Steel Valley gets back to work in defense of WPIAL title

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Thursday, August 17, 2023 | 9:03 PM

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In his 34th season as a head coach, Ray Braszo lifted the WPIAL championship trophy for the first time last November when Steel Valley beat Beaver Falls in the Class 2A finals.

How did he celebrate that momentous achievement once practice began again in August?

“You start all over and you get to work,” Braszo said.

In one sense, the Ironmen really are starting over. Cruce Brookins was the engine that drove the WPIAL title team, rushing for 1,679 yards and 34 touchdowns and throwing for 783 yards and seven scores, but he graduated and headed to Pitt.

“You lose a player like him, it’s definitely going to be hard,” Braszo said. “Not only was he good with the things he did, he always worked hard. The other players saw how hard he worked and he was a good leader for us. A quiet leader who led by example. No nonsense. You’re going to miss somebody like him.”

Add in the graduation of a couple of key linemen, including 6-foot-5, 315-pound Gregory Smith, who went on to Miami (Ohio), and it might look like the Ironmen are in store for a rebuild.

Braszo agrees, but only to a point.

“We look positive on the season coming up,” he said. “You’re never going to be as good as you were when you won a championship last year, but we can replace a lot of people and be very competitive.”

The biggest reason for optimism is in the offense backfield, where a pair of Barksdales have plenty of bite in their game.

Donald Barksdale, a junior, ran for 910 yards and 16 touchdowns last season and scored on a 53-yard interception return and a 56-yard TD run in the WPIAL finals against Beaver Falls.

“At the end of the year, he made great plays,” Braszo said. “He really proved himself. He’s a hard worker and a good runner, good on defense. He likes to play the game. We’re going to lean on him a lot more going into this year, probably, than last year because of all the things he proved he can do.”

The Ironmen, meanwhile, don’t plan to make many changes to their playbook, even with Brookins gone, because sophomore Da’Ron Barksdale is making the move from receiver to quarterback, where he has the athleticism to make plays on the ground.

Junior Del Shields is a slot back who should see his share of touches and senior Quaron Pierce ran for 614 yards last season. Carlos Scott, a tight end and linebacker, is another key returnee.

Up front, senior Mike Crist was an all-conference selection last season and senior JJ Heddleston and junior Rasaun Hough are returning starters as well.

Crist, Heddleston and Hough will also anchor the defensive front, and with Pierce, Scott and senior Tylyne Bursay leading the linebacking corps, the Ironmen are well positioned to be able to run the ball and stop the run.

And that, after all, is the formula they used to deliver Braszo his first WPIAL championship last November.

“That gets you where you’ve got to go,” Braszo said.

Editor’s note: Due to a production scheduling conflict, the preview for Allegheny Conference team Serra Catholic will appear later this month.

Steel Valley

Coach: Ray Braszo

2022 record: 12-1, 7-0 in Class 2A Allegheny Conference

All-time record: 317-214-12

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 at Charleroi, 7

9.1 Sto-Rox, 7

9.8 at Seton LaSalle, 7

9.15 at Imani Christian*, 7

9.22 Ligonier Valley*, 7

9.29 at Apollo-Ridge*, 7

10.6 Derry*, 7

10.13 Burrell*, 7

10.20 at Yough*, 7

10.27 Serra Catholic*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Cruce Brookins*

41-84, 783 yards, 7TDs

Rushing: Brookins*

146-1,679 yards, 34 TDs

Receiving: Jesean Wright*

16-200 yards, TD

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Coach Ray Braszo is entering his fifth season at Steel Valley after 30 at West Mifflin. His career record is 218-138-3.

• Steel Valley will be trying to repeat as WPIAL champs for the second time in school history. The Ironmen first pulled off the feat in 1988-89. They also won WPIAL crowns in 1982, 2016 and 2018.

• Steel Valley was seventh in the WPIAL in scoring offense last season, averaging 41.2 points per game.

• One of Steel Valley’s nonconference games features a matchup of returning WPIAL Class 2A semifinalists when the Ironmen host Sto-Rox on Sept. 1. Last year, Sto-Rox gave Steel Valley its toughest test of the regular season with the Ironmen pulling off a 27-24 victory.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

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