Aiming high: Rangers restock for title run
Fort Cherry’s highly touted wide receiver Alex Babirad goes high to pull in a pass during practice.
Linemen high step between dummies during practice.
Jim Shiel did more than make an imprint on the Fort Cherry football program last season. He put an industrial-sized stamp on it.
In just his second season as coach, Shiel coached the Rangers to a 10-2 record, including 8-1 in the Class A Black Hills Conference, and a trip to the quarterfinals of the WPIAL playoffs. Moreover, his offense averaged 48 points per game and scored 50 or more four times.
Suffice to say, Shiel removed himself from the large shadow of the legendary Garry family – Jim and Tim Garry were the school’s only coaches from 1959-2012 – and carved his own identity.
“The kids have to believe in what you’re doing, what you’re teaching them,” said Shiel, who played for and was mentored by the elder Garry in the ’80s. “Because no matter how much talent you might have, you can’t have success if the kids don’t have that belief in you.”
The next step for Shiel is to sustain this current run of excellence and produce annual winners, much like his predecessors did. Fort Cherry’s only losses last season came at the hands of national powerhouse Clairton, once in the regular season and once in the WPIAL playoffs.
“I feel like we can and should be competitive every year,” Shiel said. “I’m hoping we can do something like we did last season on an annual basis. I also understand that in Class A football things tend to go in cycles.”
And therein lies the rub for Shiel. He lost 13 seniors from last year’s team, including dynamic running back Koltan Kobrys, quarterback Matt Heslin and wideout Zak Dysert. Kobrys ranked second in the WPIAL in rushing with 2,262 yards and fourth in scoring with 174 points. He accounted for more than 3,200 all-purpose yards.
Compounded with such significant departures, the Fort Cherry roster is miniscule. Shiel said only 28 players participated in summer workouts, including six seniors and three freshman.
“Yeah, you can say we’re rebuilding,” Shiel said, matter-of-factly.
Rebuilding, but not necessarily reeling. A number of cornerstone players are back for the Rangers, notably a trio of starters on the offensive line, a big-play receiver and some promising underclassmen. Those players must shoulder the burden as Fort Cherry transitions to the revamped Black Hills Conference, which lost Clairton and Monessen, but gained reigning state champion North Catholic.
“We have kids who’ve been there, experienced the postseason, won games,” Shiel said. “They’ll have to lead us moving forward.”
The strength of this team is up front. Left tackle Jake Schulz, left guard Brian Carnegie and right guard Trevor McIntyre – all juniors – are three-year starters. Carnegie is a two-time all-conference pick and Schulz earned the honor last year. That trio – or the Big Three, as Shiel calls them – has a keen understanding of Shiel’s high-scoring spread offense. They’re also talented on the defensive side of the ball. A potential X-factor is senior Radan Orendaun, a massive player at 6-4, 360 pounds. If he can develop, the Rangers’ offensive line will have few equals in Class A.
At quarterback, senior Anthony Panizza takes over for Heslin. A former wide receiver, Panizza has “all the physical tools,” per Shiel. The challenge will be running an intricate offense, much of it gleaned from the stylings of the Oregon Ducks and Denver Broncos.
“The question mark is experience,” Shiel said. “But he has it all. He throws a great ball and he’s a talented kid.”
Panizza has the luxury of throwing to one of the WPIAL’s top targets in Alex Babirad. The senior averaged a staggering 28.9 yards per catch on 21 receptions last season. He offers a blend of size (6-3) speed (4.4 in the 40-yard dash, per Shiel) and leaping ability (he’s been dunking a basketball since junior high).
“We need to get the ball into his hands as much as possible,” Shiel said. “It might be screens, jet sweeps, deep balls, whatever. He’s a weapon.”
Because Babirad will likely see double coverage, that could open things up for returning starter Scott Miller, a sophomore, at the other receiver spot. Senior Jesse McKean and sophomore Devon Brown, 6-5, will play tight end.
At running back, Shiel will use four players to replace Kobrys. Seniors Garrett Whalen, Dan Barley, Brelan Skinner and sophomore Nick Cook comprise that committee. Shiel is particularly encouraged by Skinner, who did not play the past two seasons because of medical reasons.
“He’s lightning, lightning quick, a scatback type,” Shiel said. “I believe that if we can get the ball in his hands in the open field, he gives us a threat similar to Kobrys.”
On defense, Fort Cherry runs a 4-2-5 scheme, which features extra defensive backs to counter so many spread offenses in the WPIAL. Most of the offensive starters will play both ways, including Carnegie and Whalen at linebacker and Miller and Skinner on the corners.
“We’re going to be a different looking team this year, one that has to find it’s own identity,” Shiel said. “And I really believe our young guys are going to step up and help us. They have to.”