Bentworth adjusts to Class A competition

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, August 23, 2018 | 9:03 AM

Bentworth looks forward to a more level playing field this season after moving back to Class A and the Tri-County South Conference.

That was the Bearcats’ home from 2012-15 and it gives them a better shot at success coming off a 4-6 season in the Century Conference.

Coach Ron Skiles says the move will help in the long run because of the number of players on the team.

“Numbers-wise, the move to Class A helps us a lot,” Skiles said. “When you’re playing teams like Wash High, numbers are going to make a difference. Our coaches have done a nice job of going out and getting kids to sign up, and that will help us this season.”

After a 2-1 start in 2017, Bentworth fell victim to a tough stretch with four straight losses to Washington, Beth-Center, Burgettstown and Charleroi.

“We have a great group of seniors who have been with us for four years,” Skiles said. “We will be looking to them to help to lead our young guys this season. They are all so talented and will be counted on to play well.”

All four seniors on the defensive line return. Colin Heinrich and Mason Shemasek will man the defensive tackle positions after combining for 49 tackles a year ago. They will be flanked by Luke Knight and Spencer Fereza at defensive end. Fereza led the team with 37 tackles in 2017 and looks to cause havoc for opposing offenses again.

“It is looking like we will have four seniors up front on the defensive side of the ball,” Skiles said. “All four of these kids have worked extremely hard this offseason. We will be running a new kind of defense this year, so it will take some time to adjust, but I am looking for all of them to have a nice season.”

Returning to lead the offense is junior quarterback Shawn Dziak. In his first season as a full-time starter for the Bearcats, Dziak threw for 1,515 yards and 16 touchdowns in 10 games. However, turnovers were his downfall as he threw 18 interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 64.5.

“Last season, Dziak got a lot of the knowledge he needs to be a good starting quarterback,” Skiles said. “The challenge this season is to get him to slow the game down a little bit so that he knows how to execute our gameplan in certain situations.”

Returning on offense to help Dziak in the growing process is last year’s leading receiver Bruce Hook and the leading rusher, Fereza. After throwing for more than 1,000 yards a season ago, Skiles wants to go back to the passing game as the foundation of the offense.

“I like to throw the ball a lot,” Skiles said. “We have a couple of really good seniors returning in Hook and Fereza who we are counting on to lead the team. We like to keep teams on their toes, and having those two guys with experience helps us to be able to accomplish what we want to do.”

This will mark Skiles’ fifth consecutive season as the head coach in his third stint with the team. He served as an assistant for the Bearcats in the 1970s before being promoted to head coach for the 1981-88 seasons. He returned from 2004-2006 before leaving again and coming back in 2014.

Skiles has seen the program go through a lot of changes, but one thing that stays the same is how he approaches his student-athletes.

“When kids know that you care about them, that is big,” Skiles said. “We are not only preparing these kids to be good football players, but good young men, as well. We make sure to tell the kids exactly what the expectations are, and the kids have been responding well.”

Coming out of training camp, Bentworth got its first opportunity to compete against another team Aug. 18 in a scrimmage against Carlynton. Skiles was impressed with the way his offense played and is expecting the defense to come along as the season progresses.

“Our skill players on offense performed really well,” he said. “On defense we are working on our new scheme, so it is going to take some time to adjust, but I feel we will be a strong defensive team this year.”

The upcoming season will be a transition year as the Bearcats learn their new opponents and their young starters continue to grow as players.

“The expectations right now are kind of in the air because we don’t know our conference that well,” Skiles said. “West Greene had a great run last season, and Jefferson-Morgan has always been a competitive team. Mapletown might not have big numbers, but they always find a way to compete, so we will see as the season goes on. We expect to compete, so we will learn our opponents and continue to compete week in and week out.”

Schedule

Coach: Ron Skiles

2017 record: 4-6, 2-5

All-time record: 217-318-7

Date, Opponent, Time

8.24, at Brownsville, 7 p.m.

8.31, West Greene*, 7 p.m.

9.7, at Cornell, 7 p.m.

9.14, Chartiers-Houston*, 7 p.m.

9.21, Mapletown*, 7 p.m.

9.28, at Monessen*, 7 p.m.

10.5, at Avella*, 7 p.m.

10.12, California*, 7 p.m.

10.19, Leechburg, 7 p.m.

10.26, at Jefferson-Morgan*, 7 p.m.

*Class A Tri-County South Conference game

Statistical leaders

Passing: Shawn Dziak

110-212, 1,515 yards, 16 TDs

Rushing: Spencer Fereza

58-313 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving: Ben Peternel*

50-960 yards, 10 TDs

*Graduated

Zack Zeigler is a freelance writer for the Mon Valley Independent.

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