By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – On Monday, Troy Cook and Co. were in the boonies.
As a part of the rotating practice locations, the head coach of the Team Pennsylvania was at Sheffield Area High school, putting the final touches on his crew as they prepared for the Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic just a few days away. While he and his team were still tweaking the X’s and O’s on the field, especially on some exciting trick plays, there had been no adjustments needed in the locker room.
“I’ve coached a few All-Star games before and sometimes because all these guys were rivals basically, it was tough to get them to come together and be pulling for each other,” said Cook, who has been the head coach at Otto-Eldred for the past seven years. “These guys have really hit it off ever since the first night of practice. That’s been an emphasis of ours and it seems to be going pretty well.”
While Monday’s practice was jovial and light, with plenty of laughter and joking between players and coaches alike, come Saturday the tone will shift. In just four days, Pennsylvania will look to turn the tide of the 51st Big 30 gridiron game, aiming to dethrone New York after two years on top. After a Keystone win in 2022, the Empire State has earned back-to-back dominance over the Twin Tiers, beating PA 34-27 in 2023 before a demolishing 39-18 win in 2023. With another equally potent New York roster about to take the opposite sidelines, Cook knows what he is up against.
“I expect a well coached team, for sure. A team that’s going to be fast and physical no doubt. We just have to make sure we can match their intensity from the beginning. We don’t want to go out there, fall behind and have to claw our way back,” said Cook. “I’ve coached against (New York’s Chad Bartoszek) before at different youth level events and things like that so I know his teams will always be prepared and will play hard.”
The gameplan for PA starts on offense, specifically in the trenches where their line boasts big names and even bigger guys such as 2024’s Big 30 co-Most Valuable Player Carson Neely of Port Allegany, as well as Cameron County’s Maxx Newton and Eisenhower’s Seth Jenson, two 6-footers with both weight and strength in their arsenal. With a mix of skill and luck, they will keep the defense off Pennsylvania’s men under center, Ben Paul of St. Marys and Sheffield’s Colby Barr, a dynamic duo that compliment PA’s run-and-gun style of play.
“Paul runs a similar type of run game stuff that we run so it’s been pretty quick for him to pick it up. It really hasn’t been a transition for him at all. Barr runs a little bit different offense so it’s been a little bit more of a teaching experience for him,” said Cook. “But really they both bring a similar skill set. They both have really good arms, they’re both smart, they both read well and they’re both mobile.”
In the final days of practice, Pennsylvania’s playbook will be under the microscope, with each wrinkle being flattened and every detail being analyzed. However, as the gears begin to turn to form a cohesive unit, Cook and Crew are ready for the task at hand.
“We just really have to fine-tune everything. We still have a couple guys that are still guessing where they’re supposed to go in certain formations and things like that, kind of free-wheeling in certain areas,” said Cook. “Once we get that tightened up, I hope we can do that (Monday and Tuesday) and then finally put everything together and get through everything on Wednesday and Friday with no injuries and be ready for Saturday.”
