2022 Team Preview: Mechanicsburg Wildcats (3)

Written by: David Mika on Tuesday, August 16th, 2022. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Head Coach: Anthony Rose

Assistant Coaches:
Jeff Costello
Frank Rubinic
Dave Heckard
Steve Reider
Sean O’Malley
Mike Glinatsis
Ken Smith
Josh Hinkle
Gary Cottigham
Scott Livingston

Team Name: Mechanicsburg Wildcats

2021 Record: 5-5

District: District 3

Class: AAAAA

League: Mid-Penn Conference, Colonial Division

Key Starters Lost:
Sam DeLuca- TE/LB
Marlon Aristy- OL/LB
Michael Jones- OL/DL
Benny Grill- OL/DL
Sam Geraty- OL/DL
RaShawn Early-Holton- WR/DB
Glenn Robinson- RB/LB
Daniel Francis- WR/LB

Offensive Starters Returning: (7)
Jeffrey Lougee- Jr. QB, 6’0, 175
Parker Sample- Sr., RB, 5’9, 180
Sage Thomas- Sr., RB, 6’1, 215
Seth Brubaker- Sr., TE, 6’4, 210
Antonio Zeno- Sr., TE, 6’1, 200
Jayden Connors- Sr., OL, 6’0, 220
Vance Koontz- Sr., WR, 6’1, 185

Defensive Starters Returning: (7)
Jeffrey Lougee- Jr. DB, 6’0, 175
Parker Sample- Sr., DB, 5’9, 180
Sage Thomas- Sr., LB, 6’1, 215
Seth Brubaker- Sr., DE, 6’4, 210
Antonio Zeno- Sr., LB, 6’1, 200
Jayden Connors- Sr., DL, 6’0, 220
Vance Koontz- Sr. DB, 6’1, 185

Special Team Starters Returning: (1)
Nico Ledenbohm- Sr. 5’10, 165

Key Newcomers:
Nick Lombardi- Sr., OL/DL, 6’2, 300
Ted Lechthaler- Sr., OL/DL, 6’0, 240
Tony Glinatsis- Sr., WR/DB, 6’1, 180
Jake Jamiolkowski- Sr. TE/DE, 6’2, 205
Davon Hutchinson- Jr. OL/DL, 6’2, 245
Henry Notarfrancesco- Jr. WR/DB, 5’10, 170
Brennan Baker- Jr. WR/DB, 5’10, 170
Isiah McRae- Jr. OL/LB, 6’0, 200
Steve Morisani III- Jr. OL/LB, 5’10, 175
Josh Smith- Soph., WR/DB, 6’0, 170
Justin Bardo- Soph., OL/LB, 6’0, 190
Isaac Dollman- Soph. WR/DB, 5’11, 160

2021 Returning Player Stats:
Jeffrey Lougee
Passing:
52 of 119 completions
675 yards
5 TD’s
7 INT’s

Rushing:
506 yards
5.38 YPC
9 TD’s

Parker Sample
Rushing:
933 yards
7.59 YPC
6 TD’s

Defensive:
41 Tackles
2 sacks
5 TFL’s

Sage Thomas
Rushing:
249 yards
4.79 YPC
2 TD’s

Defensive:
47 tackles
1 sack
4 TFL’s

2022 Offensive Outlook: “Offensively we are looking to strive for a balanced ratio between the running and passing games. We have two strong returning backs in Parker Sample and Sage Thomas, and Jeffrey Lougee is a true dual-threat style Quarterback, who improved tremendously over the course of last season. Jeffrey will also have a new stable of receivers to throw to this season, which we are very excited about! They will blend a nice combination of size and speed together, to give us a chance to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically at times. Up front, we did lose several key starters from last year’s team, but I am very confident in our returning players such as Jayden Connors, Davon Hutchinson, and Ted Lechthaler, all of who contributed to us in the trenches last season. The main area that we need to improve on though, is converting on Third Down. We weren’t as efficient as I would have liked last season, so that’s an area of renewed emphasis for us as we move into this season.”

2022 Defensive Outlook: “Defensively, I expect us to be sound against the run, similar to how we have been the past three seasons. Last year, we did struggle at times in covering our opponent’s passing games, so that is the area that we definitely need to make strides in as we enter into the new season. As mentioned earlier, we have an infusion of speed at the skill positions, which I think will help us better combat the vertical passing game, and I am excited to see how those newcomers rise up during the coming months. I would also like to see us generate a few more turnovers than we did last season as well. Last year we had 9 takeaways over the course of the season, and I would like for us to double that number this year.”

2022 Special Teams Outlook: “From a special teams outlook, we have both of our primary kickers back as punter Parker Sample and kicker Nico Ledenbohm are set to return. It’s nice to have continuity like that in your kicking game, so I am excited that those two are coming back for us. As far as coverage units go, we did have a few breakdowns in the kickoff department last season, which cost us against both Carlisle and West Perry. Our main goal is to continue working on refining the coverage schemes and to make sure that those types of things don’t creep up again this season.”

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