Kiski Prep opens year with new coach, new QBs and game overseas

By: Ted Sarneso
Thursday, August 21, 2025 | 10:56 PM

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It’s not often that an opportunity like the one the Kiski School Cougar football team will experience comes along.

The coaches and players understand that, and the excitement at the school is palpable.

“I’ve never been outside the country,” said junior Levi Porter. “It’s pretty cool to get the chance to go over there and play football.”

“A lot of other schools have contacted me just to see how they can get in on something like that,” said head coach Aaron Smetanka. “It’ll be cool for our guys to see a different country, tour some places and play a nice, significant game to open the season.”

On Aug. 22, the Cougars will take on the Ireland Under-19 junior national team, which is made up of the best youth players from the nation’s domestic club teams, in the Global Ireland Football Tournament at Energia Park in the Donnybrook suburb of Dublin.

The unique matchup will headline a doubleheader of games which will also feature the Hun School from New Jersey facing the UK-based NFL Academy.

The Cougars’ game will just be a small part of what the players, coaches and family members will experience once they land on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

They will enjoy a tour of Dublin, get a firsthand taste of Gaelic football and hurling, partake in a welcome dinner and enjoy an American-style pep rally the night before their game against the Irish.

Then on Sunday, the team will take in the atmosphere as Kansas State and Iowa State face off in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium.

“We’ll also be staying at the University College of Dublin,” said Smetanka. “The early arrival time even allows us the chance to get acclimated to the time change and adapt to the sleep schedule.”

Not that the Cougars haven’t already prepared for that.

“We’ve been adjusting our schedules here to line up with the time change,” said senior Hunter Richardson. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

Being prepared and focused is something that Smetanka is teaching his players in his first year as head coach for the Cougars.

“His message to us was to be where our feet are,” said Porter.

“#WintheMoment. He has it on everything,” said Jaivin Peel, a transfer from Western Beaver. “Win every rep, every play, every lift.”

Smetanka, who held previous head coaching jobs at Greensburg Central Catholic and Saint Vincent College, is taking over a team that won six of its last seven games last year to finish with a winning record for the first time in three years.

Last year’s success came at a large cost as the Cougars lost 16 players to graduation, so there’s a lot to replace.

“We do have a solid group of kids returning,” Smetanka said. “But for the most part, it’s almost a brand-new roster. We have a lot of new guys and a lot of positions to fill.”

To the players, Smetanka started the offseason off right, setting up Zoom meetings with all returning and incoming players to let the players get to know each other and the new offensive and defensive playbooks.

“It’s a lot different than last year,” said Porter. “Coach has set it up as close to a college program as possible. He’s put a lot of energy into the program, specifically in recruiting and making sure everyone is ready for the season.”

“Last year, on the first day of camp, we didn’t know half our teammates,” said Richardson. “This year, I think I know every kid that’s coming here from all over the country and those from abroad. He’s done a great job of connecting us.”

Something that’s been a major help for those that have been on the Kiski School campus over the summer is being able to work with a potential starting quarterback before camp.

Peel has been around, working out with Porter, Richardson and senior Mason Jones among others. He will be one of two players competing to take over for Mason Smith, who stepped up at the position last year and graduated.

“We didn’t know either quarterback last season until we got here for camp,” said Richardson. “It’s good to know we will have a guy who can read defenses well and be someone we can trust. I expect us to have a better season and add on to what we did last year.”

“With Jaivin being from the WPIAL, we know the kind of competition he faced and that he broke a lot of records,” said Smetanka. “But we also have a kid, Machael Armstrong, coming in from the state of Indiana that also set a lot of records. It’s going to be a good competition between the two.”

Armstrong was a three-year starter at his previous high school and is a dual threat. He’s had been trying to get out to some of the Cougars’ camps earlier in the summer and has done well in the classroom, compiling a 3.9 GPA.

“He’s getting a lot of looks from Ivy League and NESCAC schools,” said Smetanka. “Jaivin also reclassified himself as a sophomore, so he’s setting himself up well for recruitment in a few years.

“We’re going to make sure we push both of these guys during camp and be sure they’re prepared. I see them both able to play at the next level. It’ll be fun to watch them learn together and help each other be better players and people.”

Porter, who also reclassified this offseason, returns again as a junior and will be the focal point offensively for the Cougars.

Since his reclassification, Smetanka says Porter’s gotten an offer from Eastern Michigan and is seeing good push from a lot of MAC teams with other schools waiting to see film from the end of this year.

“We’ll continue to feed him the ball, but we also have guys that can sub him to keep him as fresh as possible, because a lot of these guys are playing both offense and defense,” said Smetanka. “We want to keep the wear and tear on those guys to a minimum.”

Richardson also plays both sides of the ball as a tight end and a defensive end. He finished last year with 22 tackles, eight for loss, and added a sack on a defense that allowed 21 points per game.

Along the offensive line, the Cougars return three starters in sophomore Julius Aue, senior Jeremy Bjick and junior Stevey Shen. Aue and Bjick are from Germany and Shen hails from China.

“We also have some new guys coming in, and it’s going to be interesting to see how they all mesh together,” said Smetanka. “Just seeing how they adapt to communicating on the field with the new plays and schemes, getting our terminology down will be the biggest thing.”

Some new guys coming in include Maximillion McMillan from Paramus Catholic out of New Jersey, who is a running back/linebacker, and Elijah White, a slot receiver from Macchiarola High School in the Bronx.

“Max has a few offers from Southern Missouri, Wagner, Monmouth, LIU and a Syracuse offer,” Smetanka said. “Elijah also has an offer from Wagner, and it will be interesting to see both come here and mesh with what we have.

“We also have some international guys that we’re excited to see how they transition to playing here in the U.S. But all that matters is how quickly they all adjust and come together as a unit.”

With an early start to camp and an opportunity to bond as a team in Ireland, the Cougars could end up meshing well and build upon the momentum they had at the end of last season.

Kiski Prep

Coach: Aaron Smetanka

2024 record: 6-3

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 at Junior Irish Wolfhounds, Dublin, Ireland, 6

9.6 The Hill School, 7

9.13 Saint James School, 1

9.20 at Peddie School (Hightstown, N.J.), 2

9.27 at Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 1

10.4 at Wyoming Seminary (Kingston), 2

10.11 Blair Academy, 1

10.25 at Blue Ridge School (St. George, Va.), 2

11.1 Linsly School, 2

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Mason Smith*

500 yards, 6 TDs

Rushing: Levi Porter

775 yards, 6 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• In his first two seasons at Western Beaver, Jaivin Peel shattered the school’s passing yards record of 1,700 yards. He threw for 2,889 yards his freshman year and 2,543 as a sophomore for a total of 5,432 yards.

• Apart from his 775 yards on the ground, Levi Porter amassed nearly 1,100 yards of total offense. He collected 252 kickoff return yards and scored a touchdown while also intercepting the ball three times on defense and returning two for touchdowns.

• Smetanka’s coaching record includes a 19-36 record in six years (2019-2024) at Saint Vincent and a 10-10 mark in two seasons at Greensburg Central (2017-2018).

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