By Chris Rossetti, www.d9sports.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
ALLISON PARK – Hampton hired Shaler head football coach Jacque DeMatteo as its new head football coach June 18, replacing Greg Mihalik.
DeMatteo was also hired as a secondary physical education teacher at the school, located in just north of Pittsburgh. He will be paid $59,563 to teach and $7,490 to coach football according to schoolboard notes found on Hampton’s school web site (www.htsd.k12.pa.us).
“Shaler gave me an opportunity years ago, and I’m forever grateful,” DeMatteo, who lives in the Hampton School District, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You spend a lot of time doing things, and you make relationships. It’s tough to leave, but you have to do what’s best for your family.”
In eight seasons at Shaler, DeMatteo was 36-44 and led the Titans to the WPIAL playoffs in each of the last five seasons despite only having two winning seasons during that time. Last year, Shaler was 6-4 and lost its final four games, including a 44-14 loss 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 7-3 in 2006. The 2006 season was Shaler’s first winning campaign since 2000 when it went 7-4 in DeMatteo’s first season. That was also the last time the Titans won a playoff game, beating Gateway 28-14 in the opening round of the WPIAL Quad A playoffs before losing 27-8 to Woodland Hills in the second round.
“In the five years I’ve been AD, I’ve always felt Jacque was a good, young coach,” Shaler athletic director Paul Holzhu told the Post-Gazette. “He works hard and has the kids’ interests at heart. Opportunities come, and when they come you have to look at them.”
Hampton was 2-7 last season in Class AAA and missed the playoffs. The Talbots last made the WPIAL playoffs in 2006 when they finished 5-6 overall and upset Keystone Oaks 29-28 in the opening round in Class AAA before losing to eventual WPIAL runner-up Blackhawk 44-14 in the second round.
Hampton’s last winning season came in 2005 when it went 9-1 and tied for the Greater Allegheny Conference title at 5-1 with Franklin Regional and Pine-Richland. The Talbots beat Uniontown 35-7 in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs that season before losing to Franklin Regional 31-14 in the second round.
Hampton was also 10-1 in 2001, losing in the second round in Class AAA second round to eventual champion West Allegheny. Overall, the Talbots have made the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs in six of the last eight seasons.
“I was highly impressed with how everything was put together there,” DeMatteo told the Post-Gazette. “They made us feel real comfortable right off the bat.”
Mihalik, the nephew of Slippery Rock University head coach George Mihalik, was 60-43 in his 10 years at Hampton leading the school to six WPIAL playoff berths.
More Football: Gordon Takes Over at Shaler
With DeMatteo leaving Shaler former Penn Hill’s head coach Neil Gordon is taking over the Titans program.
Gordon, who was let go by Penn Hills after last season despite compiling a record of 156-72-2 in 21 seasons as the Indians head coach including the 1995 WPIAL and PIAA Class AAAA titles, was hired by DeMatteo as Shaler’s offensive coordinator in the spring.
After DeMatteo took the job at Hampton, he told Holzshu he would be interested in staying with the Shaler program, and on Tuesday the Shaler School Board hired him as the new head coach.
"I wanted to be a head coach," Gordon told the Post-Gazette. "But I just didn't know when, where or what the circumstances would be. This one has to be a classic of how it all happened.
"When I came to Shaler, I never thought all this would happen. I'm happy. I still have a love of the game and the love of the kids. This puts me back into a situation where I can deal with the kids and the game."
Boys Basketball: Geibel Catholic's Misiak Could Be Finished
Geibel Catholic High School in Connellsville has been open since 1963, and in that time the Gators have known just one head coach – Ken Misiak. But that could change next year.
Misiak, who just completed his 45th season at the school, was recently informed that the school was opening his position. While that leaves open the possibility the 71-year mentor could be retained that seems very unlikely considering the reaction of both sides.
“It’s a personnel decision, and I can’t comment on personnel decisions,” Geibel principal Vince Mascia told the Post-Gazette.
Misiak, who is the second winningest coach in WPIAL history at 730-366 in 49 years including four seasons at Immaculate Conception before Geibel opened, told the Post-Gazette Mascia gave him some reasons for the decision including that possibly school enrollment would come up with a new coach.
“How is enrollment going to come up with a new coach?” Misiak asked the Post-Gazette. “He (Mascia) said we had only 16 kids come out for the team this year. Well, we’re having trouble getting kids out for a lot of sports at our school. He said some people were complaining in the stands, but that’s just parents of kids whose sons weren’t playing. There was no compelling reason to do this.
“I’m very hurt. I feel like somebody stabbed me in the back and twisted the blade. I was never told anything was wrong. I was never called into anyone’s office saying this or that was wrong.”
Misiak, who three seasons ago became just the fifth coach in Pennsylvania history to win 700 games, was a physical education/health teacher and athletic director at the school before retiring at the end of this past school year.
Geibel was 6-15 last season and 5-5 in the WPIAL Class A Section 2. The Gators qualified for the WPIAL playoffs and lost to Trinity Christian 48-47 in the opening round. Geibel was 8-12 two years ago and lost to Clairton in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs, but the Gators won three straight Section 2 titles from 2004-2006.
The 2006 squad was 13-7 overall and 10-2 in the section and lost 61-58 to Sewickley Academy in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.
In 2005, the Gators went 18-5 overall and 11-1 in the section and beat Monessen 61-48 in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs before falling to eventual WPIAL runner-up St. Joseph 63-47 in the quarterfinals.
The 2004 season saw Geibel go 19-5 overall and a perfect 12-0 in section play. The Gators beat Western Beaver 82-59 in the opening round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs but lost to eventual third-place finisher St. Joseph 96-71 in the quarterfinals.
Since Geibel joined the WPIAL in the mid-1970s, the Gators have made the playoffs 28 times including 15 section titles. Misiak’s squads won two WPIAL titles (1978 and 1980). His 1978 team went undefeated and won the PIAA Class A title with a 66-53 win over Darby Township becoming the first WPIAL Class A team to ever capture a PIAA Class A champion – the PIAA started playing a Class A title game in 1951. The 1978 team is still one of just nine WPIAL teams to win the PIAA Class A boys’ title in the 58 years that title has been played for.
Football Recruiting: Ohio State Lands Brown
Columbus, Ohio, is quickly starting to look like Western Pennsylvania.
On Monday, Ohio State University, which is located in Columbus, landed its third verbal commitment from a WPIAL football player from the Class of 2009 when Gateway’s Corey Brown told the Buckeyes he wanted to play football for them.
Brown, a 6-foot-1, 186-pund wide receiver/defensive back, is the 73rd best prospect in the Class of 2009 as ranked by rivals.com and the fifth-best at the athlete position.
If Brown ends up at Ohio State, players can’t sign binding letter of intent until February, he will be joining teammate Dorian Bell, a linebacker who rivals.com ranks as the 23rd best player and the second-best linebacker in the Class of 2009, and Jeannette running back Jordan Hall, who is ranked as the 31st best athlete by rivals.com.
This of course is on top of the most highly sought-after recruit in recent memory – quarterback Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette, who will start his Ohio State career in the fall.
Brown becomes the ninth player from the WPIAL to commit to Ohio State since 2004.
