Fueled by large senior class, North Hills eyes return to playoffs

By: Josh Rowntree
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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There’s a little bit of Mike Tomlin in North Hills coach Pat Carey’s mentality.

Tomlin’s motto, “The standard is the standard,” is certainly one that Carey has adopted for the Indians football program.

In 2023, he felt as if the program didn’t live up to that mantra.

“We only had about seven or eight seniors last year on the roster, so we played a lot of young kids and the schedule was difficult,” said Carey, who enters his 12th season. “Overall, I think we gained some things. But it’s not the standard which we expect at North Hills.”

The Indians got off to a rocky start, sitting at 1-4 before winning three of their last five games. But the 2-3 mark in Class 5A’s Northeast Conference left them out of the postseason.

Compounding issues was a brutal nonconference schedule that mixed with a rigorous run through Northeast play, leaving the Indians few games in which they could work in depth players.

“It’s very taxing on your team,” Carey said of the schedule. ”The one thing that we struggle with is depth up front. If you get a kid injured up front, you’re talking about a two-way starter most likely. It’s difficult to go through that grind for the whole season.

“On the flip side, when you’re battling and trying to stay in games, you don’t get to play a lot of kids. You want to get some of those guys in the game.”

North Hills, led by a deep group of seniors, now turns its attention to 2024. There are a lot of pieces back, but some will need to be addressed.

At quarterback, the Indians have to replace Connor Davis, who passed for 1,310 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. Kelly McCarthy, who saw some time in a reserve role, will be the top signal caller.

“He’s leading the way right now,” Carey said. “He played a lot of our JV games and we were successful at the JV level. We’re excited to see what he can do now.

“He’s more of an athlete back there. He can run the ball, throw for success but be able to scramble and keep guys honest defensively. And he’s a great leader, a competitive kid.”

Joining McCarthy in the backfield will be a pair of talented returning backs in Jack Martin and Julius Green.

“We really like them,” Carey said of the two seniors. “Jack led us in rushing last year. Julius is seeing some recruiting interest at Robert Morris or Duquesne level. And they’re both really good kids.”

Carey does have plans to spread the ball around some on offense and work the ball to the perimeter due to a lack of size and depth on the offensive line. North Hills will have to replace four starters in the trenches.

“If we do have a challenge this year, it’ll be up front,” Carey said. “We have some guys who have seen time. But we’re not big up front. We’re still working on that and need to develop it through camp. That said, we are athletic up front and we can run. Hopefully, we’ll be in better shape than some other teams.”

The Indians do, however, return 2023’s leading receiver in Josiah Mathis, plus pass catching contributors Johnell Edison and Stephen Murphy.

“We like our receiving corps as a whole,” Carey said. “And all of those guys are very capable on the defensive side of the ball, with Josiah being an all-conference performer last year at corner.”

Defensively, Green will anchor that side of the ball with Carey’s son, Ryan, excelling on the edge at defensive end. Jack Martin and Brett Fonzi will lead the linebacker group.

“We’re a pretty heavy senior group and have a lot of guys who have played,” Carey said. “Defensively, we have eight returning starters, and we like what we have on the defensive side of the ball. We’re hopefully going to play to our strengths.”

Class 5A’s Northeast Conference does not change a ton with realignment this year. Woodland Hills is out and Plum is in. Pine-Richland and Penn Hills figure to be the projected top teams yet again.

“The conference is always a challenge,” Carey said. “There’s really not a week off. And mixed in with the nonconference schedule the WPIAL provides for you, we still feel like we have a very difficult schedule.

“But there are some winnable games and we’re going to attack each game one week at a time. We’d like to think that, at the end, we’re going to be in the mix.”

Carey’s hope is that the sting of missing the postseason last year resonates within his program, particularly the seniors who are gearing up for their final games at Martorelli Stadium.

“We talk about it daily,” Carey said. “With this program, that’s not the standard we’ve set in the past. And we’re not only hoping to get into the playoffs, but to make a run at it.”

North Hills

Coach: Pat Carey

2023 record: 4-6, 2-3 in Class 5A Northeast Conference

All-time record: 516-329-27

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 Hempfield, 7

8.30 Seneca Valley, 7

9.6 at Mars, 7

9.13 at Pine-Richland*, 7

9.20 Fox Chapel*, 7

9.27 at Norwin, 7

10.4 Plum*, 7

10.11 at Shaler*, 7

10.18 Penn Hills*, 7

10.25 at Central Valley, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Connor Davis*

129-219, 1,310 yards, 15 TDs

Rushing: Jack Martin

75-352 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Josiah Mathis

37-478 yards, 4 TDs

* Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Davis was also a standout baseball player for the Indians and is now playing collegiately at Mount Aloysius.

• North Hills last won a WPIAL title in 1993 and last won a postseason game in 2010.

• Carey, a North Hills grad in 1987, is also a teacher at North Hills and is entering his 32nd year in the classroom.

• Green’s older brother, John, was North Hills’ starting quarterback in 2022.

Tags: North Hills