Young linemen, skill players vault Pine-Richland to strong start

By: Jerin Steele
Saturday, September 7, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The pair of victories the Pine-Richland football team earned to start the season were welcomed results, but it’s the development that has occurred during them that has Jon LeDonne and his coaching staff excited.

The Rams have a young offense that is coming together fairly quickly, scoring 57 points in the two wins.

There’s a long way to go, but it’s been a promising start for a team hoping to make a third consecutive trip to the WPIAL Class 5A championship.

“I think our kids have grown a lot over the last two weeks,” LeDonne said. “A lot of these kids are first-time varsity players, especially on the offensive line, and they’re executing plays for us. We still have some stuff to clean up. We’re nowhere near where we plan to be at the end of the season, but we’re happy with the start.”

The Rams opened with a trip to Columbus to play Hilliard Davidson in Week Zero and came home with a 35-24 victory. In their home opener the following week, they took down last year’s WPIAL 6A runner-up Central Catholic, 22-17.

In the win against Hilliard Davidson, junior Mac Miller had a smashing debut at running back. He rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns.

The Rams graduated a pair of NCAA Division I lineman in Ryan Cory (Wisconsin) and James Cardinali (Navy), but a new-look offensive line paved the way for Miller.

LeDonne wasn’t surprised to see Miller seize his opportunity.

“He worked alongside Ethan (Pillar) last year every day at practice and was around as a freshman to see how Ryan Palmieri conducted business,” LeDonne said. “The torch has been passed to him now and he showed that he’s an old-school, tough runner. When people tackle him, they’re going to pay for it.”

Another player who has stepped up is sophomore quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader.

Strader was thrust into the job as a freshman last year after an injury to starter Kanan Huffman and performed well but has taken a step forward in 2024.

He helped lead a comeback against Central Catholic, after the Rams were down 11-0 at halftime.

“I thought our offensive coordinator Steve Bezila did a good job last year of not throwing everything at him at once,” LeDonne said. “We gradually increased his playing time and what we wanted him to do. He worked really hard in the offseason to improve and now the offense runs through him. He rarely comes off the field and he’s executing for the most part. There’s been growth and maturity from him and he needs to continue to grow, but he’s plenty capable of running the offense.”

While some of the starters are underclassmen, the Rams do have a trio of senior leaders in Tanner Cunningham, Sam Heckert and Josh Nindl.

Cunningham threw a touchdown pass on a trick play against Hilliard Davidson and has been impactful on defense as the team’s third leading tackler.

Heckert is the leading tackler on the team, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Max, who’s now a linebacker at Slippery Rock.

Nindl is a two-way starter on the line.

They each bring balance and guidance for the young talent around them.

“They have been three-year guys for us and had some reps for us during our state championship run,” LeDonne said. “They’re the guys that we lean on and are our leaders. Tanner and Sam were voted as captains last year as juniors. We put a lot of faith into those three guys.”

Pine-Richland played at Seneca Valley on Sept. 6, which was past the deadline for this edition. The Rams open conference play with a home game against North Hills on Sept. 13.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland