It took until late October last season for Bethel Park football to secure its fourth win. This time around, the Black Hawks are four weeks into the season and have yet to lose a contest due in large part to their explosive offense.
Four games, four wins and 207 total points. This time last fall, the Black Hawks had scored only 103 points.
What’s allowed Bethel Park to score 51.7 points per game – the WPIAL’s top offense – hasn’t been some magic formula or a new-look offense. Rather, it’s been built on long days of offseason work that started in the spring and the veteran experience the Black Hawks brought back.
“This year, everyone’s more experienced on the offensive side of the ball, so we’re a lot more connected and we have a ton of chemistry. We’ve been working on this since early April. We’ve found what we like to do and it’s working,” senior quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer said.
Pfeuffer ranks first in the district with 941 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. Most recently, Pfeuffer helped guide this Bethel offense to a 62-14 win over Class 4A West Mifflin, which was the most points scored since the Black Hawks hung 69 on Canon-McMillan in 2015.
Pfeuffer went 14-of-22 passing for 250 yards and five touchdowns and has been an excellent senior leader through this early run.
“Year three as a starter, he’s really come into his own,” head coach Phil Peckich said. “He’s a leader out there and an extension of the coaching staff. He can play the on-schedule play and the second play, if it does break down. To have a guy out there that you feel comfortable with when you call anything that’s on our menu for that week is a big relief for us.”
It isn’t just Pfeuffer, though, as the Black Hawks are loaded with offensive weapons.
Senior running back JaVaugh Moore is also atop the WPIAL with 735 yards on the ground, along with eight touchdowns. Moore has become a viable target out of the backfield as well, hauling in four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown in the win over West Mifflin.
“He really took the offseason by storm and changed his body. Year two playing at this level of football, it’s slowing down for him,” Peckich said. “Physically, he’s improved himself to be a punishing runner. He showed his ability to hit the big play, get the tough yards, to catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s a complete back.”
“He means a whole lot in the passing and running game. He’s a great rusher. When he’s rushing the ball good, it brings the secondary down and opens up our pass game. He’s doing a phenomenal job and he makes plays,” Pfeuffer added.
Along with Moore, Pfeuffer spread the ball around to a handful of trusted targets, including senior Mitchell Paschl, who caught five passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns of 59 and 32 yards.
“I ran a rail route. Tanner put a perfect ball right into my hands. Broke a couple tackles, took it to the house,” Paschl said when detailing his 59-yard score.
Senior tight end Clancy Orie and junior Jovian Smith added touchdowns in the win. The potent offensive attack all comes without senior receiver Ryan Petras, who has been sidelined with an injury after recording 734 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last fall.
“That’s probably one of the more surprising things from the outside looking in, especially when Ryan was sidelined here for a couple weeks. I think a lot of people thought we’d be one dimensional and we would be leaning on our run game. Our receivers, our skill guys in general, our offensive line has elevated their play,” Peckich said.
Bethel Park even added an 84-yard kick return from senior receiver and returner Jack Bruckner to add another element to the Black Hawks fast start.
“What we have here is some balance. That’s what we’re proud of. We have balance in the run game, pass game and special teams,” Peckich said.
Sitting at 4-0, Bethel Park is off to its best start in team history since 2008, a year in which it went 15-1 and won the school’s lone WPIAL title.
“We’re doing a great job,” Paschl said. “We just got to keep our foot on everyone’s necks. We’re not satisfied.”
Great job, Phil burkes Dr is proud of you.