Aug 26, 2014 4 min read

McDONALD – How does a football team avoid the dreaded WPIAL hangover one year after winning the championship trophy at Heinz Field and the state title at Hersheypark Stadium?

South Fayette’s players and head coach Joe Rossi are embarking on a quest to find the answer to that question. The Lions went 16-0 last season with a 34-28 WPIAL Class AA title victory over Aliquippa and a 41-0 state championship win over Imhotep Charter.

Do the Lions have the pieces to repeat as champions? Few teams have been able to repeat that kind of success. Since 1990, only Jeannette (2006 & 2007) and Aliquippa (2011 & 2012) have repeated as WPIAL Class AA champs and no team has repeated as PIAA Class AA title winners in more than 25 years.

Despite losing seven starters on both sides of the ball, the Lions believe they could be the next WPIAL power to repeat.

“It’s all about staying on top,” Rossi said. “It’s been that way for the last several years with the Century Conference and now we plan on doing that with the WPIAL title. We have to continue to play that way and continue what previous have helped build here.”

Having a quarterback who broke numerous WPIAL records in 2013 is a nice start. Senior Brett Brumbaugh will lead the Lions’ no-huddle attack once again as he approaches the WPIAL all-time passing yardage mark.

After throwing 41 touchdowns as a junior, Brumbaugh will have to find a new top target on South Fayette’s offense. With Justin Watson and Conner Beck gone, seniors Roman Denson and Ryan Schmider will be tasked to catch passes from Brumbaugh.

Denson gained attention during the postseason with his strong play at defensive back, while Schmider started at outside linebacker for 16 games last season. The two combined for 19 catches for 155 yards in 2013. The Lions’ 6-4 quarterback will also have his senior tight end Logan Sharp, who caught six touchdowns.

“It’s a challenge, obviously, when you play with new players, but it’s fun because you get to work with new people and get to see new people make plays,” Brumbaugh said. “It’s tough at the beginning, but once we get it going, we’ll be right back on track. We’re not going to drop the ball at all.”

Senior J.J. Walker and junior Hunter Hayes will take the spot of Grant Fetchet at running back. While the loss of top skill positions will be felt, the biggest loss comes on the offensive and defensive lines.

The Lions lost Zach Walker, Ben Berkovitz and Spencer Girman, but return senior Anthony Davidson. They allowed just 3.4 yards per rush and forced 34 turnovers. Davidson, who had 39 tackles with four sacks, will help ease the transition. He’ll be joined by senior Anthony Carter and junior Zack Radinick.

“We’re definitely a lot bigger this year so I think we’ll be okay up front,” Davidson said.

The linebackers and defensive backs are proven. J.J. Walker, who led the team with 159 tackles, and Schmider return as starters, while the secondary has Denson and Hayes as its key returners.

“Other teams are going to have to change their game plan to work around us because they know we’re just getting better at it, getting bigger kids on the line and we have linebackers coming back,” J.J. Walker said. “I don’t think they’ll want to try to come through us.”

When the Lions take the field in 2014, they want catch anyone by surprise. In fact, they’ll be a target.

“We’ll get every team’s best shot because they’ll all want to knock us off,” Brumbaugh said. “We were the best last year, but it’s a new year. We worked harder than everyone else las year and we need to do it again.”