6 • SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2021 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
NEW COACH EMBARKS ON
OVERHAUL AT HEMPFIELD
by BILL BECKNER JR.
New Hempfield coach Mike Brown talks
about his football team like he is holding a
ball of clay.
Into what shape will he mold these Spartans?
Don’t expect anything too flashy.
“We’re going to stick to the basics,” Brown
said. “Hang our hat on basic fundamentals on
offense and defense.
“Our guys have been so quick to learn things,
which has been nice. You
might see us play four tight
ends. The next (series) we
might have four down (linemen),
then three down, then
five down. We’re going to
run the football, I can tell
you that.”
Brown, who took over for
Rich Bowen, the Spartans
coach for nine seasons before
resigning in February, said
his transition from an assistant
at Class A Greensburg Central Catholic to
head coach at 6A Hempfield has been a “day-byday”
process, one that has seen him earn trust
in his players and them in him.
“The kids want to turn this program around
as much as we coaches do,” Brown said.
Since the WPIAL went to six classifications in
2017, Hempfield has made the playoffs just once.
“Change always ruffles some feathers,”
Brown said. “But we’re out to change everything.
We’re starting over. We want to be a
different Hempfield football team. And I think
people are going to notice how different we are.”
A team heavy on juniors hopes to adapt
quickly to a new offense and defense, the latter
of which will be run by Brown.
No. Name Pos. Ht/Wt. Cl.
1 Carson Santangelo WR/DB 5-10/135 Jr.
2 Gino Caesar RB/LB 5-10/200 Jr.
3 Ben Blahovec TE/LB 6-1/185 Jr.
4 Elijah Binakonsky TE/LB 6-1/200 Jr.
5 Anthony Vallano TE/LB 6-3/200 Jr.
6 Bryce Fabian WR/DB 5-7/145 Sr.
7 Tyson Gregory WR/DB 5-10/165 Jr.
8 Daniel Katonka WR/DB 5-9/160 Jr.
9 Tommy Bozzuto RB/DB 5-7/160 Jr.
10 Jayden Talbert WR/DB 5-8/150 Sr.
11 Jake Phillips QB/DB 6-3/180 Jr.
12 Keiran Lippman QB/DB 6-0/170 So.
13 Lucas Moore WR/DB 5-9/160 So.
14 Riley Naugle WR/DB 5-9/135 So.
15 Ian Tuffs WR/DB 6-3/180 Jr.
16 Brady Ewing WR/DB 5-10/170 So.
17 Dom LoPinto WR/DB 5-9/140 So.
18 Francisco Lopez Diaz WR/DB 5-10/125 So.
19 Ryan Dunn WR/DB 5-7/135 So.
20 Ryan Steffey RB/DB 5-9/170 Jr.
21 Kenneth Miller WR/DB 5-10/155 Sr.
23 Alex Kuenzig WR/DB 5-9/140 So.
24 Ahdre Richards WR/DB 5-5/125 Sr.
25 Jayson Watkins WR/DB 6-1/180 So.
26 Ethan Zontek RB/LB 5-10/190 Fr.
27 Trent Ferree TE/LB 5-8/170 Sr.
28 Troy Ander TE/LB 5-10/190 So.
29 Logan Wolfe RB/LB/K 5-11/185 Jr.
31 Eddie Collier RB/LB 5-10/170 Jr.
33 Cullen Shearer WR/DB 5-11/165 Sr.
34 Anthony Puskar WR/DB 6-0/145 So.
42 Deondre Richards RB/LB 5-6/165 So.
44 Justin Novotney K 6-0/145 Sr.
45 Brennan Knight TE/LB 5-8/210 So.
50 Daniel Sierk OL/DL 6-5/260 Sr.
51 Will Nelson OL/DL 6-1/235 Jr.
52 Logan Eisaman OL/DL 5-11/235 Jr.
53 Marcus Smith OL/DL 5-7/190 So.
54 Donovan Mowry OL/DL 5-10/215 Sr.
55 JP Gera OL/DL 6-0/190 Jr.
58 Alex Riffer OL/DL 6-2/250 Jr.
60 Kolbe Roscov OL/DL 5-11/280 Sr.
64 Elijah Blackburn OL/DL 6-2/190 Jr.
66 Cody Young OL/DL 5-7/265 Sr.
68 Jackson Barton OL/DL 5-11/215 Jr.
74 Joe Dolinski OL/DL 6-4/280 So.
75 Nico LoPinto OL/DL 5-10/260 Jr.
77 Zachary Persinger OL/DL 6-3/355 Jr.
78 Michael Steffey OL/DL 6-1/240 Jr.
81 Andrew Brack WR/DB 5-10/140 Sr.
84 Jacob Riffer WR/DB 5-11/175 Sr.
87 Ethan Shaw TE/LB 6-3/210 Jr.
Joshua Reilly WR/DB 5-7/165 So.
ROSTER
TYSON GREGORY
Coach: Mike Brown
2020 record:
1-4, 1-4 in Class 6A
All-time record: 295-321-13
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
8.27 Greensburg-Salem 7
9.3 at Penn-Trafford 7:30
9.10 Franklin Regional 7
9.17 at Seneca Valley* 7:30
9.24 Mt. Lebanon* 7
10.1 at Canon-McMillan* 7
10.8 Baldwin* 7
10.15 Central Catholic* 7
10.22 at North Allegheny* 7:30
10.29 Norwin* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Christian Zilli*
50-98, 877 yards, 8 TDs
Rushing Mario Perkins*
58-217 yards, 4 TDs
Receiving Roman Pellis*
18-309 yards, 5 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACT
• Brown, a Penn-Trafford graduate,
takes over the Spartans
after stints as an assistant at
Robert Morris and Greensburg
Central Catholic. KEIRAN LIPPMANN
CLASS 6A • HEMPFIELD
HEMPFIELD · 7
“The kids
want to turn
this program
around as
much as we
coaches do.”
MIKE BROWN
HEMPFIELD COACH
Good Luck, HempfieLd SpartanS!
Larry Lint
FLooring
724-446-0480 • Wendel, PA
Contractor License #PA004471
www.larrylint.com adno=188973
GO
SPARTANS!