TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • 101
LIAM HALLIGAN
SETON LaSALLE STARTS
BUILDING FOUNDATION
It wouldn’t have been surprising
if coach Mike Zmijanac said he
made changes to his coaching style
when he arrived at Seton LaSalle.
After all, Seton LaSalle is a Catholic
school with a small roster.
Aliquippa is a big-roster public
school in a football-mad town
where he won six WPIAL titles
and a state championship in a 21-
year tenure that ended in February
2018.
Zmijanac said he’s still the same
old coach, however, but that’s not
because he doesn’t realize the
circumstances around him are
different.
It’s because his coaching style
was never as extreme as his reputation
might have suggested.
“I don’t know what the image
was, but I was never a hollerer or
screamer or carrying-on kind of
coach,” Zmijanac said. “When the
game started, I was insane like all
of us are. But as far as practice, I
was a creative writing teacher for
39 years. I always viewed myself
as a teacher, not a coach. Coaching
was just something I did on
the side. So change my style? Not
really.”
Hired in December 2018 after a
winless season at Ringgold, Zmijanac
considered his first season
with the Rebels a success despite
the team’s 2-7 record for a couple
of reasons.
First, he felt he was welcomed
with open arms.
“The administration, the teachers,
the coaches from other sports,
the principal, the parents, they’ve
treated us wonderfully,” he said.
“I have absolutely no complaints.”
Second, he felt he started to lay
the foundation for a successful
future.
“Your first goal when you come
into a program, wherever it is,
should be to build the program.
And that’s what we’re trying to do.
We’re trying to build the program,”
Zmijanac said. “We made some
progress. We only won two games,
but we were making progress.”
Seton LaSalle lost a handful of
key contributors, especially in the
passing game, to graduation after
last season. Wide receiver Max
Schipani committed to the University
of Albany. Tight end Alex
Shaughnessy accepted a preferred
walk-on offer at Saint Francis.
Quarterback Joey Ranft headed
to Westminster, and key offensive
lineman Michael Orsi picked
Washington & Jefferson.
Zmijanac likes the team he has
coming back, however.
The Rebels have a deep group
of juniors and seniors at the skill
positions. Junior running back
Gabe Finale, a three-year starter,
leads the way.
The offensive line returns four
starters, including Liam Halligan,
a 6-foot-5, 275-pound junior.
“I have some young players,
some underclassmen who can
play,” Zmijanac said. “My first 14,
15 kids are pretty darn good.”
Playing with a smaller roster has
been an adjustment for Zmijanac,
but bigger isn’t always better, he’s
learned. He recalled looking at his
1999 Aliquippa roster in the preseason
and seeing only 29 names,
including freshmen.
“I have 29 players. That’s the bad
news,” he remembered. “The good
news is I have 29 players. Sometimes
numbers aren’t everything.
The next two years, we went 26-2.”
As the season nears, Zmijanac is
reminded of one other lesson he
learned on the Aliquippa sideline
that applies to today. Sometimes, it
takes a little while to get a program
firing on all cylinders.
“When I first started with Don
Yanessa, Aliquippa had won 12
games in nine years when Don
took that program over,” Zmijanac
said. “People don’t remember that.
It was the dregs of high school
football. Nobody wanted that job
except for Don, and I was already
teaching there, so I came along for
the ride.
“When people go, ‘Oh my God,
I would love to coach there.’ Believe
me, you wouldn’t have loved
to coach there 40 years ago, I can
promise you that. It was a nightmare.
He along with the help of the
other guys that coached with him
made it into a hell of a program.”
by JONATHAN BOMBULIE
Coach: Mike Zmijanac
2019 record: 2-7, 2-5 in Class
2A Three Rivers Conference
All-time record: 364-257-13
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Brentwood* 7
9.18 Serra Catholic 7
9.25 Beaver 7
10.3 at Western Beaver* 12:30
10.9 Sto-Rox* 7
10.16 at Carlynton* 7
10.24 South Side* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
FAST FACTS
• Seton LaSalle is celebrating
the 30th anniversary of the
school’s first WPIAL championship.
The Rebels beat
Hopewell, 30-23, in the Class
3A title game in 1990.
• Seton LaSalle also won
a pair of Class 2A WPIAL
championships, topping Mars,
20-6, in 2002 and Aliquippa,
42-35, in 2004.
• Seton LaSalle only had two
wins last season, but one was
over a playoff team. The Rebels
defeated South Side, 35-21,
in Week 7.
• Last year was Seton LaSalle’s
first losing season since
2009.
GABE FINALE
SETON LaSALLE • THREE RIVERS