Former Penn Hills head coach joining forces with Jacque DeMatteo's Shaler program; Ford City's Szymanski throws no-hitter; Redbank Valley slugger homers at PNC Park.
By Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
SHALER, Pa. – It didn’t take long for former Penn Hills head football coach Neil Gordon to find work.
Gordon, who earlier this year was let go as the Indians football coach despite going 156-72-2 in 21 seasons as their head coach, was recently hired as the offensive coordinator at Shaler.
“I had to make a choice whether to stay out of coaching completely this season or take this job,” Gordon told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I decided to go with this, and I’m excited about it.
“I want to keep my nose in coaching, keep sharp. I’m going to give all my efforts to Jacque (DeMatteo, Shaler’s head coach) and Shaler.”
Gordon will take over the offensive duties from DeMatteo, who will now concentrate on coaching the Titan defense.
“I’ve always respected Neil and what he’s done for the kids and the coaching world,” DeMatteo told the Post-Gazette. “He must have done something right all those years. We’re excited, and I know the kids are excited about him.”
Gordon probably isn’t all that familiar with the Shaler program considering the Titans haven’t played Penn Hills since the 2005 WPIAL Playoffs, a 27-0 win by Gordon’s Indians.
Last year, Shaler was 6-4 but lost its final four games including a 44-14 decision to Upper St. Clair in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. It was the second consecutive winning season for the Titans, who were also 7-3 in 2006. The 2006 season marked Shaler’s first winning season since 2000 when it was 7-4. The 2000 campaign was also the last time the Titans won a playoff game defeating Gateway 28-14 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs before losing to Woodland Hills 27-8 in the second round.
More Football: Simcoe stepping away, elected to Hall of Fame
The all-time winningest football coach in District 9 history, Coudersport’s Paul Simcoe has decided to hang up the coaching clipboard.
According to long-time assistant coach Trevor Saulter, Simcoe is retiring from both teaching and coaching at Coudersport. He was the Falcons head coach for 29 seasons compiling a record of 204-78-8 while leading Coudersport to four District 9 Class A titles (1994, 2001, 2005, 2006) despite starting his career prior to District 9 starting a championship in 1987. He is the all-time winninest coach in District 9 history.
Simcoe won his 200th game Sept. 29 of this past season with a 28-7 win over Port Allegany. The Falcons then went on to the District 9 Class A semifinals before losing to eventual champion Kane.
Simcoe spent 35 years on the sidelines at Coudersport as either a head coach or an assistant coach, and his last 12 teams all had winning records averaging 8.6 wins per season over that span. His two most successful seasons came in 2005 and 2006 when he led Coudersport to back-to-back 13-1 seasons and the PIAA Class A playoffs. He also led the Falcons to an unbeaten 9-0 campaign in 1983, and 24 of his 29 seasons as head coach ended in winning campaigns.
Assistant coach Brendan Hathaway, who has been on the coaching staff the last two seasons, will take over as head coach. Saulter, Dan Counts, Mike Russell and John Gerhart will round out Hathaway’s coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Simcoe has one more award coming in his football career. He will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Hall of Fame at 10 a.m. June 13 in Hershey.
WPIAL Baseball: Szymanski throws no-hitter
Luke Szymanski’s no-hitter vs. Freeport Monday highlighted a 3-1 week for the Ford City Sabers baseball team.
Szymanski allowed just one walk in Ford City’s 15-0 win over Freeport while Eric Cunningham (2 hits including a double, 3 RBI) and Tyler Smith (two hits including a double, 2 RBI) led the offense.
The win was one of two on the week for the Ford City hurler. He also picked up the victory Thursday in the Sabers’ 11-6 win over Valley. In that contest, he gave up eight hits and struck out two to improve to 4-0 on the season with a 0.33 ERA. The Leading hitters for Ford City were Brandon Carson and Cater Haponski who both had two hits including a double and four RBI apiece.
Ford City (7-2 overall, 5-2 Section) also got a 10-1 win over Jeannette Friday, as Lucas Prazenica threw a one-hitter. He also walked one and struck out three. Cunningham led the Sabers offense with a double and single, while Haponski added two singles and three runs scored.
“We played a good all-around game vs. Jeannette,” Ford City coach Larry Cujas said.
The Sabers lone loss of the week game 10-2 Tuesday vs. West Shamokin. Prazenica was the losing pitcher despite giving up just 11 hits.
“You can see by the score that we didn’t play a very good game,” Cujas said.
District 9 Baseball: Hibell homers at PNC Park
On Friday, Redbank Valley’s Craig Hibell became, according to the Pirates, just the third amateur player in the seven-year history of PNC Park in Pittsburgh, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, to hit home run that actually cleared the wall (some players have hit inside the park home runs) when he hit a three-run homer over the 21-foot high Clemente Wall in rightfield in the bottom of the first inning.
Behind Hibell’s blast, Redbank Valley beat Clarion-Limestone 5-2.
“It was a good pitch,” Redbank Valley head coach Steve Smith. “He just reached out and muscled it. Glenn Stewart (C-L’s pitcher) is a quality pitcher. He never throws anything straight.”
Hibell became the second Redbank Valley player to hit a home run at one of the Pittsburgh Pirates stadiums. Alan Claus hit a home run at Three Rivers Stadium in the 1990s.
WPIAL Boys Basketball: Seton-LaSalle, DeIntinis part ways
Seton-LaSalle will have a new boys’ basketball coach next year after the school dismissed last year’s head coach Mark DeIntinis recently.
“Sometimes you make difficult decisions,” Seton-LaSalle athletic director Brian Geyer told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re just looking for someone who is best for our families here.”
DeIntinis was in his second go around as the Rebels head coach, and had coached Seton-LaSalle the last two seasons after coaching at the school from 1994-2003.
Last year, the Rebels were 13-13 but were 11-3 in section play and won seven of their last 10 games, including a first-round WPIAL Class AA playoff victory over Brownsville. Seton-LaSalle was 11-14 two years ago.
“I’ve said this from day one that it’s my job to improve the overall experience of the kids at the school, and we did that,” DeIntinis told the Post-Gazette. “It seems to me there is something else there, and for whatever reason, the school doesn’t feel the need to tell me that.
“The families of the players have called to support me. The players have called to support me. Yet the AD says they want what’s best for the families.”
DeIntinis told the Post-Gazette that he was informed by Geyer that the school didn’t like him missing some practices because of his job with Hilton Hotels, but DeIntinis said he has missed seven practices over the past two seasons because of this job.”
“It was all worked out two years ago that I would miss some practices,” DeIntinis told the Post-Gazette. “They were OK with that.”
In his two combined tours at the school, DeIntinis was 163-123 in 11 seasons with nine WPIAL playoff appearances. He led the Rebels to the WPIAL semifinals three times, including a WPIAL Class AA runner-up finish in 2000.
