64 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
KIYON DELTS
JOHNNY DINAPOLI
SCHEDULE
Coach: Dom Pecora
2019 record: 7-4, 4-2
All-time record: 311-247-23
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Brownsville 7
9.18 Burrell* 7
9.25 North Catholic* 7
10.2 at Deer Lakes* 7
10.9 Freeport* 7
10.16 at Derry* 7
10.23 Valley* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Johnny DiNapoli
106-166, 1,728 yards, 18 TDs
Receiving Tyler Padezan*
33-721 yards, 11 TDs
Rushing Allen Freeman
40-230 yards, 2 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• DiNapoli’s 1,728 passing
yards last season is thought
to be a WPIAL freshman
single-season passing yards
record. He also only threw five
interceptions.
• Three straight playoff appearances
was a record when
Dom Pecora took over at East
Allegheny. The Wildcats have
now made four straight trips
and are hoping to extend that
record to this season.
• The Wildcats allowed
17.5 points per game last
season, which was the second
lowest in the WPIAL Class 2A
Allegheny Conference.
• East Allegheny will look to
earn its first Class 3A playoff
appearance after moving up a
class this season.
EAST ALLEGHENY SET
TO TAKE NEXT STEP
During his seven years as the football coach
at East Allegheny, Dom Pecora has been trying
to create a winning tradition. Over the past four
years, he’s done just that.
The Wildcats have reached the playoffs the
last four years and earned a first-round playoff
victory over Mohawk in 2017. As they prepare
to try to make their fifth straight playoff appearance,
Pecora believes he has one of his
most talented groups ever.
“I hope there is a standard set here that in a
regular year, 7-3, that is the standard,” Pecora
said. “But this is the group that I hope and have
kind of waited for. This two- to three-year cycle
here, my sophomore and junior classes are the
two best classes I’ve ever had, and I’m hoping
this group can take us to the next step.”
It all starts with sophomore quarterback
Johnny DiNapoli, who threw for 1,728 yards and
18 touchdowns last season as a freshman. He
helped the Wildcats average 26.6 points while
playing both sides of the ball. Pecora said while
he still has room to improve, he’s a player who
has all the intangibles.
“He’s fast. He’s strong. He can read a defense
and has a great arm,” Pecora said. “But his
most important quality by far is I think he’s
mentally and physically the toughest player I’ve
coached. He’s not a kid that makes a mistake
and goes in the tank. He’ll come back out, and
that’s very admirable.”
Although DiNapoli lost top target Tyler Padezan,
who racked up 721 receiving yards and
11 touchdowns last season, to graduation, the
Wildcats have plenty of options returning for
the skillful quarterback.
Receivers Mikey Smith (30-408 yards, 5 TDs),
Praishaun Grainer (14-242 yards, 5 TDs) and
Kiyon Delts (15-234 yards, 4 TDs) all return after
logging a significant amount of snaps. Junior
running back Alan Freeman also returns in
the backfield after carrying the ball 40 times
for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
While the Wildcats may lack the size and
numbers compared to most teams in Class 3A,
which they reclassified to this season, Pecora
said he’d take his skill guys over any other
team.
“I don’t look at our schedule and think we’re
going to get out-skilled by anybody,” Pecora
said. “We just hope that our size and our line
holds up, but I have a ton of faith in them.”
Pecora said he has two returning starters on
his offensive line — Robert Booker-Washington
and Jaivion Hampton-Ford — and three new
linemen who are freshman and sophomores to
round out the starters.
As they go through camp, Pecora said his line
has talent but lacks size. In order to counteract
that, he is putting an offense into place that
could benefit his smaller linemen.
The seventh-year coach called it a mix between
an option and pass offense, but nothing
like Army or Navy run.
“We are running it a very unique way, and it
scares me because no one else really does it,”
Pecora said.
“We’re trying to run the option and throw
the football. So, it keeps you awake at night
because most teams usually do one or the other,
and we are trying to do two complicated things,
but I think it’s what we have to do to help our
linemen.”
by GREG MACAFEE
ALLEGHENY • EAST ALLEGHENY