Tide has turned, but Charleroi in season of change
CHARLEROI – Lance Getsy hit the ground running – but mostly throwing – in his first year at Charleroi High School.
Inheriting a senior-dominated team on the upswing, Getsy’s biggest responsibility last year was changing the culture, one that was without a playoff win for 20 years.
“We had to change the culture and now have to build on that,” Getsy said.
The culture changed and so did the fortunes of the Cougars, who went 10-2 last year, shared the Interstate Conference title and ended the 20-year drought with a pair of playoff wins before falling to South Side Beaver in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.
Now, the challenge for the second-year coach is replacing graduated talent, including quarterback Geno Pellegrini and wide receiver Dakota Romantino. The duo helped make the Charleroi offense difficult to defend.
In the Cougars’ 12 games last season, they scored at least 30 points 10 times. They eclipsed 50 points five times behind Pellegrini, who threw for 2,296 yards and 31 touchdowns.
When Charleroi opens up Aug. 30 at Washington, it will be with a new quarterback and entirely new offensive line.
“We don’t have one senior lineman coming into the season,” Getsy said. “We lost six. There are only two guys with experience returning on both the offensive and defensive line.”
The only starter who returns on either line of scrimmage is junior defensive lineman Dyelan Edwards. Junior Lorenzo Axton saw time on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
The other question mark is how Getsy will fill the void left by Pellegrini, who is now at Robert Morris University?
Getsy said last year’s tailback, Brayden Mihalcin, could play quarterback or it could be Alex Conrad. Both are seniors and how he utilizes them could vary.
“I don’t know if we have a clear-cut No. 1,” Getsy said. “Geno was able to take a lot of pressure off me because of what he could do. I’m a coach who believes (the guy who plays) is the one that puts us in the best situation.”
Mihalcin returned to the Cougars’ backfield last season after missing the previous year with a knee injury that required season-ending surgery less than three weeks into the campaign. He ran for 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns and was named second team all-conference.
Whoever plays quarterback will have a big-threat wide receiver in Legend Davis. Playing opposite of Romantino, Davis had 643 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
“Those two guys are leaders and work really hard,” Getsy said. “They have put some good weight on and have physically gotten into shape to where they can endure a long season. The other kids look up to them. Their performance, attitude and how they approach every day is going to be huge for us.”
Other players Getsy mentioned who could move into bigger roles are safeties Ethan Codeluppi and leading returning tackler Dominic Pellegrini. Each rotated at safety and linebacker.
“We have to continue to look forward,” Getsy said. “We can never look backward. Football is a sport that takes so many people to do so many of the little things right. It’s about playing together and doing your part, not trying to make up for others. We still have a core of guys who played last year but need a lot of other guys to step up.”