TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • 117
TRENTON CARTER
CARMICHAELS CARRIES
MOMENTUM IN CLASS A
When Ron Gallagher was promoted
to the head coach position
at Carmichaels in January, he took
over a program with momentum.
One of the biggest reasons things
are looking up is a drop in classification.
After spending the previous
two seasons as the smallest
public school in Class 2A football
in Pennsylvania, the Mighty Mikes
have moved to Class A.
Playing in a conference with the
likes of Washington, McGuffey
and Charleroi the last two seasons,
Carmichaels went 6-12 overall.
“I was talking to schools we were
playing that were graduating 160-
some kids. We graduated 78 that
year,” Gallagher said. “I don’t
make excuses. I never do with the
team. But it’s definitely challenging
when they have double the
amount of kids. We’re definitely
in a better situation.”
Gallagher’s satisfaction with realignment
goes beyond enrollment.
He also enjoys the idea of competing
against nearby rivals such as Mapletown,
Jefferson-Morgan and West
Greene in the Tri-County South.
“The one thing we didn’t like
about Double A was the travel. We
were travelling pretty dang far to
play some teams,” Gallagher said.
“Now, the kids, they know each
other. They joke around with each
other. They’re friends, but during
the game, they’re playing against
each other. It’s nice to get to play
some local schools again.”
Beyond realignment, there’s
one other significant reason the
Mighty Mikes come into this season
with momentum. They won
their last three games last year.
“It gave our kids some confidence,”
Gallagher said. “I saw a different
style of playing from some
of the players. Our running back,
Bailey Jones, for example, he was
running very hard those last three
games. He’s a very tough kid. Early
on, we run a lot of zone scheme and
he’d be too patient and he’d wait.
But he’s a downhill runner. You
get him going north and south and
he’s going to ground and pound,
for sure.”
Jones will be running behind a
line with three returning starters,
including senior Nate Sweeney. Senior
linebacker Hunter Voithofer
will quarterback the defense.
“He’s the leader of that defense.
He knows what he’s doing. He
helps all the other kids,” Gallagher
said. “Coach (Ron) Krull left
me a team with leaders and a team
culture where they take pride in
helping the young ones succeed as
well. It’s good for the program to
see that kind of work ethic.”
With running quarterback Kevin
Kelly graduated, junior Trenton
Carter will take over under center.
“He’s a passer. He can throw the
ball,” Gallagher said. “He’s got a
good head on his shoulders, very
smart player, good football IQ. He’s
pretty athletic too. We’ll lose a little
bit of speed, but he’s not afraid
to tuck the ball and take off. That
gives us some flexibility in some
RPOs and some other things we’ve
been doing in practice.”
Gallagher, a middle school principal,
takes over as head coach
after spending the previous four
seasons as the team’s defensive
coordinator.
He joked that Krull must have
known a pandemic was coming
when he stepped down in November
after leading the Mighty Mikes
to the playoffs in four of seven
seasons as head coach. Turning
serious, he said Krull left the program
in excellent shape.
“It was actually a very, very
smooth transition,” Gallagher
said. “Coach Krull built a nice
culture.”
by JONATHAN BOMBULIE
Coach: Ron Gallagher
2019 record: 4-5, 3-4 in
Class 2A Century Conference
All-time record: 494-372-48
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Jefferson-Morgan* 7
9.18 Mapletown* 7
9.25 at Bentworth* 7
10.2 West Greene* 7
10.9 at Monessen* 7
10.16 California* 7
10.23 Avella* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Kevin Kelly*
Receiving Michael Robinson*
Rushing Bailey Jones
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• There weren’t too many
Class 2A teams that faced a
tougher five-game stretch of
schedule than Carmichaels did
between Week 2 and Week
6 last season. The Mighty
Mikes met five consecutive
playoff teams — Southmoreland,
McGuffey, Charleroi, East
Allegheny and Washington.
Carmichaels scored at least 20
points in three of the games
but dropped all five.
• Carmichaels made the playoffs
in each of the last three
seasons the school competed
in Class A, winning a
Tri-County South title with an
undefeated conference record
in 2016.
• Carmichaels is celebrating
the 85th anniversary of its
first WPIAL title — a shared
championship with Glassport
after a 6-6 tie in the Class A
title game in 1935. Carmichaels
also won WPIAL crowns in
1952, beating Wilmerding, and
1962, shared with Rostraver
after a scoreless tie in the
final game.
HUNTER VOITHOFER
CARMICHAELS • TRI-COUNTY SOUTH