Girard seeking consistency after 5-6 season
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GIRARD -- Girard is nothing if not consistent, and that's how head coach Pat Pearson prefers it.
For more than a decade, Pearson has led the Girard football program as head coach, and before that, he was an assistant on the Indians' staff when Nick Cochran, the district's athletic director and a current assistant, was the head coach. Many of Pearson's current coaches, Cochran included, have been by his side for years, creating a bond and level of consistency for which most programs strive.
"That's the one thing we're blessed with, for the last 14 years," Pearson said of the coaching staff continuity. "We've all been together, and people throw around the word 'brotherhood' and 'family,' but our staff truly is. I mean it. We're all best friends.
"I'm really the youngest out of the group -- almost -- here, so those guys are like older brothers, and a lot of our kids now are playing on the team, which is pretty neat. So that same group, same staff, a lot of cohesiveness. We know who we are and what we are, and we feed off each other."
The culture of the program has not just been contained to the varsity team either; Pearson said some of the same ideas and terminology are being taught to the youth football players in the community.
But as experienced players leave and new talent arrives, Pearson acknowledged that the program is essentially starting anew each summer.
"Every year, you gotta rebuild it again because you think you got it right, and then guys leave and you gotta restart it over," Pearson said. "But that blueprint has been in place for a long time."
The 'rebuild' term could be more apt for this season than others in the past, considering the team is replacing many of their top position players from a season that did not end up the way Pearson had hoped.
After a 4-2 start to the year, the Indians lost four of their final five games, including a home game in October by three to Poland and a road playoff game by five to Struthers.
"Last year was a tough one," Pearson said.
In response, Girard addressed the "little things" to set the team up for success in 2024.
"Started in the weight room on day one that kids tuck their shirts and they wear the same color shirt," Pearson said. "That's a little thing, and we've been building off that for the last six months of trying to make sure we do every little thing right so maybe the football gods will bounce our way this year."
How the ball bounces remains to be seen, but the expectations and goals are clear for Pearson and Girard. Hardware is always at the top of the Indians' minds.
"We're always trying to win a league championship, one," Pearson said. "We're always trying to get into the playoffs, two. And then we're always trying to push for a regional championship, three. ... We want to make this thing go as long as it can. We've done that a few years and that's a lot of fun. We want to do that again."
OFFENSE
Girard's offense is typically known to be high-scoring and explosive -- quarterback Tuff McConahy threw for more than 3,000 yards and the team averaged 33.3 points per game last season -- but the current group is admittedly inexperienced, particularly at the skill positions.
McConahy, leading rusher Ahmad Curd, and two of the Indians' top three wide receivers -- Anthony Bengala and Domenico Simone -- all graduated this past spring. Additionally, Stephen Sims, who led Girard in receiving yards (906) and total touchdowns (21) last season, transferred to Warren G. Harding.
But there is a big difference, Pearson is quick to point out, between inexperienced and young.
"[We're] not really young," he said. "We got three wide receivers that are seniors that played a lot last year. We have a running back that's a senior [who] played a lot last year. We got some juniors behind them, just guys that maybe were in a backup role last year or a secondary role that are stepping up into a big role now.
"But I always say I'd rather be young or inexperienced in the skill group but have experience up front," Pearson said. "It's hard to not have experience up front, so we feel good."
The offensive line's experience is not in question. Seniors Dominic Vince, Jordan Fedor, Devin Hubbert and Gaven Hanson all have started since either their freshman or sophomore seasons, Pearson said, which, along with the talent of the team's running backs, gives the coach confidence Girard will be able to run the ball effectively this season.
And if the Indians can run it nearly as well as they passed it last season, opposing defenses are in trouble.
"We're always going to be who we are," Pearson said. "And people might hear that and think that we're gonna throw the ball 100 times, but it's all predicated on what we see. We're gonna be a spread, we're gonna go fast and we're gonna play our style of football. But I think our run game up front, I think we really can be a lot more explosive in that game, which will set up our passing game."
Pearson said the offense, while inexperienced, is still quite deep.
"We've got probably six guys that could play our receiver spots," he said. "We've got three guys who can play our tight end spots. We've got three guys who play the tailback spot. We got two guys who play our quarterback spot."
That abundance of talent led to a summer filled with competition, including at quarterback, where a senior and freshman are taking snaps. Dominick Tolone, last season's backup, returns for his senior season, while Pearson's son, AJ, enters Girard's varsity football program as a freshman.
"Both of those two are really doing a great job, kind of bringing a different flow," Pearson said.
Pearson hopes that the competition will push players to "another level" and solidify the depth that he said has lacked in recent years.
DEFENSE
Girard will deploy a 'multiple' defense that, unlike the offense, has quite a bit of returning impact players.
"We got a lot of guys back on that end of the ball. A lot of seniors playing there, but still some young guys filling in spots too," Pearson said.
Pearson, a defensive-minded coach, has high hopes for the group and believes that it will dictate just how the team as a whole can go.
"Offensively, we always find a way to score points," he said. "The years we play defense here are the years we compete for championships. So that's a big, big stress here."
Last season, the defense proved to be hot and cold, evidenced by the Indians' 5-6 record. In the team's five wins, Girard limited opposing teams to 9.6 points per game. In their five regular-season losses, however, the Indians allowed 44.4 points per game.
A key to whether the defense will ultimately prove successful this year is whether Girard can become well-rounded.
"Definitely in our league and our conference, you gotta stop the run," Pearson said. "But at some point, that ball is gonna be in the air and you're gonna have to make a play when it's in the air."
Junior defensive end Allen Hess-Cardona is the team's top returning tackler; in 2023, he finished second on the team in total tackles with 98 and tied Curd for the most tackles for loss with seven. Additionally, Hess-Cardona led the Indians in sacks, accounting for a third of the entire team's total last year.
Hanson and Tyler Wilson, the latter of whom Pearson remarked is "looking for a good, breakout year," are also expected to be important players this year after combining for 135 tackles a year ago.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior Andrew Whitfield will serve as the team's kicker and punter in 2024. The team's kickoff specialist, Whitfield recorded touchbacks on about a quarter of his kickoffs last season. He also made five of his seven extra-point attempts and averaged about 37 yards per punt last season.
"I think he's got one of the best legs around," Pearson said.
As for the returners, Pearson said he will utilize several skill-position players as part of a "return by committee" approach. Last season, Mykel Collier-Dixon and Josiah Hunter, then juniors, were among the Indians' top kickoff returners.
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