Connellsville’s 1st season with 3 coaches lays foundation for future success

By: Jason Black
Thursday, August 24, 2023 | 11:48 PM

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The 2022 season brought a lot of change to the Connellsville football team. Instead of going with one coach, Connellsville employed three head coaches to help facilitate the overall improvement of the program.

Under the direction of coaches Chad Lembo, Jace McClean and Mick Lilley, the Falcons were able to pick up a pair of wins last season. Those two wins may not seem like much, but for a program that was coming off back-to-back winless seasons in 2020-2021, they represented a significant step forward.

“If I’m using an analogy, I would say we dug the foundation and poured the cement,” Lembo said as he reflected back on the 2022 campaign. “Looking back, there were a lot of adjustments taking place and everyone was getting used to one another.”

If last season was the foundation, the obvious goal this season is to build on that foundation. If the offseason is any indication, then construction of an improved program is well underway.

“We spent a lot of time uprooting our offseason program,” Lembo said, noting that the staff made changes to weight training and other important aspects which could potentially translate to a more durable team on the field. A combination of cross-fit training and plyometrics has been implemented.

“We were a pretty good first-quarter team last year, but what we want is a four-quarter team,” Lembo said.

The team appears to have bought into the offseason training. A total of 42 players took part at the Falcon Weight Lift-A-Thon in June and between 35-40 kids showed up regularly for conditioning work throughout the summer. That’s a significant jump from approximately a dozen weight training regulars prior to the start of last season.

Another important change is a shift in mentality. Aspects like attitude and overall code of conduct have been discussed as well as the importance of playing with confidence.

“We played hesitant (last year),” McClean said. “We were thinking too much instead of just playing football.”

McClean also pointed out that last year was a time of trial and error when it came to putting players in the best position to succeed. Now, the staff appears to have a better grasp of how to best utilize the players’ abilities.

“Last year we had a lot of pieces of the puzzle, and now we can put those pieces in the right places,” McClean said. “We want them to play with confidence, and I think they know they can do it.”

Lembo noted that his team’s confidence got a boost based on its performance at the Gold Bowl 7-on-7 competition at Belle Vernon.

“That was our first 7-on-7 and we saw some fundamental things that we need to shore up,” Lembo said. “But we performed well and it was a big step for our program.”

Connellsville entered camp with a preseason roster of more than 70 players. Plus, Lembo noted that some veteran athletes from other sports have started to show interest in the football program.

“We’ve had some older athletes come out and it is a good sign that we are getting athletes to cross over to our team a little bit,” Lembo said.

With confidence growing and a strong mix of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen at their disposal, the coaches will try to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Entering the season, plenty of position battles took place.

At the quarterback spot, senior Anthony Piasecki will likely get the starting nod.

“I think Anthony has matured some in the offseason,” Lembo said. “I’ve seen him throw the short passes and that is something that we want to use this year to open things up. His reads are getting better.”

Junior Grayden Gillott is also a capable signal-caller who could see time under center for the Falcons.

In the backfield, senior Bruce Giles has shown plenty of commitment during the offseason and is slotted to be the lead ball carrier in the ground game.

“I don’t think the kid has missed one workout,” Lembo said. “He has been laser focused and he is emerging as a leader.”

Gillott could also get his share of carries, along with senior Ethan Shultz and sophomore Jayden Mickens.

The job of making holes for the backs and giving protection to the quarterback will fall to an offensive line that should come into the season with a lot of experience in the trenches.

Senior Michael Hollis will see time at center and he’ll be flanked by senior Jake Lee and senior Dakota Nicholson at the guard positions. Look for junior Tyler Gallis to play at left tackle with several players in the mix for the starting right tackle spot. Senior Kenneth Shultz could be called upon to fill the right tackle position.

“If it all comes together, we’ll have seniors and juniors (on the offensive line),” Lembo said. “We’ve worked hard on fundamentals and we’ve seen them repping that, and there has been a lot of progression. I want to believe we will be fundamentally sound.”

Seniors Matthew Miller, Jake Sanzone, Crue Harwell and Mason Hollis will comprise the group of tight ends.

“They are all nice-sized and they are doing a good job,” Lembo said.

Connellsville should have plenty of depth on the outside with a lot of players capable of competing as wideouts.

Seniors Capone Mickens, Jayden Mickens, Kace Shearer and Nathan Pickford as well as juniors Carter Wilson, Jahvon McBride and Roman Riccelli will be counted on to be pass-catching threats for the Falcons.

Lembo said that despite commitments to other sports in the summer, a lot of his skill position players have shown the desire to work to get better in the offseason.

“A lot of our skill guys are baseball players,” Lembo said. “But we’ve had those guys working out on Monday mornings and it’s been a bonding experience for them.”

Last season, the offense showed flashes of potential, but it was often kept in check. In fact, the Falcons endured five losses via shutout last season.

“The main goal for us is to sustain drives,” McClean said.

Lembo added that there will be some wrinkles to the offense that weren’t able to be implemented last season.

“We’ll have some of the same looks and we’ll have some new looks as well,” Lembo said.

On the defensive side, junior Darius Meadows looks to be a force along the defensive line.

“He is explosive and he is strong and he does a good job of getting off the ball,” Lembo said.

Meadows will be joined on the defensive line by Lee as well as senior Aidan DeMarco and sophomores Michael Work, Glen Strickler and Wyatt Hall.

“They are exceptionally strong,” Lembo said of his defensive line.

Junior Benjamin Metzger and sophomore Cooper Lembo will help to comprise the unit of inside linebackers, along with Harwell, Nicholson, Sanzone and Jayden Mickens. Junior Major Stash will play as an outside linebacker, along with Gillott, Shultz and Wilson.

“They can all run and cover,” McClean said in regards to the linebackers. “They are still young, but I think they will be more aggressive and we’re going to have them flying to the ball and putting on a lot more pressure.”

In the secondary, Jayden McBride, Jahvon McBride, Capone Mickens, Piasecki, Shearer and Riccelli are capable of playing at cornerback while Giles and Stash handle duties at safety.

“The secondary has gained a lot of confidence in the offseason,” McClean said.

On special teams, senior Kasey Stanton and sophomore Hunter Brown appear to be in line to handle the kicking duties.

The Falcons will compete in the Class 4A Big 7 Conference along with Latrobe, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport, Ringgold, Thomas Jefferson and Trinity. Connellsville picked up a section win over Ringgold last season, but suffered losses to the Wildcats, Mustangs, Tigers, Jaguars and Hillers.

“I think we missed some opportunities in games last year, but right now, we just want to play a four-quarter game,” Chad Lembo said. “We’re not in position to take anyone lightly.”

For Connellsville, putting bigger numbers on the scoreboard and in the win column would represent obvious and positive change. However, there are other facets of the game that are just as important to this group of coaches.

“We want to focus on execution, not the scoreboard,” Chad Lembo said. “If we do those things, better things will happen. We want to help the kids understand that they are capable of playing the game (at a high level) and we need to control the things we can control. The mental mindset is crucial to playing with confidence.”

In addition to Chad Lembo (head coach/offensive line/defensive line), McClean (head coach/defensive coordinator) and Lilley (head coach/offensive coordinator/safeties), the Falcons will be coached by Justin Haines (offensive line/defensive line), Ron Marciante (tight ends/defensive ends), Mike Kuhns (offensive line/linebackers), Howie Metzger (wide receivers/cornerbacks), Todd Barrett (offensive line/defensive line), Bronson Mickens (safeties) and Joe Bonadio (quarterbacks).

The Falcons have been busy preparing for the new season and the hope is that the community understands and appreciates the sacrifices the players are making in order to improve.

“I would love it if people can appreciate the same successes that we are looking for as well,” Chad Lembo said. “I’m excited to see if all the things we have worked on transfers to the field. My instincts tell me things will be different this year. We are trying to take tradition and bundle it in, but these kids need their own traditions and we need to have faith that they can find their own identity and make their own traditions.”

McClean acknowledged that the work this team has put into preparing for the season has been commendable.

“We just want people to understand what these kids have been doing,” McClean said. “Don’t knock them. Come out and support them.”

Connellsville

Coaches: Chad Lembo, Jace McClean and Mick Lilley

2022 record: 2-8, 1-5 in Class 4A Big 7 Conference

All-time record: 539-562-59

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 Albert Gallatin, 7

9.1 Hempfield, 7

9.8 at Franklin Regional, 7

9.15 Trinity*, 7

9.22 at Ringgold*, 7

9.29 at Hampton, 7

10.6 McKeesport*, 7

10.13 at Latrobe*, 7

10.20 Thomas Jefferson*, 7

10.27 at Laurel Highlands*, 7

*Conference game

Tags: Connellsville