Ferrari returns to lead the Bucs’ charge
Quarterback Alec Ferrari, center, fakes the handoff to running back Spencer Terling, left and gives it to running back Dylan Briggs during practice.
Tyler Stegenga, left, take a step then brushes past Trey Lober during drills for the defensive line.
Quarterback Alex Ferrari sets up to pass while running a play during practice.
HOUSTON – No one is more ecstatic about seeing Alec Ferrari back on the football field than Terry Fetsko.
Ferrari is pretty happy, too.
Fetsko was hoping the 6-0, 175-pounder would play a major role for Chartiers-Houston High School’s football team last season. But Ferrari missed it because of a structural problem in his shoulder that was discovered last June following a family vacation.
A vein was being pinched by the bones and a blood clot formed. The problem was exacerbated from the throwing motion Ferrari used as a pitcher for the baseball team.
At first, it appeared Ferrari, now a senior, would miss part of the season. When the seriousness of the problem surfaced again with other blood clots, Fetsko knew Ferrari was lost for the year. But Fetsko was more concerned with the health of this talented athlete.
“It was really serious,” Fetsko said. “He’s 100 percent now.”
You can tell that by the smile Ferrari wears at practice.
“Missing the season put me behind,” he said. “I had confidence that as soon as I got back on the field everything would be all right.”
The Bucs hope so, because three key offensive playmakers from last year – quarterback Kaleb Susko, tailback Derek Hull and wide receiver Miles Williamson – graduated. With them, went 1,882 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Replacing that production is crucial if the Bucs want to make the postseason for the first time in three years. The conference they play in, the Class A Black Hills, has had the PIAA champion in seven of the past nine seasons. This year, it’s Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. Clairton won six.
Last year, it was a 47-21 loss to Brentwood that stopped a playoff appearance. Two years ago, the Bucs lost three games by a combined 15 points, including a two-point defeat to Imani Christian.
“We’ve been one win short the past two years,” said Fetsko. “We want to get back to the playoffs.”
So the process begins with Ferrari quarterbacking the Bucs’ spread offense. Ferrari is larger than Susko, who completed half his passes for 878 yards and 11 touchdowns, and is more elusive running the ball.
“I was a little nervous at first, running the offense,” Ferrari said. “It was fresh in my mind but I missed the season. We want to spread them out. I’m a fast athlete, and I can sprint out. We don’t want (the defense) to know who has the football.”
One plus for the offense is the return of running back Spencer Terling, who led the team with 641 yards and scored six touchdowns as a freshman. Terling and Hull combined for 904 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013.
“Spencer has really worked hard in the offseason,” said Fetsko. “He understands our offense and had a good season.”
Williamson was on the receiving end of 39 of Susko’s 57 completions and gained 559 yards. His 10 touchdowns nearly doubled the second closest player.
Fetsko believes A.J. Myers, a 6-0, 155-pound sophomore, can be effective at wide receiver. Myers had 12 catches for 140 yards and two TDs in a solid effort for a freshman.
Fetsko is looking at senior Wyatt Kincaid (5-9, 150), sophomore Jacob Cavallo (5-11, 170) and senior Josh Gray (5-8, 150) on the other side of Myers.
“When you lose (offensive) players like we did, well, it happens every year,” Fetsko said. “You have to find replacements, but that means it gives kids an opportunity. It gives kids a chance to step up.”
The Bucs have a good nucleus back on the line with sophomore Trey Lober (5-10, 230) at center, senior Tyler Steganga (6-0, 250) at left tackle and junior Logan Bayer at right tackle. Seniors Bobby Dittrich (5-9, 180) and Jeremy Carpenter (5-10, 190), who moved into the district after attending McKeesport, seem to have the inside track for the guard positions.
On defense, all-conference linebacker Dylan Briggs, a 5-9, 155-pound junior, will lead the 4-4 defense. Cavallo should join him on the inside and Terling and Kincaid will be on the outside.
Stegenga, Lober and senior Garrett Grimm (6-3, 175) will start up front with the final spot to be determined. Ferrari, Myers, senior Austin Warchol (5-10, 150) and junior Ethan Shober (6-0, 165) will be in the secondary.
The Bucs are strong in the kicking game with junior Mike Cushma. Backing him is a female player, Kayla Elliott, a sophomore.
Chartiers-Houston has a difficult start, opening with Avonworth before taking on North Catholic, then Western Beaver, which had a combined 30-7 record last season.
“It’s a competitive conference,” Fetsko said. “There are no off weeks.”