South Park to ride running game against new opponents in Class 2A

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, August 16, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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Every football team, no matter what level, counts on the strength of the team to be the focal point.

The strength of the South Park Eagles has been, more often than not, the running game and star ball carrier Eric Doerue, a senior who was a first team all-conference selection last season.

He ran for 1,610 yards on 240 carries, scored 19 touchdowns and eclipsed 3,000 yards for his career.

“He’s a very special player, a great person and a model student athlete,” coach Brian Abbey said. “You’re lucky when you get a kid of his caliber to play for you.”

Doerue has the perfect combination of size (6-1, 200), speed and elusiveness that make him such a threat in the backfield.

All those traits were displayed in his 54-yard rushing touchdown to open the scoring in South Park’s 37-20 WPIAL first round win over Knoch last season.

“We lean on him heavily, and he has accomplished a lot for us in his three years,” Abbey said. “We’re looking forward to a terrific senior year form Eric.”

Should Doerue produce at the same level he did last year, it would help South Park to advance deeper than last year in the playoffs.

After finishing the regular season with a 6-4 record overall and defeating Knoch, the Eagles dropped a hard-fought contest 28-21 against East Allegheny.

“Ultimately, we didn’t reach our set goals, but we came away with a huge sense of accomplishment,” Abbey said of the playoff win. “It’s going to help catapult us into taking the next step this year.”

The Eagles return a veteran roster, with eight seniors on the offensive side of the ball and eight returning starters on the defensive side.

“This is the first time in a long time that we’re bringing back this much experience,” Abbey said. “Some of these guys will be four-year starters for us.”

Abbey has loved what he’s seen from his senior leadership.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth and team unity,” Abbey said. “We try to instill a sense of family and I’m starting to see that with these seniors, bringing the younger guys along.”

The most experienced group for the Eagles is the offensive line. Every starter is a senior and each has started for at least two years.

“I’ve been on staff for 21 years and this is the first time I can remember us having all five linemen coming back,” Abbey said.

Twin brothers Parker and Troy Cunningham, both all-conference players last season, have packed on 20 to 30 pounds and are the anchors of the line. Parker is committed to James Madison and Troy has received eight Division I FCS offers.

The rest of the starting line includes three-year starter Antonio Loukas and two-year starters Ian Hann and Kaden Lemley. Senior Wyatt Markovich, a senior four-year starter, adds more bulk and blocking ability up front.

“We have a ton of confidence in all those guys,” Abbey said. “We should win up front on both sides of the ball.”

Winning up front will bode well for the new Eagles quarterback, whomever that winds up being.

Competing for the position are senior Griffin Burnett and junior Robert Lenzi. Both are capable of being the starter, but there’s a lot to replace as last year’s starter, Zach Ludwig, graduated and took with him 777 passing yards, 436 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns.

“Burnett and Lenzi are not necessarily competing against each other, because I feel very comfortable with both of them,” Abbey said. “They’ve been coming along strong in their preparation, and we’re excited for both of them.”

However the quarterback situation shakes out, the player who doesn’t get the starting job will line up outside opposite the team’s leading receiver from last year, senior Kenyan Brown.

“Kenyan is our top receiver. He’s a big, physical kid with great footwork and is a big part of what we do,” Abbey said.

Defensively, the Eagles will be solid up front as the defensive line is the same personnel as the offensive line.

South Park’s D runs with three down linemen, sometimes four, meaning the depth they have at line allows for a rotation so the players are fresh throughout a game.

Lenzi, Burnett and Brown will patrol the defensive backfield, leaving the only question mark the linebacking core.

Ludwig was the leader on the inside and Abbey will look to replace him by moving one of the outside backers, either Markovich or Doerue, to the inside.

“We are looking at replacing both our middle linebackers from last year, who were key pieces for us,” Abbey said. “Whether that be moving some guys around to different positions or using the young guys we have waiting in the wings that are ready to stand up to the task, we’ll see how the position shakes out in camp.”

Sophomores Jake Arbuckle and Colsen Heynes are two young guys with the opportunity to take either an inside or outside spot.

South Park will face many tough tests this season as the school is moving from the Class 3A Western Hills Conference to the Class 2A Allegheny Conference.

“We don’t see there being too much of a gap between the competition in 2A and 3A,” Abbey said. “But, this is a very tough conference and each week will bring a unique set of challenges.”

The conference saw a lot of shake up as Burrell, Derry, Imani Christian, Serra Catholic and Yough all left. Shady Side Academy, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, South Allegheny and South Park join with Ligonier Valley and three-time defending conference champion Steel Valley to round out the newly formed conference.

“Our group understands we need to lock in and take each week in stride,” Abbey said. “The mindset will be next opponent up and, with our experience, I believe our group can stay committed. We want to reach our goals and be able to compete for a conference championship.”

South Park

Coach: Brian Abbey

2023 record: 7-5, 3-3 in Class 3A Western Hills Conference

All-time record: 418-376-27

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 East Allegheny, 7

8.30 Deer Lakes, 7

9.6 Keystone Oaks, 7

9.13 Steel Valley*, 7

9.20 at South Allegheny*, 7

9.27 at Washington, 7

10.5 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart*, 7

10.11 Ligonier Valley*, 7

10.18 at Apollo-Ridge*, 7

10.25 at Shady Side Academy*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Zach Ludwig*

52-113, 777 yards, 6 TDs

Rushing: Eric Doerue

240-1,610 yards, 19 TDs

Receiving: Kenyan Brown

14-285 yards, 4 TDs

* Graduated

FAST FACTS

• The Eagles last won a WPIAL championship in 2005 and 1997. In both seasons they also won a PIAA championship

• South Park has made the playoffs in six of the last nine seasons.

• This is the 87th season of South Park football, including preceding schools in the district.

• This is South Park’s first season in the Allegheny Conference, moving down from Class 3A.

Tags: South Park