Young Mapletown hopes for bigger things

Aug 23, 2026 By Chris Dugan 4 min read

The powers of youthful enthusiasm will be put to a riveting test this fall at Mapletown, where freshmen and sophomores will play more than casual roles.

That typically is a sign that long Friday nights are ahead for a high school football team, but veteran George Messich, who enters his 44th season as the Maples’ head coach, says this group of 9th and 10th graders are better than you might expect, and they’re surrounded by a few talented upperclassmen.

All of that makes for what should be an interesting season with better results than last year’s 1-9 finish.

“We’re not a bad team for this conference,” Messich said of the Class A Tri-County South.

“We have something coming up. We have only six seniors and 20 sophomores and freshmen, but there are a lot of younger kids who can play.”

Mapletown had one of the most puzzling and interesting starts to a season last year. They were blown out 41-6 in the season opener at Avella, which made the WPIAL Class A playoffs.

“We were horrible,” Messich said of that game.

So the coach decided to change his offense and go back to the I-formation that he employed for decades. The Maples shifted wingback Carson Vanata, who had been held to “about 35 yards” by Avella, to the tailback position.

In the next game, Mapletown defeated Frazier, 22-21. Frazier went on to make the Class A quarterfinals. Vanata rushed for 161 yards, two touchdowns and a game-winning two-point conversion with three seconds remaining to beat Frazier.

The next week, Vanata ran for 271 yards against Chartiers-Houston, also a playoff quarterfinalist, and Mapletown had a 21-point fourth-quarter lead before a turnover turned the tide and C-H rallied for an unlikely come-from-behind win.

Mapletown’s season turned again the next week when Vanata broke his leg early in a game against Jefferson-Morgan. His season, and Mapletown’s momentum, was over.

Vanata, a 6-2, 200-pound senior, is back this fall and so is the optimism at Mapletown.

“Carson played three games and rushed for about 500 yards,” Messich pointed out. “And he did that against two of the best teams we played. He killed it working in the weight room. He’s in perfect health, so that’s a plus for us.”

Vanata’s running mate in the backfield, senior fullback Ashton Walker (6-2, 195), suffered a knee injury during the first week of the Maples’ baseball season. He was recently cleared to return.

“Walker is powerful, and he’s not slow,” Messich said. “The strength is we have Vanata and Walker in the backfield.”

The veteran coach also likes the potential of sophomore Blake Switalski and freshman Austin Hennessey as change-of-pace running backs.

Mapletown lost its best offensive lineman to injury four plays into last season, but they return four starters from the group. Returning are senior Kaeden Lotspeich (5-10, 225), junior Kaleb Evosevich (5-11, 190) and sophomores Landon Walker (6-3, 245) and Joshua Debolt (5-10, 235). Sophomore Brayden Tedrow moves into the center position.

The passing game is where several freshmen could be impactful. The quarterback is expected to be freshman Tyler Dusenberry (6-3, 175).

“We went to several 7-on-7s this summer and for a freshman I was impressed with him,” Messich said. “He can run it and throw it. There’s potential there. For a freshman, I’m very pleased with him.”

Hennessey, Switalski, sophomore Bryson Shaffer (6-3, 200) and freshman Jax Donley will be the receivers.

“The offensive line is OK. I think we’ll be good up front,” Messich said. “Defensively, I don’t know because of all the freshmen and sophomores.”

Messich said he had two other freshmen, Clayton Radcliff and Andrew Phillips, who could work their way into the lineup and are playing multiple positions.

“We’re going to have a lot of young kids playing, but they’re not playing like freshmen,” Messich said.

Mapletown opens the season with three consecutive away games. The Maples will open again against Avella followed by trips to East Allegheny and Serra Catholic. The home opener is also the Tri-County South opener against West Greene on Sept. 18.

“California and Beth-Center are probably the top two teams. After that … it will be interesting,” Messich said.