TRIB TOTAL MEDIA • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 • 73
SOUTH ALLEGHENY • INTERSTATE
FRANK CORTAZZO
Coach: Frank Cortazzo III
2019 record: 4-6, 3-4
All-time record: 179-341-6
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 at Mt. Pleasant* 7
9.18 Southmoreland* 7
9.25 at Yough* 7
10.2 Brownsville* 7
10.9 at Elizabeth Forward* 7
10.16 South Park* 7
10.23 at Deer Lakes 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
FAST FACTS
• The Gladiators have experience
all over the field but
will be trying to replace three
key graduates on the lines —
Chase Nicomatti, Zach Martin
and Frankie Cortazzo.
• South Allegheny’s last
WPIAL playoff appearance
came in 2012, a loss to Jeannette,
40-7, in the first round.
• The Gladiators’ lone WPIAL
football title came in 1977
when they beat Laurel, 12-6,
to win the Class AA championship.
• That championship game
was moved from Pitt Stadium
to Ambridge. It was a cold
winter day and snow covered
the field after halftime.
*GRADUATED
SOUTH ALLEGHENY
LOOKS TO FINISH STRONG
by BILL HARTLEP
It was a different type of offseason for
high school football teams across the country,
given the restrictions brought on by the
coronavirus pandemic.
At South Allegheny, the challenges spread
wider than quarantined workouts, Zoom
meetings and an inability to take the field
together throughout the spring and early
summer months.
A new head coach was taking the reins.
Luckily for the Gladiators, they were greeted
at training camp by a familiar face.
Frank Cortazzo III spent the past three
seasons as the Gladiators’ defensive coordinator
and stepped in as head coach when
Mike Crown was hired as the school’s athletic
director.
“The offseason has been good,” said Cortazzo,
who also had assistant coaching stints
at Franklin Regional, East Allegheny, Elizabeth
Forward and also two previous stops at
South Allegheny. “We had great attendance
throughout the summer. The kids worked
very hard.”
It was crucial for the Gladiators to maintain
some continuity during the offseason
when players were forced to work out on
their own and stay in touch with video conferencing.
Now that they are back on the field and
getting ready for the regular season, the
coaches can get things back to normal.
“(Cortazzo) keeps thing fun and creative
for all of us,” said Antonio Epps, a senior
running back/defensive back.
Epps will be the centerpiece of the Gladiators’
offense. After rushing for more than
1,300 yards and scoring 13 times last season,
he is closing in on school records for career
rushing yards and touchdowns.
“Leadership, a great work ethic, powerful
runner with breakaway speed,” Cortazzo
said. “He has a great grasp on the game that
allows him to play defense at a level that not
many can play at.”
Epps has several scholarship offers from
Division I schools, including Sacred Heart,
Duquesne and Richmond. He will obviously
be the focal point for opposing defenses,
though he was quick to point out there are
plenty of other skilled options the Gladiators
will lean on.
“I expect a lot of points on the board,”
Epps said. “We have a lot of skill guys who
can score. I’m excited for that this season.
Not one person will score all the points. No
matter who gets the ball, it will be someone
to watch out for.”
Junior Jett Jones will be a jack-of-all trades
on offense, lining up at wide receiver, in the
slot and H-back, as well as quarterback at
times. Last season, he threw for 671 yards
and five touchdowns.
“He is an incredible athlete that allows us
to utilize his skills at multiple positions,”
Cortazzo said.
Strong-armed sophomore Eric Wehrer
will start at quarterback, and several other
OMIR FAULKNER
skill players will factor into the offensive game
plan, including juniors Akell Carrington, Kavan
Markwood, Dillon Hynes, Eric Anderson
and Ethan Kirkwood and sophomore Dashawn
Carter.
Senior Omir Faulkner and junior WIll Hynes
return to anchor both lines, along with senior
Louis Campano, junior Damon Campano, junior
Travis Mullin and senior Eric Parker.
Defensively, several veterans return, including
Epps, Jones and Kirkwood in the secondary;
junior Chris Guest, Carrington and
Markwood at linebacker; and the Campano
brothers, Faulkner and Hynes on the defensive
line. Anderson, Parker and Carter also will be
impact players on defense.
“Our linebackers, they’re going to be the tone
setters for our defense and we’ll piggyback on
that energy,” Epps said.
The Gladiators are aiming to keep that energy
throughout the seven-game season. They
missed out on the playoffs after going 4-6 overall
and 3-4 in the Class 2A Three Rivers Conference
last season. They lost four of the final five
games after starting 3-2.
“After these past couple years after not making
the playoffs, playoffs is our mindset,” Epps
said. “We try to make that goal even bigger by
getting a championship.
“It will take discipline, dedicating ourselves
and following our coaches’ orders and game
plan. Last year, we lacked discipline and didn’t
finish games off.”
South Allegheny will move into the Class 3A
Interstate Conference this fall with Brownsville,
Elizabeth Forward, Mt. Pleasant, South
Park, Southmoreland and Yough.
“I expect tough, physical, smash-mouth football
with some teams that have been traditionally
tough, hard-nosed teams,” Cortazzo said.