CLAIRTON, Pa. — The Clairton Bears are off to a 4-0 start after blanking Greensburg Central Catholic, 47-0, on Friday night. While the Bears are a school accustomed to fantastic starts, after years with players such as Tyler Boyd and Lamont Wade, this 4-0 start is particularly special.
While the Bears have a very potent offense, one that scores 42.5 points per game, their defense is what stuck out in Friday’s game against the Centurions. The Bears forced the opposing offense into -12 yards of total offense in the first half and zero points throughout the entirety of the game.
Despite what some would call a dominating performance, the coaches and players of Clairton believe that they could have performed better in the victory. One way for the Bears to “bounce back” is for them to practice harder.
“When we come to practice on Monday, we are going to approach practice ten times harder,” Zaemear Correll told Pittsburgh Sports Now following the game. “Us as a unit, not just a couple of players, but us as a unit, we weren’t coming out and playing to our full potential. But you see, in the second half, we still didn’t play to our full potential, so just letting everybody in the WPIALs know that, that 47-0 could be 100-0, it could be way more than that.”
The Bears defense has yet to allow a single point all season despite playing four full games. This puts the Bears defense on a historic pace. The immense pace is in large part due to the team’s chemistry. At a small school such as the Class-1A Bears, most of the team has been playing as a unit since they were kids.
According to the team leaders, and in specific Correll, the friendship is what makes the chemistry click on the field.
“I feel like it is so special because we are a brotherhood,” Correll said. “We have been playing with each other since we were, dang near, in pampers, since before we could even walk to the store by ourselves.”
In addition to pitching a shutout, the Bears forced two turnovers, a fumble and an interception. The interception came from senior leader Zaemear Correll. Two plays after recording the interception, Correll jolted into the end zone for a long scoring run. Additionally, Correll helped convert a two-point conversion.
While he was not the focal point of the Bears offense, Correll definitely left his mark on Neil C. Brown Stadium in its last game before renovations. Despite a touchdown, a defensive turnover and a successful two-point conversion, Correll still sees improvements to be made.
“It feels great being [a part of the last group] to play on this field, make history and just ball out,” Correll said. “Nothing I did today surprised me or amazed me because that is the type of ball player that I am. I expect more out of myself, honestly.”
Correll, a senior at Clairton, recently received his first Division I offer. The initial offer came from Monmouth University, a place that has a built in pipeline with the area of Clairton.
“That connection [with Monmouth] is pretty good,” Correll said. “The relationship is very tight because Coach Bishop [Neal] is from Clairton himself so it makes it ten times better to have a coach from where you are from and know what you have been through.”
While his first offer just hit in June, Correll is in contact with multiple other coaches and schools. While nothing is guaranteed, do not be surprised if Correll receives more offers by the time his senior season comes to an end.
“The recruiting process has been picking up for me,” Correll said. “I have been talking to a couple more coaches. I am supposed to go to a couple of games.”
Regardless, Correll leads a group of hungry, historic Bears and will look to help guide them all the way to their end goal, becoming state champions.
