference (Class 5A) honorable-mention selection last year, is among those returning to help the Foxes defense.

“Almost everyone now is in the (shotgun) with different levels of spread tendencies,” Leasure said.

“We’ll face different aspects to the spread every week, predominately one-back spread and occasionally two-back spread teams. … It comes down to having our defensive players being on the same page at all times and being able to recognize so many formations thrown at us.”

Defense wins championships?

Here’s a look at where WPIAL defenses ranked in 2022:

Team, Record, Total points allowed, Points allowed per game

Belle Vernon, 12-2, 122, 8.7

Steel Valley, 12-1, 121, 9.3

Bishop Canevin, 12-2, 139, 9.9

Beaver Falls, 11-2, 132, 10.2

McKeesport, 11-2, 133, 10.2

Avonworth, 11-2, 136, 10.5

South Side, 11-2, 146, 11.2

Aliquippa, 13-1, 162, 11.6

Central Valley, 11-2, 154, 11.8

Sto-Rox, 9-3, 151, 12.6

North Allegheny, 11-2, 174, 13.4

Upper St. Clair, 10-3, 177, 13.6

Mapletown, 11-1, 167, 13.9

Pine-Richland, 13-3, 232, 14.5

Elizabeth Forward, 9-2, 161, 14.6

Thomas Jefferson, 8-4, 178, 14.8

Mt. Lebanon, 5-6, 165, 15.0

Freeport, 10-2, 182, 15.2

Rochester, 7-5, 182, 15.2

Penn Hills, 5-5, 154, 15.4

Shady Side Academy, 7-5, 186, 15.5

Bethel Park, 10-2, 191, 15.9

Beaver, 8-4, 193, 16.1

Laurel, 9-2, 180, 16.4

California, 8-3, 181, 16.5

Highlands, 9-2, 182, 16.5

Peters Township, 6-4, 166, 16.6

Gateway, 7-4, 184, 16.7

West Allegheny, 7-4, 186, 16.9

Laurel Highlands, 8-3, 191, 17.4

Union, 12-4, 278, 17.4

OLSH, 8-3, 282, 17.5

Seneca Valley, 6-4, 175, 17.5

Keystone Oaks, 9-3, 222, 18.5

Neshannock, 11-2, 242, 18.6

North Catholic, 5-5, 188, 18.8

Armstrong, 10-2, 229, 19.1

Leechburg, 7-4, 211, 19.2

Woodland Hills, 6-6, 234, 19.5

Penn-Trafford, 6-5, 216, 19.6

Franklin Regional, 6-4, 197, 19.7

Greensburg C.C., 8-3, 459, 20.2

South Fayette, 5-5, 205, 20.5

Cornell, 4-5, 186, 20.7

South Park, 5-6, 228, 20.7

Hampton, 5-6, 229, 20.8

Montour, 7-5, 250, 20.8

Latrobe, 7-5, 252, 21.0

Clairton, 6-6, 254, 21.2

McGuffey, 8-4, 255, 21.3

Ligonier Valley, 8-4, 257, 21.4

Western Beaver, 7-4, 235, 21.4

Freedom, 3-7, 217, 21.7

Deer Lakes, 4-7, 240, 21.8

Burgettstown, 6-4, 225, 22.5

West Mifflin, 6-6, 272, 22.7

Canon-McMillan, 5-6, 251, 22.8

Central Catholic, 7-5, 274, 22.8

Riverside, 5-5, 233, 23.3

Hempfield, 6-4, 240, 24.0

Washington, 7-5, 290, 24.2

Chartiers-Houston, 5-5, 246, 24.6

Trinity, 4-6, 246, 24.6

Blackhawk, 4-7, 274, 24.9

Carmichaels, 7-4, 286, 24.9

Plum, 5-5, 294, 24.9

East Allegheny, 8-4, 308, 25.7

Serra Catholic, 7-4, 286, 26.0

Burrell, 6-5, 293, 26.6

Fort Cherry, 8-4, 320, 26.7

Apollo-Ridge, 6-5, 296, 26.9

Mars, 6-5, 298, 27.1

North Hills, 3-8, 301, 27.4

Mohawk, 4-5, 251, 27.9

Shenango, 2-8, 279, 27.9

Yough, 3-7, 282, 28.2

Mt. Pleasant, 6-5, 312, 28.4

Ellwood City, 2-8, 290, 29.0

Monessen, 6-5, 323, 29.4

Riverview, 4-6, 298, 29.8

Southmoreland, 4-7, 331, 30.1

Hopewell, 3-7, 311, 31.1

Jeannette, 3-8, 348, 31.6

Shaler, 5-5, 322, 32.2

Imani Christian, 4-6, 323, 32.3

Norwin, 1-9, 325, 32.5

Valley, 1-9, 331, 33.1

Ambridge, 2-8, 337, 33.7

Jefferson-Morgan, 4-6, 337, 33.7

Beth-Center, 3-7, 348, 34.8

Brentwood, 3-7, 350, 35.0

Avella, 1-9, 353, 35.3

Indiana, 3-7, 353, 35.3

Knoch, 1-9, 357, 35.7

South Allegheny, 1-9, 359, 35.9

Greensburg Salem, 4-6, 372, 37.2

Chartiers Valley, 2-8, 376, 37.6

Kiski Area, 1-9, 379, 37.9

Carlynton, 0-10, 388, 38.8

Northgate, 4-6, 388, 38.8

Ringgold, 0-10, 389, 38.9

Connellsville, 2-8, 392, 39.2

Derry, 0-10, 394, 39.4

Waynesburg, 0-10, 404, 40.4

Moon, 1-9, 411, 41.1

New Castle, 1-9, 412, 41.2

Bentworth, 2-8, 415, 41.5

Charleroi, 2-7, 375, 41.7

Baldwin, 1-9, 420, 42.0

Frazier, 1-9, 430, 43.0

Quaker Valley, 1-8, 389, 43.2

Fox Chapel, 0-10, 436, 43.6

West Greene, 2-8, 440, 44.0

Seton LaSalle,0-10, 470, 47.0

Springdale, 0-10, 476, 47.6

New Brighton, 0-10, 479, 47.9

Summit Academy, 1-9, 484, 48.4

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: Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, Valley