With new coach at helm, Charleroi driven to earn respect

By: Jeff Oliver
Thursday, August 21, 2025 | 6:01 AM

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Charleroi’s Scooter DeUnger has a daunting task ahead of him as he takes over as football coach at his alma mater.

The Cougars have fallen on hard times, with last year’s 1-9 campaign marking their third straight season around the bottom of the conference. They have an overall record of 3-25 in that span.

By season’s end in 2024, Charleroi dressed fewer than 15 players.

DeUnger, who was a multi-sport star at Charleroi before he graduated in 1997, has never backed down from any challenge.

“There’s a lot to be done here, but I’m excited,” said DeUnger, who guided Charleroi’s middle school team a year ago. “We have to keep working on our numbers. But I’m pleasantly surprised where we are now. We have 37 kids. That’s a heck of a lot better than 13 (a year ago).

“We will keep recruiting in the school.”

The Cougars have a good mix of experience and youth for DeUnger’s first team.

There are six returning senior starters and a talented freshman class that had DeUnger saying, “When it’s all said and done, we will probably be starting five freshmen, for sure.”

The returning senior starters are Nate Rock (5-11, 190, RB/LB), Jerimiah Kearns (5-11, 270, C), James Griffin (5-11, 180, T/DE), Jamael Payne (6-2, 170, WR/CB) and twins Drake Lilley (6-1, 210, OL/DL) and Carl Lilley (5-11, 180, OL/DL).

“We will depend on those seniors for leadership,” DeUnger said. “And they are providing that right now. It’s a new system for them in their senior year and they are buying in.

“We hope to send them out on a high note.”

A pair of juniors, Braedin Lunger (5-11, 160, WR/CB) and Braeden Todaro (6-4, 195, WR/QB), will be vying for starting jobs.

DeUnger is particularly high on Todaro.

“He can really jump and he can really catch the ball,” DeUnger said. “We’re going to use him in a lot of ways, sometimes even at quarterback.”

There are several freshmen who have opened eyes at camp so far and at least four of them look to be starters going in.

One of them, Jaxon Klinger (5-10, 155) will start at quarterback.

“It’s a big transition, but he’s a good athlete,” DeUnger said. “We will be able to grow with him.”

Other rising freshmen include the coach’s son, Brody DeUnger (5-11, 160, RB/CB), Arie Hartley (5-10, 210, OL/DL) and Elijah Allah (6-0, 180, TE/LB).

DeUnger said his son will make the starting backfield at least 50% freshmen, saying, “Brody’s going to run the ball a lot for us.”

Looking at the situation he finds himself in, DeUnger said the first goal is to bring back respectability to the program.

“I get a feeling nobody (in the conference) respects us,” the fiery coach said. “That’s unacceptable to me. My goals are always to shoot for the stars, and I want my players to feel the same way. They have to want to win. To win, we have to work hard.

“We play in a tough conference, and we haven’t had much success. Some of those teams we may not beat, but we want them to walk away knowing they were in a fight, that we aren’t going to be pushed around.”

DeUnger put together a staff that he said has a lot of experience, a desire to win and local connections.

His top assistants are Luke Mollis and B.J. Tempest with Carey Charles, Don Klinger, Mike Ciserano and P.J. Jones also on the staff.

“Everyone has experience and they are all close to the school,” DeUnger said. “They know the kids. I think we work well together.”

Charleroi competes in 2A in the Century Conference, which includes Seton LaSalle, which won the conference a year and reached the WPIAL 2A title game.

Washington is also a team to beat in the conference, according to DeUnger.

“There are four playoff spots in our conference, and I’d be thrilled to sneak into one of them,” he said. “We’re going to try and sneak in there somewhere. If we do that, it will be a successful season and get us headed in the right direction.”

Charleroi

Coach: Scooter DeUnger

2024 record: 1-9, 1-5 in Class 2A Century Conference

All-time record: 571-481-60

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 Monessen, 7

8.29 at Yough, 7

9.5 Bentworth, 7

9.12 at Seton-LaSalle*, 7

9.19 Keystone Oaks*, 7

9.26 Sto-Rox*, 7

10.3 at Ligonier Valley, 7

10.10 Washington*, 7

10.17 at Waynesburg*, 7

10.24 Carlynton*, 7

*Conference game

Tags: Charleroi