Aug 23, 2016 4 min read

Success on one of the most glitzy colored artificial turf football fields in the WPIAL will come the same way this season for Belle Vernon’s football team.

If this were the 1970s, then it would fine to use the term, “Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust,” to describe the offensive attack of the Leopards.

Modern-day terminology is needed for these new fields, so how about this? “Three Yards and a Spray of Black Rubber Pellets” on the gold-colored surface?

Belle Vernon pieced together one of the more remarkable seasons last year by playing traditional-style football under head coach Matt Humbert. The Leopards ran often and well, and played tremendous defense, on the way to nine consecutive regular-season wins and a split of two WPIAL playoff games in Class AAA with a team some felt would do well to reach .500.

And most astonishing, Belle Vernon threw just 61 passes. Not in one game, but in a season. If you think that concerns returning starting quarterback Mike Fine, you are mistaken.

“I wasn’t surprised at all (at the success of last year),” Fine said. “I went in thinking there might be one or two tight games. We had a heck of team. We had a bunch of tough guys. We’re not the most talented or the biggest team. But we’re a scrappy bunch and we’re going to bring our best each Friday night.”

Luke Durigon was the battering ram on the ground, gaining 1,080 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns. Fine, who received starting assignments at quarterback in his first two seasons, ran the offense like it was second nature. The 6-1, 220-pounder gained 665 yards, averaged nearly eight yards a carry and scored 13 touchdowns. The two running backs who will take over for Durigon are senior Nick Hall and junior Derek Cesovski, who combined for 196 yards last year.

“We have a strong running back core coming in,” said Fine. “Losing Luke was a big loss, but we have two running backs to replace him. They are going to be just as good. It will be a lot of the same with read options for me and getting those two in the game to run the football.”

Humbert said Cesovski and Hall are built from the same mold as Durigon and share his determination when running the football. “I don’t think we skip a beat with those two running backs,” he said. “And Mike Fine is a really good runner.”

Humbert said Fine’s experience allows him to do more and become even more of a threat.

“We can expand the offense, but we also expand on what he did well,” said Humbert. “We are not going to do 50 new things. We’re going to do what we do well. We want to see what he does well, then broaden those things. We’re not going to go crazy. What he feels comfortable with and what the kids feel comfortable with is what we’re going to do.”

What concerns Humbert more is finding replacements for three very talented offensive line. Nick Sweitzer (6-2, 290) is playing football at Georgetown University; Alex Gillingham (6-2, 215) was the left tackle and Trevor Gush (6-1, 230) was the most flexible of the trio, playing guard and center.

“Those guys were in sync,” said Humbert. “They were gritty players.”

Defensively, the Leopards were outstanding, shutting out the final three opponents in the regular season and allowing double-digit points in just two games, a 13-12 win over Ringgold that all but clinched the Big 10 Conference title, and 28 to Franklin Regional in a second-round loss in the WPIAL playoffs. The Leopards allowed 8.4 points per game, tops in Class AAA and second only to Washington’s 7.3 in the WPIAL.

“We want to carry over the existing threads (of the program), but you have to adapt your to your kids and tweak a little bit. We might be a little more spread this year. Last year, we were heavy schemed with two tight ends and two running backs. We’ll still be primarily a two-back team, but it will all depend on what we have to do.”

Belle Vernon lost three starting linemen and some linebackers. Senior Ben Cole (6-2, 215) and Hall are back at inside linebacker and junior Logan Pfrogner is back at free safety. “One of the nice things about last year is that we had enough seniors that we could platoon,” said Humbert. “We had three kids who solely played offensive line and two who played solely defensive line. The key is we’ll see more new faces.”