Westmoreland County high school notebook: Hempfield football assembles eclectic coaching staff

Hempfield second-year head coach of the football team, Nick Keefer has put together a blend of assistants for a new season. 
 
One of them will be useful for fans of basketball in the given locality. 
 
Jim Nesser, who has coached hardwood long time is now a member of the Spartans and will help with the defensive backs. Bob Nesser, who assisted in helping out with the team at Greensburg Central Catholic when his son, Jake, played there recently retired as a teacher and assistant coach at Yough. 
 
Jake Nesser continued his playing career at the college level at Gannon. 
 
“He is a culture man, and I have 41 years of (basketball coaching) experience, he understands defense,” Keefer added. “That I take him to look at the kids and see if they are competing, frankly we are having a lot of fun with him. 
 
There is also a new assistant in Al “Poodie” Carson, a former bodybuilder, a personal trainer, and the member of the Church of Scientology, who trained Aaron Donald and other NFL players as well as several other professional and college teams. 
 
It is important memorize such a piece of information as the main character of the show Carson is a police officer. 
 
‘‘He was just working with guys at Alabama,’’, Keefer continued. “His big thing is hand-fighting,” Keefer said [about McGregor’s strength]. “He has too coached children at IUP and Pitt universities He is neighbor and owner of the garage origin Belle Vernon but he has a garage in Irwin. ” 
 
Carson shared with his fans a video mimicking a “knife fight” with Donald and it shortly appeared on ESPN. This eyelashed man waved fake, rubber-bladed knives at the current NFL star, who played for Penn Hills and Pitt before getting a Super Bowl ring with the Rams of Los Angeles. 
 
Carson who hails from Belle Vernon markets a fighting brand known as Krav Maga that hails from the Israel Defense Forces. 
 
Another assistant is Tim Van Horn, a Norwin football staffer, and current Norwin Head Track and Field coach. 
 
Van Horn and Keefer played football and also ran track so their resume is relatively similar. 
 
Later this year Van Horn will be the new member in the coaching team of Spartans as an offensive coach, he will assist teh team in speed training. 
 
Kind of reflects in his current position “I am surrounding myself with people who make me better,” Keefer said. “It is good to pass on my values and passion for the game to them. There is no one that I can fool on the staff because everyone gotten each other’s back. ” 
 
WCCA 7-on-7 football 
 
The boys basketball team Latrobe will go for a three-peat Thursday in the 13th Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial Passing Tournament to be held at Latrobe’s Rossi and Graham-Sobota fields. 
 
This year’s event is scheduled starting at 9 a. m. with championship game to follow pool play at 2 p. m. 
 
They will sport a total of 15 teams but there will be only two from Latrobe. Bracket A is Ligonier Valley, Latrobe (B), Penn-Trafford, Mt. Pleasant, Yough, Norwin, Franklin Regional and Valley. 
 
Pool B consists of Jeannette, Hempfield, Latrobe (A), Southmoreland, Burrell, Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area and Greensburg Central Catholic teams. 
 
Swimming champions will come face to face in the finals. 
 
Teams run their plays on the 40 yard line while they need to get to the 20 for a first down. One hand tag games are played for 25minutes and there are no added extra playing time for a team. 
 
A touchdown is also equal to six points, there is an extra point always available if the ball is taken to a 3 yard line or two points when the ball is taken to 10 yard line. 
 
A stop on downs is worth one point, an interception three points. 
 
Last year, during the championship, Latrobe won over Norwin with score 18:12. 
 
Five time defending champ Penn-Trafford was the last team to win back to back to back crowns (2013-2015). 
 
Potential signal callers to pay attention are from Latrobe, John Wetzel-Defense-Marshall, Norwin-Tristyn Tavares, Franklin Regional-Chase Lemke, Southmoreland- Anthony Smith & Caden Matthews, Penn-Trafford- Jon Lovre, GCC-Samir Crosby. 
 
All-American 
 
Patton Graziano graduated from Penn-Trafford this year and was awarded All-America for the second time in the 100-yard backstroke. 
 
The West Virginia recruit performed the second best result in the event at the WPIAL championships in 50. 39 seconds. 
 
Earning fourth place in the Championships, PIAA meet. 
 
Ponko to IUP 
 
Cam Ponko, the student in the Penn-Trafford senior hall, will play college softball at IUP. A power hitter for a third base position and long-term player, she had a batting average of . 500 this season, six home runs, 25 RBI and 28 run scored. 
 
Recruiting 
 
Specifically, Mt. Pleasant soccer player Riley Gesinski will be playing soccer next at Pitt-Greensburg. An All WPIAL player, Gesinski scored 23 assists last season, and 43 in her career. Hannah, her sister, is a junior fellow of the UPG team. 
 
• Hempfield football player Brock Heisler, who measures 6-foot-3, 240-pounds as a load of a defensive end has a first shot at Division I college. Heisler this recipe when at the Penn, one of the famous Ivy League schools in the United States. He was in Penn’s prospect camp in early this month. 
 
• Hempfield baseball player Quinn Wilkins pledged to join Evergreen company and the Allegheny College. Signing as a shortstop and pitcher, Wilkins batted . 380 completed with 18 RBIs and 10 run for the Spartans.