Smethport’s Ganoe, Yingling take home two Region 4 awards
By HUNTER O. LYLE
Throughout the ten weeks of the regular season, a lot can happen. Some teams rise and fall, others make strides in progression while a few unlucky gridiron squads are hamstrung by constant battles with injuries and health. However, through all the ups and downs and uncertainty of this season’s campaign, there has been one constant: Port Allegany.
Over the years, the Gators have been a force to be reckoned with. Even despite losing several major pieces to graduation this past offseason, Port’s returning players have seemed to carry that extra weight and responsibility with a smile, dominating opponents week in and week out as they blaze a path towards yet another District 9 Class A championship, one that would stand as their third in a four-year window.
“It’s been a lot of fun and I don’t necessarily mean that in a sense of X’s and O’s and a successful standpoint. We just have a bunch of kids that are really coachable, a bunch of kids that have in some cases switched positions, have been subbed in and subbed out and all have the ‘next man up’ mentality,” said Port Allegany head coach Justin Bienkowski. “I’d call them resilient. We didn’t always have the best four-quarter performance on a Friday night or a rough practice during the week but it was fun to keep coming back because we never put two bad ones together.”
Cruising to another undefeated regular season at 10-0, the Gators outscored their matchups by an average score of 51-17, seeing only one game be decided by a touchdown or less – their Week 6 game against St. Marys – and posting 60-plus points on four occasions. On the other side of the ball, they stifled and stuffed opposing offenses, allowing seven points or less to cross the scoreboard three times.
“Offensively, being able to have some balance off of Aidan (Bliss), losing some studs up front but gaining the athletes that we did, it’s nice to see guys that put work in in the offseason like Brennan (Fillhart) and Kellen (Veilleux) and Nick (Wilfong) that allows us to hurt you in more ways than just handing it off to No. 31,” said Bienkowski. “I’m very proud that we diversified a little bit in the way and the kids bought in.”
Given their dominant season, it comes as no surprise that the Gators cleaned house when it came to the annual District 9 Football League All Star selections. This year, Port boasts seven selections across both the offensive and defensive teams, the most throughout all regions of the district.
Earning the awards for the Gators were Ethan Tarbox (center), Gavin Moses (guard), Kellen Veilleux (running back, return specialist), Aiden Bliss (full back, linebacker), Nick Wilfong (wide receiver,slot, defensive end), Isaac Postelwait (defensive end) and Julian Kaple (linebacker). In a season that saw him become the all-time touchdown leader in District 9 history, Bliss earned the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award as he recorded 1,935 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns, a number that stands as 20th in the nation. As well, Bienkowski joined his senior star on the individual stage, taking home the Coach of the Year Award.
“I’ll start with (my own award), it’s one thousand a testament to the kids. Our all-stars are the reason why our coaching staff gets some extra love or recognition. You’re only as good as the Jimmies and the Joes that you have to work with. These kids continue to take us on a ride as a school and community,” said Bienkowski. “From the team perspective, it’s nice to know that the work that the kids put in and the efforts that they show us on a daily basis is being recognized.”
As the No. 1 seed in Class A, Port will enjoy a bye week before taking on Keystone on Saturday, Nov. 8.
While Bienkowski and Co. are the pinnacle of D9 football, down the road Smethport is taking notes as they reinforce the brick and mortar of their program. After garnering four wins in the past three seasons, this year the Hubbers found some footing, producing a 4-6 record that showed welcomed progress. Propelling the team all year long was Jonah Ganoe, the Hubbers’ star running back and Region 4’s Offensive Player of the Year.
During his senior year, just his second with the football team, Ganoe exploded for 1,338 rushing yards and 381 receiving yards, scoring 18 of Smethport’s 31 touchdowns.
“I’ve coached Jonah since he was in seventh grade and his improvement, as a ball player and as a leader, was phenomenal,” said Smethport head coach Ryan Yingling. “We tried to get the ball in his hands as much as we could and when we did, he didn’t disappoint.”
Along with Ganoe, five other Hubbers earned recognition for their work throughout the season. Representing Smethport was Brandon Furgeson (guard), Tristan Lenze (tackle), Ganoe (running back, return specialist), Jude Kisko (running back), Zach Hungiville (linebacker, punter) and Aiden Tanner (defensive back).
Finding a way forward during his first year at the helm, Yingling also earned some of the spotlight, being selected as Region 4’s Co-Coach of the Year.
“This means a lot for our program. (The progress we’ve seen over the season) has been huge for us,” said Yingling. “We lose only three seniors so we return the majority of our team. We’re confident that they will grow in the offseason and hopefully out-preform what we did this year.”
Staying in Region 4, Otto-Eldred earned one All-Star selection in quarterback Shane Magee. Starting his senior season as the dual-threat man under center, Magee led the charge for the Terrors, collecting 736 passing yards, 509 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns through the first five weeks. However, in that fifth game, Magee went down with a broken collar bone, ending his season and the Terrors’ playoff hopes.
Along with Magee, O-E (2-8) received two honorable mentions: wide receiver Dawson Welch for offense and defensive back Wyatt Bledinger for defense.
