Blackhawk preparing to change football coaches days before camp starts

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, August 7, 2023 | 6:55 PM

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Add one more name to the list of schools with new head football coaches.

Zack Hayward is expected to be hired Tuesday night as athletic director at Chartiers Valley, bringing an end to his five-year tenure as football coach at Blackhawk. The WPIAL and City League already counted 25 coaching changes since last season, but this one comes with only days to spare.

“It’s definitely not ideal timing,” said Hayward, who oversaw Blackhawk’s practice Monday on the first day of heat acclimation.

Camp starts next week and the season opener is Aug. 25.

Hayward also is athletic director at Blackhawk. He said longtime assistant coach Pat Feeley would run the football program in his absence. Feeley was a top assistant for both Hayward and former coach Joe Hamilton.

“He was Coach Hamilton’s first assistant and then was my first assistant from day one here,” Hayward said. “He knows the program probably better than anyone else.”

Nothing is official until Chartiers Valley’s school board takes action Tuesday. Hayward is listed on the meeting agenda as the recommended candidate.

“We have a plan in place here,” Hayward said. “It will all work itself out. But Week 5 might have a little bit of implications when those two schools face each other.”

Blackhawk hosts Chartiers Valley in a Parkway Conference game Sept. 22.

Hayward, who received the new job offer within the past week, won’t be coaching at Chartiers Valley. The previous AD at Chartiers Valley, Mike Gavlik, was hired at Hampton.

A 2009 Blackhawk graduate, Hayward has worked at his alma mater for eight years in various roles. He was an all-state quarterback in high school and later earned All-American honors at Geneva College.

“I’m at practice right now and I already miss it,” Hayward said. “We’ve been at it since January with offseason lifts and all of that stuff. I already miss the camaraderie with the staff and I miss being around the kids.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Blackhawk