Feb 12, 2023 3 min read

Expectations were high for Belle Vernon heading into the 2022 football season, and for those on the outside, anything short of a WPIAL Class 3A championship and a run at a PIAA title would have meant an unsuccessful season.

The team accomplished both, winning WPIAL and PIAA championships, and Saturday night the Leopards celebrated their season at the team banquet.

Head coach Matt Humbert spoke about the season before the overflow crowd at The Sunset Room in Elizabeth, and he shared the approach he used throughout the season.

“The goal was to make them uncomfortable,” he said, explaining the methodology he used with the team. “I want to prepare them to be fathers, to prepare them for jobs, and to prepare them to not get jobs. We didn’t want them being comfortable.”

Humbert knew what he was doing when he scheduled four larger-classification schools for the Leopards’ non-conference games.

Again, he wanted to keep his team uncomfortable.

The Leopards opened the season by beating Class 4A Laurel Highlands before falling at McKeesport and to Class 5A Penn-Trafford, and finished off the non-conference run with a win over perennial 4A power Thomas Jefferson.

The early challenges left the Leopards tested and uncomfortable, and they answered by steamrolling their way through Interstate Conference play, winning the five games by 50, 44, 48, 48 and 34 points.

It was now the Leopards who were making their opponents uncomfortable, and the defense did not give up a second-half point over the last 11 games.

The uncomfortableness that Humbert spoke about helped prepare the Leps for their goal-line stand in the last minute of a 9-8 win over Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA championship game.

Humbert recognized the seven seniors: Parker Jewell, Steve Macheska, Zach May, Evan Pohlot, Chase Ruokonen, Dom Sasko and Tanner Steeber.

Humbert also continued the uncomfortable theme as he had each senior speak briefly about an assistant coach. When they finished, Humbert spoke about his assistants and the team-first mentality of his players.

“The leadership from the coaches was a big part, and this truly was a selfless team,” he said. “We always say the players lay bricks onto our foundation, just as our previous players laid their own bricks.”

Humbert, who also is Belle Vernon’s athletic director, will find a level of uncomfortableness as longtime athletic department secretary Janice Sandy has announced she will retire at the end of the school year. Sandy has held the position since 1997 and worked under Jim Bush, Jesse Cramer, and Humbert, and for six months between Cramer leaving and Humbert being hired, she did all duties of the athletic director.

“I have always loved this job,” she said as the banquet concluded. “I will never forget being on the fields in Pittsburgh and Cumberland Valley after winning the WPIAL and state championships.”

Humbert acknowledged Sandy during the banquet, which led to a heartfelt ovation.

“She is our biggest supporter and is the glue that holds the athletic department together,” he said. “She has seen many programs come and go, so it was very gratifying for us to send her out the right way.”

Humbert focused on the 2022 season Saturday and not on what will be similar expectations next season. But one thing is for sure: the returning players will be put in a position to feel uncomfortable.