Quaker Valley determined to develop a winning mentality

By: Ray Fisher
Tuesday, August 15, 2023 | 12:56 AM

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The 2022 season appeared promising in the early going for the Quaker Valley football team.

QV won its Class 3A Western Conference opener under first-year coach Jason Cappa, defeating Seton LaSalle, 40-22.

It was all downhill after that.

The Quakers lost their next six by wide margins to end up 1-5 in the conference and 1-8 overall.

Record-wise, it proved to be a disappointing 2022 season, but the Quakers are determined to develop a winning mentality and program.

“Our expectations are the same as always,” Cappa said. “We want to develop a team of leaders who hold themselves and the team to high standards.

“We focus every day on fundamentals and doing our best on every play. I am always telling the players to play every rep and drill like it matters at a championship level because it does.”

The Quakers participated in a strenuous offseason program that was geared to make each individual bigger, faster and stronger.

Cappa and his staff know how important the offseason is to a football team.

“We had a great turnout in our summer workout program,” Cappa said. “This is the second year we have averaged 15 to 20 players in the weight room and in our conditioning/speed training program, which I’m told is quite an accomplishment.

“Our goal is to improve every day, week and year. We are constantly evaluating ourselves to become better. The players have bought into our culture and are really taking ownership of a winner’s mentality.”

Was the QV coach able to take anything he learned in 2022 into year two of his tenure?

“Yes,” Cappa said. “We have great parents, players, administrators, teachers and a community who all support one another to be the best we can be. On the football front, we learned a lot. We see what it takes to compete with all of the great teams in our conference.

“We are still trying to build offensive and defensive linemen. We have some really good linemen now, but we don’t have enough. So, we have to begin building them, which takes time.”

The Quakers have three starters back in the trenches in sophomore Kris Brown and seniors Zach Djedid and Ethan Pesce.

Two returning skill-position players who saw a lot of snaps last year are juniors Thomas Debelak, a wide receiver/defensive back, and Dom Giles, a WR/TE/OLB.

Two starters who were injured early last season but are back in 2023 are junior running back/linebacker Jack Diemert and sophomore quarterback/linebacker Logan Benedict.

“We used this week to begin to set our depth charts for each position,” Cappa said early in the preseason. “Every position is a competition. Nothing is a given on this team. You must earn a spot.

“To be honest, we don’t talk about the first team and second team. We call them the first group and second group. With a small roster size, each player must be prepared to play like a ‘starter’ because in one snap, they become a starter from an injury or someone needing a break.”

The Quakers wrapped up the 2022 season with a 36-player roster.

“Our numbers are similar to last season,” Cappa said. “We expect to be in the mid- to low-30s. Our numbers are growing at the middle school and youth levels, so the future looks good in terms of players.”

QV was hampered by injuries a year ago, which can prove disastrous to a team with less than 40 players.

“An obvious disappointment for us was our win and loss record,” Cappa said. “Another disappointment was the amount of injuries we had to endure. We had 19 first-year players. The week after our victory, we had eight starters standing in street clothes due to injury.”

There were some favorable trends displayed by the team in 2022.

“Some of the positives were the small victories we had as a program,” Cappa said. “We had 100% academic eligibility. And we had Saturday varsity workouts and JV games for the first time in a while.”

Quaker Valley

Coach: Jason Cappa

2022 record: 1-8, 1-5 in Class 3A Western Hills Conference

All-time record: 242-369-14

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 Freedom, 7

9.1 Mohawk, 7

9.8 Freeport, 7

9.15 at Seton LaSalle*, 7

9.22 at South Side, 7

9.29 Hopewell*, 7

10.6 at South Park*, 7

10.13 West Mifflin*, 7

10.20 at Beaver*, 7:30

10.27 Avonworth*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Troy Kozar*

57-127, 706 yards, 5 TDs

Rushing: Gavin Eshenbaugh*

62-283 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Jakub Pickett*

28-497 yards, 9 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Pickett, a four-year starter, led QV in receiving as a junior and senior and was a starter in the defensive secondary both years. He repeated as a first-team all-conference selection on offense. The athletic wideout caught five passes for a school-record 163 yards and two touchdowns last season against Seton LaSalle.

• Pickett (WR), Eshenbaugh (RB), Dominic Cox-Giles (LB) and Abe Djedid (OL) were all-conference selections in 2022. Pickett, a four-year starter, repeated as a first-team selection on offense.

• The Quakers had the smallest roster in the Western Hills Conference last year, consisting of 10 seniors, 10 freshmen, eight juniors and eight sophomores.

• Avonworth won the conference championship last year with a 6-0 record. Beaver, West Mifflin and South Park all tied for second at 4-2. Hopewell ended up 2-4 and was trailed by QV and Seton LaSalle.

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