North Hills to rely on senior class to navigate new-look conference slate

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, September 7, 2020 | 10:44 PM

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North Hills enters the fall with a football team that’s senior-heavy but light on experience.

The way to fix that problem is to let them play.

“We need to get this rolling a little bit and see what we have, because we do have to mature over the season,” coach Pat Carey said. “Hopefully these guys can gain game experience real quickly.”

This senior class waited its turn to get onto the field, including first-year starting quarterback Ethan Marker, but Carey said he sees potential in them nonetheless. They’ll determine whether North Hills improves on last season’s 6-5 record.

“They’ve got some stuff to prove,” Carey said, “but I like the class.”

There are several guys with experience. Senior running back Curtis Foskey was the team’s leading rusher last season with 685 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries. Foskey is the between-the-tackles runner in North Hills’ offense.

Carey installed the new offense last season, employing a system based on multiple backs and misdirection. The concept was new to them last summer, but now the players had an entire year to learn it.

“The ground work has taken place and our kids know the schemes,” Carey said. “We have a year of experience under our belt. Now we can grow from there and expand the playbook.”

The other rushers are senior Tyler Tomasic (78 carries, 410 yards) and juniors Liam Tracey and Chase Foskey. They’re called into action for jet sweeps and counter plays, but Curtis Foskey is the key.

“In our offense, you kind of have to establish the fullback,” Carey said. “That’s Curtis’ role. If we can get him going, I think the offense will kind of run through him.”

North Hills plans to throw a few new wrinkles into the offense. That could include some plays for second quarterback, John Green, an athletic sophomore. But the majority of the snaps belong to Marker, a 6-foot-1 passer with a strong arm.

Marker made one start last season at Penn Hills, a 21-7 loss when the starter sprained an ankle in practice.

“He’s got a nice arm and he’s refined his game,” Carey said. “He’s worked a lot over the quarantine getting stronger. He’s a bigger, stronger kid than he was last year. We like his potential. It’s just a matter of putting that on tape and doing it on Friday nights.”

That applies to a number of his teammates as well. Carey sees potential but not experience in tight end T.J. Legler, guard Nate Brackman, wide receiver Max Sharp and outside linebacker Bill Fonzi. Inside linebacker Tanner Illnicki, a junior, could also be added to that list.

“The inexperienced guys have to grow up quickly,” Carey said.

With Tracey at safety, Alec Apodaca at linebacker and Chris Copp and Curtis Foskey at defensive end, North Hills’ defense might give the offensive time to grow.

“I like our defense,” Carey said. “As long as we can play defense and keep us in the game, I think we can do enough athletically on offense to have some success. It will be down to those guys getting game experience.”

North Hills returns two starting linemen from a team that went 5-2 in the conference and reached the WPIAL Class 5A first round. Copp, a 6-3, 200-pound junior, returns at guard and senior Matt Hummel (6-5, 235) is back at tackle. A third would-be starter, senior Nick Peterson, will miss his senior season after a motorbike accident.

Overall, the line is a concern, Carey said.

“We’re not big and we’re not deep,” he said. “Obviously, sometimes that’s where the games are won, so we’ve got to be careful with how we deal with the kids. We’ve got to be smart about it and hopefully design some schemes that can use our speed and lack of size to their advantage.”

North Hills has a new rival in the conference this year since Pine-Richland joined. The Rams reached the WPIAL Class 6A finals three years in a row, and Penn Hills hasn’t lost a conference game in two seasons.

Still, North Hills is aiming for a top-two finish.

“There are some pretty good teams in this league this year,” Carey said. “Not only the teams that are expected to be at the top, but I think some of the others, the Kiskis and Fox Chapels of the world are going to be tough to play.”

Schedule

Coach: Pat Carey

2019 record: 6-5, 5-2 in Class 5A Northern Conference

All-time record: 499-307-27

Date, Opponent, Time

9.11, Shaler*, 7

9.18, Moon, 7

9.25, Woodland Hills, 7

10.2, at Kiski Area*, 7

10.9, Penn Hills*, 7

10.16, at Pine-Richland*, 7

10.23, at Fox Chapel*, 7

*Class 5A Northeast Conference game

Statistical leaders

Passing: Dylan Pawling*

30-75, 480 yards, 3 TDs

Receiving: Tom McDonough*

15-218 yards, 1 TDs

Rushing: Curtis Foskey

104-685 yards, 8 TDs

*Graduated

Fast facts

• North Hills has played in the WPIAL championship game eight times, going 3-4-1. The wins were over Butler in 1982, Mt. Lebanon in 1987 and Upper St. Clair in 1993. The losses were to Mt. Lebanon in 1981, Gateway in 1986, Upper St. Clair in 1989 and West Allegheny in 2002. The tie was against Gateway in 1985.

• North Hills was streaky last season, winning its first four games and losing its next three.

• Coronavirus-related schedule changes took away nonconference matchups against Mars and Plum.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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