5A Championship Preview: Pine-Richland

Tagged under: District 7, News, Playoffs

Phil Myers | December 8, 2022

Pine-Richland Rams (12-3)

Head Coach: Jon LeDonne

Starting Lineups:

Pine-Richland wasn’t on anybody’s radar after the Rams began the season 1-3.  But Coach LeDonne and his staff saw something in running back Ryan Palmieri and moved him to quarterback for that 5^th game.  The Rams then set sail on a journey that no one expected.  They have won every game since then (11 straight) and only one team (Cathedral Prep) came within ten points.  Pine-Richland demolished Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL (District 7) final, then beat Cathedral Prep and a hot Cocalico team to get here.  Pine-Richland has 2 state championship trophies, the most recent being in 2020.

This is the first year for Coach LeDonne, who came over from Penn Hills where, incidentally, he led the Indians to a state title in 2018.  He has taken the Pine-Richland program that went into a tailspin and disarray after that 2020 championship season and turned it right back around.  LeDonne said, “all the kids and program needed was some guidance, the talent was there.  Some of these kids were on the 2020 team.  They know how to win, they just needed guidance.”

The Rams have been playing lights out football on both sides of the ball.  Palmieri has piloted the offense to where they are consistent and can score at any time.  He has 977 yards passing with 10 TDs.  It’s his legs though, that opens up the passing attack.  He has rushed for 1,741 yards and 24 TDs.  Ethan Pillar leads the running backs with 1,241 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Andrew Mellis and Brad Gelly are the leading receivers.  Mellis has 30 grabs for 397 yards and 2 TDs, while Gelly has 29 catches for 494 yards and 5 scores.  Kicker Grant Argiro has a strong leg and is a weapon.  He’s made 51 of 57 PATs and booted 4 field goals.

Defensively, big Ryan Cory is a beast to block on the line.  LB Max Heckert leads the team in tackles with 158, which is the Ram all-time single season record.  Palmieri is a playmaker on defense too as evidenced by his 124 tackles.  As a team, the Rams have 34 sacks and 120 tackles for loss.  Joe Perry leads in both of those departments with 11 sacks and 22 TFLs.  The Pine-Richland Rams have put together a strong performance down the stretch, becoming one of the best teams in the state no matter what the classification.  Imhotep is a different beast however, the likes of which the Rams haven’t faced yet.  But it is likely the Panthers haven’t faced a team like Pine-Richland this year either.

How they got here:

2022 Schedule

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION	TIME/SCORE
08-20	@ Mount Lebanon (SCR)		10:00 am
08-26	vs. Pickerington Central (OH) (1-0)		L 0-42
09-02	@ Kiski Area (2-8)		W 33-0
09-09	@ Penn Hills (5-5) *		L 28-33
09-16	vs. Seneca Valley (6-4)		L 3-13
09-23	@ Fox Chapel (0-10) *		W 61-14
09-30	vs. North Allegheny (11-2)		W 28-17
10-07	@ Pittsburgh Central Catholic (7-5)		W 35-13
10-14	@ Shaler (5-5) *		W 42-7
10-21	vs. Woodland Hills (6-6) *		W 35-21
10-28	vs. North Hills (3-8) *		W 47-0
11-04	vs. Penn-Trafford (6-5) (P)		W 31-17
11-11	vs. Woodland Hills (6-6) (P)	Gateway HS	W 23-12
11-19	@ Upper Saint Clair (10-3) (SP)	Norwin HS	W 34-3
11-25	vs. Cathedral Prep (8-3) (SP)		W 21-14
12-02	@ Cocalico (10-5) (SP)	Mansion Park (Altoona, PA)	W 34-12
12-09	vs. Imhotep Charter (10-2) (SP)	Chapman Field (Mechanicsburg)	7:00 pm

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