24 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Coach: Tim Bostard
2019 record: 3-7, 1-6 in Class
5A Allegheny 8
All-time record: 253-126-0
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Connellsville* 7
9.18 Penn Hills 7
9.25 at North Hills 7
10.2 at Penn-Trafford* 7:30
10.9 Franklin Regional* 7
10.16 Gateway* 7
10.23 at Latrobe* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Deontae Williams
38-66, 659 yards, 7 TDs
Receiving T’Rek Scipio
15-395 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Will Clarke*
172-1,161 yards, 12 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• With Dublin Coffman out
of Ohio opting not to play in
Week Zero, Woodland Hills
had scrambled to find an
opponent and was rumored to
have settled on Pine-Richland
for the Western Pa. vs. Everyone
Showcase, but the event
was canceled when the season
was shortened by the WPIAL.
• The Wolverines have missed
the WPIAL playoffs just three
times in 32 years.
• Nonconference games this
season had included McKeesport
and Moon, but games
against Penn Hills and North
Hills remain.
• Brooks has an offer from
Central Michigan.
JAMIRE ULMER
ARMANI BAILEY
WOODLAND HILLS AIMS
FOR NORMALCY: PLAYOFFS
It just doesn’t happen.
It’s not supposed to happen,
Woodland Hills missing the
WPIAL playoffs.
But last year, the unthinkable
became reality.
For the third time in three decades
and first since 1995, the
Wolverines were on the outside
looking in at the postseason.
It was a drag around the historic
Wolvarena.
“And 1995 was my junior year,”
fourth-year coach and alum Tim
Bostard said. “But in 1996, we won
the WPIAL title. Who knows? Maybe
that means something (for this
year).
“Twenty-three years is a long
time. We had a bump in the road.
The goal is to get back to the playoffs.”
With motivation crystal clear, the
Wolverines are set to begin a new
season in a new conference — the
Class 5A Big East with Connellsville,
Franklin Regional, Gateway,
Latrobe and Penn-Trafford.
“Penn-Trafford and Gateway are
always up there,” Bostard said.
“Franklin Regional, too.
“Maybe we’ll end up battling
for that third spot. We’ll see. We
have a top-loaded schedule; we
play Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional
and Gateway back-to-backto
back.”
On the heels of a down season,
Bostard brings back several key
players, including six defensive
starters.
He will look to junior Deontae
Williams to play quarterback and
get the ball in the hands of playmakers
Armani Bailey and T’Rek
Scipio, both seniors.
Williams played under center
in the final four games when the
Wolverines went 3-1.
“Missing the playoffs was hard
and sad for us because I know our
seniors wanted to go farther because
they didn’t want to leave out
like that,” Williams said. This year,
our motivation is just winning
every game and winning states
and playing hard until the whistle
blows.”
Bailey displayed quickness in
the slot, while Scipio is a deep
threat who averaged 25 yards per
catch as a junior.
Bailey also expects to be a threat
out of the backfield, with senior
Taelen Brooks and junior Eris
Seibles also looking to get carries.
Another pass-catching weapon
to watch is Eshawn Carter, who
transferred last year from Steel
Valley.
Two key linemen are back in
seniors Julius Brown and Sevon
Givner, and 300-pounder Jamire
Ulmer returns from a knee injury
to play center.
Defensively, senior Will Chamberlain
and Scipio will line up
at the corners, with Bailey and
Williams deep.
Brown is an anchor d-lineman,
Brooks also plays linebacker and
Carter brings additional athleticism
to the secondary.
The Wolverines (3-7) started
0-6 and only registered one
conference victory.
But there were plenty of close
calls and they beat Chartiers Valley,
42-20, in the final game — a
positive, but a far cry from a playoff
win.
“The coaches broke down a lot of
film and we realized we could have
been a lot better if we had done the
simple things,” Bostard said. “We
lost 45-41 to Upper St. Clair and
missed 40 tackles. We lost to Baldwin,
30-27, and missed 30 tackles
and had some costly penalties. We
also lost 21-20 to West Allegheny in
an overtime thriller.”
Woodland Hills averaged 7.7 penalties
a game, Bostard said.
‘The whole team this year is focused
and hungry,” Williams said.
“Our seniors are like hyenas and
ready to eat right now.”
Just qualifying for the playoffs
will open a release valve in the
program.
“Two years ago we upset Mars as
the 14 seed,” Bostard said. “Anything
can happen as long as you
get into the dance.”
by BILL BECKNER JR.
BIG EAST • WOODLAND HILLS