Random thoughts as Saturday morning quarterbacks scramble to fire coaches after double-digit victories.
How bout them Eagles?
Avella's 44-28 victory Friday night over Geibel Catholic in a non-conference game my not go down as one of the great wins in school history but it has to be one of the most satisfying.
The Eagles went into the year with 18 players dressed and 19 on the training camp roster. They also came into the year with a 27-game losing streak and were 1-51 in their previous 52 games.
During a visit to camp, Avella's players and coaches talked about winning one game and what that would mean for a program on the brink of extinction. The Eagles got that win and did so convincingly.
Congratulations Avella. The players and coaches deserve it.
* We all know about the considerable talents of Canon-McMillan senior Mike Hull, which were on display during Friday night's win at Trinity. What we didn't know was how well the Big Macs' other skill position players would perform under the lights.
Well, it sure looks like quarterback Zach Hoffman, running back Alex Adams and receiver Alec Schram are good football players. Hoffman made play after play during the first half to keep drives alive. Adams played like, well, a lot like Mike Hull. Schram, at 5-7, led C-M in rushing and receiving.
* Scratch the prediction about McGuffey finishing second in the Class AA Interstate Conference following its season-opening loss at Mt. Pleasant. To me, that was the most surprising result of the night.
McGuffey managed just 105 yards of offense in the 17-6 defeat. With games against Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette, finishing second will be difficult unless the offense gets going.
* I picked South Fayette to finish fourth in the Class AA Century Conference. While I may have overrated McGuffey, I may have underrated South Fayette based on its 34-6 victory over South Park.
How's this for production? Lions running back Jeff Davis has six carries for 118 yards and four touchdowns.
Of course, in a conference that includes Keystone Oaks, Seton-La Salle and Sto-Rox, finishing higher than fourth would be a nice achievement for a young South Fayette team.
* Beth-Center came into the year with new starters at quarterback, running back and fullback. The Bulldogs beat Carlynton, 24-6, last night behind a balanced offense. DeShan Brown rushed for 100 yards and Sal Faieta threw for 100.
Carlynton is far from a WPIAL power, that's not the point. What the Varsity Letters wants to say is that, over the past six to eight years, Beth-Center has been Washington County's most consistent football team and that's a tremendous credit to head coach Ed Woods and his coaching staff.
No matter the turnover, B-C wins and, more often than not, contends for conference championships. At a school with a declining enrollment, that's a difficult task.
* Trinity must get better play from its defensive line.
Part of it was the offensive schemes run by Canon-McMillan, the other part of it was being worn down by Mike Hull, but the Hillers front four struggled to make plays. They'll have to for Trinity to make an impact at the Class AAA level.
* Two of the last three games John Menhart has coached at Carmichaels have been against Fort Cherry.
Last night, the Mikes lost to the Rangers, 28-12. Back in 2002, Carmichaels crushed Fort Cherry in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals. That ended up being the last game coached by Jim Garry.
Menhart returned to coach the Mikes this year after Mike Bosnic took the post at Wash High.
* If Washington's offensive line plays as well as O-R sports writer Joe Tuscano said it did against Waynesburg, there's no reason for the Prexies not to compete with McGuffey, Mt. Pleasant and others for the final two playoff spots in the Interstate Conference.
Wash High always has the skill players. It needs the tough guys up front to go with them.
97 comments:
Congrats!!! It's nice to see success for a perennial underdog. Best of luck and continued success to Avella football.
Wat happen to the Hillers Friday night?
What do you mean? Oh, you're attempting to be clever! I see. Well, to sum it up the Juggernaut CM was actaully getting thrown around and was even being beaten handily the first half of the game. Trinity wore down and Canon Mac didn't. Hope that helps. ; )
If you're a CM fan good luck with that attitude in Quad A games. You had better pray Trinity is tough because if they're not, that means a smaller triple A school gave CM all they could handle and more for half a game. To be honest Trinity made mistakes, had they not it may have even been closer. So if Trinity is not good, CM had a tough time with the hillers and will get DEMO'D by the quad A teams.
So to answer your question, CM was getting thrown around in the first half and found their sea legs in the final 2 quarters.
So your telling me the Hillers aren't in shape and can only play 2 quarters of football? Well i thought a football game was 2 halfs not one half right Hiller Fan? Just face it Eddie can't beat Guy
Mike......let's hold off with evaluating CM until THIS week when they play a REAL team, a AAAA team like Central Catholic, coached by a REAL AAAA Coach not like the AA GUY that is an imposter at the AAAA level. Tell us how great they are next week after they ger embarrassed because as great as he is and he IS GREAT, this is not a Dalton coached Trinty team and Mike Hull won't be enough to beat Central Catholic and GUY does NOT have what it takes to be successful at the AAAA level.....a LOOOOONG Night for the big macs.
Trinity is exposed again as the preseason hype machine that cannot win.
Hilarious.
Mike who looked good for Wash High in there first game?
Didn't cover the Wash High game but colleague Joe Tuscano came away impressed with QB Marquis Brown.
Way to go Avella!!
Congrats!! You guys deserve it.
Maybe if they put you in the tri county south league again where you belong, there will be more games like these.
My school is in Class A. However, these stupid coments about real AAAA coaches. If I could bring in new talent every season as Terry Totten can at Central Catholic, I guess I'd be a "REAL" AAAA ccoach, too. Common folks, Montecalvo is a good coach. Rockne nor Lombardi could win a AAAA title at Canon-Mac. They're only going so far in the current setup. Get real.
Trinity is a real team. They have really good talent.
Also, I saw the Central-Canon-Mac game last year. It was a well-played, close game. I did not see any superior coaching that led PCC to victory, just better talent
than CM.
By the way, Montecalvo defeated team's coached by George Novak and Jim Render in 2008. I'm not insinuating anything. But you folks need to be fair.
Finally, back off Coach Dalton a bit. Trinity has
had some good teams in the past. His lack of a conference championsh
ip is stinging. But he has brought some consistency and certainly confidence. True, they rarely beat anybody the really shouldn't and Montecalvo and Cherpak own them. But the Hillers should be one of AAA's best this year.
Anon September 8, 2009 8:14 AM:
Get real, there is a huge difference coaching in AAAA compared to AA. EVERY week you are facing a team with talent, that is not the case in AA.
"They're only going so far in the current setup. Get real." They are a larger school than USC...check the numbers and USC has won 5 WPIAL's & 2 PIAA's. So just shut up about the "current set-up." Just another crybaby CM/Guy excuse why he's FAILED (hasn't won a AAAA playoff game) with the big boys of AAAA. He can beat up on Trinity all day long ..... SO WHAT he still has not won a playoff game and BP's coached made a fool out of him last year.
to anon at 9/7 at 12:47:
Very simple minded and neanderthal cave man way of thinking to just say Guy beat Eddie. I'm sure each player on that field would be a little upset to hear you say that's what it came down to.
I can't believe CM won and I gave credit where it's due and STILL..STILL you run your mouth. If they were selling class you would need to consider saving up to buy some.
And CV, TJ, BV, Indiana coaches made a fool out of Dalton, who cares? The truth is that CM has not had near the talent that Trinity has and yet Trinity can never win a conference title.
Someday, somewhere, Dalton has to answer for the vast waste of talent he has had. Or else you blind Trinity fans can enjoy your mediocrity.
One more thing mr. anon at 12:47:
Is your goal to make people not like CM? It's appears that's your drive because they won and still you talk trash?!?
Well, you've succeeded so congrats on that! Now I hope and will be watching to see when CM gets absolutely HAMMERED by quad A teams this year! Good move man! Maybe you can make more people feel the same about your beloved team.
Trinity is one of the toughest in Triple A. CM is just another number in Quad A. Now go write that down.
i thimk the interstate conference is pretty talented in AA. jeanette, greensburg cc, east allegheny, mt pleasant. you still only play 11 guys at a time. i dont think A,AA,AAA,AAAA has anything to do with coaching. as for the wash high game, they all did a great job. waynesburg only had 4 or 5 first downs the whole game. d line was great. secondary played great. running backs qb and recievers did great. they still need to work on alot of stuff but i'd give them a b plus.
"The truth is that CM has not had near the talent that Trinity has and yet Trinity can never win a conference title."
Really?
You gotta love THS fan, typical Trinity guy. His team gets smacked around again by CM and now he is talking about how CM will lose their games in AAAA?
Do you know how ridiculously stupid and envious this makes you look? Truly pathetic.
I hope you are some 12 year old, because if you're an adult talking this way its really sad.
I'm also very tired of hearing how difficult it is to coach at the Class AAAA level like it's the SEC or NFC East. Come on people.
I'll take Coach Montecalvo's 2001 Wash High team and say it would have won the Quad-South or Quad-West that year. Talent is talent and the Prexies had lots of it back then. They sure had a lot more than the larger classification schools in the area at the time.
A good team is a good team. Sure a strong Class A team is unlikely to beat a bad Quad A team due to depth and sixe along the lines but once you get to Class AA and the talent pool increases along with roster size, it's not impossible.
Anyone want to tell me how vastly superior Quad-A teams are to TJ, Jeannette when they had Terrelle Pryor or various Aliquippa teams over the years.
Puh-lease.
If you need a reminder what people outside the WPIAL think about WPIAL big school football this year, check the national rankings.
Mike,
I know we've only completed one week, but did any "off the radar" players jump out at you (either in person or through word of mouth)? I know several local teams are using a healthy amount of soph. and even some frosh.
Keep Marquis Brown from Wash High on your screen. He is a talented athlete. Alex Schramm (?) from CM is a good one too. Don't be surprised to hear a lot from him. Great kid too.
Alex Schram and Alex Adams from C-M looked good and I heard Marquis Brown played well for the High.
I'd keep an eye on Beth-Center sophomore Deshan Brown and a trio from Fort Cherry - Gary Kiefer, Tanner Garry and Corey Garry.
Plus, Ringgold might be more talented than people on the board want to give credit for considering the Rams returned just one starter.
We'll see. Hey, we're only one week in.
Is Wash High junior Zach Barnes "off the radar"?
anon @ 11:22AM:
Envious? OF WHAT? You guys had trouble with Trinity, A SMALLER SCHOOL!
Mediocrity? Really? CM was 6-4 last year. Hardly the force to be dealt with when you're getting blown out 18-0 by a 3-6 Butler team.
I know Trinity lost. But you're a sore winner. Give it up man. It negates the whole win because you act as if you don't know how to react in a win. I doubt Central Catholic or USC went around trashing trip. A schools after they beat them! You're really classy bud. Canon Mcmillan is NOT the mecca of football. It sounds like you're sore and envious even in a win.
Now excuse me while I go check the CM schedule to see what team I am rooting for Friday night.
I'd like to see Trinity and Canon-Mac discontinue their annual game. For starters, there are no winners. The team that wins did so because they are "supposed" to win ("we have 6 D-1 players")and the team that lost did so because either Dalton or Montecalvo is the worst coach of all-time. In reality, each team is quite capable of making a serious run in their classifications' respective post-season tournament. They both sport talented rosters and have coaches that, while maybe not the greatest, have proven to be consistent winners year to year. Unfortunately, since they play in different classifications the annual game amounts to nothing more than a glorified exhibition game. So what happens is you have critics come out of the woods on both sides and everyone forgets about who played well or did something positive. It's week one... maybe Trinity didn't put in all of their packages yet? Same with Canon-Mac? So neither team looked like a championship worthy team. But the same could be said about the 2008 Bethel Park team and they went to the state finals.
I'm very excited to see that small, sophomore RB from P.C.C. He has a lot of hype around his name and is even drawing comparisons to Eugene Jarvis.
Peters Township definitely proved they are a force to be reckoned with this year by playing great against Ringgold. It is clear that PT has some explosive playmakers and while they may be a year away from BIG things, I expect them to rise up and snatch a playoff bid. The Handcock kid is starting to look like a D-1 QB more and more each day.
Also shout out to Zane Zebrasky for winning the QB job at WV Wesleyan. He beat out the Wehner kid from TJ and the Heinauer kid from North Hills for the job. Pretty impressive.
MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
It has come to my attention that "Iron" Mike Kovak has made a typing error on this thread. In the post about the NFC East/SEC, Mike typed sixe instead of size. You had a good run kid...better luck next post.
clairton showed it true colors 175 in pen.yards a td called back to end the game sounds like there colors are black n white?
Hey THS fan, you keep on rooting for whomever CM is playing against, you bitter little boy, I'm sure CM will find a way to overcome such a powerful force.
You truly are pathetic. Get over it, its not that big of a deal, everyone outside of Trinity expected that outcome, only delusional Eddie lovers expected a different outcome.
Just a side note....whoever is posting as "THS fan", or "THS Fan" is not the THSfan(me) that posts on the PSB and old Nauticom boards.
So imposter!...."Whadda ya want, whadda ya want!"
wash high kids "off the radar" joe phillips,andre taylor, drew scholata, laquan edwards. three of those kids didnt play last year. they spent alot of time in waynesburgs backfield. daron whitacker,julian anderson, troy wilson(not off the radar in basketball) matt brower. zach barnes is a beast. most of these kids will make an impact.
i want you to make an account
For those of you who continue to say Dalton got out coached by Guy and that Guy is much better a coach than Dalton, I ask you this:
Why is it that the record between CM and Trinity in the past 5 years has CM winning 3 and Trinity winning twice? In those 2 games, Trinity crushed CM.
If Guy is so great, then why have they not won a playoff game? Dalton has! You people bash Dalton for having sooo much talent, but what about Guy? Last year they had Hull (Penn State) Hagan (Ohio State), and two others going to Army last year. When Dalton had 3 Division I athletes, they at least won a playoff game! CM DIDN'T!!
So quit bashing! Both of them have created a great atmosphere in Washington Co! Both have been successful! Both have given us good programs and have produced some great college athletes. Please stop BASHING!
THS fan, I just saw that you were the same name. honest mistake. That was me. I will change it to Hiller fan.
To be truthful. Trinity is a good team that people love to hate. Who knows why?
One thing for sure, It's a shame that other teams fans have to bash Trinity and say they are hype and the media darlings when their own respective team is and has been mediocre.
I have a hunch were are going to be reflecting on the season performances and CM fanatics will be nowhere to be found at the end of the season.
Wash High, GOOD LUCK and congrats with your dominant performance last week! Make it happen PREXIES!
Peters TWP, people are saying it's your year! Make the buzz true and come out on fire this year!
And most importantly --GO HILLERS!
"Why is it that the record between CM and Trinity in the past 5 years has CM winning 3 and Trinity winning twice? In those 2 games, Trinity crushed CM.
If Guy is so great, then why have they not won a playoff game?"
I went on the MSA page of past scores and seems you conveniently left out the ths/cm scores from the first two years guy was there. Seems its Cm with 5 wins and THS with 2. Add that to the wins at the High and that's probably why people say that. Also I remember reading that they did win a Play-off and it was the first in the history of their school.
Guy Montecalvo is a hall of fame coach. He is better than 98% of the coaches in the Wpial and I challenge anyone to come up with 10 better coaches. His record speaks for itself and he has plenty of hardware.
I wonder if people in Latrobe are saying these kinds of things about Ray Reitz. "Yeah he won at Jeannette but this is Quad-A." Give me a break... Reitz is also a great coach just like Montecalvo and both should be given their fair dues.
Here's my 10...
1. Render
2. Novak
3. Altimus
4. McCurry
5. Gordon (retired I think)
6. Cherpak
7. Walker (Jr. & Sr.)
8. Hamilton
9. Palko
10. Totten
11. Smith
I think Neil Gordon is retired so I threw in Terry Smith at #11.
What do you guys think?
OH...and that list was in no particular order.
Just off the top of my head.
:)
2. Novak
There are a lot more people out there bashing this guy than any of the local caoches. Talk about a team that produces regular DI and occasional NFL talent that has never won a state title.
To Hiller Fan....Thanx, no problem.
To Anon (10:22am)...Guy did win a playoff game at Canon Mac back when they played in Triple A. A 22-0 victory over Belle Vernon. However, Trinity has more playoff victories over-all than Canon Mac.
To those who like to bash Trinity and Dalton, who cares what you think. Show us your credentials.
To those who say Guy isn't a great coach....thats just laughable. Plain stupidity. It's doubtful any of them have played the game, and it's obvious they don't know much about it.
People are extremely brave when they can post anonymously and trash someone. I'd bet they,ve never even spoken to Guy or Dalton before.
Take a hike keyboard thugs! We don't need you here!
Two observations that impressed me as a Hiller fan from friday nite were:
1. the unbelievable speed of the little wr from CM #1.
2. that Coach Montecalvo spent a lot of time with Hiller players encouraging them well after the game while his team was celebrating with the band
Guy's football record is fantastic but the clincher for myself and the folks in C-burg was the fact that he stood strong against the demands of that bum Bucci and sent him packing on his way to B.P. No coach should ever bully the district and administration and when Bucci tried to do that, it was Montecalvo that put his foot down and saved Canon-Mac athletics!
Anonymous said...
Hey THS fan, you keep on rooting for whomever CM is playing against, you bitter little boy, I'm sure CM will find a way to overcome such a powerful force.
You truly are pathetic. Get over it, its not that big of a deal, everyone outside of Trinity expected that outcome, only delusional Eddie lovers expected a different outcome.
September 8, 2009 7:11 PM
You sound like your in a cult. It's funny because you're calling me pathetic?!?! HAHAHA~
I saw you had nothing to say about The "powerful force" known as the Butler team(3-6) that demo'd CM. Those BIG POWERFUL FORCES OF NATURE!!! How dare them have a terrible record and wipe their feet all over CM as well as shut them out 18-0!
Like I said, we'll compare records at the end of the season. In the meatime stop acting like a dirtball cult member.
Anonymous said...
Hey THS fan, you keep on rooting for whomever CM is playing against, you bitter little boy, I'm sure CM will find a way to overcome such a powerful force.
You truly are pathetic. Get over it, its not that big of a deal, everyone outside of Trinity expected that outcome, only delusional Eddie lovers expected a different outcome.
September 8, 2009 7:11 PM
You sound like your in a cult. It's funny because you're calling me pathetic?!?! HAHAHA~
I saw you had nothing to say about The "powerful force" known as the Butler team(3-6) that demo'd CM. Those BIG POWERFUL FORCES OF NATURE!!! How dare them have a terrible record and wipe their feet all over CM as well as shut them out 18-0!
Like I said, we'll compare records at the end of the season. In the meatime stop acting like a dirtball cult member.
Dear Hiller fan,
Trinity isn't very good.
Sincerely,
Reality
Anon @6:28
You are too sharp! What a witty and clever thing that was. Signing off with "reality"!!!
So tell us mr. reality,.. who will be the team to beat this year? Canon Mac who had trouble with THS?
If Trinity is not that good and they are trip A and CM is quad A and had a tough game with THS.. What would make CM "really good"?!?!
This is why people with keyboards don't necessarily need to use them. Thanks though
Hiller Fan,
Shut Up. You Guys lost. CM won.
T. Yetar
Some with an anonymous post berating people who post anonymously. That is funny. Trash talking on behalf of your home town football team is part of the culture of high school football. Doing so without signing your name makes anything you post invalid. Coach Montecalvo is a great coach, a better person, and a man of character. The last thing that he would concern himself with are the ramblings of anonymous (or even signed) negative posts. His record speaks for itself. I'm only bothering to post this for those who read this blog and don't know Guy- and unlike others, I am not afraid to sign my name to it. Good luck to all the teams this week, especially those playing schools from outside Washington County.
Tokith Yetar,
Please don't act as if you have the final say on a blog. It was the first game of the season. Big deal THS lost to a bigger school?!?
A little respect is necessary. Did I disrespect you? We shouldn't tell people things behind the safety of a computer screen that we wouldn't dare say to them in person. It kinda makes you look a tad yellow.
Regards,
Guy Montecalvo is a hall of fame coach. He is better than 98% of the coaches in the Wpial and I challenge anyone to come up with 10 better coaches....
1.Render(USC)
2.Smith(McKeesport)
3.Novak(Woodland Hills)
4.Hamilton(Blackhawk)
5.Cherpak(TJ)
6.McCurry(Horth Hills)
7.Methaney(Bethel Park)
8.Walker(North Allegheny)
9.Palko(West Allegheny)
10.Totten(Central Catholic)
7 of the above have won WPIAL Titles at the AAAA level and most of those 7 have won multiple along with a PIAA Title at AAAA.
3 have won mutiple AAA WPIAL titles and at leat 1 PIAA title.
It just was not that difficult to find at least 10 SUPERIOR AAA & AAAA coaches than the Washington County god Guy (The AA Great) Montecalvo. For those of you that really don't think there is a difference between AA & AAAA you are morons and simply are clueless.
Anon 10:10
Great list. Render & Hamilton have won more than 300 games. McCurry had a National Championship team at North Hills and Smith is probably the most UNDERRATED Coach in the entire WPIAL. Methaney at BP is a close second for the most underrated tag but should last year just how great he is. Novak is the rare coach that won WPIAL & PIAA titles at AA(Steel Valley) and has transitioned into a great AAAA Coach at Woodland Hills. Walker turned around a sinking Central Catholic program and became WPIAL & PIAA Champs and is doing the same with what was a sinking NA program. Totten picked up the ball at Central Catholic and has continued to be successful. Cherpak has put TJ in a class of their own on the TJ level and Palko has been great for years winning WPIALS & a PIAA title at West A.
A great list of ACTIVE Coaches that not to many "open minded" people can argue with and a list where Guy Montecalvo certainly doesn't belong. Now if you put together a list of the Top 10 AA coaches he would qualify for that, but overall not a chance.
His record speaks for itself.
Correction .....His Wash High record speaks for itself.
His CM record is mediocre. No section titles, no AAAA playoff wins.
I think the one thing most of the posters are forgetting is that Guy Montecalvo hardly works at a football paradise, unlike some of the names mentioned on the lists of great coaches that so many of you have come up with.
Canon-McMillan has never had strong and/or big bodies to throw in the trenches. Whereas Woodland Hills, for example, has 280-300lb defensive tackles with Division 1 abilities, the Big Macs have thrown 230lb unathletic guys into those key positions. Is it Montecalvo's fault that the kids in the district are neither big nor strong enough to handle players 50-70lbs larger?
Another thing Canon-Mac has never had is great QB play. Can anyone name a division 1 QB from Canon-Mac? No. The best they've done is D-2 (Zane Zebrasky) and they overachieved when he was the QB.
Yes Canon-Mac has had guys like Matthews, Hull, Hagan, Strimel, etc. They are certainly division 1 players, but NONE of them play OL or DL. That is where football games are won/lost, especially at the Quad-A level.
The fact that Montecalvo has taken his team to the playoffs back-to-back years is an incredible achievement when we look at all of the short comings his teams have had.
And for those that say Montecalvo only wins AA football games, let's take a look at another former Canon-Mac coach. Steve "lame brain" Bucci. He never won anything at the A, AA, and AAA levels (and had multiple seasons at each level). He had overwhelming talent at Serra and South Park, yet he failed in the playoffs every year. So he won a AAAA state title. Does that make him the opposite of Montecalvo- a guy that can't win at lesser levels yet somehow wins at the highest level? No! As anyone will tell you in the C-burg area Bucci ran into a team filled with very good players and no significant weak spots. He also ran into an assistant coach that ranks up there with any coach in the Wpial. In other words, Bucci was just along for the ride to a title- something he never could do without all the stars aligning. Montecalvo has proven he can win with any roster, even when heavily outclassed in terms of talent. While it may not be championship winning (yet), Montecalvo has built the only winning seasons of football that Canon-Mac has ever had.
There are a lot more people out there bashing this guy than any of the local caoches. Talk about a team that produces regular DI and occasional NFL talent that has never won a state title.
September 9, 2009 11:41 AM
But he's won mutiple AAAA WPIAL titles......that is more than GM of CM has done. Wait GM of CM has not even won a AAAA playoff game. Just the facts and not personal.
I think the one thing most of the posters are forgetting is that Guy Montecalvo hardly works at a football paradise, unlike some of the names mentioned ......
Jim Render has won 5 WPIAL Titles and 2 PIAA titles at one of the smallest AAAA schools in the state. The enrollment at USC is smaller than CM. While he occassionaly gets a Sean Lee the D-1 schools aren't over run with players from USC so please shut up with the Gut isn't at a football paradise. Over the past 2 years he's had at list 5-6 D-1 players and has not won a AAAA playoff game, that is pathetic. What Jim Render has done 330 victories, 5 WPIAL's & 2 PIAA's at such a small school is legedary and Montecalvo is not close to being in his league. CM & Wash county give me a break and GET REAL!!!!!!
I am a pretty frequent blogger on this site. One thing that stands out to me is, that it doesn't matter what the season, CM faithful have not said more than 10 positve comments since January. This site is really being infested with CM crap. I am sure that it wouldn't matter who coaches what sport but nobody in that district would be happy. They could get Vince Lombardi to coach football, Casey Stengel to coach baseball, Red Auerbach to coach basketball and Dan Gable to coach wrestling and they still would be bashing them! They will never be happy down in C-burg.....
Render is the man hands down. Upper St. Clair is a upper middle class school district. Traditionally, these teams don't usually fair well against inner city teams. silver spoon usually get's beaten handily by hard knock life so to speak. However, USC has proved that you can break the image time after time. By having a good if not great football team year after year. Lebo usually is mediocre at best, Fox Chapel is usually terrible (no offense they're getting better) etc.
Render is to WPIAL what Lance Armstrong is to competitive biking.
Render is definitely at more of a football paradise than Montecalvo. Enrollment not withstanding, let's look at the programs. USC has a state-of-the-art weight room. Canon-Mac has a weight room that isn't as big as my daughter's bedroom. In addition to the glaring lack of size for the weight room, CM also has outdated equipment and pretty much only one of each machine. USC has several of each machine and has equipment that would make some colleges jealous.
Next, Render has been at USC for a very long time. There is history and tradition at USC that does not currently exist at Canon-McMillan. That tradition gets good/great athletes to come out for the football. In recent years stud athletes like Charles Murphy have declined to play football for the Big Macs. So while USC may technically be smaller, for the most part they get their best athletes to come out for the football team. Heck, Chad Hagan didn't even play football his Soph yr if that's any indication of how kids feel about the program.
Render has had the same core of assistant coaches for his entire tenure at USC. That chemistry helps players get comfortable and also leads to efficient uses of time at practice. Montecalvo has had a revolving door of assistant coaches. The reason for the difference? Probably that USC pays double what CM pays for their football coaches. Also, USC puts more coaches on the payroll.
In terms of demographics you have the nouveaux riche Canon-Mac'ers and the established money of USC. Plus at C-M there are several poverty stricken areas that USC does not have anywhere. No examples, but C-M has lost kids to drug addiction, jail time, and so on, while USC has not.
USC is far more a paradise for football than Canon-Mac.
Render is to WPIAL what Lance Armstrong is to competitive biking.
September 10, 2009 12:41 PM
Bottom line Washington County is there is Jim Render ...... everyone else is at a different(lower) level. You can drink Guy's Kool-Aide all day long but he never was, isn't now and never will be in the same class as Jim Render who has won more hardware at the highest level. And I live in Peter's but appreciate what he means to Western PA sports.
Choke on that!!
Render has had the same core of assistant coaches for his entire tenure at USC.
Several of the USC assistants came from CM when Guy brought his band of bobbleheads from Wash high.
Have you seen the facilities at the school since they remodeled the CM gym.....shut up.
Guy has been there 7 years .....not a AAAA playoff win.
Stop with the poor excuses. He sucks at AAAA.
In terms of demographics you have the nouveaux riche Canon-Mac'ers and the established money of USC. Plus at C-M there are several poverty stricken areas that USC does not have anywhere. No examples, but C-M has lost kids to drug addiction, jail time, and so on, while USC has not.
In the past 2 years Guy has had players that have gone to or are going to Nortwestern, Penn State, Ohio State, 2 at Army and not a AAAA playoff win. So he has the players.
Please just stop when you're behind, you've made a fool of yourself already.
stud athletes like Charles Murphy have declined to play football for the Big Macs. So while USC may technically be smaller, for the most part they get their best athletes to come out for the football team. Heck, Chad Hagan didn't even play football his Soph yr if that's any indication of how kids feel about the program.
No....it says something about the COACH!!!!!!!
Besides Sean Lee and the RB at Illinois....how many Big 10 players has USC had in the past 2-3years. Most of the USC players go to Ivy League schools or other small schools. Render wins because he's a great COACH!
Guy lost to Butler last year 16-0....that would NEVER happen with Render.
A good team is a good team. Sure a strong Class A team is unlikely to beat a bad Quad A team due to depth and sixe along the lines but once you get to Class AA and the talent pool increases along with roster size, it's not impossible.
Mike, it is no wonder you work for a below minor league publication like the OR. You are an idiot if you really believe this.
Anon 1:40PM......Good point, but just know Mike will take that down because both people are his pals.
What's the best thing on a Shorty's hot dog? The chili or the hot dog?
Can any of you honestly say that you would rather have Big Eddie Dalton for a HC instead of Guy Montecalvo?
If you answer yes to this question then you truly have zero understanding of what it takes to be a successful high school HC. Its not even a competition.
Trinity has wasted more talent over the past 3 seasons than any team in WPIAL history.
CM has had some talent as well, but when a team has 3 D1 LB's on the same team and gives up 40+ points in 3 seperate games in the same season that is one thing.......HORRIBLE COACHING.
End of story.
Can any of you honestly say that you would rather have Big Eddie Dalton for a HC instead of Guy Montecalvo?
If you answer yes to this question then you truly have zero understanding of what it takes to be a successful high school HC. Its not even a competition.
Trinity has wasted more talent over the past 3 seasons than any team in WPIAL history.
CM has had some talent as well, but when a team has 3 D1 LB's on the same team and gives up 40+ points in 3 seperate games in the same season that is one thing.......HORRIBLE COACHING.
End of story.
September 10, 2009 2:42 PM
WAKE UP!!!!!!
Nobody was calling Ed Dalton a great coach but the wash county faithful have worship at the fett of the great god Montecalvo.
That was the dumbest post yet.
You are an imbecile if you think there is no correlation between wins and losses and the quality of a respective team's offensive and defense lines. Canon-Mac has lost games in the trenches.
You are the imbecile.....he just had 2 go D-1 to Army lasy year.
STOP making excuses for Guy's AAAA failures. He simply is in over his head and his record and playoff record in AAAA proves it. Everything else are just EXCUSES!!!!
1.Render(USC)
2.Smith(McKeesport)
3.Novak(Woodland Hills)
4.Hamilton(Blackhawk)
5.Cherpak(TJ)
6.McCurry(Horth Hills)
7.Methaney(Bethel Park)
8.Walker(North Allegheny)
9.Palko(West Allegheny)
10.Totten(Central Catholic)
Guy Montecalvo is a hall of fame coach. He is better than 98% of the coaches in the Wpial and I challenge anyone to come up with 10better coaches....
Please dear Guy worshipper just who would you take off this list and replace with the AA god from Wash. County ......please make me laugh. He is what he is a little Guy trying to wear big big boy AAAA cloths and they just don't fit.
For the record, Brad Strimel and Jon Pozonsky are not offensive or defensive linemen. They both played LB in high school.
The only way Bucci is going to get near the playoffs this year is when he comes to Canon-Mac's first playoff game in mid-May.
September 10, 2009 2:59 PM
Let's see..Bucci 1 AAAA PIAA CHAMPIONSHIP.......little Guy 0(ZERO) AAAA playoff victories.
You haters can trash Bucci all you want but a PIAA Banner hangs in your gym and he was the coach for only 2 years....Guy has added NOTHING to the gym wall not even a AAAA playoff win after 7 years.
Hate all you want but those are FACTS and there ain't no denyin it.
FACT......2008 PIAA AAAA Canon Mac Baseball Champions.....HEAD COACH.
STEVE BUCCI.......
FACT.....7 year Head Football Coach at Canon Mac......ZERO---that is 0 AAAA playoff victories.
Live with that!!!
To Anon (2:50pm)
When did Trinity give up 40+ points three times with 3 D1 LB's?
I assume your referring to the 2007season. If so, you better go check the facts. Only Char Valley scored 40+ on Trinity, and the defense wasn't responsible for that. The Colts returned an INT for a TD right before halftime.
Furthermore, The Hillers played most of the season with only Sweat and Yancich as D1 LB's. Brandon Weaver had a broken wrist and didn't start.
Besides, where do you get off bashing Ed Dalton or Trinity? Show us your credentials.
Calm down everyone. There is nothing wrong with being a great AA coach. Others like Don Yannessa have tried to coach at the AAAA level and have achieved the same mediocrity that Coach Montecalvo has achieved. It is difficult preparing & playing against AAAA schools every week. You just don't see the same amount quality week in & week out at the AA level as you do in the AAAA that is what makes the Renders, McCurry's Smith's, & Methaney's so special. George Novak is the rare breed that made the successful transition from AA to AAAA. Guy was a great AA coach that nobody can deny.....his record at AAAA is simply average. That too can't be denied......stop the nastieness.
I'm nervous about Bucci coming on board to lead the beloved Blackhawks. He has already latched on to a few parents in the program and been extra friendly to the kids of those parents.
He seems like a snake oil salesman when he talks. He has promised that we are going to do things differently than Rider, yet from what it seems he is going to have Rider's top assistant on his staff. That doesn't make sense. He has made the idea of winning a championship seem like no big deal. He is 1 for 15 in title winning!
I long for the days of a classy man like Jim Rider to lead our boys both on and off the field. I just get bad feelings from this hiring.
Now I come onto this board to read up on football and I see Bucci as a main topic for discussion and what seems like him or his wife posting on here? Wow. It's going to be a long season.
I'll take Guy over Render.....he's the best.
Washington, PA Proud.
One thing that stands out to me is, that it doesn't matter what the season, CM faithful have not said more than 10 positve comments since January. This site is really being infested with CM crap. I am sure that it wouldn't matter who coaches what sport but nobody in that district would be happy. They could get Vince Lombardi to coach football, Casey Stengel to coach baseball, Red Auerbach to coach basketball and Dan Gable to coach wrestling and they still would be bashing them! They will never be happy down in C-burg.....
To Anon (2:50pm)
Don't post false facts to try and prove your point. That's HORRIBLE posting!!!
If you keep both hands on the keyboard, you only have to check MSA sports network for all the scores. Also various local news papers now have web sites. It doesn't take much thought or effort to do a little fact checking before you want to start hating on someone!
Oh yeah, show us your credentials or accomplishments.....
I'm nervous about Bucci coming on board to lead the beloved Blackhawks. He has already latched on to a few parents in the program and been extra friendly to the kids of those parents.
He seems like a snake oil salesman when he talks. He has promised that we are going to do things differently than Rider, yet from what it seems he is going to have Rider's top assistant on his staff. That doesn't make sense. He has made the idea of winning a championship seem like no big deal. He is 1 for 15 in title winning!
I long for the days of a classy man like Jim Rider to lead our boys both on and off the field. I just get bad feelings from this hiring.
Now I come onto this board to read up on football and I see Bucci as a main topic for discussion and what seems like him or his wife posting on here? Wow. It's going to be a long season.
September 10, 2009 3:27 PM
How low can you CM parents sink.....cleaver try at hiding but this is filled with so many lies it is ridiculous. Grow up CM parents.
I'll take Guy over Render.....he's the best.
Washington, PA Proud.
September 10, 2009 3:31 PM
You should never be allowed to use a computer again.....EVER!
The people of Washington County never cease to stop lowering the bar of STUPIDITY. Even the most loyal Guy supporter will never agree with this beyond moronic statement. Please Wash.County faithful stop drinking you water and stop the INSANITY......PLEASE,
I'm also very tired of hearing how difficult it is to coach at the Class AAAA level like it's the SEC or NFC East. Come on people.
I'll take Coach Montecalvo's 2001 Wash High team and say it would have won the Quad-South or Quad-West that year. Talent is talent and the Prexies had lots of it back then. They sure had a lot more than the larger classification schools in the area at the time.
A good team is a good team. Sure a strong Class A team is unlikely to beat a bad Quad A team due to depth and sixe along the lines but once you get to Class AA and the talent pool increases along with roster size, it's not impossible.
Anyone want to tell me how vastly superior Quad-A teams are to TJ, Jeannette when they had Terrelle Pryor or various Aliquippa teams over the years.
Puh-lease.
Mike you truly are a moron. You can always take 1 team at any given time and say they were better than ??? but it is simply hypothetical. Let's play your dumb game....would Guy's 2001 team have beaten McCurry's undefeated National Championship team....NO! What did that prove. The point is week after week, year after year there are more teams that can hurt you both physically & on the scoreboard in AAAA than there is at the AA level. The AAAA teams are deeper and the great coaches that have been listed & mentioned have withstood the test of time and have been huge successes at the highest level, your hero Guy after 7 years simply has not risen to the status of the coaches listed at the AAAA level. His record proves that it is indeed a fact. How can you rationalize away the fact he has not won a AAAA playoff game...not 1. Also for the record every major publication considers both AAA & AAAA as larger schools.
It seems like the CM community has some issues. I hope they can come together and work them out because it is getting ugly.
I have posted here to speak up for coach Montecalvo who I consider a friend. I don't drink his Kool-Aid and I am not from CM. I just know the type of person he is and know that he doesn't deserve the garbage that is being said here by COWARDS who are soft and choose to sling mud from the safety of their anonymous blog posts. Pure and simple- you are weak and cowardly.
The real story here lies in the facts regarding the relative success of ANY high school football program from Washington County. The sad truth is that since the WPIAL moved to four classifications in 1980, only three out-right championship titles have been won by Washington county teams at ANY level. Two of which were coached by Guy Montecalvo, and of course he coached the only PIAA football championship team from Washington County. Now I don't consider him to be a God, but he does have my respect these coaching accomplishments.
The real story here isn't which Washington county coach is better than which and at what level. The issue isn't how well Guy compares to other Quad A coaches, their accomplishments speak well for themselves. What should be a concern to all of us from Washington County is the fact that we are performing so poorly in District 7? Look at the results of last year's WPIAL playoffs, look at the records. Maybe the players from our county just don't have the same competitive spirit as other parts of the WPIAL? Maybe we lack talent? Maybe they are being raised and influenced people that don’t even have enough courage to attach their name to their thoughts?
Maybe we lack talent?
Kevin, too many players from Washington County Trinity & CM specifically are going to Big 10 and other D-1 schools so it isn't the talent.......it's the coaching. Again the accomplishments that you refer to regarding Guy are from his past at the AA level and nobody has debated that. It is what he has NOT accomplished at the 4-A level at CM and that is not 1 single 4-A playoff victory. That is simply the cold hard truth.
Kevin:
Your post regarding Guy is typical of all of his defenders.....I remember when he was coaching the Prexie's or back in 19(pick a date)....the problem is he is no longer at Wash high and this is 2009. When you have been a head coach for 7 years at the same school and have not won even 1 AAAA playoff game you are not getting the job done. Please save the "he's made the playoffs" garbage because they take 4 teams from each AAAA section so it really only takes 2 section wins to qualify. The truth is not being able to at least win a playoff game opens him up to "fair" criticism. He did win at the AA level and has been average at best at the AAAA level. He may be your friend but you cannot deny this fact no matter if a name is given or not.
Why are the Guy apologists having such a hard time facing reality. I have not read 1 post where anyone debated his success at Washington High School and yes they are & were a AA school. The previous post is correct, the fact is pure & simple. He has not won a AAAA playoff game, he has not won a section championship, and it really is not that difficult (2 section wins) to qualify for the playoffs so it's not a big deal to qualify. Nobody has said he sucked as a AA coach, but he has not been great at AAAA. He needs to do more or he legacy will be just another great small school coach that was over his head ay AAAA. Stop whining and making excuses and face the facts.
Hey 5:34 anonymous, I'm not "whining and making excuses", my point is that we (high school football fans who live in Washington County) don't have a "Guy Montecalvo can't win a AAAA playoff game problem". 5:34 annonymous, our problem is that all of our teams aren't doing so well against teams from other WPIAL areas. Why just focus on Guy? The "facts" as you say 5:34 reveal a much bigger issue than your extreme need to discredit Guy. Look at all the other Washington county coaches, programs, lack of "championship hardware". 5:34, it's sad that all all we have in Washington County to speak of in terms of Championships (at any level) are mostly Guy's. Too bad there is such a lack of achievment in high school football in our county. But go ahead....5:34, you and 5:26 and the other can just keep minimizing the best coach we have in Washington County. You da man.
Anon The Canon-McMillan band blasted the Trinity band out of it's own stadium that should make you happy. Oh, by the way they play the Notre Dame fight song very well.
I'm glad I left that area a long time ago. Nothing but angry know-it-alls depressed about life with nothing good to say about anyone or anything. Guy's this.. Guy's that.. Eddie this.. Eddie that.
Why are we beating these guys up folks? I think it tells more about the person saying the stuff than the person(s) they are talking about. Too many people with primitive cave man thought processes in here.
Does anyone have to apologize for being a good small school coach? The list of good coaches posted on this blog have been pretty good. There's been no mention of Rochester's Gene Matsook. He is one of the best coaches. Sorry it's at the Class A level. But he is a great coach. Period.
You do not always win. Jeff Metheny didn't win at Waynesburg (AA) or Hampton (AAA). But he's always been a really good coach and now he wins at Quad-A. Sometimes it's the place and the circumstances.
I agree Render is the best.
Let's not discount people who achieve and are proven even if it's at a small school.
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