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Sports

WH Wolverines Are Ready for Some Football

Coach George Novak discusses his 'great expectations' for Woodland Hills.

There is a certain familiar feeling in the western Pennsylvania air as the middle of August approaches: It is the anticipation of high school football season.

For the players, coaches, and staff of the Wolverines, this anticipation has been lingering since their early, unexpected loss to Mt. Lebanon in the first round of the playoffs last October.

“Every year is a new and different year. And we have great expectations every year,” Coach George Novak said in an interview Monday. “This is a new team; we have some very good players who played last year coming back. We have a lot of new players who didn’t play last year who are going to have to do well for us to be successful.”

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With a smaller than usual senior class, veteran leaders like captains Alex Beasley and Jawan Turner are being counted on to show the younger, less experienced players the Wolverine way. There will be a lot of eyes on Beasley and Turner, as they are both anticipated to further their football careers into college.

When asked what makes his captains standout players, the answer was simple for Novak: “Jawan and Alex were both first team, all-conference players last year. They are both honor roll students, they both scored over 1,000 on the SAT. They’re not only leaders within the football team, they are leaders in the school and community. We’re real proud of them.”

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Beasley and Turner are not the only players receiving accolades. Although Beasley leads the linebackers, there is a lot of talented competition within the team’s secondary. On offense, third-year quarterback Cody McClelland is expected to have a big year, with the help of his key receiver Tom Green, both of whom are said to have had great summers thus far.

Due to budget cuts and lack of funding, the Wolverines were unable to travel to football camp this August; however, they are making the best of the situation in their very own backyard. For five days, this team and its coaches are living in tents at the Wolvarena, eating their meals out of the concession stand, rigorously practicing day and night, meeting constructively as a team and uniting as a cohesive entity.

“Football is part of the educational process,” Novak says of his philosophy for this team.

“Every player, we hope, is better prepared to take on the many challenges of life once they leave this football program and prepared to go on and get a better education. We hope we’ve touched their lives in a positive way and given them positive experiences to grow from.”

Woodland Hills has five WPIAL championships and will be fighting for their sixth title this season.

This will be Novak’s 26th season at Woodland Hills.

 Do you have photos of the tents at football camp or practice sessions? Upload them and share them with other fans of the Wolverines.

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