TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • 111
LEECHBURG • EASTERN
DYLAN COOK
LEECHBURG TO AIR IT
OUT WITH NEW OFFENSE
A new era is coming to Leechburg
football, and new coach Randy
Walters is ready to take the Blue
Devils to new heights.
Since accepting the job in March,
Walters has focused on the finer
points of putting his stamp on
the program. He and his coaching
staff have revamped the locker
room by painting players’ lockers,
putting new nameplates on each
one, and upgrading other parts of
the locker room and stadium to
give his new team a sense of pride.
“I’m always preaching about the
little things,” Walters said. “To me,
these are little things but these are
big things for us because we need
these things. You see all the names
on the lockers and you won’t see
rust on any handles. I painted every
one.
“It’s just doing those little things,
and we are going to do them here to
show them what we’re going to do
on the football field and we expect
them to do that, too. We want them
to understand if they do those little
things and get some wins, things
are going to change.”
Not only is Walters focusing on
the finer points with his new football
team, he’s also bringing an
exciting change to Leechburg. After
spending the past two seasons
under Shawn Liotta at Burrell,
Walters is installing the Air Raid
offense at his new school, and he has
a roster filled with athletes to run it.
Senior quarterback Dylan Cook
returns for the Blue Devils after
throwing for 949 yards and eight
touchdowns last season, and he’s
excited to be at the helm of a
brand-new offense.
“Before I even met coach, whenever
they wrote up the interview
on him, the first words I saw were
‘Air Raid’ and my eyes lit up,”
Cook said. “So, I’m pretty excited
to get going.”
Cook’s infatuation with the offense
didn’t just began this past
summer either. He’s had an eye on
it since last year when he started
watching game highlights of Burrell’s
Alex Arledge.
“I’m just a big football fan, so
I love watching everybody in the
WPIAL and one of my favorite
guys to watch is Alex Arledge,”
Cook said. “He’s got a great arm,
probably the best in the WPIAL,
and I watched his highlights after
every game last year, and it just
looked really exciting, the whole
offense. So, whenever coach came
here, I was really excited.”
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback
will have a lot of weapons at
his disposal as well. Braylon Lovelace
returns for his sophomore season
after rushing for 312 yards and
four touchdowns as a freshman
behind senior Jake Blumer, who
tallied 161 carries for 979 yards.
With the new style of offense, Lovelace
is ready to take advantage
of the opportunity to display his
athletic ability all over the field.
“It’s really going to give me a
chance to get outside and do my
thing,” Lovelace said.
The Blue Devils also return tight
end Eli Rich, who caught 12 passes
for 268 yards and one touchdown in
a run-heavy offense.
Rich won’t line up like a regular
tight end, though. He’ll be spread
out in the slot most of the time,
forcing mismatches against defensive
backs. Walters is hoping
to take advantage of his 6-foot-5
frame in the passing game.
With the athletes in place and
the new offense installed, the Blue
Devils are excited for this season,
and Walters enters his first season
with high expectations.
“We’re not in this to get ties or
to lose; we’re here to win,” Walters
said. “I know they haven’t had a
ton of success here in the past, but
if you watch the film, they’ve had
great football players, and there
are things here or there where
things could’ve gone the other way.
We think we have a great group of
guys, but I just wish I had 10 more
of them.”
by GREG MACAFEE
Coach: Randy Walters
2019 record: 5-5, 3-3 in
Class A Eastern Conference
All-time record: 397-510-38
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Greensburg C.C.* 7
9.18 Clairton* 7
9.25 at Springdale* 7
10.2 Jeannette* 7
10.10 at Bishop Canevin*# 7
10.16 Riverview* 7
10.23 at Imani Christian* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Dylan Cook
60-140, 949 yards, 8 TDs
Receiving Jake Blumer*
21-393 yards, 5 TDs
Rushing Blumer*
161-979 yards, 17 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• After Southmoreland made
the playoffs last season, the
Blue Devils now own the
longest playoff drought in the
WPIAL. They haven’t made
the postseason since 1988.
• Walters is coaching at
Leechburg for the second
time. He was an assistant
under Ed Jenkins in 2006.
• For the past two seasons,
the Blue Devils have produced
a record of 5-5 and have just
missed out on the playoffs.
• The Blue Devils won their
final three games last season.
BRAYLON LOVELACE