2024 District Nine Conference Preview – Region 2
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Phil Myers | August 15, 2024
Brockway – The Rovers have a team to challenge St. Marys for the 3A crown this year. Coach Jake Heigel brings back 7 offensive and 7 defensive starters from a year ago. The strength of the ’24 version of Rover football will be at wide receiver and in the trenches. Leading a speedy and very good receiving corps is first team all-state Blake Pisarcik who grabbed 72 passes for 1,163 yards and 8 scores in 2023. Ben Yale, Carter Guaglianone, Madox Decker, and Jay Wherry will anchor the line on both sides of the ball. Johnny Varischetti leads the defense from his linebacker spot. He had 95 tackles in the ’23 campaign. Heigel is excited to see the development of the young players coming out of camp as they only lost one game in Middle School football.
Kane – The new head coach brought in by Kane is Matt Bodamer who set district and state records when he quarterbacked Port Allegany during his high school playing days. Besides youthful exuberance, he is bringing with him a new offense and a different defensive system. He is looking for leadership from his returning 18 letter winners. He said that he is going to rely heavily on his experienced coaching staff. Kane returns quite a bit from last year. The down side is that the Wolves went 0-10. Two offensive linemen may help the Wolves win games this year. They are Cameron Severance and Camden Ray. Isaiah Smith was one of the leaders on the defensive unit last year and could be a force to be reckoned with in 2024.
Keystone – Head honcho Todd Smith returns some good skill personnel. But he says success depends on the development of a young offensive line and staying healthy. Sophomore Dom Corcetti gained a lot of experience last year quarterbacking as a freshman. He threw for over 1,000 yards. Sophomore Eli Nellis is an exciting runner and scored 15 touchdowns last year. On the defensive side, junior Jacob Henry was the leading tackler in 2023. The Panthers will need to be more consistent to improve upon their 4-7 record from a year ago.
Port Allegany – The Gators return 7 starters both offensively and defensively. Port’s head coach, Justin Bienkowski, says everything starts with two returning linemen, Juuso Young and Carson Neely. RB Aiden Bliss set the single season rushing record for the Gators last year by rushing for 1,638 yards. By the way, he scored 24 touchdowns too. Coach Bienkowski is expecting Tristan Kiser to have a nice year running the ball as well. On defense, Young and Neely will wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage, while linebackers Bliss and Kiser will be two of the top tacklers again. Defensive backs Kellen Veilleaux, Nick Wilfong, and Jarrod Funk had eight interceptions between them in ’23. Port Allegany won the Class A D-9 crown in 2022, was runner-up last year, and will once again be one of the favorites this year.
Redbank Valley – Head coach Blane Gold (pictured with players) has compiled a 50-10 record at Redbank since being hired as head coach for the 2019 season. That includes 3 district titles and a trip to the Class A state title game in 2021 where the Bulldogs lost to Bishop Guilfoyle by a touchdown. Even though RBV lost some key contributors, Coach Gold says this is a new team with the next up mentality, and they will stamp their own identity. They return 5 starters on offense and 5 starters on defense. Braylon Wagner returns as their QB. His sophomore year was phenomenal as he passed for over 3,000 yards and 46 touchdowns, and he missed two games due to an injury. Drew Byers is the returning half back. He was just short of 1,000 yards in 2023 and scored a dozen TDs. Byers, Rylan Rupp, and Broc Monrean will fly to the ball on defense. Look for Redbank to battle Port Allegany for the D-9 Class 1A title.
Ridgway – Striving for more consistency in 2024, the Elkers hope to improve upon their 2-8 record from last football season. With 6 starters back on offense and 4 on defense, Coach Mark Heindl’s team is not without some young talent. Rocco Delhunty, Michael Gerg, and Rocco Allegretto played well on defense in 2023. In fact, Allegretto as a freshman last year had a pick and three fumble recoveries. All three were among the top tacklers. The offense struggled at times, but with some of the line back and with contributions from Delhunty at RB and Gerg at TE, the Elkers hope to score more and take some pressure off the defense.
Union/AC Valley – Known for being one of the more physical teams, the Falcon-Knights’ preliminary roster shows some decent sized kids at all positions. The drawback is they only return 4 veterans on each side of the ball. Head coach Dan Reed says they will do well if they gel as a team quickly and the offense is balanced between run and pass. OT Colbin Elliot and OG Owen Terwint are back on the O-line, while the speedy WR Aidan Fox and FB Max Gallagher are the two returning skill guys. DB Owen Bish’s leadership and hard work will certainly provide an impetus for the Union/AC Valley defense. You may not see a tougher linebacking corps in District Nine than Gallagher, Elliot, and Terwint.
PFN’s Projected Region 2 Finish:
- Redbank Valley
- Port Allegany
- Brockway
- Union/AC Valley
- Keystone
- Ridgway
- Kane
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