Longtime assistant gets top job at WA
Dave Schoppe’s 28th season as a football coach will be unlike any of the previous 27.
For the first time Friday, Schoppe will lead his team onto the field as a head coach. Not only that, he will do so for his alma mater, and his younger brother will be right by his side as one of his assistants.
It will undoubtedly be a special night for Schoppe, West Allegheny’s firstyear coach. He will try to help the Indians grab a season- opening victory when they travel to Moon for a Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference game.
“It’s going to be a little different of a feel as a head coach as opposed to an assistant,” said Schoppe, a 1988 West Allegheny graduate. “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve coached with a lot of good coaches and even better people, so I’ve learned quite a bit.”
Schoppe has made his rounds as an assistant. His coaching stops have included Millford Mill Academy and Dulaney High School — both in Maryland — along with Bishop Canevin, North Hills, Peters Township, South Fayette and Moon. He was a volunteer assistant at West Allegheny last season.
In Schoppe’s second of two stints at Bishop Canevin, he served as an assistant for his brother, Darren, who coached the Crusaders for five seasons. Now it’s Darren who is on Dave’s staff. He will coach the inside linebackers. The two are very close. Darren owns a pool installation business. Dave assists him during the summer after school lets out. He’s a physics teacher at North Hills High School.
Schoppe said he also applied for the West Allegheny job last year. The school hired Chris Lucas, who then resigned after the season. When it opened up again, Schoppe decided to give it another shot.
“It’s come full circle,” Schoppe said. “I get to give back to the school that provided me with so much.”
South Fayette to Ohio
At least one WPIAL team will play in front of fans Friday. They will just have to travel to Ohio to do it.
South Fayette will make a one- hour, 40minute drive to take on the Dover Crimson Tornadoes. The Lions were originally supposed to open against conference foe Peters Township, but the Indians had to postpone after the school temporarily closed because of COVID- 19 cases.
After Peters Township canceled, South Fayette coach Joe Rossi scrambled to find another opponent. His search eventually led him to Dover, which competes in Division III, Ohio’s third- largest classification. Dover went 7- 4 last season and is 1- 1 this season.
“They’re a mirror image of us,” Rossi said. “They like to throw it around with four or five wide receivers.”
Under state guidelines in Ohio, schools can have crowds of up to 15% of a stadium’s capacity. Dover’s Crater Stadium holds just over 4,000. Rossi said that South Fayette was given an allotment of 200 tickets.
“Even to have 200 in the stands, that’s going to be really nice for the kids,” Rossi said.
Another note on Dover: It’s the alma mater of a WPIAL coaching legend. Former Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render, the district’s all- time leader with 406 wins, graduated from Dover in 1960.
One away from 700
Should Greensburg Salem defeat visiting Plum on Friday, it would be the program’s 700th alltime win, adding the Golden Lions to a “700 Club” that includes only four WPIAL teams: Jeannette, New Castle, Aliquippa and Washington. Jeannette leads the way with 756 wins.
Greensburg Salem hoped No. 700 would come against Blackhawk in last year’s WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinals, but a loss curtailed those plans and forced the Golden Lions to wait until this season to reach the milestone. They won their 600th game in the 1999 season opener.
“It would be really nice to get it this week,” said Greensburg Salem coach Dave Keefer. “The earlier you get it, the better. As much as you look forward to it and are excited about it, it’s nice to get the monkey off your back.”
Keefer raved about junior offensive guard- defensive tackle Billy McChesney, a three- year starter. Keefer called McChesney ( 6- 2, 275) an “animal,” saying that he’s the best defensive lineman he has had since he coached current Steeler Stefen Wisniewski while an assistant at Central Catholic.
Big night for Davis?
If you’re looking for a player who could have a huge opening game, look no further than Gateway star Derrick Davis. He put on quite an “opening act” each of the past two seasons, rushing for 178 yards and a touchdown in the 2018 opener and 173 yards and four touchdowns in the 2019 opener. Gateway opens against Franklin Regional.
Freshman QB
Penn Hills could have a freshman under center when it travels to North Allegheny on Friday. Julian Dugger, a 6- foot- 2 left- hander, has been competing with junior Tre’shaun Barron for the starting job. Dugger reportedly played very well during last week’s scrimmage against Central Catholic.