Bentworth puts focus on finishing games to contend in Tri-County South

By: Adam Brewer
Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 7:00 AM

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Despite going 3-7 last year, Bentworth head coach Dave Pordash sees a lot of positives coming into the 2024 season.

Three of those seven losses were decided by seven points or less, so learning how to finish games and increasing their football IQ are two things Pordash and his coaching staff are emphasizing.

“It’s about the fundamentals and making sure everyone is on the same page,” Pordash said. “We had some kids that didn’t know the difference between the A and B gap. Or the difference between man and zone coverage. So we are focused on really working on our game plans and explaining to the kids why we are doing certain things on both sides of the ball.”

The Bearcats went 2-5 in the Tri-County South Conference in 2023 and were in contention for a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season.

“There was improvement from our team from Week Zero to Week 9 last year,” Pordash said. “The Monessen win early in the season was huge for us. But then we had some heartbreaking losses against Leechburg and Mapletown where it came down to a couple of plays late in the game. We have to be able to close games out and be able to play our best football in the final minutes.”

Reaching the postseason is one of Bentworth’s goals this year.

Joining the Bearcats in the TCS will be Avella, Beth-Center, California, Carmichaels, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown and West Greene. Bentworth’s conference opener is Sept. 13 at home against defending conference champion California.

“There’s only three guaranteed playoff spots out of the Tri-County South,” Pordash said. “Then you have four other wild card spots (in Class A) that go into the postseason, and who knows if a Tri-County team can get one of those. So our goal since Day 1 of camp has been to finish in the top three of our conference. I think we have the talent to compete against anybody in the conference.

“I don’t believe there’s a clear-cut favorite. Cal and Jeff-Morgan will be good. But you can’t forget about Beth-Center or West Greene. We played close games last year against Carmichaels and Mapletown. I think there’s a lot of 50-50 games for everybody this year. You can’t be flat against anybody.”

The Bearcats will rely heavily on their passing game, and sophomore Ty Watson will take the majority of snaps under center.

“Ty is a smart kid and he gets better every time he takes the field,” Pordash said. “I like his arm and his mobility. He can attack a defense in a lot of ways and will have plenty of weapons. We have three former quarterbacks on our coaching staff, and he is learning from them a lot.”

One of those weapons will be senior wideout Lucas Burt, who compiled 699 receiving yards on 40 receptions with five touchdowns last year.

“Lucas is a tenacious receiver,” Pordash said. “He’s a pure athlete with a lot of skills on knowing when to high-point the ball and how to catch it over the middle in traffic. He has a lot of size and speed.”

Other receiving threats for Bentworth are senior wideout Anthony Washington (25 catches for 294 yards and two touchdowns) and junior tailback/receiver Ben Hays (302 rushing yards, 421 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns).

Senior Tristan Hackinson, sophomore Alec Leichty, sophomore Bryce Crowson and sophomore Kaden Ayres could potentially be playmakers on offense as well.

In the trenches, the Bearcats will get production from senior guard Abe House, senior tackle Al Rusilko, junior guard Brayden Taggart, junior tackle Cameron Krejci and sophomore center Levi Urcho. Freshmen Lucas Malanosky and Gavin Haynes will look to press the starters for playing time on the line.

Bentworth allowed almost 30 points per game a season ago. Pordash knows that number needs to come down, and that change starts up front.

“Our line has to cause havoc for other offenses,” he said. “We have to tackle well in space and limit the big plays. Our big thing last year is that we were wildly inconsistent on defense. We would make some big plays, but then on third down we let up a huge play. You have to be consistent.”

On the defensive line, Rusilko, Urcho and senior Gavin Piasecki will line up in the trenches. At linebacker, Bentworth will have a rotation that starts with Taggert, Watson, Burt, junior Preston Jaquay and freshman Jacob Cavanaugh.

In the secondary, Hays, Washington, Hackinson and sophomore Kaden Ayres will see the field.

Sophomore Caden Hackinson will handle most of the kicking duties, and Pordash has been impressed with his strength and consistency.

“Playing with confidence and body language will be big for us this season,” Pordash said. “You have to check your emotions and ego at the door. You have to play for the guy next to you.

“Nothing is easy in football and you have to fight for everything. We are hoping to build smart football players that know how to win games.”

Bentworth

Coach: Dave Pordash

2023 record: 3-7, 2-5 in Class A Tri-County South Conference

All-time record: 234-357-7

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 at Brownsville, 7

8.30 Burgettstown, 7

9.6 at Charleroi, 7

9.13 California*, 7

9.20 at Beth-Center*, 7

9.27 Carmichaels*, 7

10.4 at West Greene*, 7

10.11 at Jefferson-Morgan*, 7

10.18 Mapletown*, 7

10.25 at Avella*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Vitali Daniels*

104-194, 1,574 yards, 17 TDs

Rushing: Daniels*

111-563 yards, 7 TDs

Receiving: Lucas Bart

40-699 yards, 5 TDs

*Graduated

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