Roster packed with seniors brings confidence to Carlynton

By: Antonio Rossetti
Sunday, August 18, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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The Carlynton Cougars have a pack of seniors that are more than ready for the Friday Night Lights.

The Cougars’ roster showcases 17 seniors.

Senior Mark Jameson, who played at Bishop Canevin for the past three years, returned to Carlynton for his last year of high school football. He knows the importance of a massive senior class in Class 2A football.

“It’s very important, especially because we haven’t had a class like this in a while,” Jameson said. “I just think it’s a great thing, especially for our team this year. We have a pretty big junior class as well, so we definitely have a lot of experience going into this season.”

Jameson can’t wait to get back onto the field with a group of players that he grew up with.

“I’m just excited,” Jameson said. “I’m a little bit nervous, but I’m pretty excited to go into it, being able to be with my team for my senior year, and to be with all my brothers from when I was younger.”

Coach John Tortorea took over coaching duties last year and he already sees the program taking a leap. Last season, Carlynton won two games but was competitive in a few losses.

This isn’t Tortorea’s first rodeo. He coached at Shaler and Quaker Valley and succeeded at both schools. He wants to continue to turn the program around and by the numbers, the players have bought in.

“We’ve averaged about 20-25 kids in the weight room since January, so that’s been a great thing for us,” Tortorea said. “We’ve been fantastic. We had a lot of great 7-on-7s with some really, really talented teams. We had the opportunity to compete against teams like Penn Hills, Woodland Hills and Montour. We played some of the big boys, and it was a great experience for our guys.”

He added that playing the bigger schools allowed the team to gain confidence. At first, the players were curious about why they were playing such big schools, but it was all to have them gain confidence.

Senior quarterback and safety Devonte Dean is confident in this group. He said that the summer has been fantastic and that 7-on-7s proved that they are clicking as a team.

“They all know what they’re doing, and we’ve all been playing together for a really long time, since we were like 6 or 7,” Dean said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Dean threw for 879 yards last season, tossing 11 touchdown passes with three interceptions. Jameson had a lot to say about the talented Dean.

“He’s a dog,” Jameson said. “He makes everything happen out there. Big hits, big plays, he just does it all. Him and I are actually really close. We’re really good friends. We know we have that connection and we’ve been practicing with each other.”

Tortorea also praised Dean’s dynamic play and leadership.

“Devonte Dean is the heart and soul of our football team,” Tortorea said. “He’s everything that you want in a football player.”

Jameson will be one of Dean’s top targets this season at tight end.

“He catches everything,” Dean said. “I missed playing with them those years where he transferred.”

Jameson will play an enormous role on both sides of the ball. Tortorea said that he will help tremendously in the middle of the field.

“I really didn’t have a tight end this year and he’s a legit tight end,” Tortorea said. “He’s an awesome kid. I wish we had him last year, but he came back to us.”

Jameson said that he’s been working on his speed and agility over the offseason, as the Cougars plan to use him at tight end and wide receiver. He also expects to play linebacker and defensive end.

Damien Holloway is another player Dean, Jameson and Tortorea all think is going to have an impactful year.

Holloway is going into his junior season and he’ll be playing a key role in the Carlynton offense.

“He’s just tall and he’s a big target,” Dean said. “He really doesn’t drop the ball much.”

Tortorea added that running back/linebacker Ashton Donlin will play a significant role. He expects Donlin to be a driving force on offense.

Senior Ryan Lewis was a big piece of the offense last year. However, it is likely he will miss the season due to injury. Lewis tallied 308 rushing yards with four touchdowns and 320 receiving yards with five touchdowns.

Tortorea knows they’ll miss Lewis, but he believes that senior Tony Burkhart has stepped up to the plate.

“He’s going to be a big-time player for us this year,” Tortorea said. “He’s another senior back, which is great. He’s going to be picking up some offense where Ryan Lewis was. … It’s going to be by committee to kind of replace those kinds of statistics from that young man who’s pretty special.”

Tortorea added that running back John Sciulli and lineman Cooper Black will be two senior leaders. Jameson sees Sciulli’s dedication.

“He’s been really putting in work, on the field, in the weight room, and he’s got a lot bigger,” Jameson said. “I would say he put on 15 pounds, like he’s looking a lot bigger this year, a lot faster, a lot stronger, and I think he’s going to have a big year.”

Sciulli was productive last year. He notched 219 yards on 31 carries, tallying one touchdown.

Jameson mentioned that the team has come a long way and the energy level has been up.

“We’ve actually had some guys step up from last year for sure,” Jameson said. “A lot of guys are being more vocal. We have a lot of good seniors this year.”

The entire team has bought into Tortorea’s system. Dean commented on Torrtea’s ability to be personable.

“He came in and it was an automatic connection,” Dean said. “He’s a really good coach. He knows what he’s doing. He has gotten us a lot better since last year.”

Although Carlynton features a lot of seniors, eight juniors are on the roster as well.

Tortorea likes the direction the team is going.

“We had to tear everything down, and just now we’re building it back up,” Tortorea said. “We are seeing great benefits on how much just providing structure, providing a solid weightlifting situation, environment, nutrition program, just doing everything that a real program is supposed to do.”

Jameson wants to bring the Cougars a winning season.

“Carlynton hasn’t really had a winning team in the past 15 years I think, but I’m excited,” Jameson said. “We’re expecting a big year, nothing less. We’re expecting to at least make it to the playoffs, something that our school hasn’t done in a very long time. We’re all excited.”

Carlynton

Coach: John Tortorea

2023 record: 2-8, 1-6 in Class A Black Hills Conference

All-time record: 178-331-10

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 at Carrick, 7

8.30 at Avella, 7

9.6 at South Allegheny, 7

9.13 Apollo-Ridge, 7

9.21 at Seton-LaSalle*, 7

9.27 Keystone Oaks*, 7

10.4 at Waynesburg*, 7

10.11 Sto-Rox*, 7

10.18 Washington*, 7

10.25 Charleroi*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Devonte Dean

58-104, 879 yards, 11 TDs

Rushing: Ryan Lewis

308 yards, 4 TDs

Receiving: Ryan Lewis

320 yards, 5 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Bill Cowher, Pro Football Hall of Famer and head coach of the 2005 Super Bowl-winning Steelers, is a 1975 Carlynton graduate.

• Carlynton’s football field in Carnegie is named after Pirates legend Honus Wagner.

• Carlynton will move up to the Class 2A Century Conference from the Class A Black Hills Conference.

• The Cougars will open with three nonconference road games.

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