Fox Chapel ready to move into next tier in Class 5A
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Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 6:01 AM
Fox Chapel’s Max Melocchi pulls in a catch against Knoch during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Fox Chapel’s Quincey Keeton pulls down an interception against Knoch during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Fox Chapel’s Brady Givens pulls in a touchdown pass against Knoch during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Fox Chapel’s Joe Yoshikaw defends on a pass against Highlands during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Fox Chapel head coach Dave Leasure (left) looks on as quarterback Joey Geller throws against Armstrong during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Fox Chapel quarterback Joey Geller throws against Armstrong during a 7-on-7 tournament July 9, 2025 at Fox Chapel Area High School.
Dave Leasure knows starting sophomores typically means grim things for a football program. But the Fox Chapel coach didn’t have many options when it came to playing young players last season.
The Foxes had 15 players go out in three weeks with injuries. Fox Chapel had to improvise, which meant playing underclassmen. Leasure hopes the extra experience will allow the Foxes to improve on their 2-7 record from last season.
“No. 1, we have to stay healthy,” Leasure said. “We are younger than we have been in the two deep, but I think we are more talented. The old saying is that for every sophomore you start, you may as well chalk up a loss. But the sophomores we’re going to start are solid players.”
Wide receiver/free safety Gianni Fusaro, linebacker/fullback Sam Resek, cornerback Caleb Portis and offensive tackle Dom Fabrizi will contribute as sophomores.
Bringing the young guys along are other players who are used to adjusting on the fly. Fox Chapel senior Max Melocchi agreed to switch from quarterback to wide receiver in the offseason.
“I told coach when I walked in after the offseason, whatever is best for the team,” said Melocchi, who is committed to Carnegie Mellon. “We had three guys playing quarterback last year. My best asset is playing receiver and H-back.”
The Foxes will lean on Joey Geller, who passed for 575 yards last season at quarterback. Nathan Johnson has also seen time under center. Leasure said it is nice to have several options who can be signal callers.
“History has shown we’ve needed more than one quarterback,” Leasure said. “The past two seasons we’ve played three.”
Thomas Billings, a 6-foot-5 tight end, will be a top target in the passing game. He is returning after a knee injury. Fox Chapel returns four starters on offense, including center Kaleb Hartman and lineman Aidan Elwood.
Foxes kicker Harran Zureikat, a Georgia commit, was recently chosen to compete in the Under Armour All-American game.
“I’m excited to see how our team performs this year,” Elwood said. “We’ve had a lot of guys working over the summer doing all of our after-school workouts.”
Fox Chapel is hoping to challenge for a spot in the playoffs out of the Northeast Conference. The Foxes are in a conference with defending WPIAL Class 5A champion Pine-Richland, Penn Hills, North Hills, Plum and Shaler.
Leasure said he wants the program to move up a tier.
“We’ve spent the last two years in the bottom tier,” Leasure said. “Two years ago, we were at the bottom. The natural progression is getting into the middle tier.”
Fox Chapel
Coach: Dave Leasure
2024 record: 2-7, 0-5 in the Class 5A Northeast Conference
All-time record: 228-390-8
SCHEDULE
Date, Opponent, Time
8.22 Allderdice, 7
8.29 Baldwin, 7
9.5 at Knoch, 7
9.12 at Penn Hills*, 7
9.19 North Hills*, 7
9.26 Pine-Richland*, 7
10.3 at Franklin Regional, 7
10.10 Plum*, 7
10.17 Shaler*, 7
10.24 at East Allegheny, 7
*Conference game
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing: Joey Geller
44-98, 575 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing: Victor Nernberg*
45-278 yards, 4 TDs
Receiving: Cooper Hendren*
14-229 yards
*Graduated
FAST FACTS
• Fox Chapel snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over East Allegheny in the season finale.
• Foxes kicker Harran Zureikat committed to play at Georgia next season.
• Fox Chapel will open against a City League opponent, Allderdice, for the second consecutive season.
ROSTER
No., Name, Pos., Ht./Wt., Cl.
2, Harran Zureikat, K/P, 6-2/185, sr.
3, Steven Lubinski, HB/OLB, 5-11/187, fr.
4, Kane McKee, TE/OLB, 6-1/195, so.
5, Sam Resek, FB/ILB, 6-0/210, so.
6, Owen Wilson, HB/OLB, 5-9/168, sr.
7, Joe Yoshikawa, HB/SS, 5-8/181, jr.
9, Nathan Johnson, QB/CB, 6-1/153, sr.
11, Sullivan Slater, HB/DB, 5-8/155, jr.
12, Caleb Portis, WR/SS, 5-10/151, so.
14, Axel Swanson, QB, 6-0/147, fr.
15, Joey Geller, QB/OLB, 6-2/199, sr.
17, Syncere Evans, HB/OLB, 5-8/188, jr.
18, Thomas Billings, TE/DE, 6-5/217, sr.
19, Corey Hawkins, WR/CB, 5-6/120, so.
20, Juan Murray, HB/SS, 5-7/141, jr.
21, Gianni Fusaro, WR/CB, 5-9/157, so.
24, AJ Colbert, WR/CB, 6-0/165, sr.
25, Oliver Morell, HB/OLB, 5-10/173, jr.
26, Luca Conte, WR/CB, 5-11/172, sr.
27, Quincy Keeton, WR/CB, 5-10/126, jr.
28, Brady Givens, HB/SS, 5-8/151, jr.
29, Parker Burgess, WR/CB, 6-0/136, sr.
31, Rusty Dezort, FB/ILB, 5-7/176, fr.
32, Frank Calandra, FB/FS, 5-7/134, fr.
34, Dontae Hardy-Forte, FB/OLB, 5-7/163, fr.
38, Holden Driver, HB/CB, 5-9/172, jr.
39, Kieran Slater, HB/SS, 5-9/160, fr.
40, Carter Mack, HB/SS, 5-6/124, fr.
41, Max Melocchi, FB/OLB, 6-3/218, sr.
44, Vince Delaney, TE/OLB, 6-2/196, sr.
46, Oliver Mackey, WR/FS, 5-8/114, fr.
52, Jacob Glover, OG/DE, 5-6/144, fr.
53, Isaiah Baker, C/NG, 5-9/327, jr.
55, RJ McMahon, OG/ILB, 5-8/165, fr.
56, Jeremy Hnatow, OG/DE, 5-11/225, sr.
57, Torrin Gniewkowski, OG/ILB, 5-10/167, jr.
59, Colton Farringer, OG/DE, 6-2/226, jr.
60, Ben Miller, OG/DE, 5-7/155, so.
62, Elijah Kuhn, OG/DE, 5-9/183, so.
63, Burgess Clements, OT/NG, 6-4/267, fr.
65, Alex Backus, C/NG, 5-11/302, so.
66, Cole Hendren, OG/DE, 6-0/211, jr.
67, Kaleb Hartman, C/NG, 5-9/271, sr.
68, Dylan Sneider, OT/NG, 6-5/344, jr.
70, Rowan O’Connor, C/NG, 5-11/228, sr.
71, King Calhoun, OT/DE, 5-9/225, fr.
72, Ali Hussein, OT/NG, 5-10/253, so.
74, Aidan Elwood, OT/DE, 6-3/254, sr.
75, Colin Neff, OT/DE, 6-2/242, jr.
77, Dom Febrizi, OT/DE, 5-9/210, so.
78, Blas Martinez-Baltazar, OG/DE, 5-9/201, so.
80, Nicholas Allard-Maguina, WR/DB, 5-8/150, fr.
81, Alexander Rosenmeier, WR/FS, 5-10/165, so.
82, David Javit, TE/OLB, 5-10/185, fr.
83, Ethan Turner, K, 5-11/126, fr.
84, Gabriel Jenkins, FB/DE, 6-0/215, so.
85, Caden Guzman, WR/CB, 5-10/145, fr.
86, CJ Hendren, WR/OLB, 5-9/151, fr.
87, Nathan Zotolla, TE/LB, 5-7/144, fr.
88, Leroy Regan, HB/ILB, 6-1/185, sr.
89, Jackson Kirby, TE/LB, 5-9/128, so.
Tags: Fox Chapel
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