By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
PORT ALLEGANY, PA – Getting to the top of the mountain is one thing, but staying there is another. That is the task at hand this fall for the Port Allegany football team as they look to defend their District 9 Class A throne despite losing a considerable amount of the team’s cornerstones.
Over the course of the past few years, the Gators have been a staple for success in District 9. After collecting just 15 combined wins in the previous five seasons, Port has churned out double-digit win seasons that have given way to three consecutive championship appearances.
In 2022, the 12-2 Gators earned a Class A banner with a 21-14 win over Brockway before reaching the title game the following year at 10-3. While they were unable to achieve back-to-back championships, the Gators earned revenge in 2024, going undefeated through the regular season before meeting Redbank again and coming out with a 62-28 dominating win. They would keep the momentum rolling with a trip to the PIAA Class A Championship, where they ultimately fell to District 6 champs Bishop Guilfoyle, 41-22.
“(Success takes) having kids like this who work their tails off, play multiple sports and are super coachable. They worked all summer for this, worked all offseason in the weight room,” said Port Allegany head coach Justin Bienkowski. “That’s why. That’s why our program has been what it is. Credit to the players that put the time in.”
Despite the impeccable consistency and the results forged from it, Beinkowski and Co. are not one for reminiscing. Rather than rest on any laurels, the Gators prefer to get back to the drawing board, where they will look for answers to the voids left in their rosters.
Part of Port’s success was their outstanding offense, anchored by their impenetrable line. However, after losing four key parts in the trenches, notably former Big 30 Player of the Year Carson Neely and his immovable counterpart Juuso Young, adjustments will be unavoidable.
“It definitely affects the offense. Carson Neely and Juuso Young were arguably two of the best that ever walked these hallways and the old guys will tell you that. The intelligence, the mindset, the work ethic, the leadership, we’re going to miss that,” said Beinkowski, “but we have some really solid seniors in the skill department. They’re going to try to compensate for that.”
Part of the equation will be how to continue to allow Aidan Bliss to lead the charge, literally.
Earning the starting running back spot during his sophomore year, Bliss exploded onto the gridiron for 1,638 rushing yards – averaging 126 a game – and 24 touchdowns. The next year, he doubled down, collecting 3,430 total rushing yards – 228.7 per game – alongside a whopping 56 touchdowns – accounting for over half of the Gators’ 104 endzone appearances as they outscored opponents 49.8-18.2. While Bliss will still be the tip of the spear and while Port will still focus on the pound-it-in-your-face run game, the offense will need to adapt.
Although they lost several big chunks from last years’ roster, Port returns 18 letterwinners, all of whom have had varsity experience given the number of lop-sided victories they enjoyed a season ago. That includes sophomore quarterback Brennan Fillhart.
Taking over the man-in-the-middle during his freshman year, Fillhart threw for 726 yards for nine touchdowns on a 72 percent completion rate. Lauded for his IQ on the field by his coaching staff, he will add a new dynamic to the Gators’ arsenal.
“I want to say we were (93-percent to seven-percent) run heavy last year, you’re going to see that change a little bit more to, not balanced, but a little more (pass-focused,)” said Bienkowski. “The first and foremost thing (Fillhart offers) is intelligence. He can put guys in spots. If somebody’s out of alignment, he can get them in formation. If we have to check a play because the defense came out in something we didn’t expect, he’s fully capable and has the trust of our entire staff to make that change.”
With still a week left before the regular season begins, the Gators are still hashing out the X’s and O’s. However, contender or not, all they are focused on is what’s in front of them.
“The thing they’ve been doing in the first couple days here is every drill is their best. We don’t talk about the whole practice, we don’t talk about the grueling three-hour crap show, it’s just simply attack the next drill and that’s how we attack every day. We want to win today,” said Bienkowski. “Our goal was, simply put, we want to play as much football as we can and if that means District, States, whatever it means, we just want to be together as long as possible and play as much football as we can.”
2025 Schedule
Friday, Aug. 22: at Bradford, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29: vs Moniteau, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 5: at Clarion Area, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 12: vs Smethport, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19: at Redbank Valley, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26: vs St. Marys, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3: at Brookville, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 11: vs Otto-Eldred, 1:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17: vs UACV, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 23: at Brockway, 7 p.m.
