Long time coming: Charleroi seeking first playoff win in 20 years
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Charleroi is looking for its first playoff victory in two decades when the Cougars play Riverside tonight.
McGuffey Head Coach Ed Dalton
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Rod Huffman was hired as the West Greene High School football coach in February 2015.
bigmacs
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Canon-McMillan coach Mike Evans instructs his players during Friday night’s game against Central Catholic.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township head coach T.J. Plack has been trying to get his players noticed without the benefit of summer camps.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Joe Kuhns has resigned after five years as the head coach at Beth-Center.
Do not let the shotgun formation, spread offense and average of more than 50 points fool you. Charleroi High School football coach Lance Getsy is an old-school head coach.
He still believes that defense wins championships and how the importance of a few defensive stops can be the ultimate difference.
That viewpoint goes as far back to 1998, when he began coaching on his brother’s staff at Steel Valley. That year also was the last time Charleroi won a postseason game.
The fourth-seeded Cougars will try for their first playoff victory in 20 years when they host Riverside at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Myron Pottios Stadium.
Other teams seeking their first playoff victories in an extended period of time include Canon-McMillan (2004), Peters Township (2003), McGuffey (1994), Beth-Center (2010) and West Greene (1993).
The last time Charleroi (8-1) advanced in the postseason was when it defeated Beaver, 19-13, in 1998.
“I think it can be a pattern that’s hard to break,” Getsy, who is in his first season as the Cougars’ coach, said of not winning in the playoffs. “It’s almost like a muscle memory thing. Football is a muscle memory game. Whenever you are used to consistently playing 10 games, your body is used to it, too.”
No playoff loss was more frustrating for Charleroi than the one it endured last year, entering as the the fifth seed, riding an eight-game winning streak and earning a home playoff game before being upset by 12th-seeded Avonworth, 21-12. The Cougars committed five turnovers in the first half and six in the game.
“Those kids all remember what it felt like to have that letdown,” Getsy said. “You do use it as motivation. Having that game as a reminder motivates them even more. But it’s about putting the past behind them. We are already trying to put last week in the past.”
The only blemish to Charleroi’s record this season was a one-point loss at Beth-Center Sept. 28. All eight of its wins were by double digits and the Cougars have used a balanced offense to keep defenses guessing. In the 16-team Class AA playoff field, 10 average more than 30 points per game.
“Any time you can have a balanced offense it makes it harder to defend,” Getsy said. “If you can make teams have to change every week defensively, then you are getting them out of their comfort zone and are successful.
“Even going back to my time at Steel Valley, I always felt Class 2A was the deepest. And with tough games week after week, this year is no different. The smaller schools aren’t going away. I know the numbers are down, but you still get good football.”
Though Charleroi is the higher seed, and considered one of the top teams in the classification, Getsy says Riverside (6-3) doesn’t play like a low seed.
Riverside isn’t one of the 10 teams averaging 30 or more points, but its defense surrenders only 16.2 per game.
“They are a physical team. A team that is physical is always a tough out,” Getsy said. “A win would do a lot because it gets us another week to achieving our ultimate goal. The kids have bought into the discipline culture. When you build a program and a culture, you get extra practice time by playing longer in the season. You become used to playing 12, 13 or 14 games each year. Everybody is playing with that desperation in the playoffs. It’s a different breed.”