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Rocco Petrone takes over as school principal
Chad Hoffman, left, and Michael Genasevich will split time at quarterback for the Hazleton Area football team this season.
Don Carey/the times leader
Hazleton Area will be looking for leadership this season from, from left, A.J. Petrone, Matt Manfredi, Chad Nicholas, Joe Semanchik, Charlie Craig and Matt Starrick.
Don Carey
Petrone
The coach is now the principal and the principal is now the coach.
Actually, they’re one in the same.
But while Rocco Petrone may have to change hats a little quicker this season, he insists his demeanor on the Hazleton Area football field won’t fluctuate as much as his job desciptions may indicate.
“No position is ever worth turning my back on 130 football players,” said Petrone, who starts his 10th season as head coach of the Cougars. “They completely separate their sports from the classroom. They’re not looking at me out here as their principal and not their coach.”
For the first time, though, Petrone will be seen as both.
He’s beginning his first year as Hazleton Area’s principal, a position he accepted in July. So Petrone’s gameplans will now extend beyond the football field and into the classroom.
Whether Petrone’s dual responsibility extends beyond this year and brings him back for an 11th season on the football field is anyone’s guess.
“That question’s been asked many times and people are speculating,” Rocco Petrone acknowledged. “That’s something me and my family will evaluate in the middle of the season or toward the end. At this point, I really don’t have any decision.”
Actually, his vision is tunneled to what he sees coming out of the tunnel.
His Hazleton Area team is targeting its third consecutive District 2 Class 4A championship and its fourth in the last five years.
“There’s just so much to do this year,” Rocco Petrone said.
Actually, not that much.
ON OFFENSE
With seven starters returning to an offense that rolled up a Wyoming Valley Conference-high 294 points last season, the Cougars appear primed for another playoff run.
“Experience is something you can’t teach,” said running back A.J. Petrone, Rocco’s son.
And the Cougars have plenty of it in the backfield, where they typically draw their strength.
A.J. Petrone was the fourth-leading rusher in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 4A with 606 yards last season while averaging 8.3 yards per carry. And he’s just over 100 yards shy of cracking the 1,000-yard mark for his career.
“I want to get it early, get it out of the way,” A.J. Petrone said. “What’s important is we win.”
Matt Manfredi should help with that task.
Also entering his senior year, Manfredi averaged six yards on 27 carries in a limited running back role last season.
“I’m excited, ready to get back on the field,” Manfredi said. “It’s my last year. I want to make this one special.”
The quarterback situation will certainly be extraordinary, as junior Michael Genasevich and sophomore Chad Hoffman will both split time under center for the Cougars.
“They’re both great kids,” A.J. Petrone said.
ON DEFENSE
A.J. Petrone and Manfredi both return to a stingy that surrendered less than 14 points per game last season and also returns seven starters. Coming back with them are hard-hitting linebackers Desmond Johnson and J.C. Milton. The Cougars are also expecting big things from defensive end Kris Koslop, linebacker Mike Ryder and defensive back Scott Cara.
“Now we’re trying to overcome some of our injuries,” Rocco Petrone said.
A couple of those were more than bumps and bruises.
Projected linebacker Pedro Guzman suffered a broken leg and fellow linebacker Charlie Craig injured his knee – both on the same day of preseason practice – and both could be lost for the season.
OUTLOOK
Another run to the postseason is almost money in the bank to a Hazleton Area that just keeps banking on success.
“Obviously there’s a target on our back, with two District (2) championships in a row,” A.J. Petrone said. “Everyone’s going to be gunning for us. We’ve been breaking our huddles saying, ‘Get better.’ We know the attitude’s there. We just want to work hard enough to produce what we’re capable of.”
And for Hazleton Area opponents, that could be scary.
“This team will be as good as any team we’ve had,” Rocco Petrone predicted. “Our goal is to be as good as we’ve ever been.
“These kids are determined.”