93.7 The Fan High School Football Preview 2016 Class 4A: Belle Vernon
Belle Vernon
Big Nine Conference
Thomas Jefferson is a heavy favorite to win both the Big Nine Conference and the WPIAL Class 4-A title.
The Leopards wonder if people picking the Jaguars have short memories.
True, Thomas Jefferson won the WPIAL title last year, but Belle Vernon won the conference championship last year and took a big step towards that by beating the Jaguars early in the season, 31-24.
And while the Leopards lost a lot of key players to graduation, they have a lot of talent returning and they will be a tough out for anyone for the same reason they were last season:
Defense.
Consider that Belle Vernon, which finished 10-1, played 11 games and pitched four shutouts and in four other games they allowed seven points or less.
That means in eight of 11 games, they gave up seven points or less and they only gave up a total of 92 points on the season - which is 8.4 per game.
The Leopards will have to replace All-Conference defensive lineman Mike Semancik and linebacker Noah Bukowski but they have an excellent linebacker in 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior Ben Cole.