Steelerville content with coach

It didn’t take long for Pittsburgh Steeler fans to get over the departure of former head coach Bill Cowher.

New coach Mike Tomlin saw to that. He came out of the chute with a 3-1 record and already he’s got Steeler fans ranting and raving and talking about some big things this season.

They may be right, but Black and Gold fans should tread lightly as there’s a long road ahead, one that could be filled with dangerous detours and pitfalls.

Cowher, now a television personality on CBS NFL broadcasts, appears to be a duck out of water. He looked better on the sidelines where his animated antics and his protruding jaw made him one of the most recognizable coaches around.

Steeler fans loved Cowher and considered him a blue-collar worker, one who grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton. They thought he would never think of leaving Pittsburgh.

Last January, Cowher ended his “marriage” with Steeler fans when he announced he was resigning to spend more time with his family.

That announcement came one year after he won the Super Bowl. He left following an 8-8 season and with one year left on his contract. He was head man of the Steelers for 15 years and took over the reins from another Steeler great, Chuck Noll.

In Tomlin, it appears the Steeler fans are building another love affair. He’s not a brash young man but one that has already won over the respect of his players and his peers.

He’s been playing them one game at a time and winning with respect. Who could ask for anything more?

For a man who has never been a head coach in the NFL, he’s not performing that way. He’s making the Rooney family (the owners) down right proud of their decision and it’s showing in his works and deeds.

Cowher became accustomed to winning in Pittsburgh. He took his Steeler teams to the playoffs 10 times in his 15 years, to the AFC championship six times, and to the Super Bowl twice, losing to Dallas in 1996 before whacking Seattle in the other appearance.

When Cowher left Pittsburgh, he didn’t say he was retiring from coaching. Most think he is just taking a break from coaching before he returned to another head coaching position in the NFL. If that’s the case, he probably could name his own salary.

One of the greatest NFL punters of all-time is Ray Guy who formerly played for the Oakland Raiders. He was thin but when he kicked the ball it would literally explode off his foot.

His greatest fame in these parts was having married a young lady from Sharpsville.

Well, Guy was so great he had an Award named in his honor. Appropriately named the Ray Guy Award, it is presented to the most outstanding punter in the collegiate ranks.

Chasing that honor is a former Hickory High School standout Ben Woods, who is one of the top kickers in the nation.

Woods has been performing exceptionally well at the University of Buffalo for the past three years and is off to a rousing start this season.

The senior punter came into his own while playing at Hickory in Hermitage. His tutor was Steve Moser, who was still kicking in his mid-70s for area semi-pro teams. Moser taught him well.

Woods has outstanding credentials with the Bulls and is one of 41 players in the nation under consideration for the Guy Award. He had been averaging 42.7 yards per punt with his longest being a 58-yarder. He had recorded three punts of 50 yards or longer.

In early November, the list of 41 will be shaved to 10 semifinalists with the three finalists slated to be named in late November. The winner will be shown live on ESPN on Dec. 6 at the College Football Awards presentation. Go get ’em, Ben!

It may not have been the greatest game of all-time in Mercer County scholastic football but it ranks right up there.

We’re talking about the Mercer-Farrell District 10 Region 1-A encounter recently at Mercer and won by the Mustangs, 27-23, in a contest that had the huge gathering on the edge of their seats all night long.

Coach Pat McClearn’s Mustangs started their game-winning drive with two-and-one-half minutes showing on the clock and a whopping 80 yards to go. It must have looked like two miles to Mustang quarterback Andrew Erdos.

Erdos set the stage for a 16-yard touchdown pass to Weston Schaa with 20 seconds remaining that decided the issue.

The contest resembled a tennis match, with both sides taking the lead throughout. Farrell coach Jarrett Samuels had his Steelers primed and it had to be tough loss. Both teams had to be commended for tremendous efforts.

They’ll be talking about this one for a long time.