Struthers planning

to duplicate Belichick

brand of football

By Brian Dzenis

bdzenis@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

Struthers got the big name and now the Wildcats have to live up to it.

During the offseason, the Wildcats’ stadium underwent renovations and a name change. Along with a new turf field and digital scoreboard, the stadium is now part of the newly minted Steve Belichick Sports Complex.

Belichick was a Struthers native and the father of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

“It’s pretty awesome given the history of the Belichicks in Struthers,” senior two-way lineman Jake Vlosich said. “We try to model out game off the Belichicks with hard work and dedication.”

A 7-3 record wasn’t enough to get Struthers into the playoffs in a competitive Division IV, Region 13 last season. The margin of error is small for the Wildcats, so there’s an emphasis on the details.

“We need to do the little things. We may not have the most talent. We may not have the biggest guys, but we need to everything that we possibly can to be the best we can be,” tight end and defensive end Brandon Serrano said. “It goes anywhere from finishing through the lines, getting water before practice to running the right stunts.”

OFFENSE

Struthers’ game plan on offense involves putting the ball in junior Aiden Hall’s hands. Hall is the team’s returning leading receiver and while he can reprise that role, coach Curt Kuntz is giving him a turn at quarterback.

“He’s in shape and he’s unique. He went to state track and could have won if he was healthy,” Kuntz said. “Last season, we were going through [the field renovations] and we had to travel a lot. He had a lot of wear and tear running on grass and concrete.

“It was great conditioning-wise because we’re going to run him lot on both sides of the ball.”

In his first year in track, Hall took fourth place in the 400-meter dash. After some cameo appearances at quarterback last year, senior Tyrese Hawkins will also see time under center. Senior Noah Patti and sophomore Dylan Greenwood are Kuntz’s pocket-passer options at QB.

Adrian Brown’s name should be familiar to Youngstown State football fans as the Wildcats’ senior back is the son of the Penguins’ all-time leader in rushing touchdowns. Joining him in the backfield is sophomore Josh Marshall and senior Dylan Donnadio.

Struthers runs a lot of two-tight end sets and Serrano and Zach Felleti fill those roles. Hawkins and Hall can be wideouts if they are not the quarterback. Declan Sekol will play some fullback and tight end after also playing on the offensive line.

Vlosich and Marcel Walker are three-year starters on the offensive line at tackle. Players are competing for the remaining three spots. Vlosich is looking to bring the line back to the days of 2016 with Purdue’s A.J. Iarussi and Robert Morris’ Adam Sedzmak.

“I started with them and they were some big and bad dudes. It’s what we’re trying to do,” Vlosich said. “It was a lot of attitude, but they were smart guys too. They knew all the positions and helped everyone out.”

DEFENSE

Serrano is a three-year starter at defensive end and some Kuntz looks to him as a leader and someone who will almost never leave the field.

“It means a lot to me that they trust me,” Serrano said. “Hopefully I can show the team how to do everything, how to work hard and show out on the field.”

Joining Serrano on the d-line are Walker, Vlosich and Sekol.

Bobby Tomko and Alex Cummins are returning starters at linebacker and senior Jordan Sanchez has earned a starting role.

Brown and Hawkins return in the secondary as Patti and Marshall are the newcomers in the group.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Hall will serve as the punter and junior Dom Carcelli — who is normally a two-way lineman — will serve as the kicker.