Pine-Richland 2023
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Word is that Palko and Totten have been wanting to coach together. They were close friends in college. This could be the last time they have the opportunity
My bad, they were graduate assistants
From Mike white article:
“Palko and Totten weren’t the odd couple in the early 1980s when they were first-year graduate assistants at IUP under George Chaump. Palko and Totten lived in a dormitory for a few weeks at the start of IUP’s season, before they left and got an apartment off campus with one of Palko’s friends. Palko and Totten actually shared a bedroom in the apartment.”
NA - They coached together at a Seton Lasalle and Duquesne. He s not going there to be an assistant, they have too many chiefs in the kitchen now…
ok- some info from PR-
New- crazy, but I think PR might be as good as last year. Not sure how far they go- but here goes-
gotta figure out QB- seemed like a problem last year- it was, until it wasn't!!
Talent- good- not better or worse than 22- Overall, Palmieri and Beam are the biggest losses- but... Cory might be the best lineman they have ever had, and Pillar may be the RB since Slomka in 2014, runner up year to SJP. Off skills- good not great- but actually they return plenty- in 22 they returned 2 starters, this year they return 5 (Pillar, Baloris, Aiello, Cerminara and Andrews- for now). At this point, best guess is Beam at qb- maybe some wildcat stuff also with Pillar
O Line- not sure- plenty of size, some unproven kids, but a very good off line coach.
Might avg like 6'3 and 270- at this point, best guess starters will be Cory, Bojanic, Dripps, Smith, Cardinali.
Couple talented 10th graders may fill a couple spots
Def- will be very good- last yr had really only 2 returning starters, last yr was a trainwreck until like week 5- that will not happen this year- this PR has 6 returning starters- and the kids know what to do- and Ledonne is the DC- first consistent Def system since 2020
Maybe 7-3 reg season, more consistent, with less bad games like they had this yr, and not sure how far they go- not ready to predict a state title- but maybe get close- if all goes great, maybe get there again
New- crazy, but I think PR might be as good as last year. Not sure how far they go- but here goes-
gotta figure out QB- seemed like a problem last year- it was, until it wasn't!!
Talent- good- not better or worse than 22- Overall, Palmieri and Beam are the biggest losses- but... Cory might be the best lineman they have ever had, and Pillar may be the RB since Slomka in 2014, runner up year to SJP. Off skills- good not great- but actually they return plenty- in 22 they returned 2 starters, this year they return 5 (Pillar, Baloris, Aiello, Cerminara and Andrews- for now). At this point, best guess is Beam at qb- maybe some wildcat stuff also with Pillar
O Line- not sure- plenty of size, some unproven kids, but a very good off line coach.
Might avg like 6'3 and 270- at this point, best guess starters will be Cory, Bojanic, Dripps, Smith, Cardinali.
Couple talented 10th graders may fill a couple spots
Def- will be very good- last yr had really only 2 returning starters, last yr was a trainwreck until like week 5- that will not happen this year- this PR has 6 returning starters- and the kids know what to do- and Ledonne is the DC- first consistent Def system since 2020
Maybe 7-3 reg season, more consistent, with less bad games like they had this yr, and not sure how far they go- not ready to predict a state title- but maybe get close- if all goes great, maybe get there again
Yes, Petzuk will be back, but my best guess is he will "replace" Rottinghous- defensive focus. They have lots of a kids- one of their strengths down the stretch last year, often not talked about, was one-way starters. Down-the-stretch, only really two guys were always on the field, Cory and Palmieri. Beam was a close third, Mellis often played o and d, but all the other guys were one-way. The plans for Petzuk may change- they may decide to have him go both ways, but i think they have enough bodies to get kids to play one-way. They might even try to get Cory some rest, at least in the reg season.
Stalk- WPIAL 5A is loaded- I'd put Penn Hills and Woodland Hills top 2- D7 having won 4 of the last 5 state titles- and from 3 different teams- maybe 10 teams good quality, could possibly win- great coaching, talent- it will be a dog fight even just to get to the WPIAL final, let alone win it- as long as we don't knock the snot out of each other- one of us will be in Cumberland Valley!
wow, that's gonna be interesting- interesting to see if WH challenges the transfer- areas are close geographically- but both being 5A, i bet WH challenges eligibility
It's shaping up as an interesting season at 5A with quarterbacks returning to all but five teams; Pine, PTraf, Hemp, FrkReg, NHills. Even teams like Shaler have strong Qbing, Keegan Smetanka at 60%, 2151, 22/7. You'll likely see an unusual number of upsets with so much experience returning under center and the number of veteran teams. Depth will be key and staying injury free.
Hear you on Woody who is still very young and building a line and PHills looks special. I like Gateway and Peters too.
Stalk- yes QB play at 5A will be amazing- handful of college-caliber kids- Birch at Gateway, Smetanka at Shaler- and maybe the biggest stud will be Duggar at Penn Hills- has not gotten the hype, but may be as talented as Jurkovec
Jacky- yes the transfer kid is a current 8th grader- looks good, been coming to inside workouts- solid but not huge- not sure yet how great- he play might something other than QB- lots of competition 4-5 kids already QB at varsity, have a couple kids in middle school, so not desperate- I will share more when i see them outside in May- but who knows LeDonne started Duggar as a freshman 3 years ago at Penn Hills, will be interesting to see
Stalk- yes QB play at 5A will be amazing- handful of college-caliber kids- Birch at Gateway, Smetanka at Shaler- and maybe the biggest stud will be Duggar at Penn Hills- has not gotten the hype, but may be as talented as Jurkovec
Jacky- yes the transfer kid is a current 8th grader- looks good, been coming to inside workouts- solid but not huge- not sure yet how great- he play might something other than QB- lots of competition 4-5 kids already QB at varsity, have a couple kids in middle school, so not desperate- I will share more when i see them outside in May- but who knows LeDonne started Duggar as a freshman 3 years ago at Penn Hills, will be interesting to see
Stalk- yes QB play at 5A will be amazing- handful of college-caliber kids- Birch at Gateway, Smetanka at Shaler- and maybe the biggest stud will be Duggar at Penn Hills- has not gotten the hype, but may be as talented as Jurkovec
Jacky- yes the transfer kid is a current 8th grader- looks good, been coming to inside workouts- solid but not huge- not sure yet how great- he play might something other than QB- lots of competition 4-5 kids already QB at varsity, have a couple kids in middle school, so not desperate- I will share more when i see them outside in May- but who knows LeDonne started Duggar as a freshman 3 years ago at Penn Hills, will be interesting to see
If you're talking 5A outside the wpial my Erie prep ramblers should be strong again. They have their qb back and running back back and their best player is their tackle who's getting d1 offers. I think ecp and pine will be preseason favorites in the west.
Yep, he needs to make the correct choice for college, but he is 6'4, 190, championship in basketball, and now a sprinter on the track team- no knock against Phil but he has had some pretty great coaching over the last 10 years, not sure Duggar has had that
Haus- yipes that is not good news for WPIAL!! No, i would not count on PR being there- gonna be tough- but I would say ECP might have been the best team PR played last year, so maybe this is the year your team gets back to the final
Duggar has more holes in his game then Phil did at the same age.
If he gets in the right system and takes time to develop he could be very good.
steel- i agree, but those "holes" may be a factor of coaching and system- Phil was guided from grade 8, was on the same "field" as Dinucci in 9th grade- so he studied film and was coached by the same guys- like 5 guys from that staff were HS qbs, 2 were division 1 QBs- in 8th and 9th grade, Phil was being prepped as the replacement for Dinucci- in a spread offense designed around him- im pretty sure Penn Hills does not have an advanced spread system- lots of what Duggar has done over the last 3 years is either throw / scramble / or designed run.
Pitt offered him as an athlete a long time ago (it may be a PWO based on the wording he posted). Last spring he got offers from UMass and Toledo. This spring his only offer is Howard. Toledo already has 1 QB commit but UMass doesn't have any.
He's not going to get that coaching. I would be surprised if his upside is any higher than Howard unless he changes position. Then MAYBE a MAC school. But he could blow up like Daquan Hardy did his senior year. But, much, much harder for QB with how their recruiting works and the portal. If I had to predict, I'd say Patriot or change position and go to a major FCS (JMU type school)
(Look at this past years P-R team - people were saying how all these kids were gonna get recruited and basically, none of them went to even Power FCS schools. Sacred Heart is probably best and they aren't even a full scholarship FCS. You gotta be a stud to get recruited highly. They had a bunch of D2 and D3 kids.)
well- makes sense!! as i think about this- Duggar could be a kid really losing out, also by the transfer portal- looking at a school like Akron or Toledo- they would be more likely to a take a well-polished kid from an FCS school, or even DII program- maybe Duggar should keep his options open, willing to play whatever, wherever- crazy- may be better off if he also played defense this year!!
I agree with most or all comments on Duggar, I think he is a work in progress at this point but believe with his athleticism, height, arm strength, lefty gun in the right system with some time and coaching he will blossom. FCS or walk on at a higher level. He can bet on himself and see how it plays out. Agree very tough market for qbs. So many transfers to choose from. Seeing a lot of d1 washouts flourish in d2 and then top d2 get a shot at d1 schools. Interesting times for sure
Hey Westies. I almost finished a State 5A ranking, stopping at 15 teams that should give us something to argue about. It's top heavy with D7 teams that look super strong in the classification with many traditional powers like UpDub, SHaven, PlyWhite, Exeter, Warwick, Acad Pk and others in major rebuilding mode.
I'm trying to limit it to a Top 10 or Top 15 format to allowing time to get through all the classifications. Thought you'd like to know, hoping to get it out this week.
I'm trying to limit it to a Top 10 or Top 15 format to allowing time to get through all the classifications. Thought you'd like to know, hoping to get it out this week.
Sure is. And with 6-7 strong contenders just on paper (who knows what emerges), every game takes on real significance where an upset will be catastrophic in terms of seeding.
Straight up, they'll eliminate each other which is too bad since you don't often see one district so loaded at any classification.
PR update- kinda similar to last year- either the staff is not sure, or they are "holding their cards." Lots of positions up for grabs- very little set in stone yet. One of 3-4 kids might be QB1, o-line has some potential, but less experience than the last 2-3 years.
Coaching- yipes, crazy 4th different Off coordinator in 4 years. Defense is steady- should be better off at start of year.
The only returning offensive skill stud is Pillar. the only lineman stud returning is Cory. Lot's of other jobs up for grabs. Tonight is first 7-7 so I will hear more. Overall, they have enough talent and size to do well, just not sure "how well." I could see them winning a few games early, like 14-13 before they straighten out offense skill. Schedule sets up nicely- not gonna be easy but Penn Hills is at home- the early winner there has good chance of section, then Woody is late-in-season game, maybe for the section win and higher playoff seed.
Coaching- yipes, crazy 4th different Off coordinator in 4 years. Defense is steady- should be better off at start of year.
The only returning offensive skill stud is Pillar. the only lineman stud returning is Cory. Lot's of other jobs up for grabs. Tonight is first 7-7 so I will hear more. Overall, they have enough talent and size to do well, just not sure "how well." I could see them winning a few games early, like 14-13 before they straighten out offense skill. Schedule sets up nicely- not gonna be easy but Penn Hills is at home- the early winner there has good chance of section, then Woody is late-in-season game, maybe for the section win and higher playoff seed.
qb situation is similar to last year, really weird. imo this is a result of constant change of coaching at PR recently, the "program" has not really been able to develop kids, like qb. The two frontrunners are Beam and Huffman, neither is great- Beam would be better imo, feel bad saying it, but these kids would have never even played JV under Kasper's staff. Might even resort to doing a modified wildcat, maybe Pillar at qb. They have a couple young good RBs. Gotta find a couple good wrs, no one is really standing out yet
Yes, line is big but only two kids w experience- good o-line coach, so they should figure it out
There re no kids on the current team that Coach K’s staff coached. Palmieri was last QB. Kerns, Beam last OL. Mellis and Gelly last WR. Heckert and Rottinghaus last defensive players.
Hardest to believe P-R won’t have a stud QB of some sort.
The guys who coached them are all at central and mars.
Hardest to believe P-R won’t have a stud QB of some sort.
The guys who coached them are all at central and mars.
Where did you see that. Not sure he would leave his job with Penn State to be an assistant at PR.
I said that a few months before he had the job at Penn state. My source must have been confused with another Lebo coach (Dennison) going to PR
I'm guessing the Palmiere mold was broken/destroyed not be seen again for another decade per his graduation and uniqueness. Also, do they have to have a 'stud' Qb with all the surrounding talent....or just a figure of speech?
They must have some kid that can step and be a decent Qb.
