VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH • SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 • 25
LEECHBURG TO AIR IT OUT
by GREG MACAFEE
DAN’SAPPLIANCE EVERYTHING WE SELL IS MADE IN AMERICA
168 THIRD ST. LEECHBURG, PA 15656 • 724-845-8141
EXC E P DY GO• LD
T ION EA A 2019
L ST • • UNTRUSTED IQUE ALLE-KISKI
•
• ES R D TE CE P GO BLUE
DEVILS!
adno=133259
A new era is coming to Leechburg football
and new coach Randy Walters is ready to take
the Blue Devils to new heights.
Since accepting the job in March, Walters
has focused on the finer points of putting his
stamp on the program. He and his coaching
staff have revamped the locker room by painting
players’ lockers, putting new nameplates
on each one, and upgrading other parts of the
locker room and stadium to give his new team
a sense of pride.
“I’m always preaching about the little
things,” Walters said. “To me, these are little
things but these are big things for us because
we need these things. You see all the names
on the lockers and you won’t see rust on any
handles, I painted everyone.
“It’s just doing those little things and we are
going to do them here to show them what we’re
going to do on the football field and we expect
them to do that, too. We want them to understand
if they do those little things and get some
wins, things are going to change.”
Not only is Walters focusing on the finer
points with his new football team, he’s also
bringing an exciting change to Leechburg. After
spending the past two seasons under Shawn
Liotta at Burrell, Walters is installing the Air
Raid offense at his new school, and he has a
roster filled with athletes to run it.
Senior quarterback Dylan Cook returns under
center for the Blue Devils after throwing
for 949 yards and eight touchdowns last season,
and he’s excited to be at the helm of a brandnew
offense.
“Before I even met coach, whenever they
wrote up the interview on him, the first words
I saw were ‘Air Raid’ and my eyes lit up,” Cook
said. “So, I’m pretty excited to get going.”
Cook’s infatuation with the offense didn’t
just began this past summer either. He’s had an
eye on it since last year when he started watching
game highlights of Burrell’s Alex Arledge.
“I’m just a big football fan so I love watching
everybody in the WPIAL and one of my favorite
guys to watch is Alex Arledge,” Cook said.
“He’s got a great arm, probably the best in the
WPIAL, and I watched his highlights after
every game last year, and it just looked really
exciting, the whole offense. So, whenever coach
came here, I was really excited.”
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback will
have a lot of weapons at his disposal as well.
Braylon Lovelace returns for his sophomore
season after rushing for 312 yards and four
touchdowns as a freshman behind senior Jake
Blumer, who tallied 161 carries for 979 yards.
With the new style of offense, Lovelace is ready
to take advantage of the opportunity to display
his athletic ability all over the field.
“It’s really going to give me a chance to get
outside and do my thing,” Lovelace said.
The Blue Devils also return tight end Eli
Rich, who caught 12 passes for 268 yards and
one touchdown in a run-heavy offense.
Rich won’t line up like a regular tight end
though. He’ll be spread out in the slot most of
the time, forcing mismatches against defensive
backs. Walters is hoping to take advantage of
his 6-foot-5 frame in the passing game.
With the athletes in place and the new offense
installed, the Blue Devils are excited for this
season, and Walters enters his first season with
high expectations.
“We’re not in this to get ties or to lose; we’re
here to win,” Walters said. “I know they haven’t
had a ton of success here in the past, but if you
watch the film, they’ve had great football players,
and there are things here or there where
things could’ve gone the other way. We think
we have a great group of guys, but I just wish
I had 10 more of them.”
BRAYLON LOVELACE
Coach: Randy Walters
2019 record: 5-5, 3-3 in
Class A Eastern
All-time record: 397-510-38
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Greensburg C.C.* 7
9.18 Clairton* 7
9.25 at Springdale* 7
10.2 Jeannette* 7
10.10 at Bishop Canevin*# 7
10.16 Riverview* 7
10.23 at Imani Christian* 7
*CONFERENCE GAME
#AT DORMONT STADIUM
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing: Dylan Cook
60-140, 949 yards, 8 TDs
Receiving: Jake Blumer*
21-393 yards, 5 TDs
Rushing: Blumer*
161-979 yards, 17 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• After Southmoreland made
the playoffs last season, the
Blue Devils now own the
longest playoff drought in the
WPIAL. They haven’t made
the postseason since 1988.
• Walters is coaching at
Leechburg for the second
time. He was an assistant
under Ed Jenkins in 2006.
No. Name Pos. Ht/Wt. Cl.
5 Logan Kline WR/DB 6-1/175 So.
10 Dylan Cook QB/DB 5-11/180 Sr.
13 Thomas Burke QB/DB 5-10/170 Jr.
21 Braylon Lovelace RB/LB 6-2/185 So.
24 Allen Harvey WR/DB 6-0/175 Sr.
25 Marcus Cleveland RB/LB 5-10/165 So.
29 Tyler Villa WR/DB 5-9/145 Fr.
32 Jessie McMillen WR/DB 5-7/140 Fr.
34 Brandin Gilmer RB/DB 5-10/155 Fr.
51 Tino DeCapite OL/DT 5-9/215 Jr.
52 Sawyer Dudek OL/DE 6-0/170 Fr.
53 Owen Nuttal OL/LB 5-10/175 Fr.
55 Kaleb Kapalka OL/DT 6-0/225 Fr.
57 Sabastian Mason OL/LB 5-4/145 Fr.
58 Dalton Hamm OL/LB 5-11/200 Sr.
62 Jacob Reinke OL/DE 6-0/235 Jr.
64 Jonathan Talerico OL/DT 5-5/175 Jr.
71 Collin Cook OL/DE 5-10/165 So.
75 Brandon Lucas OL/DT 6-2/240 So.
76 Matthew Curfman OL/DE 6-3/185 So.
81 Tyler Foley WR/DB 5-10/165 So.
85 Eli Rich TE/DE 6-5/215 Jr.
89 Klayton Grantz WR/DB 5-9/155 Fr.
ROSTER
LEECHBURG • EASTERN
DYLAN COOK