Submitted photo / Magic Moments Photography The 2024 Struthers football team.

STRUTHERS — The Wildcats go into the 2024 campaign after seeing everything high school football has to offer coming off last fall. A slew of tightly contested matches that game down to the last few plays combined with a tough slate in the Northeast 8 allowed Struthers to play until Week 14 last year.

Now it’s time for the new batch of Struthers Wildcats to make their mark, especially with a program that’s seen improvement year after year since John Bayuk took over as head coach in 2020.

“We obviously want to build on what we did last year and the previous season, but we’ve put that in the rear view. The kids know that, we have to move on from last year, and they want to make their own path,” Bayuk said. “What I love about this group is that they’re buying into the culture. We’ve really been trying to change the culture here the last five years, and I think our success has stemmed from that. We have talented kids, but the reason we’re having success is that we’re buying into the culture.”

“We tell our older guys, recruit the hallways. We want to get as many kids out as we can and build excitement to the community and the school during football season. I think we’ve done that. We’ve had 65 or more kids these past few years, for our division that’s a pretty good squad. We’re having a blast, and I think that’s what creates kids coming out. They see we’re having fun, the kids are talking about how we’re having fun in school, so I think that’s what’s creating the numbers and excitement.”

Struthers, coming in off a 10-4 record, will attempt to get some home cooking early, playing their first four contests at Laddie J. Fedor Field with non-conference matchups against Beaver Local and Chaney, while also welcoming in Dohn Community Prep from the Cincinnati area. Rounding out the homestand is the start of NE8 play against Girard.

It’s never easy with the likes of Poland, South Range, Hubbard, Niles and Lakeview on the conference slate as well. Finally, a late-season road trip to East in Week 8 rounds out the Wildcats schedule.

As part of their playoff run last year, Struthers knocked off Poland and Girard during rematches, then earning a 28-25 victory over Lake Catholic. Canton South ended the Wildcats’ run with a 35-13 victory.

“We want to make sure we’re tested not only for the playoffs, but for the league itself. I think we got a couple of good out-of-league games and hopefully it prepares us for those things.” Bayuk said.

Senior leadership will play a big role this upcoming season.

“It’s crazy these guys are seniors, I remember when they were sophomores and we were like, ‘We have a lot of sophomores on the field, what are we going to do?’ Now they’re seniors, and I think they’ve been a huge part of last year’s success because of their work ethic and their work getting them to where they want to go.” Bayuk said.

OFFENSE

Last year, Struthers was known for pounding the rock and gaining yardage on the ground to wear teams down. They’ll look to continue some of that success in 2024, starting with senior quarterback Jason Dukes (445 pass yards, five passing touchdowns, 1,316 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns).

“(Dukes) has really developed his throwing capabilities. We know he can run the ball, but he really worked on what he needed to work on, and he got really good at it,” Bayuk said. “We’re really excited at the way he really developed more of a thrower, so we can have more of that dual threat now, and he’s just a special kid, he’s a leader. He’s a good football player, and a great leader. He’s the kind of kid, not only talent-wise, that every coach wants to have on his team.”

Junior Anthony Pastella will serve as the backup, freshman Ashton Pascarella also in the mix.

Struthers lost their leading rusher in Anthony Carter. He gained over 1,400 yards, but senior Devin Braham will follow in his footsteps, rushing for 1,330 yards last fall, all while finding the end zone on the ground 15 times. Sophomore Gionni Stewart and freshman Tyler Cole will also earn touches at running back.

“We’re really confident in the three kids we have and (are) excited the way they’ve developed their offseason,” Bayuk said. “It helps Devin that Jason can run, and it helps Jason that Devin can run. It kind of opens things up for both of them. I’m telling you, Devin is one of the most special football players in my 16 years of coaching. He just has something. He has that thing that every coach looks for offensively and defensively.”

Senior Robert Carcelli returns as the Wildcats lead receiver, hauling in 20 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns, Pastella also serving as a key target downfield.

“Robert is a really good tall, stretch the field kind of guy, and Anthony is our quick little slot guy that we can run jet sweeps to, give him the ball in space and let him do his thing. It’s nice that we have two kids that have different talents for playing wide receiver.”

Senior Dominic Liptak brings experience to the tight end position. Four out of the five starters on the offensive line are back too, something that’s invaluable for Bayuk and the Wildcats.

“When I talk about the offensive line, it’s really hard to talk about one kid. They’re a really special group of kids just because of their work ethic. We could have practice tomorrow, coaches not show up, and they would do everything that we put on the board. That wouldn’t skip a gasser or a rep in the weight room. They’re just a very trustworthy group.” Bayuk said.

Returning is senior Ahmarion Brown, senior Vince Boila, senior Matthew McConahy, junior Braylon Myers and senior Michael Meuter.

“They’re having fun, we’re having fun, they’re just a great group of kids. Our offensive line did such a great job last year. We were getting so many multiple looks up front of defense. They did a really good job.” Bayuk added.

DEFENSE

Moving over to the defensive line, seniors Robbie DeCerbo, Tyler Hobart (nine tackle for loss, two sacks), Jarrel Jones (15 tackle for loss, 4.5 sacks) and Jacob Pangio (seven tackle for loss) join Brown, Liptak (five tackle for loss) and Myers (54 tackles).

“It’s really nice on the defensive line, we have a lot of depth there. We just have to put the pieces together on who’s going to be starting there on Friday nights, but we do have a lot of pieces there,” Bayuk said. “They’ve taken pride in the leadership, so it’s nice we have some different faces on the defensive line that are senior leaders.”

Carcelli is a three-year starter at linebacker and safety (71 tackles, 11 for a loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles), playing alongside Braham who broke the school record in tackles at 192. Seniors Aiden Russell (36 tackles, five for a loss) and Mario Pecchia are in the mix at linebacker as well.

“It makes coaching easy for us, (Carcelli and Braham) are both three-year starters, so they know what they’re doing, and they’re coaching the young guys, so when they’re not in, they’re coaching. It’s nice having those two guys not only for their talent, but they’re coaching just like us.”

Senior Marquise Wilkins and Pastella moved into the secondary for the first time in their careers, complementing Dukes (106 tackles, six interceptions, three forced fumbles).

“We feel like we have a good group of secondary guys, we just have to fill the spots. Robert, Jason, Anthony and Marquise are the four that are out there, but a lot of different guys are getting reps,” Bayuk said. “We sat down as a staff and talked that if there’s one kid that can play a different position and learn it, it’s (Robert). If he has to play outside backer, we’ll put him there. We trust him to teach him a new position, but go back to his old one if he needs to.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Senior Noah Carnahan will once again handle point-after and field goal opportunities, Pastella will punt and Pascarella is the holder.

A slew of aforementioned athletes can join the mix as returners, especially some of the younger players on the roster.

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