By KIM NORTH

Times Leader Sports Writer

BELLAIRE — It had been awhile since Bellaire fans had something to cheer about at Nelson Field. The 2016 Big Reds advanced to the Division VI state playoffs and finished 6-5 under first-year head coach Mark Spigarelli, a Bellaire alum.

“We had a real good year,” Spigarelli recalled. “That was mainly due to having great senior leadership. Those 11 guys — two came over from St. John — helped put this program back on the map. A lot of people said it was because of me, but it wasn’t me. The kids just needed someone to direct them in the right spots, and they did that. That senior class did everything we, as coaches, asked of them. They will be missed, mainly because of their leadership, and some of them because of their athletic abilities.

“What helps out too is during our recent practices a lot of those guys came back to watch. That means a lot … they cared about the program because they are the one’s that put it where it is right now,” he continued.

“To get a home playoff game last year … the first time Bellaire has had a home playoff game in about 10 years … was great,” Spigarelli continued. “We should’ve, could’ve beaten Newark Catholic, but the fact is we didn’t. Now we’ve got things we can build on. We’ve got another great nucleus of seniors that are proving to be good leaders.”

That senior class included D’Eondre Burney, Justyn Keyser, Tyson Camsky, Gage Eden, David McConn Jr., Josh Sabinski, Jordan Mehlman, Jeremy Hagiloizou, Jacob Smith, Todd Morris and Logan St. John.

Burney and Keyser were the Big Reds go-to deep threats last fall with 932 and 616 receiving yards, respectively. Burney also landed nine TD catches, while Keyser had four. Camsky rushed for 997 yards and 12 six-pointers. He had a season high of 219 yards against John Marshall.

“That group last year actually put the culture back into our program. A lot of people that came to watch our games last year were very happy with what they saw on the football field,” he continued. “I think they saw a disciplined group and a group that cared about wearing a Big Reds jersey.

“Once again, that’s not a testament to me, but the kids because they bought into everything we asked of them from day one.”

Nine seniors are among 20 returning lettermen. The leader is quarterback Mason Ramsay (6-2, 188) who passed for 1,810 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior. He threw for 765 yards and eight touchdowns in limited action as a sophomore.

“Obviously, Mason is our No. 1 leader,” Spigarelli allowed. “He did a very good job last year and we are really expecting bigger things out of him this season. Playing in the offense last year will definitely help him this season. He feels more comfortable and he looks more comfortable running the offense. He’s getting his reads down probably 10 times better than last year already. He’s knows where his checkdowns are.

“Hopefully, he can produce a little more than he did last year. We don’t have the deep threats like last year, but we’ve got some possession-type receivers.”

Sophomore Bobby Roth (5-10, 155) is the backup quarterback.

Senior Thor Duffy moves to the tailback position from wide receiver. He saw limited time there a year ago where he gained 122 yards on 31 carries. His backups will be promising freshmen Kaleb Pitchford (5-6, 195) and Trenton Wilson (5-7, 161). Pitchford gained 59 yards and scored a touchdown on 13 carries last season, while Wilson is the son of former Weir and WVU standout Quincy Wilson.

Other tailbacks are senior Grant Gheen (6-0, 163) and freshmen Collin Matusik (5-9, 165), Austen Rejonis (5-6, 188), Danny Nation (5-7, 144) and Jayce Gallaher (5-9, 132).

Sophomore Trace Secrest (6-0, 195) will lineup at fullback. His backups are senior Drew Tingler (5-9, 187) and sophomore Andrew Kolenich (5-9, 190).

“We’ve got some experience in the backfield,” the head coach said. “Thor and Trace both saw some action back there.”

Senior Gabe Rejonis (5-10, 176) will start as the ‘Z’ receiver. He managed 57 yards and a TD last year on half-a-dozen catches. His backup is promising freshman Payton Marling (5-10, 166), who Spigarelli raved about.

“That kid has a bright future ahead of him if he can stay away from injuries,” the coach noted of Marling. “He has shown a lot of promise.”

Sophomore A.J. McCarthy (5-7, 134) is the starting split end. He saw very limited action a season ago. Backups are juniors Sheldon Lekanudos (5-9, 146), Trent Dunaway (5-10, 168) and Griffen Heatherington (5-10, 145).

Other possible pass-catchers are seniors Brett Berberich (5-10, 145) and Noah Giffin (5-10, 125), junior Adam McKennen (5-9, 141), sophomores Jake Stolz (5-8, 143) and Mason Beveridge (6-0, 156), and freshmen Braunson Wallace (5-6, 110), Karter Hicks (5-5, 102) and Cody Slater (5-7, 110).

Junior Cole LaRoche (6-0, 210) returns at tight end where he saw spot duty last fall. He hauled in five passes for 70 yards a year ago. Sophomore Cole Porter (5-10, 160) is the backup.

Also in the mix are junior Jacob Marthaler (5-10, 175), sophomore Cody Albaugh (5-9, 162) and freshmen Marshall Fish (5-4, 106) and Zac Hood (6-3, 185).

“Gabe played some last year and got some valuable minutes, while A.J. saw a little time,” the head coach said. “Cole is back at tight end and we are looking to throw the ball more to him this season.”

Junior Daniel Lednik (6-0, 254) and sophomore Levi Littell (6-3, 281) will anchor the offensive line at left tackle and left guard, respectively. They are both returning letterwinners.

“Daniel started all 11 games last year and Levi started the final five, so we are expecting them to be our leaders up front,” Spigarelli said.

Sophomore Chase Nolan (5-11, 260) gets the start at center. Sophomore Jake Maupin (5-11, 218) is the backup.

Sophomores Connor Rosen (6-2, 230) and Quentin Baker (5-7, 209) are battling with senior Scott Mehlman (5-8, 250) and junior Joey Hoepfner (6-0, 266) for the right guard and tackle spots.

“We’ve got a little bit of size up there, but we will have three sophomores up there at some point,” Spigarelli added. “We’re coming along pretty good. We still have our good days and our bad days … our good plays and our bad plays. What we’re looking for now is consistency in the blocking, play calling and those guys communicating with each other.”

Also in the mix are senior Jacob Bellville (5-10, 255), junior Haydon Lowery (6-2, 310), sophomores T.J. Bell (5-11, 172), Aaron Piergallini (5-7, 240), Ryan Mukliewicz (5-8, 190) and Caden Honeywell (6-2, 270); and freshmen Jalob Honeywell (5-9, 214), Jay Mosa (5-8, 215), Matthew Joyce (5-10, 150) and Vince Patrone (5-9, 182).

“Offensively, we’ve already progressed ahead of last year because the terminology isn’t new to the kids,” Spigarelli explained. “They learned it last year and now they know what to do when the play is called. We don’t have to teach as much. That has really been helpful.”

Defensively, the Big Reds will once again employ the 4-2-5 base defense.

“We might be young in some spots, but we’ve also got some guys who played a lot last year and got some quality time,” Spigarelli said. “I think we’ve got a good mix of both.

“The nucleus of our roster are sophomores as we have 20 dot the roster,” he noted. “We’ve also got 13 freshmen and nine juniors.”

Gheen and LaRoche will switch from linebackers to defensive ends this season. Baker can play either terminal post. Also in the mix are

Lednik and Littell return as down tackles, with Nolan, Mehlman, Lowery and Hoepfner slated to see action.

Other defensive linemen are Heatherington, Tingler, Jalob Honeywell, Caleb Honeywell, Muklewicz, Rosen, Maupin, Mosa, Joyce, Patrone, Bellville, Piergallini and hood.

The two ‘backers will be Secrest and Porter. Secrest played quite a bit last year and had some big games. Bell and Kolenich are the backups.

Also listed at linebacker are Albaugh, Austen Rejonis, Matusik, Marthaler and Pitchford.

The secondary will consist of Duffy at strong safety and Gabe Rejonis at weak safety. The corners are McCarthy and Lekanudos, with Dunaway filling in the free safety slot.

Wilson and Roth will see time at corner, while Marling will spell Dunaway.

Other DBs are Ramsay, Stolz, Fish, Gallaher, Berberich, Wallace, Hicks, Giffin, Slater, McKennen and Beveridge.

“There’s a lot of younger kids going both ways, but you have to have your best 11 guys out there if you’re going to win,” the head coach said.

One area where Spigarelli is pretty confident in is special teams.

Gabe Rejonis returns for his third season as the long snapper,” he said. “That’s a really important position that gets overlooked a lot, but he’s done a fine job.”

Duffy will handle the punting duties for the third straight season.

“Thor has a very strong leg. He can really boom the ball.”

Ramsay will return to handle the kickoffs and placements. He booted 30 PATs and a pair of field goals last season.

“I feel very comfortable with Mason back there,” Spigarelli added. “I wouldn’t be afraid to put him out there at any time.”

The head coach said Ramsay’s range could extend to 35 yards.

“We always spend some time at practice on special teams, but when you have the kids back that we have, we don’t spend as much time as we would normally,” he admitted. “The guys know their landmarks, so it’s pretty easy to coach.”

Beaver Local and Caldwell are new to the Bellaire schedule this fall. They replace Wheeling Central and Steubenville Catholic. Both of those contests are at home and are 2-year contracts.

“Beaver is another big school on our schedule, which is good,” he noted. “I saw them play at Ferry last year and thought they would be a good fit for us. We take each game one at a time. We go and scout teams, watch film and then try to develop a game plan specifically for them.”

Spigarelli said there are no weak sisters in the Buckeye 8.

“Every game is a dogfight,” he stressed. “There is no rest there. Most of the schools are bigger than we are, so we’re battling the numbers, as well.”

Bellaire will open at River Friday night. The game will be the Pilots first on their artificial surface and Spigarelli is excited to be part of the first game there.

“That’s going to be a fun night getting on that turf for the first game,” he said. “Coach (Mike) Flannery does a great job down there and Lukas Isaly is one of the best athletes I’ve seen.”

A home game with Caldwell in week 2 precedes three straight road games at Harrison Central, John Marshall and Buckeye Local. A trio of home games against Beaver Local, St. Clairsville and Shadyside kick off the second half of the season. A trip to Morristown and a visit from Martins Ferry conclude the 10-game slate.

The River, Harrison Central, John Marshall and Union Local games have 7 p.m. starts. All home games begin at 12:30 p.m.

Another plus for the Big Reds is the return of the entire coaching staff. Back are offensive coordinator Shawn Valloric, who Spigarelli said did an outstanding job last year.

“He will call the plays and I think he did a super job last season. I didn’t give him enough credit in the newspaper for that, and I apologize.”

Jayson Keyser will handle the special teams, while Raphael Johnson coaches the defensive line and Ryan McMahon the offensive line. They are assisted by long-time BHS assistants Bruce Stolz and Ed Miller.

“Having them all back is a real plus,” Spigarelli said. “They know all of the kids and the kids know all of them. They know how to take the kids and the kids know how to take them.”

The junior high staff includes John Farrier as 8th grade head coach. His assistants are Mike Secrest and Wyatt Back. The 7th grade head coach is Keith Rejonis. He is aided by Jim LaRoche and Bill Meek.

As far as the outlook for 2017 goes, Spigarelli said he likes his team’s chances every week.

“I always say we want to go 10-0. Every coach wants to do that. if you don’t set that as a goal, the kids don’t really go through practices real well,” he said. “We also want to win the Buckeye 8 and definitely beat Martins Ferry to keep SPARKY in Bellaire. I think a lot of people want us to beat Shadyside and St. Clairsville. A lot of people say Shadyside is a rival, but again, I don’t think they’re a rivalry because we haven’t played them for 40 years like we have St. Clairsville and Martins Ferry.

“But, we haven’t beaten them in four years, so we’ll do something different that week to prepare for them.”

(All home games

begin at 12:30 p.m.)

Aug. 25 — at River, 7 p.m.

Sept. 2 — Caldwell

Sept. 8 — at Harrison, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 — at John Marsh., 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 — at Buckeye

Sept. 30 — Beaver Local

Oct. 7 — St. Clairsville

Oct. 14 — Shadyside

Oct. 20 — at Union Local, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28 — Martins Ferry