2023 Season Preview Pine-Richland

Pine-Richland went 13-3 last year and won the PIAA 5A State Championship for their second title in three years. An impressive accomplishment for this WPIAL powerhouse. Jon LeDonne is the current Head Coach and he returned for his 2nd stint at the school after spending the last several years at Penn Hills. Pine-Richland lost a lot of talented players off last year's team, but still bring back a ton of talent as well. I expect them to be competitive and probably one of the better teams in the WPIAL and the state of Pennsylvania.   Top returning players:    [player_tooltip player_id='98505' first='Ryan' last='Cory']. Cory is one of the best prospects in the state of Pennsylvania. He plays at a very high level at offensive line. He is already committed to Wisconsin. Below is what my colleague Avery Hawkins wrote about him earlier this year:   What sets Cory apart from other recruits in his position is his nasty demeanor on the field. He is agile on his feet and plays with a low pad level, which allows him to gain leverage over his opponents. Cory's tremendous punch is one of his biggest assets. He causes big collisions when getting blocks on the second level, and his nimble feet give him the ability to be a great puller. He finishes all of his blocks, which is a testament to his work ethic. His strength makes him a great one-on-one blocker who is able to drive his feet upon contact. He equally displays the elite ability to combo block as well. At 6'4 290, Cory has the size, strength, and ability to be a day-one contributor at OG. He is also athletic enough with the wingspan to be an emergency OT on the FBS level.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RyanCory15/status/1666233811653337091?s=20 </div></figure>    [player_tooltip player_id='255061' first='Ethan' last='Pillar']. Piller is an underrated prospect in the 2024 class. He is just a football player that displays a lot of good traits at running back. He recently visited Clarion University. I expect Pillar to have a good opportunity to play College Football in the future. Below is what my colleague [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'] wrote about Pillar:   I need to represent the current state champions a bit better on our site. Many Pine-Richland prospects are far too low on the rankings, [player_tooltip player_id='255061' first='Ethan' last='Pillar']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/ethan-pillar-2/"></a> being one of them. Pillar's placement on this 1st-team is a great indicator for things to come, as he could see a jump into the top 15 at his position. 5'11, a cut-up 200 pounds, LB reps to his name too, Pillar ranked up 1300+ scrimmage yards last fall and 16 total scores. He's currently unoffered.    [player_tooltip player_id='377921' first='Evan' last='Johnson']. Johnson is a talented football player who plays linebacker for Pine-Richland. He has all the skills to play the position at a high level. He recently got an offer from Otterbein University. I expect more offers to come his way. Below is what I wrote about Johnson earlier this year:   Johnson is an athletic play-making linebacker. He is a very good outside linebacker who makes a ton of plays from his linebacker position. One of the best parts of his film is his ability to create turnovers. He is very good at getting his hands on the ball and making a play. An example is one time in his film I saw him strip the ball from a player and return it for a touchdown. He is also a very good blitzer from his linebacker position. He is very good at finding the right angle and attacking the offense. Finally, Johnson is a sideline-to-sideline defender who makes good tackles. Johnson has a lot of talent and with a strong Senior year, he should have a good chance to play College Football.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Evanjohnson05/status/1670598484699783169?s=20 </div></figure>    [player_tooltip player_id='598903' first='Sam' last='Heckert']. Heckert is another talented linebacker for Pine-Richland. Below is what I wrote about him earlier this year:   Heckert played outside linebacker for Pine-Richland. He is a very good player who plays well in space. At outside linebacker, he is very good at reading and reacting to the play and then coming up and making the play. He is a good athlete so when he drops in coverage he is good at making a play on the ball against an offensive player. He sets the edge very well and either make the tackle or forces the ball carrier inside. Heckert also is a very good blitzer off the edge. Heckert is a player with more development and should only get better.    Cole Wilson. Wilson played offensive guard and defensive tackle for Pine-Richland last year. On both sides of the ball, he showed good strength. At offensive line, he is a good guard who moves well for the position. He is athletic enough to chase and block linebackers. The biggest area he does well in though is his double teams. He just mauls defensive lineman. At defensive line, he shows that he has a get-off and a motor for the position. Wilson is a good player who should get some College Football offers with a strong Senior Year.    JohnLuca Aliello. Aliello is a difference-maker at wide receiver for Pine-Richland. The 1st thing that stands out is his size in which Aliello is 6'4" tall. He does a great job catching the ball, especially in contested catches. On these 50/50 balls, he will out-muscle defenders to make the difficult catches. He is sneaky fast and he can run by defensive backs who under-rate his speed. His route running is good as well, especially on double moves. Another key part of his game is his ability to play slot receiver and outside receiver. Alielo is a talented player who I expect will play College Football in the future.    Hunter Petzuk. Petzuk was a hybrid player for Pine-Richland last year. He played on the offensive line but also lined up as a fullback and an off-ball tight end. He shows good athleticism to move around to different positions. He can move well and block different types of defenders. Petzuk also showed good strength by powering through defenders and pushing them off the ball. Petzuk shows a good combination of strength and athleticism last year. I expect he might settle into one position since this is his Senior year, but on the flip side, he is a nice player to move around. Petzuk is a talented player who should have an opportunity to play College Football.    [player_tooltip player_id='249886' first='Kanan' last='Huffman']. Huffman is a good player at quarterback. He has great size standing 6'3" inches tall. Below is what my colleague [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'] wrote about him earlier this year:   [player_tooltip player_id="249886" first="Kanan" last="Huffman"] has received a necessary boost this offseason. Huge offseason improvement has got to have the staff at Pine-Richland smiling ear to ear. Huffman's rise in stock is reflective of his potential in this Pine Richland system, rather than production. As we continue to get closer to final senior grades, our projections on players impact their rank less and less. This is the final and highest projection Huffman can get without excellent production to match, huge junior season coming for the young man.    [player_tooltip player_id='377512' first='Jon' last='Smith']. Smith is a good prospect on both the offensive and defensive line. Below is what I wrote about Smith earlier this year:   Smith played guard and defensive tackle for Pine-Richland last year. Looking at his film you see Smith has great strength to play offensive and defensive line. At offensive line he has a good stance and fires off the ball very well. He also does a nice job pulling and kicking out defensive players. At defensive line he really flashes his strength as he bullies offensive linemen at times.    [player_tooltip player_id='893542' first='James' last='Cardinali']. Cardinali played offensive tackle last year, but mostly on Junior Varsity. The 1st thing that stands out from his film is his size. He is 6'6" inches tall. Cardinali shows good athleticism for the position. He struggles at times with his strength and his bend for the position though. Cardinali has good size and should only get better going into his Senior year. He recently picked up an offer from the California University of Pennsylvania. I expect he will get more offers after a strong Senior year.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/James_Cardinali/status/1677423343673171973?s=20 </div></figure>    [player_tooltip player_id='377508' first='Bryce' last='O'Brien']. O'Brien played cornerback last year. O'Brien is a difference-maker at cornerback. He does a good job in coverage and makes plays all over the field. His ability to cover wide receivers one on one is impressive. He seems to play with an edge on the field and that is exactly what you need from a cornerback in today's game going against good wide receivers. When the ball is in the air he attacks it and constantly gets interceptions or knocks the ball away. The other part of his game that is impressive is his ability to come upfield and makes tackles. He is a good tackler who is not afraid to stick his nose in the action to make a tackle. O'Brien's film is legit and with a strong Senior year, he should have a good chance at getting recruited to play Colleg Football.    [player_tooltip player_id='599316' first='Jackson' last='Bojanic-Hubbell']. Bojanic-Hubbell played offensive and defensive line last year. His film was from Varsity and Junior Varsity. The film is limited, but you can tell he has good size and strength to play the position. I expect him to get more Varsity playing time this year and might even start. Bojanic-Hubbell is a talented player who I think will get on the field more for Pine-Richland this year.    [player_tooltip player_id='256158' first='Connor' last='Dripps']. Dripps film is limited, but he shows good skills at center. He does a good job snapping the ball and then blocking defensive linemen. He has good strength and really shows it off when he blocks defensive players. He has good technique and does a solid job of double-teaming defensive linemen to then go to the next level. Drips showed some solid skills and should only be better going into his Senior Year.    Alex Cerminara. Cerminara played as an off-the-ball tight end. Cerminara is a nice chess piece for the offense to use. Pine-Richland played him off the ball and he can be used in the run game and the pass game. In the run game, he is a good blocker. He does a good job blocking from a wing position, going in motion, or leading the running back up in the hole. He does a good job creating contact and then driving through the defenders. He can also be used in the passing game where he chips and releases to the flat or finds the opening in the zone. Cerminara is a good player that I feel should have a chance to play College Football with a strong Senior Year.    [player_tooltip player_id='256411' first='Aiden' last='Harper']. Harper has limited film but flashed some good skills at cornerback last year. He showed in his film that he can cover well and then turn and make a play on the ball. He is able to constantly make good plays in coverage. He is also good at coming upfield and making a tackle in the open field. I expect Harper to get more playing time this year.    [player_tooltip player_id='923454' first='Grant' last='Argiro']. Argiro was Pine-Richlands kicker last year. He displayed a strong leg and several times he kicked kickoffs in the end zone. He was 4 of 10 for field goals last year but made a 42-yard field goal. He showed last year that he has the potential to be a good kicker, he just needs to continue to keep working as a kicker. Going into his Junior year I expect him to improve. Argiro has attended several kicking camps this off-season and I expect that will translate to a strong Junior Year.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GrantArgiro/status/1672036451800809472?s=20 </div></figure>   Final Thoughts: Pine-Richland is a talented team and should be one of the best teams in the WPIAL this season. They will also be going for back-to-back PIAA State Titles which will be difficult to pull off, but Pine-Richland has the talent and the coaching structure to achieve it. Head Coach Jon LeDonne is one of the best coaches in Pennsylvania so I would not count them out to have a successful year.

Pine-Richland went 13-3 last year and won the PIAA 5A State Championship for their second title in three years. An impressive accomplishment for this WPIAL powerhouse. Jon LeDonne is the current Head Coach and he returned for his 2nd stint at the school after spending the last several years at Penn Hills. Pine-Richland lost a lot of talented players off last year's team, but still bring back a ton of talent as well. I expect them to be competitive and probably one of the better teams in the WPIAL and the state of Pennsylvania.