Aug 21, 2015 3 min read

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Monessen: 4-5 (4-4 Class A Eastern)

There is a misconception that Monessen is in need of a major rebuild. Sure, the 2014 season was a bit of a disaster with the program’s four wins being forfeited for using ineligible players, but let’s take a step back.

The Greyhounds won 10 games in 2013 and were the favorite to reach Heinz Field before a stunning loss to Neshannock in the Class A quarterfinals. In 2012, Monessen had a Division I recruit (Chavas Rawlins) and won nine games.

In fact, Andy Pacak won five conference championships during his 11 seasons. Of course, a change was made for reasons I cannot begin to speculate on, but the point is that Monessen is still very much a program to keep an eye on in Class A.

Let’s begin up front where junior Marc Gibson (6-4, 285) is a potential Division I recruit and the Greyhounds return the bulk of their line from last fall. Losing a leader like Noah Rullo at quarterback is a challenge, but Lavalle Rush and Jaden Altomore will split time there, which adds a new dimension to the offense.

Demond Jordan is back at running back after scoring six touchdowns as a junior and Monessen has a nice group of complimentary skill players like Andrey Bolton and Jaron Youngblood. The talent is there, but the depth isn’t.

The Greyhounds have a roster of only 27, which is a bit of a shock since new head coach Joe Salvino had 40 kids at basketball tryouts last winter. The culture has changed a bit in the area with many turning away from football, but that follows the trend in other communities. Salvino’s goal is to correct that during his tenure and he has assistant coaches who can help drive enthusiasm.

Another challenge for the program is timing. Salvino and his staff did not take over the program until June, which was two months after Pacak’s position was opened. I was told that the players were lifting on their own during that time, but it’s tough to know how much of an impact those workouts had.

Salvino and his coaches had to quickly start conditioning and here we are, just two weeks away from Monessen’s kick off against Greensburg Central Catholic. I really like the athleticism on the Greyhounds’ roster, but take a look at that conference – Clairton, Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic. You could make a case that all three of those teams are title contenders, though the Centurions are above the Jayhawks in my power rankings.

It’s too early to panic about numbers or depth. If Monessen stays healthy, it will contend for the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference. If not, it will be a long season at Memorial Stadium.

Players to watch: Lavalle Rush, Jaden Altomore, Jaron Youngblood, Marc Gibson

Biggest game: Week 7 vs. Jeannette. This is a great rivalry and it will live up to the hype. The Jayhawks are replacing a strong senior class and the Greyhounds need a win over an opponent like this to spark some excitement. It would give them momentum heading into the big matchup with Clairton.

Stat to think about: Monessen averaged just 22.6 points per game last fall. That’s a far cry from the 42 points the Greyhounds scored against Clairton in 2013, snapping the Bears’ 66-game winning streak. Offense rules in Class A and Monessen will need that type of attack to return to prominence.