Scholastic Notebook – 08/31/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, August 31, 2012 | 12:12 PM

The storylines are many as the WPIAL football season kicks off tonight. But is there a storyline with more irony than the Springdale at West Shamokin game?

There is the new guy taking over for one of the winningest coaches in WPIAL history, and his first game is against a team with a historical losing streak.

Dave Leasure will be in his first game as Springdale’s head coach. He takes over for Chuck Wagner, who retired last season after 47 years as a high school head coach in the WPIAL (Oakmont, Riverview, Fox Chapel and Springdale high schools). Wagner retired with a record of 270-202-11, and the 270 wins are fourth on the all-time list.

Then there is West Shamokin. The Wolves have lost almost as many games in a row as the number of seasons Wagner coached. West Shamokin is suffering through a 43-game losing streak, the longest in the history of the WPIAL. But West Shamokin moved down to Class A from AA this season, and that could help the Wolves’ plight. Maybe not tonight, but down the road.

Leasure is one of 27 new coaches in the WPIAL this season. That illustrates how you won’t see guys like Chuck Wagner, or Jim Render, or Joe Hamilton much any more. They coach for decades. The 27 new head coaches means 22 percent of WPIAL schools have new coaches this season.

PIAA Rulings

One of the juniors to watch in WPIAL football this season is Gateway receiver Ricky Rogers. He has a scholarship offer from Rutgers and other Division I colleges are interested.

But Rogers wasn’t cleared to play until last Thursday when the PIAA overturned a previous WPIAL ruling that made Rogers ineligible for football this season. The WPIAL ruled a few weeks earlier, after a hearing, that Rogers was ineligible for transferring from Keystone Oaks, at least partly, for athletic intent.

But Rogers was one of five WPIAL athletes who became eligible last Thursday when the PIAA overturned previous WPIAL rulings. David DeMarco is a football player who went from Riverside to Central Valley; Matt Cullen is a basketball player who went from Greensburg Central Catholic to Latrobe; Jacob Thieret is a soccer player who went from Serra to South Allegheny; Zach Cree is a football player who went from Greensburg Central Catholic to Connellsville.

All four had been ruled ineligible by the WPIAL for transferring for athletic intent. But the PIAA overturned those rulings after hearings with all of the athletes.

It has become a regular occurrence for the PIAA to overturn the WPIAL in eligibility rulings. But last Friday, the PIAA upheld a WPIAL ruling in one student-athlete transfer case – Daniel Popovich, a football player who went from McKeesport to Serra.

Starting in Ireland

For the first time in at least a few decades, the WPIAL schedules all games for all of its 125 football teams. It used to be that schools scheduled their first game. They could play wherever they wanted – against whomever they wanted.

But while teams in the WPIAL have their season openers scheduled for them, other teams across the state can still choose their first opponent. A team in Philadelphia has chosen to open the season in Ireland.

Father Judge will play Notre Dame Prep of Scottsdale, Ariz., in a game near Dublin, Ireland as part of a 12-team event being dubbed Dublin Friday Night Lights. The game will be played in a 20,000-seat stadium.

A “Grand” Opening

George Curry retired from coaching football a few years ago, but he is still the winningest coach in Pennsylvania history with more than 400 victories. But Curry has come out of retirement to coach again at Berwick, a team he made into a powerhouse from 1971-2005.

While Curry’s return tonight might be big news in Pennsylvania high school football, there is another interesting twist to his first game. It will also be the first time C.J. Curry starts at quarterback for Berwick. C.J. Curry is George’s grandson.

Basketball Coaching Changes

There were some notable coaching changes in WPIAL basketball over the summer months.

The biggest news was that Dennis Squeglia resigned as Seton-LaSalle’s girls coach. This was after he guided the Rebels to a perfect record and WPIAL and PIAA championships this past season.

Squeglia did not make public the reasons for his departure. But it’s not the first time he left a team that had enjoyed success. A few years ago, he resigned as Peters Township’s girls coach after the Indians made it to the WPIAL Class AAAA title game.

Squeglia leaves behind a team that is the favorite to win another PIAA title. The Rebels return almost their entire roster.

In boys coaching, Mike Decker resigned as Woodland Hills’ coach and moved to Ohio with his family. Decker has taken a job as the girls’ coach at Perry High in Ohio.
Decker turned around Woodland Hills’ program, winning a section title this past season for the first time at the school since 2000.

Basketball Recruiting

How good should Seton-LaSalle’s girls basketball team be again this season? Well, this should tell you a lot: The Rebels have three future Division I college players.
Senior guard Angela Heintz made a verbal commitment to Duquesne University last year during her junior season. But there will be two Duquesne recruits on Seton-LaSalle’s team this upcoming season.

Cassidy Walsh is only a sophomore, but she made a verbal commitment to Duquesne a few days ago. The Dukes offered Walsh a scholarship earlier this summer and Walsh accepted after visiting Duquesne this week.

Walsh was Seton-LaSalle’s starting point guard last year as a freshman. Besides Walsh and Heintz, the Rebels also have junior Naje Gibson, who is being recruited by Division I colleges

Seton-LaSalle, by the way, is the alma mater of Duquesne coach Suzie McConnell-Serio. Heintz is one of two seniors in the WPIAL senior class to pick Duquesne. The other is Bishop Canevin’s Erin Waskowiak.

Soccer Kicks Off

Football isn’t the only sport in Pennsylvania that begins Friday. Soccer teams also can play their first games.

One of the storylines for this soccer season is the Peters Township girls’ quest to win a third consecutive state championship. Since the PIAA started girls soccer championships in 1992, only three teams have won three titles in a row. West Chester Henderson did it from 1997-99, and Villa Joseph Marie from 2000-02. Central Bucks West actually won four in a row from 1993-96, but those were in PIAA spring soccer.

Where Are They Now?

* Kent State opened the season last night with a 41-21 victory against Towson and true freshman running back Julian Durden (Montour graduate) got two carries for 3 yards. Woodland Hills graduate Richard Gray had a sack for Kent State, and McKeesport graduate Dana Brown is starting at nose tackle for Kent State.

* California University of Pa. won its season opener last night and the two leading rushers for the Vulcans were former WPIAL players. Beaver Falls’ Cody Cook gained 69 yards on 15 carries and Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Lamont Smith had 52 yards on 13 attempts.

Tags: Beaver Falls, Bishop Canevin, Central Valley, Connellsville, Gateway, Greensburg C.C., Keystone Oaks, Latrobe, McKeesport, West Shamokin, Woodland Hills