'Hounds to tackle AAA with youth

By Scott DeJulia
Herald Writer

This year marks the first year the Wilmington Greyhounds will play in the Mercer County Athletic Conference Class AAA with the likes of Grove City, Hickory and Slippery Rock. In their last season in Class AA, the 'Hounds returned to their winning ways, going 9-2 and making an appearance in the District 10 title game, where they lost a close game to Sharon. Now, they hope to make big waves in a bigger pond.

Coach Terry Verrelli (143-81-3), now in his 23rd year at the helm, wants to surpass the 150 career win mark in 2000. However, he will have to make it happen with a team largely consisting of underclassmen and non-starters from years past.

"This year's team has a long way to go, because there are only two or three returning people," said Verrelli. "Last year, we were heavy with returning people, so we knew what they could do; they'd shown it the year before. We really don't know about the new people because, when it comes down to a game situation, they've never had the opportunity to prove they can or can't perform."

Last year's "Hounds' Hammer" was again one of the most successful squads in the area, outscoring opposing teams by an average of 30.7-8.8. The offense moved the ball to the tune of 3,600 yards total and the defense was miserly, holding offenses to 1,761 total yards, which was third in The Herald's coverage area.

Gone are Rocky Craley, who made second team all-state, and a bevy of first team all-conference players, including David Stein, Jared Scofield, Bobby Whiting, Adam Cassella and Mike Copper.

Also gone are quarterback Matt Robison (second team All-Conference), who is at Westminster, and Shawn Zappia (second team All-Conference).

Other key players not returning are Bradon Telesz, Art Rayner, and Hans and Niels Jorgensen.

Three returning starters, seniors Mike Oestreich and Jon Hall and junior Matt Krawchyk, will look to anchor the 55-man roster. Oestreich will take the guard and inside linebacker positions, Hall plays running back and safety, and Krawchyk is a split end and center. Last year, Krawchyk got 120 yards receiving and reached the end zone six times. Hall scored five touchdowns and Oestreich scored once. Oestreich and Hall provide leadership as team captains, along with senior guard/defensive end Jason Lane and senior signal caller/safety Matt Coad. Key players include: senior tight end/safety Chad Harper and senior guard/tackle Clint Buckwalter.

Other returning letter winners include seniors Phil McCann and Brian Knox and juniors Brian Baer, Brandon Whiting, Craig Copper, Parker Maynard, Scott Meskel, Mike Telesz and Brad Sherrod.

"There are no super-standout people on this team, but there is some good talent," Verrelli said. "As long as they learn and play hard, they can win together."

As far as the move to AAA, Verrelli says he doesn't see much of a change for his team, except for the emphasis placed on certain games.

"Now Grove City, Slippery Rock and Hickory are our critical games," he stated. "Of course, the Sharon game will always be a big game for us, but it doesn't have a real bearing on the playoff situation."

The league is evenly matched, as all three teams ended with identical 3-3 league records, with Slippery Rock moving on to the playoffs on the tiebreaker points system. The team will also log some serious road miles, as they travel to Slippery Rock, Karns City and Brookville.

As for the season outlook?

"I hope this team picks up where last year's team left off, they set their goals high, and they plan to make the playoffs, the same as everyone else has," he said. "People might figure we're down, but they'll expect us to be competitive."

Verrelli's assistants this year are: David Welch, Scott Shearer, Tim Nan, Patrick Anderson, Kris Chapman and Butch Edwards.