Waynesburg’s Giorgi believes in his players
Jonathan Guth/Observer-Reporter
Waynesburg’s Breydon Woods runs a drill during practice. Woods, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2021, was one of the Raiders slowed by injuries last year.
Jonatham Guth/For the Observer-Reporter
Teagen Crouse completes a drill during practice at the Waynesburg Central High School field.
WAYNESBURG – Aaron Giorgi hopes his third season at the helm is the charm as Waynesburg is focused on getting back on track after a winless campaign last year.
Giorgi, a Charleroi graduate who coached at Jefferson-Morgan, knows his players went through a tough season a year ago, and although they didn’t win on the scoreboard in the 10 games they played, Giorgi views those players as winners.
“The guys who stepped in and played last year did the absolute very best that they could do,” Giorgi said. “And I could not be more proud of the effort they gave.”
The Raiders were also plagued by injuries, as starting quarterback Jake Stephenson hurt his elbow the week before camp began and had to sit out the entrie season after having surgery. Waynesburg’s No. 1 tailback, Breydon Woods, also was out for several games and the offensive line never had its full five starters together for multiple games because of injuries.
The injury situation crippled the Raiders’ offense during an 0-10 season.
“We were pretty ravaged with injuries last year, and I know people don’t see that from the outside reading the final score line,” Giorgi said. “We had Chase Fox fill in at quarterback after Jake went down. The kid never played quarterback his entire life, and he is learning how to play quarterback for the very first time in his life as a junior.
“We had Daniel Huffman, who was alternating at running back the previous year with Breydon in the backfield, being asked to carry the ball every play, and he was physically tasked to handle that responsibility. I mean, he really stepped up and ran hard, and some of the linemen who would probably be spot players, ended up being starters, and they did the very best job they could.
“I know saying, ‘He did the very best job’ still doesn’t equate to wins, but whenever we’re dealing with high school sports, its more than just winning and losing, and people have to sometimes realize that. It’s about character, and these kids showed a tremendous amount of character last year.”
Stephenson is healthy and back for his junior season. He will play at safety on defense. Woods, who rushed for 1,367 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in 2021, returns at tailback and safety, and Huffman will be at running back and linebacker.
Fox will be in his more natural position at wide receiver and will go at linebacker on defense. Senior Colby Pauley returns at middle linebacker after leading the team in tackles last season. Pauley will play wide receiver on offense.
Waynesburg’s offensive line is led by seniors Layden Haynes and Dalton Hoy, and junior Vince Maley, who was at center last year, will be moved to tackle.
“We had to play so many guys last year, we are probably bringing back four or five guys who started at some point on the line,” Giorgi said. “They’re battled tested.”
That experience is what has Waynesburg expecting an uptick in production this season.
The Raiders open their season at Carmichaels in non-conference play, one of three consecutive games against Tri-County South Conference opponents. They stay in Greene County the next week to play at Jefferson-Morgan before hosting California in the third week of the season.
Waynesburg hosts Keystone Oaks on Sept. 15 in its Class 2A Century Conference opener before traveling to McGuffey the next week. Washington, Brentwood, Sto-Rox and Charleroi round out the mighty conference. The Raiders host Uniontown in non-conference play Oct. 13.
“Our big key this entire season is instilling the belief in the kids,” Giorgi said. “Whenever I took over, they just had the passing of their coach, Chad Coss, and they had a couple of rough years.
“It is about instilling the belief that they can compete with these teams. It will be really key for us to get a couple of victories and get them motivated and see that, ‘Hey, guess what? Things can change through hard work.’ It is about believing it and seeing it the first couple of weeks.”