Farrell eyes return to state's elite

By Lynn Saternow
Herald Writer

There's a lot of excitement building for the 1999 Farrell High football season, as veteran Lou Falconi marks his 20th anniversary as head coach. Not only are the Steelers rated as one of the top teams in the state, a suspended rivalry with long-time foe Sharon has been renewed.

"If I'm ever going to catch (Sharon coach) Jim Wildman, somebody has to beat them," said Falconi with a laugh, referring to the career coaching records of county leader Wildman and himself. Wildman has 177 victories, with Falconi at 165. Greenville's Bob Stone is also ahead of Falconi at 172.

"My career is starting to wind down and I've been getting the feeling that maybe I've robbed somebody of something by not playing Sharon," said Falconi, whose team last faced the Tigers in 1993. "Since then we've won a couple of state championships (back-to-back in 1995 and 1996) and we don't have to prove anything to anybody. In years past I made more of the game than the kids did. I'd like to get back on track with the Sharon rivalry if we can get our schedules together every year. The kids deserve it and the fans deserve it."

The Sharon-Farrell rivalry (which stands at 30-21-7 in favor of the Tigers) was one of the biggest in Mercer County history, but it dropped off after Sharon left the WPIAL to play in District 10. The Steelers remained in the WPIAL, except for a short hiatus in D-10, and are one of the favorites to vie for a Class A title this season. Farrrell is listed as high as third in the state in some rankings.

"I don't feel we deserve to be ranked third," said Falconi, "but I'm hopeful that if everybody does their thing, we could get to that level."

The Steelers lost some talent from last season's squad which finished 8-4 and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals before dropping a 41-22 decision to tough Rochester. Some key loses to graduation are super receiver Lokey Howell, running backs Terence Gash and Lamar Claiborne, linemen Robin Jacoway and Lee Barlow, and fullback/defensive end Mike Zec.

"We lost some top people and this is a new team, but we've got some key players back from last year," said Falconi.

First and foremost is quarterback J.J. Wilson who is a true triple-threat for the Steelers. The fleet-footed, strong-armed Wilson directs the offense and also does the punting and place-kicking. In his spare time he plays defensive back.

"We need to re-establish the running game and mix that with what J.J. brings to the game," said Falconi. "One thing we're lacking this year is speed. Don't get me wrong, we have some speed, but not the kind of speed we are used to here at Farrell. This year we have to develop new people and we also have to depend on a couple of ninth graders."

Running the ball behind Wilson will be halfbacks Jim Long and Billy Dungee, a pair of senior lettermen; fullbacks Frank Tamber, senior letterman, and Allen Claiborne, a highly-touted freshman; and tailbacks Fred Brown, junior letterman, and Leroy Smith, senior letter winner. Junior Kennard Davis could also see backfield duty. Dungee is the backup quarterback.

On the front wall, key returnees are starters Mark Rupnik, 255-pound junior, and Leon Smith, 240 senior. Rupnik will be at guard along with senior Cornelius Somerville, while Smith will be at tackle along with senior Leland Smith, a 220-pound letterman. Center will be Frank Holloway, 250 freshman. Backups on the line will be a pair of huge seniors -- Mike Sanders, 280 letterman, and Eric Bryant, 270.

The tight end will be Brandon Young, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior letterman whom Falconi called the "camp MVP." Junior letterman Marcellino Manilla will play split end or tight end depending on the offensive set, with senior Brian Keller at split end.

Defensively, the Steelers will again run the "50" with Somerville at noseguard, Rupnik and Leon Smith at tackles, and Young, Tamber or Manilla at ends. Linebackers will be Brown, junior letterman Ray Venable, Claiborne or Leroy Smith, while the secondary will consist of Wilson, Dungee, Long, Davis, Keller or senior letterman Gino Nicastro.

"Defensively we still have kids who want to hit," said Falconi, "so that's a key. But we've got some tough games early. We open at Laurel and then have Sharon (away). We've got to beat Laurel. If we can beat them and get on a roll, who knows. We've got a tough conference, but hopefully we can finish in the top four and get into the playoffs again."

Big Seven Conference foe Monaca, which visits Farrell the week after the Sharon game, is ranked as high as first in the state by some, while South Side Beaver and Rochester are also loaded again.

Farrell has a veteran coaching staff with Don Scarvel, Tony Molinari, Jim Cardamon and Brent Shrawder assisting with the varsity and Tony Retone and Ed Turosky working the junior high. Long-time scout Al Szakach continues in that role for the Steelers, while Eric Wicks in the athletic trainer.