34 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Coach: Zack Hayward
2019 record: 10-2, 6-1 in
Class 4A Northwest Eight
All-time record: 321-178-8
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Beaver* 7
9.18 at Central Valley 7
9.25 Ambridge 7
10.2 at Chartiers Valley* 7
10.9 Montour* 7
10.16 at New Castle* 7
10.23 at Aliquippa* 7
PARKWAY • BLACKHAWK CARSON DAVIDSON
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Carson Davidson
50-85, 684 yards, 5 TDs
Receiving James Darno*
30-312, TD
Rushing Marques
Watson-Trent* 163-1,225 yards,
17 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• Facing a tough schedule,
Blackhawk bookended last season
with a pair of losses to
WPIAL champs. The Cougars
lost to 3A champ Central Valley
in their opener and fell to
4A champ Thomas Jefferson
in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
• Senior running backs
Marques Watson-Trent and
Josh Butcher combined for
2,048 yards from scrimmage
last season.
• Blackhawk went 7-5 last
season and 10-2 the year
before that. That’s the most
wins for the program in backto
back seasons since the
Cougars won a total of 18 in
2007-08.
• Blackhawk is closing in on
the 25th anniversary of its
most recent WPIAL title. The
Cougars won championships in
1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996.
CARSON HECKATHORN
BLACKHAWK LOOKING
TO JOIN CLASS 4A ELITE
Blackhawk coach Zach Hayward
has a motto that his players hear
most every time they step on the
practice field or in the weight
room.
“We want Heinz Field effort,”
Hayward said. “That’s been the
motto since Day 1, that I want
Heinz Field effort. If we don’t make
it to Heinz Field, it’s not because
we didn’t put the work in.”
Now that the coronavirus has
prevented the WPIAL from playing
its championship games at the
Steelers’ stadium, perhaps players
will start to hear about “Robert
Morris effort” or “Norwin effort”
from the coaching staff.
Either way, making an appearance
in the Class 4A final, wherever
it’s played, is not an unreasonable
goal for the Cougars, who are
coming off back-to-back playoff
appearances.
Both of those seasons saw
Blackhawk finish second to South
Fayette in the Northwest Eight
before running into a brick wall
called Thomas Jefferson in the
playoffs.
“I look at it like we’re on the
right track, but there’s still room
to improve,” Hayward said. “We’re
getting back to where we want to
be, but how do we take it to the
next level and be considered one
of the best?”
Blackhawk will face different
competition in its quest to be the
best. WPIAL realignment has
placed Blackhawk in the Parkway
Conference, removing South
Fayette, Ambridge, Highlands
and Knoch from its conference
schedule and adding Aliquippa
and Chartiers Valley.
“It’s really your old school Parkway,
I would say, from years past,”
Hayward said.
Navigating a new schedule won’t
be Blackhawk’s toughest challenge
this season, though. That will be
replacing a talented crop of 24
seniors from last year’s team, including
1,200-yard rusher Marques
Trent-Watson, who is now at Division
I Georgia Southern.
“He was an awesome player and
an even better person,” Hayward
said. “He was the leader of our
team, so not only do we have to replace
a top-tier talent, but we also
have to replace our field general,
offensively and defensively.”
The Cougars have plenty of skill
players returning, however, including
junior quarterback Carson Davidson
and 6-foot-4 receiver Carson
Heckathorn. Top seniors include
running back Josh Hathaway, fullback
Vince Gratteri and Logan
Cailor, a playmaker who can line
up at multiple positions.
Hathaway, Zach Ours and Dante
Campagna give the Cougars depth
in the backfield.
“The guys that are seniors now,
they understand the implications
they’re stepping into,” Hayward
said. “They’re going to have a little
more pressure because they
don’t have Marques to bail them
out with a couple of big plays.
We’re going to have to do different
things and have different schemes
to make that happen.”
Senior Max Martin, a returning
second-team all-conference guard,
will anchor the offensive and defensive
lines.
“We’re inexperienced there,
but that’s pretty much our whole
team,” Hayward said. “We have a
bunch of linemen. I’m not upset
about that. We have some big boys
up front.”
The strength of the defense could
be the secondary with Heckathorn,
Cailor and seniors Jabari Baldwin
and Mason Dufala leading the way.
“These are guys that have been
around the program, a couple juniors,
a couple seniors,” Hayward
said. “I’m excited about those guys,
just from the way that they lead
the team.”
by JONATHAN BOMBULIE