J-M wants playoff berth in Giorgi’s 1st season
Jefferson-Morgan’s Brennan Kozich and Austin DeFrank work on blocking drills as coach Aaron Giorgi watches. Kozich is one of four returning starters on the Rockets’ offensive line.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Jake Broadwater runs the ball during a practice session wwhile the Rockets work on plays.
Jefferson-Morgan assistant coach Dave Devecka watches Will Fath and Zach Shaffer perform blocking drills during practice.
JEFFERSON – There’s often a feeling-out period between the players and a new head coach.
Jefferson-Morgan’s football team will be making a transition from Liam Ryan to Aaron Giorgi this season. But the change won’t be drastic.
Giorgi takes over the Rockets after serving as an assistant under Ryan, who resigned at the end of the 2014 season after going 15-13 in three years, including 4-5 last season.
Fortunately for Giorgi, who played at Charleroi High School and Waynesburg University, the cupboard is not bare at Jefferson-Morgan.
Nine players return who started on offense last season, while eight return on defense, giving the Rockets a team that is as experienced as any in the Class A Tri-County South conference.
But with that experience comes expectations.
“I don’t know what the expectations are in the community,” said Giorgi, who was hired in the spring. “When you get hired for a job, you don’t want to let the kids down or the other coaches down. Obviously, your expectations are to win as much as possible.
“We are bringing a lot of guys back. We’ve got a lot of guys with playing experience. Going into a game, you already know they’re battle-tested. You don’t have to wonder if you’re going to be weak here or there. We’re confident with the kids we have in there.”
Leading the way will be four returning starters on the offensive line, led by all-conference senior center Zach Shaffer.
“Zach Shaffer stands out as my team leader. I’ve never seen a kid work so hard,” Giorgi said of the 6-3, 225-pounder. “We had workouts at 5 a.m. before school in the spring. He was the guy getting all the other kids here. We had a good group of kids coming. He was leading that crew. He’s the only kid who can make me second-guess myself on the blocking scheme. He really knows what everyone should be doing on that line. It’s nice having a guy in the middle on offense who can help everyone else.
“This is his third year at center. He has quite a few starts under his belt. He’s battle-tested. I know in this league, we like to hide centers, but he is one of the best kids we’ve got.”
Shaffer will team with Will Fath, Brennan Kozich and Dalton Fowler to pave the way for what Jefferson-Morgan teams seem to do well every season – run the football. The Rockets have two returning starters in the backfield, Trevor Kniha and Joe Headlee.
Kniha, a 5-10, 180-pound senior, had 412 rushing yards last season while Headlee, a 5-10, 160-pound junior, had 299 yards.
“I’m going to put a lot of pressure on the offensive linemen to carry us,” Giorgi said. “We have two pretty strong running backs, too. I would like to think we’re going to be strong running the ball.
“We’re not huge and we’re not moving mountains, but we have nice size. I like having athletic linemen as opposed to having the really big linemen. You can only do so much with size. When they have a little size and some speed, then you can do a little more pulling, traps and take advantage of the angles.”
The one spot on offense where the Rockets don’t have much experience is quarterback. Dennis Garrett saw some action as a freshman because of injuries and is battling junior Eli Rafail for the starting spot. Giorgi hasn’t settled on one as his starter, but would certainly like to do so before the Rockets open their season at home against West Greene.
“That’s the idea,” Giorgi said. “The old saying is that if you have two quarterbacks, then you don’t have any quarterback. I think one of them will step up and say, ‘I’m the starter.’ I expect that to happen at some point.”
Kniha, Headlee and David Blaker will be key contributors on defense. Kniha and Blaker, both linebackers, had 104 and 68 tackles, respectively, last year. Headlee had three interceptions to lead the team.
There is some concern, particularly with Kniha, who seems to always be in the middle of the action, but with fewer than 30 players on the roster, Giorgi can’t worry about injuries.
“He commands that defense,” Giorgi said. “He knows where everybody should be on defense. He’s in great shape physically.”
If the Rockets can avoid injuries to their front-line players, a return to the postseason for the first time since 2012 could happen in what promises to be a balanced conference.
“We’re a Single-A school. Whenever you’re a Single-A school, you’re going to deal with attrition from week to week,” Giorgi said. “Can we stay healthy? If we can, I believe we will be a tough team to beat.”