RIDGWAY — There aren’t a whole lot of downsides to winning back-to-back district championships, but one of them is that you usually have to replace a whole lot of talent.
That’s the big question facing Ridgway in 2018, as the Elkers come into the season as the two-time defending District 9 Class A Champions.
Head coach Mark Heindl, the reigning Times-Herald Big 30 Coach of the Year, credited players past and present for making the Ridgway (and Johnsonburg) program what it is today.
“The kids have laid the foundation from the past and our seniors, juniors, and sophomores coming into this campaign know what’s expected,” Heindl said. “We’re going into a new league now with a lot of new opponents but we’re no different than any other team.”
Ridgway bid farewell to arguably the most accomplished senior class in school history and returns just four full-time starters from last year’s team.
Among the losses include Big 30 Player of the Year Neil MacDonald at running back, starting quarterback Johnny Mitchell, and All-AML honorees Max Cowan, Philip Shipe, Drew Kilhoffer, and Jake Zimmerman on defense.
“We’ve been blessed over the last couple years to have a very talented but also leadership-wise senior class, and this year we expect no different from our group of seniors coming in,” Heindl said of the personnel losses. “Our younger guys the last couple years have gotten to play in a lot of different games, got to experience the playoff atmosphere.”
That experience includes three playoff games in 2017 alone: a 47-6 thrashing of Coudersport in the District 9 Semifinals, the 9-7 title game victory over Curwensville, and a 36-0 loss to Farrell in the PIAA Quarterfinals.
So what’s the plan for plugging all those holes in the lineup and getting back to the playoffs? For Heindl it’s simple: the next man needs to step up.
“That’s the beauty of camp,” he explained.
“You may go in projecting some kids in there but by the end of camp some guys will surprise you and step right up.”
One of the players who will undoubtedly play a pivotal role will be Evan Furlong. The senior linebacker earned Class A All-State honors as a junior after recording an incredible 186 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Furlong will also be a focal point on offense as the primary fullback.
Who will be handing the ball off remains to be seen. Junior Paul Gresco and sophomore Gabe Watts are the frontrunners to take over the role of QB1.
“They’re both very talented kids, very smart kids,” Heindl said. “They’re two kids with whom we think the conversation will come down to the wire, but also two kids that you can see in the game at any point in time throughout the season.”
Ridgway will have a lot of work to do with regards to replacing all of the lost production on offense. No one on this year’s roster scored more than two touchdowns in 2017.
MacDonald in particular leaves a gaping hole, as his ability to produce big plays on a consistent basis helped the Elkers capitalize on the play of their dominant defense.
MacDonald scored 21 touchdowns in 2017, 14 by runs, five by reception, one by fumble recovery, and one by punt return.
Daunte Allegretto, who served as backup quarterback on offense last year, will move out to the slot as a wide receiver. Ridgway must also replace its entire starting offensive line, though the Elkers do return six seniors from last year.
On defense, it will be a tall order to repeat last year’s feat of three shutouts and five other instances of holding the opposition to single digits.
Furlong is joined by fellow returning starters Allegretto (cornerback), Chase Pontious (defensive tackle), and Robert Briggs (linebacker). Heindl again pointed to the players returning who saw big game experience even if they weren’t necessarily part of the starting lineup.
“These guys know what’s expected, our defense in particular,” Heindl said. “One thing that we pride ourselves on is that they trust one another. Do your jobs, do it well, and anything can happen.”
While no one is expecting Ridgway’s defense to be as dominant as it’s been the last two years, the fact that they still have experience and depth returning is a positive in Heindl’s eyes.
“It helps us immensely,” he said of having some experience coming back on defense.
“One thing that we pride ourselves on, we want to talk about our defense, but we don’t have just 11 guys. We rotate a lot of guys in there over the course of the season. Those guys’ll be coming into camp competing, they’re hungry, and it adds a new element but it’s an exciting thing.”
Entering its first year in the new Large School Division, Ridgway will face familiar faces like Kane and Bradford who also have plenty of talent to replace, as well as formidable new faces like Clarion, Brookville, and Karns City.
“It’s the unknowns,” Heindl said about the challenge of entering a new league format.
“The big unknown to us is the new opponents, the new offenses that you’re going to see. But again, we’re in the same boat as nine other teams in our league.
“It’s wide open for the fact that we don’t know a lot about some of these other teams,” he added.
“We’re just going to play it week by week. Every team’s in the same boat; an injury here or there can make or break your team. We’re going to make it so that we get better every week and if we get better every week hopefully we’re in the running at the end of the year.

THE RETURNING starters:

Evan Furlong, senior, fullback/linebacker

Chase Pontious, senior, offensive tackle/defensive tackle

Robert Briggs, junior, offensive guard/linebacker

Daunte Allegretto, senior, wide receiver/cornerback

ALSO LETTERING were:

THE PLAYERS, by position:

Offense

Quarterbacks: Paul Gresco (jr.), Ben Briggs (so.), Gabe Watts (so.)

Running Backs: Evan Furlong (sr.), Maximus Ehrensberger (sr.), Aaron Pura (sr.), Cole Secco (sr.), Issac Sidelinger (jr.), Matt Dush (jr.), Josh Sorg (jr.), Jake Wickett (jr.), Haydn Yeager (jr.), Cole Casilio (so.), Dominic Cherry (so.), Ricky Delhunty (so.), Cole Haight (so.)

Ends/Receivers: Gavin Elmquist (sr.), Issac Schloder (sr.), Daunte Allegretto (sr.), Wade Steis (sr.), Colby Welsh (sr.), Damon Kelley (jr.), Cole Kilhoffer (jr.), Jack Cowan (jr.), Austin Green (jr.), Alex Bon (so.), Dominic Gaudino (so.), Issac Rose (so.), Issac Zimmerman (so.)

Guards/Tackles: Matt Berger (sr.), Zach Donati (sr.), Hunter Kos (sr.), Chase Pontious (sr.), Riley Renaud (sr.), Robert Briggs (jr.), Alec Richardson (jr.), Greg Simon (jr.), J.J. Eppley (jr.), Austin Erich (jr.), Hayden Haupright (jr.), Nevyn Kearney (jr.), David Reffo (so.), Jake Kunselman (so.), Austin Scruggs (so.), Harry Snyder (so.)

Centers: Parker Rohr (sr.), Connor Gaziolli (jr.), Austin Geitner (so.), Joe Miller (so.)

Defense

Ends: Donati, Elmquist, Kos, Rohr, Erich, Kelley, Kilhoffer, Miller, Snyder

Guards/Tackles: Ehrensberger, Pontious, Renaud, Eppley, Gaziolli, Haupright, Kearney, Richardson, Geitner, Kunselman, Reffo, Scruggs

Linebackers: Berger, Furlong, Schloder, Secco, Briggs, Sidelinger, Simon, Green, Delhunty, Haight, Bon, Casilio, Zimmerman

Defensive Backs: Allegretto, Pura, Welsh, Cowan, Dush, Sorg, Briggs, Cherry, Gaudino, Rose, Watts, Steis, Gresco, Wickett, Yeager

SCHEDULE:

August

24 — at St. Marys

31 — Kane

September

7 — Moniteau

14 — at Bradford

21 — at Brockway

28 — Punxsutawney

October

5 — at Clarion

12 — Karns City

19 — at Brookville

26 — Union/AC Valley

NEXT: Cameron County