The message at Jeannette: Keep winning

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, August 13, 2018 | 7:57 PM

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One thing about Jeannette football fans is that they always want more.

Keep scoring. Keep winning. Keep being the best.

They’d rather stand than sit at McKee Stadium.

“It’s a tradition here, people are used to seeing us win,” said Jayhawks coach Roy Hall, who opened training camp with his team Monday morning. “You can never get enough wins or championships. You’ll always have people coaching from the stands wanting you to change this or do that. … People don’t understand you just don’t line up and play. A lot more goes into it.”

Spoiled as they may be, loyal Jayhawk fans — and anyone else following WPIAL Class A football, for that matter – expect another highlight-filled run to the finish line this season as Jeannette chases more WPIAL and PIAA titles.

The team has not repeated as the WPIAL champion since 2007 and never has won back-to-back state titles.

“We have a great team coming back,” senior receiver/defensive back Marcus Barnes said. “This year, we have to get to states and WPIALs … or else we’re going to be the team that was a one-season team. Nobody ever remembers the team that went 9-1 and didn’t win anything.”

The Jayhawks, who won their ninth district title and second state crown last fall and finished 15-1, started camp with more wins than any in WPIAL history. They set the standard with a league-high 736 all-time wins, a testament to longevity and a standard of excellence in the time-honored program. Their goal now is to add on – more, more, more.

But it will take a group effort.

“I’m just one guy, one coach,” Hall said. “There have been so many people come through this program who have kept things going and made sure we kept winning. We have to have everyone on the same page.”

With 10 more days until the season opener against East Allegheny, Jeannette began the bonding and preparation process with a grueling first day of camp. There was hitting. There were sprints. There were cramps and grunts in the grimy, summer heat.

Hall won’t accept his team resting on its laurels. Any slip-ups won’t be because of a lack of effort.

“Our guys know from experience that everybody is after us,” Hall said. “We’re going to get the worst team’s best game. We’re going to get everybody’s ‘A’ game and that’s a fact. So if we get the worst teams’ ‘A’ game, the teams that are good are going to play super because they want to knock off the defending WPIAL and PIAA state champ. That’s motivation for them. So, we have to stay motivated so we don’t let that happen.”

While some integral players are gone, like star quarterback Robert Kennedy, a number of key players return with experience and a continued will to win, including Barnes, who has a number of Division I scholarship offers.

“We still have to go out and prove we’re the best program,” Barnes said. “Teams like Imani, OLSH and Clairton are coming out for us. Getting 700 wins was something big to be a part of.”

Senior running back/defensive back Zack Berginc is well aware his team can’t sneak up on anyone this season. The Jayhawks are long out of Clairton’s shadow and have the attention of every team in Class A.

“It’s going to be hard because we have that target on our back,” Berginc said. “Clairton, we beat them. Imani, we beat them by one point in the WPIAL (championship), they’re going to be after us. We just got OLSH put on our schedule, they’re probably going to be out for us. The tradition here is nice … 4-5-6, don’t quit. Everybody works hard.”

Barnes wants to keep the fanbase happy along the way.

“After the game, you can drive home, you’re going downtown and there’s like nobody, no cars, everybody is still leaving the game,” Barnes said. “Stands are packed. Fans come up to you next day, you did so and so during the game. It’s like everybody coming together.”

Hall credits his coaching staff for their commitment to the program, a venture that involves hours of extra time and consumes most of the summer.

“I have coaches who take vacation time to be at camp every day,” Hall said. “They love what they do, and I love my staff for that. Every coach says it, but I really do have the best staff around.”

Jeannette’s five senior captains – Berginc, Barnes, Seth Howard, Drake Petrillo and Melik Gordon — will look to help guide another potential title run.

“We have a group chat on Snapchat for the captains,” Berginc said. “We text back and forth; what we have to look out for and what we have to fix with the younger kids. We have to go hard in practice and take it seriously.”

Jeannette ranks fifth in state history in wins.

“As far as the wins,” Hall said, “if we just keep winning, it will take care of itself. You’re out in front but if you keep winning, they can’t catch you if you don’t lose.”

Bottom line, like any other year at Jeannette: “We gotta keep winning,” Hall said.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

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