Second-half surge shows mettle of resilient Shady Side Academy football team

By: George Guido
Saturday, December 17, 2022 | 11:01 AM

After starting the season 1-4, the last thing many expected from the Shady Side Academy football team was an appearance in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals.

But the Bulldogs turned the season around, winning six in a row before falling to Avonworth, a step away from the WPIAL title game.

“We started out rough and our leadership is what pulled us through,” Shady Side coach Chuck DiNardo said. “Our kids were extremely resilient. We had a class of 11 seniors, and every one of them made sure they did their part to right the ship.”

The Bulldogs lost to some quality programs during the first half, including Elizabeth Forward, a team Shady Side defeated in the playoffs.

Said DiNardo: “We knew that we were doing some good things and there were some areas we needed to clean up. We had some injuries early on, and you combine that with the pretty challenging nonconference schedule we had to open up the year, it left us in a pretty rough spot. Our kids stayed the course, and I believe that was the story of our season.”

The Bulldogs opened the Allegheny 6 Conference slate with a narrow 12-7 loss to Freeport. But Shady Side won the remainder of its conference games and defeated South Park and Elizabeth Forward in the playoffs.

Not even a shoulder injury to quarterback Max Wickland could stop the Shady Side express. The senior is due for surgery soon after passing for 1,153 yards and eight scores.

“We continued to get so much better, week by week, especially after losing Max at the end of the regular season,” the veteran coach said. “Max was instrumental in everything we accomplished this year. He helped get his backup ready.”

Stepping in was freshman quarterback Devin Harris for the two playoff wins as DiNardo called for the all-hands-on-deck approach.

“We continued to play our style of football here, blocking and tackling,” DiNardo said. “South Park always has a good ballclub and Elizabeth Forward in Week 3 beat us 42-21.”

So when the 31-17 playoff victory is considered, it marked a 35-point turnaround in eight weeks.

Four-year starter Joey Bellinotti continued to improve and finished his career with another spectacular season. He played tight end, captained the defense as a safety and even played some wildcat quarterback, compiling 1,521 total yards and 17 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions on defense. An all-conference pick and wide receiver and defensive back was named the conference’s co-most valuable defensive player and also the conference’s all-purpose offensive player.

Both Wickland and Bellinotti are now going on college recruiting tours. Wickland is getting looked at by high-end schools, including MIT, Case Western and the University of Chicago. Ithaca College, Case Western, Kenyon and Carnegie Mellon are all eyeing up Bellinotti.

All-conference inside linebacker James Bernier is deciding between Kenyon and CMU. Nate Ewell (12 sacks, 24 TFL), another four-year starter, is looking at Division II and III colleges and vastly improved Noah Yeh is considering Lock Haven University and others. Ewell was named the conference’s most valuable offensive lineman.

DiNardo also lauded the efforts of senior Patrick Bryan, who was finally injury free and earned all-conference honors at outside linebacker. Bryan had fumble recoveries for touchdowns in each of the two playoff victories. Sophomore running back Darrin Haynes was a surprise contributor and also stepping up was senior cornerback Naziium Daniels, who was selected an all-conference kick returner.

In 2023, the Bulldogs are scheduled to play their same regular season opponents, only at alternating sites.

Tags: Shady Side Academy