Central Valley keeps high standards despite young roster

By: Josh Rowntree
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | 6:01 AM

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A year ago, Central Valley coach Mark Lyons felt that his team had what it would take to return to Acrisure Stadium, a place the Warriors have become all-too-familiar with over the last 15 years.

Early on, a harsh reality smacked the veteran and talent-rich Warriors in the face with three nonconference losses in the team’s first three games, sending a team with high expectations into conference play reeling.

“It was just a different, unique situation we’ve never been in,” said Lyons, who is the only coach Central Valley has known since the school was formed in 2010 and who has led the Warriors to five championships during that time.

“The slow start and knowing the gauntlet of teams we were playing, we kind of kept reinforcing to our guys that we were still a good football team, because our guys are so used to just being the front runners all the time.”

Lyons, kept a somewhat rattled group from flying off the rails. Central Valley won five of its next six games, finishing the regular season 5-5, but 5-1 in Class 3A’s Western Hills Conference, with their lone loss coming to conference rival Avonworth.

The Warriors scored two convincing wins in the postseason over Freeport and Elizabeth Forward, punching a return trip to Acrisure Stadium for the Class 3A title game and getting a rematch from their regular season loss to Avonworth.

“The regular season, it kind of changed our approach a little bit,” said Lyons, whose team fell to the Antelopes, 17-0, in the championship game to finish with a 7-6 record in 2024. “We ran into a very, very good football team in Avonworth, who was peaking at the right time.

“I’m not so sure we ever reached our full potential last year. But we fought enough to get to the championship game. So I thought that was a tribute to our seniors, just keeping everybody intact.”

Now, a new-look Warriors will seek to turn the page having lost half of its starters on both sides of the ball.

One of those losses was a bit unexpected, as Division I running back prospect Jance Henry Jr. transferred out of the program following a sophomore season in which he rushed for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns. Mason Dixon is gone after leading the team in rushing with 1,372 yards and 17 scores.

Central Valley will also need to replace starting quarterback Steven Rutherford, who passed for 1,000 yards and rushed for 403 more, as well as the Warriors’ top two pass catchers from 2024.

“In all the years we’ve been Central Valley, this is going to be the youngest we’ve ever been,” Lyons said. “But it’s a group that’s been through a lot of big football games. We always try to find those hidden gems from a younger group, a younger grade. And when we find that group and get them to mesh with the older guys, then we know we’re in the right stride.”

Braddock Ambrose, who did get time under center last year, takes over at quarterback in his junior season.

“His pocket presence is really, really good,” Lyons said. “Some guys just have that ‘it factor’ where they can take that mental picture, see it and understand the next frame. He has that knack of understanding where people are going to go post snap.”

Sophomore tailback Ethan Ondrusek will see an elevated role in the run game following the departures of the team’s top three rushers. Lyons will also look for a handful of freshmen to play a role there, as well.

Mekhi Ahmed, Aaron Lawson and Brady Noel will see time at receiver, while Ethan Shearer will lead a tight end group that will be one of the team’s biggest strengths.

Brendan Alexander, a mauling, 6-foot-4, 270-pound tackle with numerous Division I offers, will be one of three returners on the offensive line.

“He was always an athletic kid, but really never had an opportunity to show it because I don’t think he had grown into his body quite yet,” Lyons said of Alexander. “You’re going to see a different Brandon this year because his body’s different. He’s a little bit leaner.”

Shearer will be the heart of the defense after leading the team with 135 tackles as a junior last year. Lawson will anchor the secondary, while Alexander will turn around and look to be a force on the defensive line.

In the nonconference slate, Central Valley will once again start with a trio of perennially strong programs in Montour, Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon, while finishing the year with a promising North Hills group.

“Last year was a little bit of a different animal, not just for our players, but for our community in general,” Lyons said. “I think we all learned something about that… and this year we’ll be a little bit more seasoned to handle that daunting task.”

After the three nonconference games to open the year, the Warriors will face a challenging Western Hills Conference schedule that features Avonworth, Beaver, North Catholic, McGuffey, Hopewell and Quaker Valley.

“I think our conference is going to be as balanced as it’s ever been,” added Lyons. “It bodes well when you get two conference foes playing in a championship game like we did last year.”

It’s Lyons’ hope, despite the changing faces of his roster, that the expectations for Central Valley remain the same and that a youthful team will jell enough, overcome adversities and deliver the Warriors back to the title game.

“We’re young, we’re green,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re going to lack talent.”

Central Valley

Coach: Mark Lyons

2024 record: 7-6, 5-1 in Class 3A Western Hills Conference

All-time record: 151-41-0

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 Montour, 7

8.29 at Thomas Jefferson, 7

9.5 Belle Vernon, 7

9.12 McGuffey*, 7

9.19 at Beaver*, 7:30

9.26 Avonworth*, 7

10.3 at North Catholic*, 7

10.10 Quaker Valley*, 7

10.17 at Hopewell*, 7

10.24 at North Hills, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Stephen Rutherford*

70-141, 1,000 yards, 5 TDs

Rushing: Mason Dixon*

138-1,372 yards, 17 yards

Receiving: Quinn Connolly*

17-289 yards, 2 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Jance Henry is a three-star recruit who transferred to Archbishop Hoban in Akron, Ohio and has multiple power conference offers.

• Central Valley won WPIAL titles in 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021, and has never gone more than four seasons without winning a championship. The Warriors have appeared in eight WPIAL championship games.

• Brendan Alexander projects as a three-star interior offensive lineman and has offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia and several other power conference programs.

• Central Valley has one season in which it failed to make the postseason, going 6-4 in 2017.

Tags: Central Valley