18 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Coach: Dave Schoppe
2019 record: 3-6, 2-5 in
Class 5A Allegheny Eight
Conference
All-time record: 371-353-14
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Moon* 7
9.19 at Shaler 1
9.26 Connellsville 7
10.2 Bethel Park* 7
10.9 at Upper St. Clair* 7
10.16 at South Fayette* 7
10.23 Peters Township* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Gavin Miller
83-153, 1,026 yards, 8 TDs
Receiving John Rink*
27-431 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Nico Flati
75-392 yards, 8 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• West Allegheny has had a
different head coach each of
the past three seasons. The
Indians won eight WPIAL
titles under Bob Palko, who
coached the team for 24 years
before resigning after the 2018
season. Chris Lucas went 3-6
in 2019.
• Schoppe’s brother Darren
was head coach at Bishop
Canevin from 2013-17.
• Miller, an infielder and
pitcher, committed to Auburn
baseball in July 2019.
• The Indians had four games
decided by 4 points or fewer
last season. They went 1-3 in
those contests.
NICO FLATI
PAUL NEWTON
NEW WEST ALLEGHENY
FACES GET UP TO SPEED
West Allegheny not only has a
new head coach but also a new offensive
coordinator and an entirely
new offense.
There was a lot to learn during
the team’s twice-weekly video
conference calls with everyone
trapped at home this spring.
Looking back, that online work
let the Indians enter summer with
a much better understanding
of the new scheme, coach Dave
Schoppe said.
“It’s been a transition,” said
Schoppe, who was hired in late
February. “We were doing as much
work as we could, but the kids were
excited about it and you can see it
when we practice.”
The players couldn’t line up in
formation or run routes online, but
they did learn the new terminology
and watch demonstrations on
the team’s Hudl website.
“They could hear it and they
could see it,” Schoppe said. “It
was good.”
West A’s new offensive coordinator
is Shane Patterson, a former
assistant at South Fayette, where
he tutored some of the WPIAL’s
top passers. Leading West A’s offense
will be junior quarterback
Gavin Miller, an Auburn baseball
recruit who passed for 1,000 yards
and eight touchdowns last season.
With Patterson, the Indians
should throw the football more
often this fall.
“That’s the plan,” Schoppe said,
“but when you have a running
back like Nico Flati, he’s got to get
his touches.”
Flati, a senior, scored nine touchdowns
last season. An injury limited
him to five games, but he finished
with 392 rushing yards on
75 carries.
“When I was coaching at North
Hills, we always said, ‘When in
doubt, give the running back the
ball,’ because he was the best athlete
on the team,” Schoppe said,
“and that’s what we did. That’s
the same case with Niko. When in
doubt, let’s get him the ball and
let him do his thing because he’s
a special player.
“He’s a kid who can really run
the ball when we need him to.”
The team’s top receivers are
senior Paul Newton, sophomore
Nodin Tracy and junior Jashon
Spencer. Senior Brandon Shienberger
anchors the line. All are
two-way players, along with Flati,
a linebacker.
Senior safety Mason Palaima,
senior linebacker Brayden Horton
and junior linebacker Devin Zirwas
are also standouts on assistant
coach Bryan Cornell’s defense.
“We have some guys who are
going to go both ways, but we’re
trying to find some other guys who
can fit into the rotation to get some
of those two-way players off the
field,” Schoppe said.
Schoppe, a 1988 West Allegheny
graduate, has coached 27 years as
an assistant at various schools. He
was a volunteer assistant at West
A last season, working mostly with
the quarterbacks.
He was promoted to his first
head coaching job just a few weeks
before schools were shut down
over coronavirus concerns. Among
the other places he’s coached, he
served as offensive coordinator
at North Hills and worked alongside
his brother, Darren, at Bishop
Canevin.
“I get told all the time, ‘You
picked a heck of a time to become
a head coach,’” Schoppe said. “The
way I look at it, every head coach is
in the same boat this year. Everybody’s
dealing with the guidelines
— the 25- or 50-person limits — and
how many kids you can have travel,
and just trying to make things
work, so we’re all in the same boat
with the pandemic.”
West Allegheny went 3-6 last
season, 2-5 in the conference and
missed the playoffs. It wasn’t the
results the Indians wanted, but
they gained experience and return
eight starters on each side of the
ball.
“We were real disappointed in
how things ended last year, so
we’re looking to improve in all
areas of the game,” Schoppe said.
“When you’ve got that long offseason,
it kind of weighs on you. You
think about everything you’ve got
to correct. I know the kids were really
anxious because it was about
getting back on the field and putting
last season behind us.”
by CHRIS HARLAN
ALLEGHENY 6 • WEST ALLEGHENY