Offense has Ringgold thinking titles
Ringgold running back Chacar Berry stretches at the start of practice at Joe Montana Stadium. Berry rushed for 1,392 yards and scored 19 touchdowns last year.
Dayli Penn of Ringgold works during a blocking drill in practice. The Rams will play in the renamed Big Ten Conference.
MONONGAHELA – When Nick Milchovich was hired to replace Matt Humbert as Ringgold’s coach in March of 2014, he outlined one specific goal: upset the order of the Big Nine Conference.
For many years, Thomas Jefferson rolled through the competition, West Mifflin took second and Ringgold finished third or fourth before losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Behind quarterback Nico Law, a dangerous rushing attack and a massive offensive line, Ringgold won nine consecutive games, including a dominant 40-6 victory over West Mifflin, before losing in the Class AAA semifinals to eventual champion Central Valley.
The Rams finished second in the conference, but now, the bar is raised. Ringgold is thinking bigger in 2015.
“We want to try to take it to the next level. That’s really the message we’ve laid out and the kids have bought in,” Milchovich said.
Ringgold will attempt to win its first WPIAL title since 1982 with a first-year starting quarterback and an offense that could feature only three senior starters.
Junior George Martin replaces Law as the leader of the Rams’ spread attack. The 6-4, 200-pound pro-style quarterback led Ringgold’s junior varsity team to an 8-1 record last year and threw two varsity touchdown passes.
While Law was an incredible athlete who could stretch defenses with his running and a strong arm, Martin will keep opponents honest with his ability to read defenses and fit passes into tight spaces. He helped Ringgold win the championship at the 7-on-7 passing competition at Pitt in July.
“I think he’s going to be a big asset. He’s thrown passes I’ve never seen anyone throw before and he’s fit them in. It’s crazy,” Ringgold senior linebacker/fullback Connor Garry said. “He’s going to be a very good quarterback for us.”
Martin will have two game-breaking running backs to lean on. A shifty, powerful runner, senior Chacar Berry will spearhead the offense after rushing for 1,392 yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Highly touted sophomore Brenden “Bam” Small will spell Berry. Small rushed for 722 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman.
The two running backs will be a pivotal part of Milchovich’s offensive game plan. Though offensive coordinator T.J. Plack installed a spread offense with many four-wide receiver sets, Ringgold’s success will be dictated by the running game.
Keeping defenses guessing will only make the job of Ringgold’s first-year quarterback easier.
“I believe in running the football. If you can impose your will and run the ball, it opens everything else up,” Milchovich said. “Both of them have the potential to score any time they touch the football. We’re going to try to put pressure on people in all three phases on offense – inside, outside and throwing the ball.”
Along with a physical offensive line and one of the top running games in the WPIAL, the Rams have depth at wide receiver. Junior Dalton Holt leads a group that will also feature junior Octavius Vassar, sophomore Darius Tyree, senior Brandon Newman and junior Easton Fine.
Ringgold lost three starters on its offensive line, including Robert Duda, Anthony Martin and Eric Higgs, but senior Daylen Penn, junior Justin Mayor and senior Dante Todaro started the majority of last season.
The offense received much of the attention last season when it averaged 34.5 points per game, but the defense forced turnovers and held opponents to 14 points or less six times.
Penn will be a two-way force for the Rams, doubling as a defensive tackle, while Todaro and senior Trevor Colucci are back at defensive end. Replacing Aaron Szakal’s pass-rushing skills will be difficult.
It helps that the Rams have Garry and senior Jordan Briscoe back at middle linebacker. Berry and Small will line up at outside linebacker and Holt will move back to lead a young secondary that is new.
“Our linebackers will be the strength and we have two defensive ends coming back who got a lot of time in there,” Garry said. “We’ll be pretty good on defense. We don’t have to worry about scoring. We know the offense will do its job and we just have to do ours.”
Unseating Thomas Jefferson and advancing to the WPIAL championship game is on the list of goals for 2015, but the road did not get easier. The conference is now called the Big Ten after adding Yough and features three programs on the rise: Laurel Highlands, Belle Vernon and Trinity.
That does not mean expectations are tempered.
“We’re going to be a good team. I think we can go further than last year,” Berry said. “Everyone is underestimating us. We look young, but we’ve shown up at camps this summer. We’ll do what we have to do and we’ll show people we’re a good team.”