Young Chartiers-Houston roster hopes to gain experience in a hurry

By: Greg Macafee
Monday, August 24, 2020 | 11:56 PM

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Chartiers-Houston is looking forward to getting back on the football field because after losing a large senior class, the Buccaneers need to gain as much experience as they can get.

The Buccaneers went 7-3 last season, losing to West Greene, Sto-Rox and California, while scoring 25.8 points per game. It was their best season since 2016 when they went 7-4 and made their most recent playoff appearance.

After losing 14 seniors to graduation, the Buccaneers will be young, and coach Terry Fetsko said their lack of experience on the field is something they need to handle quickly.

“We just have to get the kids on the field and get them that experience,” Fetsko said. “We just need to mature as a team, jell as a team, and in order to do that, you need to get on the field, get pads on and that maturity will grow.”

Although they lost a ton of talent, including their starting quarterback, leading rusher and receiver, Fetsko is still happy with the players they have coming back and believes they have the athletic ability to make things happen.

Fetsko’s son, who is also named Terry, will take over at quarterback. The sophomore signal caller played a backup role last season and completed four passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. His father said he needs to come along quickly in the first few weeks of the season.

“He needs to mature and develop in his first year starting,” Coach Fetsko said.

The Buccaneers also return junior running back Nathan Cavallo in the backfield and at linebacker. He rushed for 296 yards and three touchdowns last season and will be the primary runner in the backfield. Senior Jimmy Sadler will be one of Fetsko’s primary targets at wide receiver and will return in the secondary after starting as a junior, when he picked off two passes. Senior Zach David and juniors Lane Camden and Jordan Irson return on defense, as well.

Fetsko also will have several underclassmen who could play big roles this season. He said they all have the athletic ability to contribute this season, but he just needs to see how they respond on Friday nights.

“The more times you do something, the more experience you get, so we just need these kids to experience that on the field,” coach Fetsko said. “We are going to have our ups and downs early on, but I really think we are going to move quickly in those areas because of some of the people we have in those areas. They are talented. They just don’t have the experience.”

Despite losing several seniors, the Buccaneers are still looking to improve and they are putting the work in to do so. Coach Fetsko said they’ve had at least 90% of their roster show up to every workout and they are confident heading into the season.

Sadler and the rest of the players are approaching it step by step.

“We are just looking to improve on last year after losing 14 seniors,” Sadler said. “But we aren’t going to worry about that. We are going to win with the team we have.”

Schedule

Coach: Terry Fetsko

2019 record: 7-3, 5-2 in Class A Tri-County South

All-time record: 370-360-18

Date, Opponent, Time

9.11, at Yough, 7

9.18, at Beth-Center*, 7

9.25, Washington*, 7

10.2, at Charleroi*, 7

10.9, Frazier*, 7

10.16, at McGuffey*, 7

10.23, Waynesburg*, 7

*Class 2A Century Conference game

Statistical leaders

Passing: Anthony Lento*

74-165, 1,084 yards, 16 TDs

Receiving: Tyler Blumen*

22-416 yards, 7 TDs

Rushing: Sam DeWalt*

106-518 yards, 5 TDs

*Graduated

Fast facts

• The Buccaneers will have three of their four top tacklers returning from last season.

• Chartiers-Houston tallied 13 interceptions last season. Five returning players combined for eight interceptions.

• Chartiers-Houston hasn’t registered a playoff win since 2000 when it defeated Clairton in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

• The Buccaneers pitched three shutouts last season and had the second lowest points against average in the Tri-County South.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Chartiers-Houston