TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • 29
COLE SPENCER
QB SPENCER LEADS RAMS
INTO CLASS 5A FRAY
Pine-Richland quarterback Cole
Spencer threw for nearly 3,000
yards last season, but that isn’t
the number his coach likes most.
“The best thing you can say
about a quarterback is, What’s
his record?” coach Eric Kasperowicz
said. “Stats lie. You can have
a really bad football team and have
great stats. We don’t talk about
stats much. What’s your record?
He’s got a tremendous win-loss
record as a starting quarterback.
“Hopefully that continues.”
The Rams are 21-5 in two seasons
with Spencer at quarterback, and
he returns this fall with a deep
senior class ready to push that
wins total higher. The Rams have
a 30-person senior class that’s the
largest in Kasperowicz’s tenure
as coach.
Along with Spencer, that class
includes a 1,000-yard receiver, four
of their five starting linemen and
two Division I recruits on defense.
Overall, they return eight starters
on offense and seven on defense
from a team that went 10-2 and
reached the WPIAL finals.
In a season complicated by a
pandemic, that experience may
prove invaluable. Athletes needed
to be self-motivators more than
usual with school buildings closed
last spring and team workouts suspended
until mid-summer.
“You have to hope those kids, having
that experience, knowing it’s
their senior year, might have been
working a little bit harder and doing
a little bit more,” Kasperowicz
said. “They’re older kids with more
maturity. They’re more self-driven
to do things on their own.”
Spencer saw it first-hand.
“We’re all just making the most
of the situation,” he said. “This is
the last chance to get out there and
prove yourself.”
Pine-Richland was the WPIAL
Class 6A runner-up last season and
reached the finals three years in a
row. But this fall they’re moving
down to Class 5A, putting rivalries
with Central Catholic and North
Allegheny on hold.
That doesn’t mean there’s an
easy path ahead. Class 5A could be
the WPIAL’s deepest classification
and the Rams join a conference
with 2018 state champion Penn
Hills.
“Class 6A was fun, but you played
the same teams in the (regular season)
that you’d end up seeing the in
the championship,” Kasperowicz
said. “From that perspective, it’s
kind of neat to go out and play
some new teams. Play your South
Fayettes and Upper St. Clairs and
Penn-Traffords and Gateways.
“It’s a great league and a lot of
great coaches, so we’re excited to
be a part of it.”
The Rams remain title favorites
behind Spencer, who passed for
2,994 yards and 36 touchdowns last
season with only six interceptions.
The third-year starter is a WPIAL
wrestling champion who’s committed
to wrestle at Penn.
Spencer said he’s heard this
year’s roster compared to the 2017
Pine-Richland team that won WPIAL
and state titles. That team also
had three-year starter at quarterback.
“That’s been the goal ever since
freshman year,” Spencer said.
“People say: ‘You guys had better
follow in their footsteps. Nothing
less than that.’”
Spencer has his top receiver
back from last season in senior Eli
Jochem, who caught 71 passes for
1,065 yards and 14 touchdowns. The
team lost second-leading receiver
DaeDae Johnson, who moved to
Texas, and leading rusher Luke
Meckler graduated.
The Rams’ running back will be
senior Cade Schweiger, who had
only six carries last season but
is a three-year starter on defense.
Behind Jochem are senior wideout
Luke Miller, who had 26 catches,
and junior Jeremiah Hasley, who
had 18.
Two Division I recruits lead the
defense. Defensive lineman Miguel
Jackson committed to Liberty, and
Miller, a linebacker, is a Kent State
recruit.
Joining Jackson on the defensive
line are seniors Spencer King and
John Swisher. Hasley, a junior,
returns at linebacker.
“We’ve got big expectations,”
Kasperowicz said. “This is a very
experienced group. They’ve played
a lot of football. We’re coming off
three Heinz Field appearances —
two wins and one loss — that these
guys have been a part of. Anything
short of winning it all would be a
disappointment.
by CHRIS HARLAN
Coach: Eric Kasperowicz
2019 record: 10-2, 7-1 in
Class 6A
All-time record: 366-279-13
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Fox Chapel* 7
9.18 at Upper St. Clair 7
9.25 Gateway 7
10.2 at Penn Hills* 7
10.9 Shaler* 7
10.16 North Hills* 7
10.23 at Kiski Area* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Cole Spencer
214-315 2,994 yards 36 TDs
Receiving Eli Jochem
71-1,065 yards, 14 TDs
Rushing Luke Meckler*
89-570 yards, 10 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• The last time Pine-Richland
played in a classification that
wasn’t the WPIAL’s largest,
the Rams went 9-1 in 2007,
falling to Thomas Jefferson in
the district semifinals.
• Pine-Richland has played
in six WPIAL championship
games, winning in 2003, ’14,
’17 and ’18 and losing in ’02
and ’19.
• Coronavirus-related schedule
changes eliminated an out-ofstate
opener for Pine-Richland.
The Rams were set to meet
Northern Highlands of Allendale,
N.J., at Rutgers on
Aug. 29.
MIGUEL JACKSON
PINE-RICHLAND • NORTHEAST