(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series on the District 9 football offseason. Today, Bradford High is among the local programs that have seen increased turnout for offseason activities.)
Thursday marked four months until opening night of the 2022 Pennsylvania high school football season.
While win/loss records will accumulate each ensuing Friday night, many coaches stand by the notion that games are won and lost in the offseason.
Not between the boundaries, but in the weight room. Not in the red zone, but on the scorching summer turf.
Many programs have been preparing for Aug. 26 — opening night in District 9 — for months already. Among those is Bradford, which — after three years of hardships — has seen increased participation in its offseason programs.
The Owls have lost 22 consecutive games dating back to the fall of 2019. That hasn’t deterred numbers this offseason, however, and with a committed group of underclassmen, head coach Jeff Puglio’s staff feels as if it may finally have the pieces to turn its once-proud program around.
“We’ve been surrounded by a lot of negativity the last few years,” Puglio said. “People are pretty hard on the football team. I’ve heard it, the kids have heard it. I think they’re really excited to go play for themselves.”
IT STARTS with strength.
Bradford had the skill and speed to compete a year ago, but too often lacked the power to win at the line of scrimmage. In response, assistant coaches James Yohe, Bryce Williams and Matt McEwan have spearheaded an expansive weight lifting program that has attracted athletes from the junior high and varsity programs.
“We started with a stability-type program, then went to more of a mix of powerlifting and stability,” Yohe said. “We’re working on a lot of power movements and a lot of things that will apply to the game. You have your simple stuff that every program has — bench, squat, power cleans — but, other than that, it’s mostly things you would find in upper-level weight rooms that we’re trying to apply to football.”
As the Owls transition into summer programming, they’ll strive to lift four nights each week. Summer turnout will be crucial, Yohe said, as the team aims to improve speed and strength ahead of preseason camp.
“I think a lot of the motivation comes from friendship,” Yohe said. “These guys are creating good bonds. We come in here, play music and have a good time, and I think a lot of that comes down to the leadership and atmosphere we’ve created. It encourages kids to keep coming back.”
Puglio agreed.
“As a staff and as a team, we pinpointed the weight room as an area we needed to attack this offseason,” he said. “For a team that hasn’t been winning, the turnout we’ve had, I’ve been really impressed with. We’ve had guys in there consistently, and others in and out with spring sports. It’s been really encouraging.”
STRENGTH IS important, but in Bradford’s “air raid” offense, speed and agility are at a premium.
Gone are the days of the “wing-t” scheme that attacked opponents with a variety of rushes and ball carriers. Now, the Owls want to throw the ball — a lot — and use their athleticism to spread out defenses and expose their weak points.
“We’re going to be athletic,” Puglio said. “We’re not going to be overly big, but that’s okay, because we put a premium on athleticism over size. We’ll be strong and we’ll be quick.”
Sophomore Talan Reese is in line for his first full season as starting quarterback after getting his varsity feet wet last year. Reese hasn’t taken the responsibility lightly — he’s traveled near and far to train, learn and showcase his evolving skills this offseason.
Reese’s receiving core has done the same. Sunday clinics have seen 25-30 athletes each week since the first of the year, allowing returners and newcomers a head start on learning Bradford’s intricate offense.
“We have a lot of faces that are new to football, but the system is designed for someone to be able to come in and pick it up quickly,” Puglio said. “What they run in 7th grade, we’re running on varsity. The middle school coaches have really adopted this change and are teaching it the way we teach it, so it’s one football system. A freshman coming in should be able to hit the ground running.”
THE OWLS will eventually begin 7-on-7 competitions at Parkway Field, welcoming Kane and Ridgway this summer to see live competition. Bradford will also travel to Southwestern (N.Y.) and Corry for 7-on-7 tournaments.
“We really need to see ourselves in that setting,” Puglio said. “Our stuff is more informal, but we want to get some competition, especially in July leading into camp. We’re really excited to be able to compete and see where we’re at, and that also puts an emphasis on being able to install our defense quickly.”
Positivity has littered the Parkway practice field, something that, during the program’s current losing streak, Puglio feels may have been missing. Sixty athletes have already signed up for fall football, the most since Puglio’s first year in 2010.
“The fact of the matter is, we haven’t won in awhile,” Puglio said. “The community is not really high on Bradford football right now, and I think these kids are out to prove something to themselves and to the doubters that have kind of gotten in their face. It shows in our signups.”
(TUESDAY: District 9 football teams react and adapt to a new, three-region scheduling format, a change from the large and small-school divisions of the recent past.)
(Jeff Uveino, Bradford Publishing Company assistant group sports editor, can be reached at juveino@bradfordera.com.)
