Reigning Champs Hope To Rebound
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Legendary WPIAL head coach Bob Palko is looking to rebound from the Blue Devil’s 21-6 opening day loss. The reigning state champs faced a tough Gateway squad loaded with next level talent. Bethal Park is hoping to earn their second…
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Continue ReadingLegendary WPIAL head coach Bob Palko is looking to rebound from the Blue Devil’s 21-6 opening day loss. The reigning state champs faced a tough Gateway squad loaded with next level talent. Bethal Park is hoping to earn their second victory at the likes of Mt. Lebanon. BPHS also has D1 talent, and they seem to be up for the challenge to compete for a WPIAL title. This game will be interesting moving forward to see what teams emerge as contenders. The players that have next level potential are listed below.
Ultra physical Hback that is more athletic than originally meets the eye. Athletic Hback blocker has good footwork on pulling blocks & athletic enough to be effective run blocking on the second level. Plays with a low pad level & brings his hips & feet on contact. Plays until the end of the whistle with great effort, a very physical one track mind during plays. Pretty good route runner with decent catch radius but sometimes lets the ball get to his body on receptions. Negatives would be that he doesn’t have a ton of pass catching highlights, but he still has a season to go. On defense he plays with a good motor with physical violent hands. Grayden possesses good bend and gets out his stance well firing out. He also good benging around the edge rushing the QB.
Only played in 5 games his Junior season due to injury. Hartung has the speed & motor to be able to play sideline to sideline. Had a play vs Gateway where he showed good LB instincts with his run pass reads and made a tackle running to the sideline. Displays a good nose for the ball. Not great with using his hands playing off of blocks on inside run plays. He will have to work on overall strength finishing tackles, playing off of blocks better with his hands.
22′ : Looked explosive like he was fully healed from his injury from Jr. year. Had a sack and 8 tackles at LB. Had a couple plays were he showed the ability to explosively shoot gaps on run plays for TFLs. He evaded an OL coming to block him on an inside run by sidestepping him with a low center of gravity & good tackling form. Has good LB frame at 6’2 195 with room to grow into his position on the FCS/D2 level.
Shows a lot of athletic ability with decent speed (4.6 possibly higher) & strength. Had two Sacks, 5 tackles, 2.5 TFL & the teams only 5-10 yard direct snap keep rushing TD vs Gateway. He ran through a Gateway tackler on the 3 for the score with decent change of direction speed & strength. He projects as a MLB on the FCS level to me possibly higher with 2 seasons to go. Had a good play where he showed athletic ability flipping his hips to the field for his drop then flipping hips & chasing down the shallow crosser for a 1-3 yd gain.
Highlights
JM is tough & gritty WR with good hands. Johnny is decent overall WR that plays with toughness. He is technical & skilled as a WR. He is a good route runner with reliable hands. I need to see more film on him to see where his open field speed is in 2022.
Has a lot of film punting and has a strong leg. Can kick rugby or traditional and is consistent with height and distance.
22′ : In his scrimmage vs Pine Richland he walked down from SS to a 5yd off man technique vs the Slot & picked off a hitch & returned it 60 yds for a TD. He had good low pad level in his pedal, with sharpe footwork on a good break. He plays the ball well, had an INT with a 60 yd TD return & a breakup vs PR(4.5-4.6 speed). He also had a forced fumble and showed a willingness to hit in passing and running situations.
He is very physical LB that uses his hands well when defeating blockers. One of the best in the WPIAL at running through pass protectors, he is a punishing tackler. Moul is relentless on blitzes and often causes sacks, TFLs or hurries. He has a very high football IQ that makes him great at reading his LB keys. He has a big motor which allows him to play sideline to sideline. He is a playmaker that has the ability to run a TD back after an INT. He plays with a good pad level & has good footwork moving laterally in run pursuit.
At the TE position he is an above average route runner with strong consistent hands. He is a very physical & effective blocker that has great pad level firing out of his stance. On defense, he has good tempo with lateral quickness when pursuing the ball. You can tell on film that he has a high football IQ. He’s good at getting hands on the WR before zone dropping in the passing game. Just like the rest of Bethal Park’s LB core Currie has a motor & plays til the whistle. He Currie is also an above average long snapper.
Highlights
Austin has good instincts which allows him to play center field well and cover a lot of ground. He is great at reading the QB’s eyes from the FS position in zone coverage. He plays the ball well and isn’t afraid of contact. In the season opener he had 2 INTs and PBU against North Hills to start the season. Caye displays 4.5 speed & also had a receiving TD out of the backfield on wheel route vs North Hills.
At 5’9 170 Jack Reilly Jack Reilly 6’1″ | 190 lbs | QB St Francis | 2025 State IL plays bigger than his size. He has good hips, good footwork & breaks on the ball well in off coverage. He is good in man coverage whether he’s pressing or playing off man technique. He uses a soft shoe press man technique (which means he is good at walking out of his stance backwards in press man) & remains patient when WRs give a bunch of release moves. He is able to play aggressive in zone coverage while still protecting his deep 3rd. Reilly is competitive & rises to the occasion when playing better competition.
Highlights
Clacks has good size at CB & has a knack for making plays on the ball. He pedals with a low pad level & doesn’t overextend his footwork when breaking on the ball. Dinari uses a soft shoe press man technique CB (which means he is good at walking out of his stance backwards in press man). He is good at defeating WR blocks & coming up for run support. He has decent speed & is good at staying over top of the WR on vertical plays.
Ryan is a swiss army knife of an athlete for his team. He’s explosive with speed & accelerates easily past defenders when he hits the edge. He is a dangerous return specialist due to his great lateral quickness. Bethal Park will line him up at RB where he shows vision, patience & a good burst. Petras is only a sophomore & will be one of Bethal Park’s main guys for 3 more seasons.
Dom Capone
Dom Capone
Dom’s low center of gravity aids well in the interior run game. His pad level firing out of his stance is difficult to block in the box. He has good strength in his lockouts upon first contact out of his stance. Capone isn’t the biggest athlete but he is stout vs the double team. On offense he’s shown the ability to be physical & finish blocks.