Rebels have no issues with high expectations
Rick Mellick leads an agility drill for his teammates during Seton-La Salle football training camp. A senior, Mellick led the Rebels in rushing with 396 yards on 81 carries. He scored six touchdowns and four extra points during the Rebels’ 8-3 campaign in 2013.
Danzel McKinley-Lewis is a Toledo recruit who is expected to be one of the top receivers in the WPIAL this season.
Tyler Perone will quarterback Seton-La Salle this season. The senior ranked among the WPIAL passing leaders last year. He threw for 2,326 yards and 24 TDs in 2013.
DORMONT – Despite competing in a conference that features two of the top five teams in Class AA, including the defending PIAA champion, Seton-La Salle breaks its huddle with the chant of “state champions.”
First-year head football coach Damon Rosol explains why.
“No team rises to low expectations,” he said. “I know talk can be cheap, but that is our goal and we are not shying away from it. What kind of goal is telling people we want to go 10-2 and lose in the semifinals? That’s not a goal.”
Winning seems to embrace Rosol. A 1993 SLS graduate, Rosol played for Greg Gattuso. The current University of Albany head coach guided the Rebels to a WPIAL title and the PIAA finals in 1990.
After playing two seasons as a preferred walk-on at Pitt and earning a degree in social sciences, Rosol returned to his alma mater. From 1997-2004, he served as an offensive line coach under Lou Cerro. After helping the Rebels win WPIAL titles in 2002 and 2004, Rosol followed Cerro to Montour. He served as offensive coordinator from 2005-2013.
“Montour was a graveyard. They did not have a winning team,” Rosol said, noting the 7-38 five-year record prior to Cerro’s arrival. “We broke the huddle (chanting) ‘WPIAL champions.’ That was never heard of. No one dared to say that. But from Day 1, we had high expectations.”
Expectations were realized in 2011 as the Spartans won a WPIAL championship. Montour also competed for the district title three times in five years.
“As a coach who has been to Heinz Field five years, it never gets old,” Rosol said. “It always gets better. Only eight teams play there. It’s a special day. It’s like Christmas for the coaches and the kids.”
This holiday season, Rosol has bigger plans. He hopes his Rebels travel to Hershey to play in the PIAA Class AA final Dec. 13.
“The last time I was at Seton, we were 35-5, and we had beaten Aliquippa at Heinz Field in 2002 and 2004,” Rosol said. “We were the program and Coach (Greg) Perry did a great job keeping it going. But it’s been nine years since the school’s won a title.
“My hope is to be the best team in SLS history. No one has ever won (a state title). We were in Hershey in 1990 and 2002. That’s 12 years apart. What year is it now?”
For the Rebels to raise a state banner, they must unseat the defending champions. South Fayette ran the table while winning the 2013 title. The Lions return Brett Brumbaugh, who is on pace to set the all-time state passing record.
“South Fayette was us back then. When we left the program, we were the top dog,” Rosol said. “They are the team to beat. They are well-coached. They play hard.”
So does Quaker Valley. The Quakers have speed and athletes who can execute and run an offense that is completely different than what the Century Conference is accustomed to defending. Rosol noted the Rebels, Lions, Keystone Oaks and Carlynton each run similar offenses with the same passing concepts.
“It’s a good solid conference and until we prove it, Aliquippa, South Fayette, Quaker Valley and Wash High are the teams to beat because they are proven,” Rosol said. “But we feel we can compete and play with everybody.”
The Rebels are confident they can be competitive because they return a wealth of talent from last year’s 8-3 playoff team.
Tyler Perone spearheads the offense. The senior passed for more than 2,400 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. His top targets are veterans as well. Toledo recruit Danzel McKinley-Lewis caught 40 passes for 791 yards and 11 scores and Dequay Broadwater had 16 catches for 141 yards and four scores. In addition to Matt Reinmund (seven catches, 113 yards), the Rebels expect big plays from tight end Adam Ottaviano.
Leading rusher Rick Mellick returns to the tailback slot. Liam Sweeney joins the senior in the backfield. The fullback has strong football bloodlines as his father, Jim, excelled at Seton-La Salle and Pitt before playing for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Up front on both sides of the ball, the Rebels are strong and deep. While they searched for a left tackle in camp, SLS enters the season with Jake Blahut at right tackle, Billy Jackson at center, Zack Davinney and Michael Matuccio at the guard spots. Jackson, Davinney and Martuccio are expected to anchor the defensive line and Blahut moves to outside linebacker. Mellick. Sweeney and Ottaviano will hold the inside linebacker slots while McKinley-Lewis and Broadwater, along with Chad Murphy on the corner, cement the secondary.