Rise of the Commodores
First-year coach Battaglini has Frazier on verge of a football playoff berth
Tony Battaglini realized what he was up against when he stepped in as a first-year head football coach at his alma mater Frazier for the 2025 season.
The Commodores record the past four years had been 0-9, 1-9, 1-9 and 2-8.
鈥淲e all kind of knew it was going to be a learning curve for these kids just knowing how to win, figuring out to win and what it takes,鈥� Battaglini said.
It didn鈥檛 take long for Battaglini to get Frazier back into playoff contention. The Commodores have won three of their last four games, all against teams battling for fourth place in the Class A Eastern Conference, with the last one coming on the road at Greensburg Central Catholic, 35-33, last week.
The Commodores are now 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the conference. A win over last-place and winless Springdale tonight will give Frazier sole possession of fourth place in the conference. While that鈥檚 not a guarantee for a playoff spot 鈥� only the top three teams in each conference automatically qualify 鈥� it does put the Commodores in a good spot to be considered for one of four wild-card spots chosen by the WPIAL.
鈥淚f we handle our business against Springdale this week I feel like that we鈥檝e made a pretty strong case, especially with the growth we鈥檝e had from beginning to end,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淭he teams above us, Clairton, Jeannette and Leechburg, are just incredible football teams but that fourth spot was up for grabs I think between four good teams and if we win Friday night we鈥檒l have come out on top in that group.鈥�
Frazier had a shaky start to Battaglini鈥檚 first year at the helm with a 43-40 comeback win over Summitt Academy and then a surprising 22-21 loss at Mapletown.
鈥淭he Summitt Academy game, we pulled that out but put ourselves in a hole to begin with,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淭hen we couldn鈥檛 finish the Mapletown game, they scored late to beat us. After that we had some tough games against the top teams in the conference. But these last few games they鈥檝e shown positive signs.鈥�
Frazier suffered losses to Clairton, Jeannette and Leechburg but is 3-1 in its last four with key victories over Brentwood (28-21), Riverview (41-20) and at Greensburg Central Catholic (35-33) to put itself in position to make the playoffs.
The Commodores showed their mettle against the Centurions.
鈥淕oing into Greensburg, we hadn鈥檛 had much success against that team and they forfeited to them last year,鈥� Battaglini pointed out.
The Commodores got touchdown runs of 7 and 53 yards from senior Derek Diamond and junior quarterback Brady Secrest tossed touchdown passes of 15 and 44 yards to senior Lincoln Dye as Frazier took a 28-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
鈥淎gainst Greensburg they made the plays that winning teams make,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淲e got the ball early in the fourth quarter and we went on a 19-play drive and scored. I think we took like nine minutes off the clock and made a couple fourth-down conversions.鈥�
It was Secrest scoring the TD on a 2-yard run with Owen Searcy adding the important extra-point kick for a 35-27 lead.
The Centurions drove down field in an attempt to tie the game and force overtime.
鈥淭hey threw a slant and our kid makes a nice play on it, tackles him and forces a fumble but we had some bad luck where the ball went right to their best player, (Samir) Crosby,鈥� Battaglini recalled. 鈥淐rosby scooped it up and scored. It was very discouraging.鈥�
The Commodores then faced the two-point conversion try.
鈥淲e let them get lined up and then I called a timeout, then they ran the play and wanted to throw it to the right side and our safety came down and took away that option,鈥� Battaglini explained. 鈥淭he quarterback rolled to his left to try to run it in and our defensive end Ethan Tabaj made a ridiculous play, caught him at the 1-yard and was able to get him down.鈥�
The tackle secured the victory for Frazier.
鈥淲e made some big plays in that game, things that we probably would not have been able to do early in the season,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淭hey improved in all areas and it鈥檚 great to see.鈥�
Diamond, who rushed for over 1,400 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, leads the way.
鈥淲hen we came in we knew he was pretty much the leader of the team but he鈥檚 exceeded expectations for us,鈥� Battaglini said of Diamond. 鈥淗e got into really good shape this year and has been able to endure carry after carry, he never taps out. He gets 40 carries a game sometimes and he seems to get stronger as the game goes on.
鈥淚f you get a kid ruining like he does in the fourth quarter, that鈥檚 a really tough task for a tired defense to try to stop him. He鈥檚 been a great leader for our team and done everything we鈥檝e asked of him. All that work that he鈥檚 put in shows on Friday nights. He鈥檚 one of the top guys in the WPIAL in rushing yards.鈥�
Secrest鈥檚 passing, especially to Chase Fulmer, who is one of the WPIAL鈥檚 leading receivers, prevents teams from focusing too much on stopping Diamond.
鈥淲hen you run the ball like we can with Derek you鈥檙e going to get a lot of teams putting eight guys, sometimes nine guys in the box so you鈥檝e got to be able to even that out,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淏rady has been able to do that. Against Greensburg he made probably some of the best throws he made all year in hitting Lincoln with a couple touchdowns and he hit Chase with a big pass early in the game.
鈥淲hen we call his number he鈥檚 been able to make the play. If we had to throw it 25 times a game I think Brady would be able to do that. I think he鈥檚 four yards away from 1,000 yards passing.鈥�
Frazier鈥檚 defense had been behind the offense in development, according to Battaglini, but it鈥檚 improving.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e finally starting to figure it out on defense, being in the right place, understanding angles, doing the things we鈥檙e teaching them to do,鈥� Battaglini said.
Battaglini is pleased with how his first season has progressed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gone great. You couldn鈥檛 ask for a better group of kids,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淲e came in and they were so hungry and, honestly, so deserving of being able to experience what winning is like and trying to turn this program around. Anything I鈥檝e asked them to do, they鈥檝e gone and done that and more.
鈥淟ooking at the overall picture, I couldn鈥檛 be happier with the way this year has gone. You don鈥檛 know what to expect walking into a program trying to turn it around. They鈥檙e an excellent group of kids who have really bought into what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
The Commodores still need to make sure not to look past the Dynamos who will be playing their home finale.
鈥淚 think the Mapletown game was kind of a blessing in disguise because it showed them you can鈥檛 take anyone lightly,鈥� Battaglini said. 鈥淚 think they鈥檒l be ready. They know what鈥檚 at stake.鈥�