Carlynton coach John Tortorea certainly has his Cougars football team heading in the right direction.
Now in his third season, Tortorea’s team is coming off a berth in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, ending the program’s 23-year postseason drought.
This year’s mission is quite simple, Tortorea said:
“Continue to build on last year’s success,” he said earlier this week. “Compete for a playoff spot in the Century Conference and further the success of the program.”
The Cougars will get their first chance to do that in 2025 when they host Carrick at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at Honus Wagner Stadium.
Last year, the Cougars finished 3-3 in the Century Conference, which put them in fourth place, but that was good enough to warrant a spot in the playoffs.
There, as the No. 12 seed, Carlynton fell 41-6 to Western Beaver.
This year’s team will return five starters on offense and the same number on defense. The Cougars did lose several key contributors who graduated, including do-it-all Devonte Dean, who was the conference Defensive Player of the Year at free safety and was second-team all-conference at quarterback. Dean threw for more than 1,000 yards, rushed for more than 1,000 yards and led the team in tackles.
Also moving on was Mark Jameson, a first-team all-conference selection at tight end, and second-team all-conference running back John Sciulli, who rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Tortorea pointed to six players he’ll be counting on to provide leadership and more, including seniors Ashton Donlin, Isaiah Wall, Grant Friedhoff and Mason Samuel and juniors Justin Berger and JaeSean Nembhard.
All but Samuel are returning starters.
Donlin will contribute at running back and outside linebacker while Wall, Friedhoff and Samuel all will provide a presence on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Berger will see time at both running back and outside linebacker while Nembhard is slotted in at wide receiver and free safety.
Sophomore quarterback Maddox Horrell will be called upon to fill Dean’s shoes at quarterback. Other newcomers whom Tortorea will be counting on to aid the cause are junior offensive lineman/linebacker Braedy Hill, junior wide receiver/defensive end Dashiell Sargent, sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Dameer Hatcher and defensive end/tight end Brooklyn Harvey.
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