DeUnger hired as Charleroi football coach
By Bill Hughes
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
Charleroi hired one of its own Tuesday night to take over the Cougars’ football program.
Scott “Scooter” DeUnger, a 1997 graduate and a standout athlete for the Cougars, was unanimously hired as head coach at the Charleroi School Board meeting, and he is excited to take over a program that means so much to him.
“Being a Charleroi guy my whole life, it starts with the community,” he said. “I grew up here and have pride in it.”
DeUnger replaces Tyler Aeschbaher, who resigned after two seasons to become an assistant at Robert Morris University.
When asked what he wants to bring to the program, the former standout football, basketball and baseball player started his answer with one word.
“Stability,” he said. “We have had six coaches in 10 years.”
Charleroi athletic director Bruno Pappasergi is encouraged by what he’s heard from DeUnger.
“It is always nice to see a home-grown kid come back and speak the way he spoke (during the interview process),” Pappasergi said. “He was very articulate, very positive about the direction he wants to take the program, and complementary of the coaches before him.
“He will continue to lay the groundwork that (the previous coaches) laid.”
There were 13 applicants, and DeUnger was a unanimous selection.
“He was the best candidate, and I think Scott will do a fine job with our kids,” Pappasergi said. “He has been involved with the kids coming up and the midget league for a long time.
“He is involved with a lot of sports here, has a good pulse on what is going on at the school right now, and it is always nice to have someone who is local. That’s one big thing he has going for him.”
DeUnger has an advantage as he knows all of the Charleroi players.
“I have come up through the youth program and at the middle school,” he said. “I know the kids.”
Pappasergi spoke about DeUnger’s lack of varsity coaching experience.
“The only stumbling block is he will have to learn to be a varsity coach,” said Pappasergi. “I have all the confidence in the world, and he will do a great job, going from a middle school coach and morphing into a great varsity coach.”
DeUnger already has his coaching staff assembled, and that is a big key as the Cougars are a couple months behind other teams in terms of an offseason.
“We are going to jump right into it,” he said. “I already have my staff together. One benefit was I had a staff ready to go. If I got hired, we would hit the ground running.”
A big key, according to DeUnger, is that far too many Charleroi kids stop playing from midgets to high school.
“How can we bridge the gap?” he pondered. “We lose the kids from midgets to middle school to high school. We want to build a program all the way down from the high school team to the midgets.”
When asked what it meant to take over his alma mater, DeUnger took a deep breath before answering.
“I could go on for days about that,” he said. “It’s a hard thing to answer.
“I am truly honored.”