McKEESPORT, Pa. (KDKA) – With training camps in full swing throughout the WPIAL, the McKeesport team is full of hungry players who can’t wait to overcome the hurdle of Aliquippa this year.
After a week of heat acclimatization training, the teams began their training camp with full-contact exercises on Monday.
“You get tired of all the T-shirts and shorts and all the running around,” said McKeesports head coach Matt Miller. “It’s nice to finally play real football again.”
Mike Darnay/Mon Valley Independent
“This is the day we’ve been waiting for,” running back Anthony Boyd said. “Lots of physical contact. Punches. Full speed. Sweat. Blood. That’s what I like to see. It feels good to be out here.”
McKeesport is a true perennial contender in the WPIAL, even though it doesn’t have the advantages of other schools in terms of training facilities and equipment.
“As you can see, it doesn’t look very nice here,” Boyd said. “It’s really tough out here. Hard ground. You just have to be from McKeesport to understand that.”
“The toughness,” said running back and defensive back Kemon Spell. “We grew up in the trenches, you know. We just wanted to play football and get out there.”
McKeesport’s biggest competitor in Class 4A is Aliquippa, which recently won a lawsuit against the PIAA that allows the school to remain in 4Ain McKeesports classification.
“It’s none of my business,” Miller said. Aliquippa is an hour away from here. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t seen it on the news and stuff, but I haven’t really been paying attention.
“Honestly, I wanted them to stay,” Boyd said. “I don’t want them to move up. I need my revenge.”
This revenge factor focuses on the fact that Aliquippa has ended McKeesports’ season for the past three years, including last year in the 4A title game at Acrisure Stadium.
Mike Darnay/Mon Valley Independent
“I’ve been practicing since we lost,” wide receiver Anthony Cromerdie said. “This will haunt me forever. I have nightmares about it. I just wish we could have won. We’re different this year.”
“We can’t go back to the past,” Spell said. “We lost. We didn’t put our foot on the gas. That motivates me a lot. We’re going to come back this year and see if they’re ready. I know my guys and I are ready to come back and win it all.”
McKeesport’s season begins next Friday when they face Lake High School from Uniontown, Ohio at Wolvarena, Woodland Hills.
