Strong offseason breeds optimism at Avella despite small roster

By: Antonio Rossetti
Wednesday, August 23, 2023 | 10:58 PM

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Avella carries one of the smallest rosters in WPIAL football. The Eagles’ personnel can change greatly year by year due to the small numbers, but the Eagles always come motivated despite those challenges.

Ryan Cecchini, coach since 2011, said that there’s been an outstanding turnout during summer camp — better than last season.

“It’s been really good this year. We’ve had a really good year for participation wise,” Cecchini said. “You know, we don’t have a lot of kids as it is to begin with. We aim for low 20s every year for our roster, and we’ve had between 17 and 18 guys about every night there, so it’s been a really good turnout this year.”

The Eagles went 1-9 last season, 1-6 in the Class A Black Hills Conference, with two seniors on the roster, which means most of the Avella starters are back this season.

Heading into 2023, Cecchini expects an even more competitive and experienced team.

“You can see the difference in the attitude with these kids,” Cecchini said. “Now that they know what we’re doing and have some experience and know what to expect, a lot of them, when we were switching conferences, they didn’t know what we’re getting into. Last year, a lot hadn’t played varsity football. We had a very young team.”

Senior wide receiver/cornerback Isaiah Bradick not only sees an improvement in attitude, but also in performance. Bradick was the team’s leading receiver with 42 receptions for 381 yards, scoring two touchdowns.

“We have more linemen this year than we had last year, and our offense is looking good because of all the new kids that have showed up,” Bradick said. “And the defense, our linebackers are looking strong, and same with our DBs. Everybody’s looking pretty strong this year on our team.”

Bradick mentioned that freshman Chas Rush, who is the team’s backup quarterback, will make an immediate impact on defense. He said that Ronnie Kozak is also a freshman who is poised to help on both sides of the ball.

The Eagles feature a plethora of freshmen and sophomores. Bradick wants the young talent to flourish not only this year, but when they become seniors.

“We’re trying to push them, so we can build an offense for next year’s senior group,” Bradick said. “We’re just trying to push them as best as we can.”

Senior quarterback/linebacker Cole Jaworowski also wants to push the underclassmen. Jaworowski leaped into a leadership role as the first-string quarterback. Jaworowski threw for 603 yards with five passing touchdowns and ran for 330 yards and two scores.

“This year as a senior quarterback, I’m supposed to know everything, for a lack of better terms,” Jaworowski said. “I’ve got to be able to show the younger kids it’s possible to do the work and get the benefits out of doing the work.”

Jaworowski shares the same thoughts as Bradick when it comes to summer camp. He said that he is noticing great improvement, and he hopes that the players filling in for the last year’s seniors will flourish.

One thing all Avella football players have to prepare for is limited rest periods. With a smaller team, playing both offense and defense is normal.

“You have to prepare for never coming off the field,” Jaworowski said. “You have to just condition more. We probably condition a lot harder than other teams, knowing that we don’t get the chance to take a break. We have basically 11 guys both going both ways, both sides of the ball, for 160 snaps a game. We’re preparing for that and just to beat ourselves up.”

Both Jaworowski and Bradick want to lead by example. Bradick joined the team last season because of Jaworowski, and they both said that they have a strong connection. They have known each other for years and have had all of the same classes for a long time.

Bradick is grateful that Jaworowski convinced him to play, and Jaworowski considers Bradick the best target he’s ever thrown to.

“Everybody looks to them for leadership,” Cecchini said of Bradick and Jaworowski. “Cole is the more outspoken guy and Isaiah is the guy that has the work ethic and leads by example, but both of them bring a little bit of something different. They’re both great guys and they form a pretty good combination, passing and catching. And they kind of know what each other is going to do before they will do it.”

Although Bradick and Jaworowski have a connection through the air, Avella has several returning linemen, so Cecchini plans on running the ball more while utilizing misdirection. He added that the Eagles have decent speed on defense, so he expects the unit to be more dynamic.

“We have a lot of versatile guys this year that have played multiple different positions last year, due to our need and necessity due to injury,” Cecchini said. “I think we can be more dynamic on defense and more adaptable and change what we do on the fly and move guys around at different spots.”

Cecchini added that players poised to have a breakout season are junior Broden Hamm, sophomore Noah Kimberland and Caleb Ruschel. Cecchini has high hopes for the group of Eagles not only this year, but the years to come.

“I think as they get bigger and stronger and grow, they’re still young guys, they’re going to continue to get better,” Cecchini said. “It shows that they’re excited with the numbers that they’re showing up in in the summer, and I think they want to be part of turning around. I think that’s really going to help their enthusiasm and everything.”

Cecchini expects the team to take a leap forward this season.

“I think we’re going to be much more competitive than we have been in recent years, especially last year,” Cecchini said. “I think we have a number of players with experience this year, and I think we can hang with some of the tougher teams during the season, where I didn’t think we could last year, as long as we stay healthy.”

As for Avella’s team goals, Bradick, Jaworowski and Cecchini want to improve their record from last season.

“We want more than one win,” Jaworowski said. “In my opinion, it is probably the toughest conference and then teams think, little Avella, it’s basically a free win for them, but hopefully we can get people that won’t think of us as little Avella and we can stick it to them.”

Avella

Coach: Ryan Cecchini

2022 record: 1-9, 1-6 in Class A Black Hills Conference

All-time record: 354-494-26

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.25 Mapletown, 7

9.1 Bentworth, 7

9.8 at Mapletown, 7

9.15 at Cornell*, 7

9.22 Bishop Canevin*, 7

9.29 at Carlynton*, 7

10.6 Fort Cherry*, 7

10.13 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart*, 7

10.20 at Burgettstown*, 7

10.27 Chartiers-Houston*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Cole Jaworowski

66-167, 603 yards, 5 TDs

Rushing: Cole Jaworowski

53-330 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Isaiah Bradick

42-381 yards, 2 TDs

FAST FACTS

• The Eagles made their first playoff appearance in 37 years, defeating Carmichaels, 14-7, in stunning fashion in 2020.

• Ralph Cindrich wrote a book, NFL Brawler, which details his journey growing up in Avella and playing for the Eagles, making it all the way into the pros. Cindrich played for New England Patriots, the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos from 1972-1975.

• Avella alumni Silvio Zaninelli played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1934-1937, and George Daney played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1968-1974, winning an AFL Championship and a Super Bowl.

• Cheerleader Anastasia Barr got into a football game as a defensive back in 2008 due to the team’s shortened roster, gaining national media attention.

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