Football royalty: WPIAL coaching legends, former Steelers discuss state of football
High School football season is looming on the horizon with heat acclimation drills underway, practice starting on Monday, and Week Zero games set for Aug. 27.
A group of the greatest coaches in WPIAL held their annual luncheon on July 21 at Asti鈥檚 Steakhouse at Grand View Golf Club in North Braddock.
The event is the brainchild of my good friend, Bill Priatko. It celebrates sportsmanship and camaraderie, and it is a chance to discuss the state of the game they all love, high school football.
This year 11 coaches attended who have combined for 57 WPIAL championships and 16 PIAA titles.
Coaches who are still active that attended were Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 Bill Cherpak and Mt. Lebanon鈥檚 Bob Palko.
Retired coaches at the gathering included Upper St. Clair鈥檚 Jim Render, Woodland Hills鈥� George Novak, Clairton鈥檚 Tom Nola, North Hills鈥� Jack McCurry, Aliquippa鈥檚 Don Yannessa, Blackhawk鈥檚 Joe Hamilton, Beaver鈥檚 Pat Tarquinio, McKeesport鈥檚 George Smith and former Aliquippa head man Mike Zmijanac.
The group was surprised by two special guests, Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris and former Steelers defensive lineman John Banaszak. The coaches gave Harris an 鈥渋mmaculate鈥� reception.
A moment of silence was observed in honor of a member of the group, former Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette coach Joe Mucci, who passed away on Nov. 30,2020.
Harris and Banaszak were pleased to rub elbows and talk football with the coaches, and talked about what high school football meant to them and praised the great coaches attending the informal affair.
鈥淏eing here with all of you guys and knowing the lives that you鈥檝e touched and all the championships that you won,鈥� Harris stated, 鈥渋f you win all those championships I know it wasn鈥檛 easy, and I know the groundwork and what you had to do to make those championships happen.
鈥淣ot just once, you guys have multiple championships, and multiple championships that gets to be something that鈥檚 embedded and that鈥檚 what really makes the difference. So I鈥檓 just in awe because high school changed my life and just thinking of all the lives that you guys changed with the athletes that have come through your system. I just want to thank you guys for what you have done.鈥�
鈥淢y high school coach and the coaches that coached with him were very discipline oriented,鈥� Banaszak offered. 鈥淭hey were in your face. I don鈥檛 know if it made you a better football player, but it certainly drew attention to what details that are needed in order to be successful and for that I certainly give all the credit to that high school staff. I know you guys and I know how hard you work. I love the game of football and I promote the game of football.鈥�
In a question-and-answer session the coaches tackled some of the issues facing high school football in Western Pennsylvania and around the country.
Addressed was the upcoming 2021 season amid Covid-19 protocols and hopes for a successful year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going back to normal,鈥� Cherpak said. 鈥淗opefully it stays that way.鈥�
鈥淭he plan is to go back to normal.鈥� Palko explained. 鈥淭hese kids are resilient. It was a pandemic. What are you going to do? It appears like it鈥檚 back to normal and that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Dwindling participation numbers in high school football are a concern. News that the proud Jeannette football program is facing a numbers crisis caught everyone鈥檚 attention. The Jayhawks鈥� official sign-ups had 29 kids. Eight players have transferred out of the program.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 hard for Coach Cherpak to say because his numbers are up,鈥� Palko stated. 鈥淏ut who would have ever thought that something like that would happen at Jeannette. I鈥檓 still worried that they have watered it down with six classifications.鈥�
Teams leaving the WPIAL was discussed. Albert Gallatin, Butler and Uniontown have bolted the WPIAL to play an independent schedule and try and get their football programs back on track. Other schools are considering making the same decision.
鈥淭he problem is the teams that are leaving aren鈥檛 winning,鈥� McCurry offered. 鈥淚t was a winning issue, it wasn鈥檛 competition, it was just that they couldn鈥檛 win. Butler and Uniontown had great tradition, but they are not winning. They are trying to get schedules that are more conducive to winning football games.鈥�
鈥淚 agree with what Coach McCurry said,鈥� Render added. 鈥淯niontown would have never left the WPIAL if they were still competitive, I can鈥檛 even imagine that. The one that鈥檚 been a shock to me is whatever is happening at Jeannette.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a sign of the times,鈥� Palko stated. 鈥淧arents try to control things and get the kids in a perfect situation at that time of growing up and wanting to be a champion. It can happen anywhere, it happened in Jeannette.鈥�
鈥淭he publicity that football got about the concussion issue was really blown out of proportion,鈥� Render opined. 鈥淚 think that is part of the numbers problem we are seeing.鈥�
鈥淭he concussion issue is part of the numbers problem,鈥� Palko stated. 鈥淏ut there are so many schools now that don鈥檛 have a freshman team. They all have kids moved up to the varsity. They don鈥檛 have a freshman team because the pool of kids coming up through the system is smaller every year and that effects the overall numbers.鈥�
The football finals were held at high school venues last season because of the pandemic, but the WPIAL board voted to take four or five of the six championship games back to Heinz Field in November. The WPIAL could hold four games in one day, either Nov. 26 or 27. Or, in a break from tradition, the WPIAL might reserve the stadium for both dates and spread the Class 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A finals over two days.
No matter which decision is made, the WPIAL Class 6A final will not be played at Heinz Field. That big school championship must be held a week earlier 鈥� Nov. 19 or 20 鈥� because of where the WPIAL champion fits into the state playoff bracket. The WPIAL will use a high school venue for 6A.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a tradition and it鈥檚 a nice venue,鈥� Palko said. 鈥淲e played at Norwin High School in 2018 and we were still in the championships. It鈥檚 nice, but a filled high school stadium is sometimes a better atmosphere.鈥�
鈥淭he kids like it,鈥� Cherpak opined. 鈥淚 think the coaches dislike it. Your routine is off, your warm-up is off. You might play at one o鈥檆lock or you might play at 3:30, you don鈥檛 know. The kids like going there and they look at it as a reward, especially teams that haven鈥檛 been there, it鈥檚 a big deal.鈥�
The state of high school football coaching was a topic. All of the coaches agreed that coaching longevity is a thing of the past.
鈥淵ou look at it now and how much turnover there is now,鈥� Cherpak stated. 鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy I just think that people are so impatient and want everything right away. I guy goes into a program that鈥檚 not successful and is trying to build it up and they want it to happen in a year or two and it鈥檚 not realistic. You鈥檙e not going to see the so called coaching lifers in football anymore.鈥�
The game of high school football is changing and the sport has received some adverse publicity. All agreed that some creative marketing and publicity would help.
鈥淚 think we need to find ways to promote football more,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭he question is how do we promote it more? We have to do it and it鈥檚 a challenge. It鈥檚 a great sport in so many ways.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.