Conference change a boost to Waynesburg
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By Rob Burchianti
For the Observer-reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Central had been playing football at the Class 3A level in the WPIAL since 2016 with the last two years coming in arguably the toughest conference at that level in the state.
When third-year coach Chad Coss heard his Raiders would be dropping down to Class 2A for the 2020 season he was overjoyed.
“We’re happy to drop down to Double-A. It cuts our travel time in half,” said Coss, whose players were thrilled as well. “The kids are excited to get back to playing teams they’re more familiar with who are a lot closer to us.”
Waynesburg was 2-8 overall and 0-7 in the Tri-County West Conference, which included WPIAL champion and PIAA finalist Central Valley and recent state champions Aliquippa (2018) and Quaker Valley (2017).
The stacked league, along with the long road trips, made for a brutal schedule for what was one of the smaller Class 3A teams in the WPIAL.
The Raiders are now part of the Century Conference along with Beth-Center, Frazier, Charleroi, McGuffey, Washington and Chartiers-Houston.
The Raiders’ longest road trip this season is to Fayette County for a game in Perryopolis against Frazier.
While the conference has changed, the Raiders’ style of play has not.
“We still lean on the run, and throw as an element of surprise,” Coss said.
The Raiders feature one of the area’s better running quarterbacks in Darnell Johnson, a true dual-threat player. Johnson rushed for 664 yards a year ago.
“We’ve got Darnell coming back for his senior year and he played well for us last year,” Coss said.
Johnson and Trevor Stephenson led the Raiders with nine touchdowns apiece. Stephenson rushed for a team-leading 1,206 yards.
While Trevor has graduated, his cousin, Nate Stephenson, is back on the team to take over the feature running back role.
“Nate hurt his elbow last year and didn’t play,” Coss pointed out. “But he rushed for more than 900 yards the year before that as a sophomore, so we’re glad to get him back with us.”
Nate Stephenson rushed for 817 yards and scored eight touchdowns in 2018.
Waynesburg has a pair of talented senior offensive linemen returning.
“We’ll have Kyle Cox and Luke Maley up front,” Coss said. “They’ve been good for us. They’ll both be four-year starters. We’ll be depending on them again.”
Senior Mike Medlen will be Waynesburg’s top wide receiver.
Coss cited a pair of seniors as take-charge players.
“Darnell and Kyle have really stepped up as team leaders,” he said.
While he’s glad to be in the Century Conference, Coss has much respect for the quality of teams it includes.
“It’s still a very good conference,” Coss said, “but I’m fairly certain we can compete in there. I’d say McGuffey is the favorite. Washington lost a lot last year but they’ll still be pretty good also, I’m sure.”
Waynesburg is scheduled to open the season Sept. 11 at home against Beth-Center.
As for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the effect it might have on the football season, Coss said, “We’re just waiting to see what’s going to happen.”