Trinity hires Miles as girls basketball coach

A flurry of high school football coaching hires drew the ire of local fan bases, but the rumblings at Trinity considering the girls basketball program have quieted since the hiring of Bob Miles as head coach.

As far as hires go, it's difficult to find a better one.

A teacher at Trinity for more than two decades, Miles spent the past 15 years as head coach at Fort Cherry. He took a program with little tradition or success and molded into an annual playoff contender. In recent years, Fort Cherry was a Class A powerhouse and Miles was awarded the 2011 PIAA Class A Girls Coach of the Year for his work. He's also a three-time winner of the Tri-CADA Girls Basketball Coach of the Year Award.

Miles guided a group which included Beka Bellhy, Carolena Gasbarro and Jessie Merckle to the 2011 WPIAL Class A championship game, and the PIAA quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons. Fort Cherry stood toe-to-toe with private schools, though three of Fort Cherry last five losses came against North Catholic.

Fort Cherry won 49 games the past two seasons. Miles won 237 games in 15 years, and, as his teams improved over time, the Rangers drew praise from opposing coaches and even college coaches for their style of play. Fort Cherry played disciplined, unselfish and physical basketball.

Basically, the Fort Cherry girls played like a well-coached boys team.

Miles is charged with the task of building Trinity back into a consistent winner. Jackie Kotchman, one of the all-time great players in Hillers' girls basketball history, coached Trinity the past three years and the Hillers did qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs in 2012, albeit with a losing record.

Miles, who was given a three-year contract, is a proven winner, but establishing a solid program at Trinity won't be instant. Still, the Hillers made the right choice, and the obvious one.

Varsity notebook

Two intriguing names have emerged as Trinity searches for its next girls basketball coach - Bob Miles and Laura Montecalvo.
At least two sources have indicated Miles is interested and the feeling should be mutual. It makes sense. Miles teaches at Trinity and he built Fort Cherry into a program which contended for WPIAL and PIAA titles. Plus, his work has earned respect at a state-wide level as evidenced by his selection as the Class A Coach of the Year in 2011. Miles is a three-time winner of the Tri-County Athletic Director Coaches Association Girls Basketball Coach of the Year. His teams are known for unselfish, disciplined and physical play.
Fort Cherry is moving to Class AA for at least the next two seasons and was placed in a section with Seton-La Salle and Bishop Canevin. The Rangers will still be a solid team the next two years, but there is a reported drop-off in talent after the sophomore class graduates.
If Miles, who lives in the Fort Cherry district, remains interested, consider him the top candidate.
Montecalvo was a standout athlete while at Wash High and has strong interest in becoming a head coach. She is also certified as a guidance counselor, and Trinity may have an opening in guidance for the upcoming school year.
* It's late May and, finally, every local high school has a varsity football coach. Bentworth, Burgettstown, Charleroi, Jefferson-Morgan, McGuffey, Trinity and Waynesburg all enter the 2012 with new coaches.
Bentworth and Charleroi moved quickly with their hires. McGuffey and Waynesburg made splash hires. Trinity conducted an extensive search. Burgettstown moved extremely quick with an in-house candidate in Terry Havelka, also the Blue Devils wrestling coach, following Matt Taylor's departure to Keystone Oaks. Jefferson-Morgan's search was extraordinarily long, the longest I can remember at the high school level.
* The WPIAL individual track championships are today, and the Washington-Greene region should produce a strong share of gold medalists. It's been a strong year for track.
* Speaking of track, the Washington boys team has a legitimate chance to win the Class AA team title at the state meet next weekend.
The Prexies, who turned in one of the most dominant dual meet seasons in WPIAL history, have everything needed to win a state title.
Dustin Fuller has the ability to win multiple individual championships. The 400 and 1,600 relay teams should medal. Other individual medals could come from a long list of athletes including Josh Wise, Darius Spinks, Shai McKenzie, West Jones, Austin Fuller and Joe Phillips. It's a special group.
* McKenzie's showing this track season is solidifying his status as a Division I football prospect. Only a sophomore, McKenzie is running sub-11 seconds in the 100-meter dash and is hearing from a host of Division I football programs from the Big Ten, Big East and ACC.
McKenzie and Monessen's Justice Rawlins are already two of the WPIAL's most sought-after prospects in the Class of 2014. Rawlins already has offers from Pitt and Rutgers, with WVU showing significant interest.
* Got to agree with Mike White from the Post-Gazette, who stated the WPIAL baseball playoffs need tweaked on his blog, Varsity Blog.
The brackets are set so teams with first-round byes can pitch their ace throughout the remainder of the playoffs beginning in the quarterfinals. It takes a lot of intrigue away from the postseason. And cramming the quarterfinals games one day after the first-round games pretty much eliminated any chance for upsets.
* That stated, the WPIAL Class A baseball semifinal between undefeated California and one-loss Bentworth has to be the most anticipated postseason game between a pair of local teams since Peters Township and Canon-McMillan met in the 2008 PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals.
The two teams play Monday night at Washington & Jefferson's Ross Memorial Park. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
* Chartiers-Houston baseball was woefully underseeded. The Bucs were far better than No. 9 in Class A.
* Peters Township junior Olivia Roberson is already a two-time PIAA champion as a key member of the Indians' girls soccer team. An all-state player her junior year, Roberson recently accepted a scholarship offer from Duquesne University.

Trinity coaching update II

One day the next head football coach at Trinity High School is slated to be Mike Wall, a former Hillers quarterback who played football at the University of Tulsa and coaches in Texas.

The next, Washington head coach Mike Bosnic is the frontrunner.

On the next day, it's Niel Loebig, the former South Fayette quarterback who played and coached at Duquesne University and is currently coaching in Florida.

Joe Kuhns, Derek Bochna, Ron Skiles and a few others have all been linked to the Trinity coaching search at one point or another. Hillers assistant coach and former Washington High School head coach Bill Britton applied for the opening. Peters Township head coach Rich Piccinini also expressed interest.

Like coaching searches at the college level, Trinity's situation has been a fluid one, but it's also a search that appears to have reached a conclusion.

After weeks of interviews and rumors, multiple sources have confirmed Trinity is set to hire Ryan Coyle as its football coach. All the move needs is official approval from the Trinity School Board.

Coyle worked as an assistant at Mt. Lebanon. Long-time Blue Devils head coach Chris Haering recently left Mt. Lebanon to join Paul Chryst's coaching staff at Pitt. Coyle also was an assistant at Shaler, where he worked for Neil Gordon.

While I don't know much about Coyle at this point, here is what I do know about the coaching search:

• The job was Bosnic's to lose. There are many aspects of Trinity's job which makes it attractive to locals as well as outsiders. In the end, Bosnic preferred staying at Washington.
• Loebig and Wall were serious candidates.
• Loebig once worked as offensive coordinator at Duquesne University, where he holds several passing records. He spent the 2011 season working as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Lely High School in Naples, Fla.
• Despite a job as an offensive assistant for Georgetown High in Texas, Wall expressed serious interest in the position. One source said Wall was also offered coaching position after Bosnic removed himself as a candidate. Wall, however, was not offered the job despite his interest and willingness to move his family from Texas to Washington.

Fort Cherry hires Shiel

One football coaching search came to an end Monday night, and it officially brought an end to an era in Fort Cherry football.

Jim Shiel was hired as Fort Cherry's new football coach at Monday night's school board meeting.

Shiel is an 1981 graduate of Fort Cherry and played football for the Rangers under the direction of legendary head coach Jim Garry. One of the longest-tenured coaches in PIAA history, Garry coached Fort Cherry for Fort Cherry football for its first 43 years and won a Washington County-record 265 games. He was succeeded in 2003 by Tim Garry, his son. He coached the past 9 seasons and went 49-42.

A physical education teacher at Fort Cherry, the 49-year-old Shiel coached the 7th & 8th grade team last fall.

Trinity and Jefferson-Morgan have yet to fill their respective positions. Trinity is down to three finalists and expected to hire April 5. Jefferson-Morgan opened its application process once again last week.

Trinity coaching search

The Trinity School Board will meet Thursday and there is a chance the board will be asked to approve the hiring of a varsity football coach.

If the hiring occurs, it will put to rest weeks of speculation and rumor. Naturally, any time the Trinity football job is opened, the name Guy Montecalvo gets mentioned. Thanks to his incredible success at Washington and the respect Montecalvo earned during his distinguished coaching career, he's always had ardent supporters in the Trinity community.

File that rumor under wishful thinking.

According to sources, the interview process has intensified and Trinity brought on former Penn Hills and Shaler head coach Neil Gordon as a consultant to hire the replacement for Ed Dalton, who took over at Trinity in 1999 and recently accepted the athletic director and football coaching duties at McGuffey.

As many as nine candidates have been interviewed and a frontrunner is believed to be Mike Wall.

A former quarterback at Trinity who went on to play the position at Tulsa, Wall emerged as a candidate the last time the Trinity School Board opened the job during a long-standing clash between Dalton and members of the school board. At one point, Rich Piccinini was hired as Trinity's football coach, but the board elected to table the hire and retained Dalton later the same day. Piccinini is now the football coach at Peters Township.

Wall was a three-year starter at Trinity and started 11 games at Tulsa, where he also spent two years as a grad assistant. Wall lives in Texas, where he's a social studies teacher and an offensive assistant at Class 4A Georgetown High School.

One snag in hiring Wall could be financial. Another could be luring him away from coaching in Texas.

Other candidates include former Duquesne University offensive coordinator Niel Loebig, former Waynesburg and California coach Joe Kuhns and former McGuffey coach Derek Bochna. Former Washington coach Bill Britton, who served as an assistant at Trinity for Dalton, is a favorite of the players. Britton has head coaching history plus a knowledge of the program and players. According to sources, Britton has not been interviewed but it could be because of familiarity.

Washington & Jefferson offensive line coach Todd Young is believed to be a candidate. A dark-horse could be Washington's Mike Bosnic.

List of reportable offenses under Act 24

All current employees of a public or private schools, intermediate unit or area vocation-technical school in Pennsylvania were required to complete an arrest/conviction report and certification form under Act 24 of 2011. The deadline to submit the form was Dec. 27.

The list of reportable offenses
1. An offense under one or more of the following provision of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes:

• relating to criminal homicide
• relating to aggravated assault
• relating to stalking
• relating to kidnapping
• relating to unlawful restraint
• relating to luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure
• relating to rape
• relating to statutory sexual assault
• relating to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
• relating to sexual assault
• relating to institutional sexual assault
• relating to aggravated indecent assault
• relating to indecent assault
• relating to indecent exposure
• relating to sexual intercourse with animal
• relating to incest
• relating to concealing death of child
• relating to endangering welfare of children
• relating to dealing in infant children
• relating to prostitution and related offenses
• relating to obscene and other sexual materials and performances
• relating to corruption of minors
• relating to sexual abuse of children
• relating to unlawful contact with minor
• relating to solicitation of minors to traffic drugs
• relating to sexual exploitation of children

2. An offense designated as a felony under the act of April 14, 1972 known as "The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act."

3. An offense similar in nature to those crimes listed in clauses (1) and (2) under the laws or former laws of:

• the United States; or
• one of its territories or possessions; or
• another state; or
• the District of Columbia; or
• the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; or
• a foreign nation; or
• under a former law of this Commonwealth.
  

Spridik no longer Bentworth volleyball coach

Greg Spridik is the most successful high school girls volleyball coach in Washington County history.

Besides producing a string of victories and All-State players, Spridik is the only coach from the area to take his team to the PIAA playoffs on multiple occasions.

Success wasn't enough for Spridik to return to the Bearcats in 2012.

He was fired last Friday during a meeting with administrations. It was an action that members of the Bentworth School District Board of Education did not know.

The reason? According to Spridik, he was told he was in violation of Act 24 of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Spridik was arrested in a foreign country 31 years ago. Until Act 24 was established, he previously passed all clearances needed to coach high school athletics and officiate PIAA basketball games.

Spridik believes the real reason behind his removal stems from his public displeasure over a motion at Bentworth to remove middle school athletics.

It's one interesting story, and one that will likely take a few turns before reaching a conclusion.

Read more about it in Thursday's Observer-Reporter.

Wisconsin commit Orndoff plays wating game

Scott Orndoff came away so impressed with the University of Wisconsin after attending a football camp in Madison, Wisc. that when Badgers head coach Bret Bielema offered a scholarship, Orndoff committed almost immediately.

Right now, Orndoff – a Waynesburg resident and a junior at Seton-La Salle High School – is digesting the news that Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst is the new football coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

It was a move aided, in part, by Langeloth native and Burgettstown High School graduate Barry Alvarez, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Wisconsin's athletic director.

"From what I can tell, no one at Wisconsin has any problems with Pitt," Orndoff said Thursday evening, minutes after finding out he was selected to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class AA All-State football team. "It's a big win for Pitt."

Orndoff had minimal contact with Chryst during his recruiting process, but the 6-5 tight end recruit maintains weekly contact with Joe Rudolph, the Badgers' tight end coach/recruiting coordinator.

According to Orndoff, Rudolph planned on calling him Thursday night. Rudolph was born in Charleroi and played high school football at Belle Vernon.

Various reports say Rudolph and Bob Bostad – Wisconsin's run-game coordinator and offensive line coach – could make the move to Pitt with Chryst, who will remain with the Badgers through their Rose Bowl appearance against Oregon. Other reports indicate Rudolph could succeed Chryst as offensive coordinator.

Rudolph's landing spot will play a significant role in whether remains with Wisconsin.

"There will be a lot going into that if Coach Rudolph leaves," Orndoff said. "Even before all this happened, I kept my options open. If he would leave, I'll take another trip up there and take time to think about my decision."

Graham leaves Pitt for Arizona State

In case you haven't heard, Todd Graham has left the University of Pittsburgh football team for Arizona State following one season with the Panthers. Graham did not driectly tell players of his resignation, and they've taken to Twitter to voice displeasure.

Pitt is 6-6 and waiting to play SMU in the BBVA Compass Bowl, held in Bimingham, Ala. Jan. 7.

Granted, this subject matter doesn't mesh with the theme of The Varsity Letters but a copy of Graham's resignation text message has been obtained. It was sent to Blair Philbrick, Assistant Athletic Director, Football Operations.

"Please text this to players please:
I have resigned my position at Pitt in the best interest of my family to pursue the head coaching position at Arizona State. Coaching there has always been a dream of ours & we have family there. The timing of the circumstances have prohibited me from telling you this directly. I am now on my way to Tempe to continue those discussions. God Bless Coach Graham"

Jefferson-Morgan opens football coaching position

There have been a few consistents in WPIAL football the past two decades.

Aliquippa contends for the Class AA championship.

The Class AAAA team believed to have the most talent rarely wins the title.

Teams feel slighted after the playoffs pairings meeting.

Chuck Wagner coached at Springdale.

And, until Monday evening, Jan Haiden coached at Jefferson-Morgan High School.

In news less publicized than Wagner's retiring after 50 years of coaching football at Spirngdale, but a surprising move nonetheless, the Jefferson-Morgan School Board voted to open the varsity football coaching position during Monday's meeting. For the past 20 years, Haiden held that job. Haiden guided J-M to a 4-5 record in 2011, and a 4-4 mark in the Tri-County South Conference.
A Beth-Center graduate, Haiden's career record is 96-99-1.

Well-respected in the local coaching community, Haiden rarely had the most talent to work with in the Tri-County South, but his teams were always tough and competitive. In 2006, Jefferson-Morgan reached the WPIAL Class A semifinals, where it nearly upended Rochester. The Rockets beat Fort Cherry during that postseason run, and raised eyebrows when they defeated Duquesne in the quarterfinals. It was the final football game in Duquesne High School's history.

With the opening, Jefferson-Morgan is the second school in Greene County without a football coach. At Waynesburg, Joe Kuhns resigned last month.

Trinity tables motions

The Trinity Area School Board voted 5-4 to table motions to open head coaching positions for varsity football, softball and volleyball.

Ed Dalton is Trinity's football coach. Bill Loar is softball coach. Gretchen Mountain is volleyball coach.

All three coaches were told Tuesday by athletic director Bobby Jones that their positions would be opened during Thursday's school board meeting.

For more information, please read Friday's Observer-Reporter.

Trinity to open Dalton's position; Bentworth hires football coach

The Trinity Area School Board will open the head varsity football coaching position held by Ed Dalton.

Dalton, who has coached football at Trinity since 1999, was informed Tuesday by athletic director Bobby Jones of the action.

The Hillers went 5-4 this fall, and finished tied with Chartiers Valley and Belle Vernon for third place in the Big Eight Conference but missed the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs via head-to-head tiebreakers with both teams. It snapped a six-year playoff streak for Trinity.

For more information, please read Thursday's Observer-Reporter.

* Bentworth didn't wait long to fill its vacant football position.

Less than three weeks after Lou Rood resigned following three difficult seasons, the school district hired Bob Niziol as its varsity football coach. Niziol served as one of Rood's assistants and works in the school district.

Two area football coaches resign

Waynesburg High School and Bentworth will begin searches for new head football coaches following the resignations of Joe Kuhns and Lou Rood.

Kuhns confirmed Wednesday via email that he resigned as the football coach at Waynesburg following a 3-6 season. The Raiders remaining in WPIAL Class AA playoff contention until a loss at Mt. Pleasant in Week 8 of the regular season.

Rood adopted the task of rebuilding Bentworth football. The Bearcats struggled but broke a 20-game losing streak with a win against Avella Friday night.

Check Thursday's Observer-Reporter for more details.

* In other coaching news, Peters Township athletic director Brian Geyer said the district plans to hire a softball coach at its November meeting.

Quick hits

Waynesburg played for the WPIAL baseball championship June 1 and lost during three games during the 2011 season - all by one run. The success wasn't enough to keep some parents from creating friction with head coach Steve Coss.

Coss, who coached the Raiders for three years, recently resigned. For more on the story, http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sports11/08-24-2011-scholastic-notebook.

* Peters Township senior Andrew Erenberg has scholarship offers from Kent State and Fordham. Erenberg rushed for more than 1,000 yards with 18 touchdowns as a junior.

* Heard from more than one person affiliated with Clairton that the Bears believe they will play Fort Cherry twice - the second time coming at Heinz Field for the WPIAL championship.

* Not sure how good South Fayette will be following the loss of the majority of its top players from last year, but don't expect the Lions not to compete for the postseason. After watching junior Zach Challingsworth during practice Tuesday, the guess here is he'll be one of the better players in Class AA if not the WPIAL.

* That said, Washington beat South Fayette during a 7-on-7 camp during the offseason. That doesn't mean much right now, but expect the Week 4 meeting between the Prexies and Lions to be highly competitive.

* Mat Matters, a blog dedicated to high school wrestling done by colleague Joe Tuscano, is engaged in a heated debate concerning the transfer of Cody Wiercioch from Charleroi to powerhouse Canon-McMillan.

I'm not a passionate opponent of transfers. As I've stated before, what about the student who leaves one high school for another because of the band? To me, there's not much difference no matter what points others mention.

Still, the recent transfers remind me of a situation that occurred when I first broke into the business at the Beaver County Times.

Like Canon-McMillan wrestling, Blackhawk boys basketball was already an established program when Brandon Fuss-Cheatham transferred from Keystone Oaks and Darren Tielsch from Montour. Each move set off a heated debate, and Blackhawk was often referred to the WPIAL Traveling All-Stars.

Blackhawk's head coach at the time, John Miller, had ties to the AAU basketball. Canon-McMillan wrestling has ties to the popular Quest Wrestling in Canonsburg.

* According to sources, former Monessen and Greensburg Central Catholic athlete Josh Stepoli is in North Carolina, where he is staying with a cousin, A.J. Jackson.

Jackson was a basketball standout out Monessen before he played at East Tennessee State and, later, Robert Morris.

Trinity football players go on strike

The ongoing fued between coaches, players and supporters of Trinity football against certain members of the Trinity Area School Board took a unique turn Monday morning when players staged a strike.

Before the start of football camp, players organized and sat on the playing surface at Hiller Field for 30 minutes. The strike started at 9 a.m. in protest to deep cuts in the athletic budget.

Players organized the protest without the knowledge of Trinity head coach Ed Dalton.

"It came about because two of our top assistants are gone. Chad Daloia got fired, and his brother (Ryan) ended up quitting because he didn't want to do it after his brother got fired," senior Brandon Robertson said. "We're trying to get them back, so we're putting on a little strike before practice. We're just trying to get our coaches back."

Trinity competes in Class AAA, and it annually fields a large roster for football. The Hillers have four coaches on the staff for the upcoming season, and are in the process of implementing a new offense - the triple option.

"We only have three of four coaches so it's pretty hectic," Robertson added.

Will the move work or create more contention?

"A strike was really the only thing we could come to," senior John Laschinsky said. "It symbolizes how our team is coming together, to fight for our family. We're not just a football team. We're a family, and our coach is a big part of that family. That's what we're trying to get across."

Follow Mike Kovak on Twitter @TheMikeKovak

Fort Cherry hires boys basketball coach

Fort Cherry filled its vacant boys varsity basketball coaching position Monday night when the school board approved the hiring of D.J. Gambridge.

A standout during his playing days at Bethel Park, Gambridge played at Thiel College before returning to the area. He most recently served as an assistant coach for Danny Holzer at Upper St. Clair.

Gambridge replaced Brent Fleissner, who spent two years as the Rangers coach. Fleissner was also Fort Cherry's athletic director, but left both positions when told he had to give one up. Like many schools, Fort Cherry will have AD duties assumed by another administrator. In this case, it will be assistant principal Bob Motte.

The Gambridge hiring marks the second time in recent years that Fort Cherry hired an assistant of Holzer's as its head coach. Former Duquesne University player Brad Midgley coached Fort Cherry for two seasons (2007-09) before getting the same post at Franklin Regional.

Fort Cherry also hired Shawn Palmer as girls volleyball coach.

Avella hires Cecchini as football coach

Football will be played at Avella High School in 2011 as the school board approved the hiring of Ryan Cecchini Wednesday night as the Eagles' next coach.

Cecchini, 30, served as Avella's junior high coach in 2010, and was also the junior high wrestling coach. Cecchini is a 1999 graduate of Avella, where he played football and wrestled. He went on to play football at Hiram College.

Cecchini originally interviewed for the position in March and his name appeared on April's agenda, but the board opted to table the hiring for two months. That helped fuel rumors that the football program might disband in favor of soccer.

Cecchini replaced Frank Gray, who resigned in March after compiling a 3-24 record in three years. Gray's efforts in 2008 helped save football at Avella.

Peters Township expects to hire former Steelers LB Gildon as DL coach

Steelers all-time sacks leader Jason Gildon is expected to be hired Monday night as Peters Township's defensive line coach.

Gildon finished his 10 years in Pittsburgh (1994-2003) with 77 sacks, and 80 for his career. He spent the 2004 season with Jacksonville.

For more on this story, read Saturday's Observer-Reporter.

Football coaches plan to promote sport

STATE COLLEGE (AP) — The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association unveiled big plans Friday to promote the sport and strengthen ties with in-state college coaches.
Group leaders met with Pitt’s Todd Graham, Temple’s Steve Addazio and Penn State’s Joe Paterno at the Nittany Lions’ team headquarters Friday in Happy Valley. Afterward, the high school coaches announced plans to turn an annual coaches clinic into a convention starting next year in Pittsburgh.
All college and high school coaches in the state would be invited.
“We’ll make that the place to be once a year to support high school football in Pennsylvania,” Clearfield High coach Tim Janocko said.
The prep coaches want to resume an East-West all-star game in 2012 following a one-year hiatus this season. The game was previously held in Altoona.
The game would be held next year in May at Gateway High School in suburban Pittsburgh, and Downingtown West in eastern Pennsylvania the following season. Both the convention and the all-star game would be rotated to locations around the state.
Graham, Addazio and Paterno offered their support to the efforts.
“It’s about building relationships,” said Elco High coach Mark Evans. “If you don’t have a prospect, or potential prospect for them, they usually skip your school, so a (convention) like this will enable us to continue to develop a strong relationship with college coaches.”
The high school coaches also hope to open high school coaches hall of fame exhibits at three locations around the state: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and State College. Plans for the exhibit at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, are closest to completion, though Janocko said the group had to wait for the NFL’s lockout to be resolved before the project could proceed.

Avella tables football hire

Avella football remains without a head coach after the school board tabled a decision to fill the position during Wednesday night's meeting.

It marks the second time the decision has been tabled.

Previously, Avella graduate Ryan Cecchini's name was on the agenda to be hired. Several current players are rallying for an assistant coach.

Frank Gray spent the past three seasons as the Eagles football coach, and he helped keep the program afloat during some difficult times. More of those could be on the horizon as rumors of dropping the football program in favor of soccer have swirled for months.

Follow me on Twitter @TheMikeKovak