Which Cochranton football trio will be counted on to lead the Cardinals in 2023?
The start of the 2023 District 10 football season is right around the corner. Visit GoErie.com throughout August for updated videos and photos from team camps. Here is one in a series of previews for all 39 D-10 teams:
Cochranton Cardinals
Coach: Mike Feleppa (3rd season, 9-8)
2022 record: 1-7 (1-6 Region 1)
2022 playoff results: Did not qualify for the District 10 playoffs.
Assistant coaches: Ken Achenbach, Alex Spahn, Jared Morrison, John Svirbly
Player rankings: These are the Erie Times-News preseason top 50 football players in District 10 for 2023
Heading back in the right direction
Cochranton looks to head back in the right direction this season after winning one game last fall. The Cardinals dominated two years ago and won their first region title. Cochranton just needs to keep building the program to reload instead of rebuild when losing a big senior class. The Cardinals return five starters on both sides of the ball in Noah Cummings, Blake Foulk, Walker Carroll, Tim Deeter and Blaine Lee. Deeter was a freshman starter on the offensive and defensive lines, and Lee is a returning senior two-way lineman. Cummings, Foulk and Carroll are all outstanding athletes that could be used in different ways. Cummings is listed as a quarterback with Foulk and Carroll as wide receivers, but all three could see plenty of touches on offense no matter what position they line up in each play. The three will be counted on as leaders of the Cardinals this fall.
Utilizing the schedule
Cochranton has just eight games this year, but the extra time off could be huge for a smaller roster. The Cardinals have a brutal game to start the year at Eisenhower but then a week off to recover and get ready for region play against Saegertown. The week off in Week 10 could also be big if the Cardinals are headed to the playoffs. The other big thing for the Cardinals is no road games in back-to-back weeks. They are off after going to Eisenhower, they are home in a short week after going to Kennedy Catholic, they get a long week after going to Lakeview and an off week after going to Maplewood. The Cardinals are in a solid position to use their schedule to stay healthy and keep battling for wins in a wide-open Region 1.
More previews: Can Eisenhower run to the District 10 Class 1A high school football championship in 2023?
Schedule
Aug. 25 at Eisenhower 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 Bye
Sept. 8 vs. Saegertown* 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 at Kennedy Catholic* 1 p.m.
Sept. 22 vs. Mercer* 7 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Lakeview* 7 p.m.
Oct. 6 vs. Reynolds* 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 vs. Cambridge Springs* 7 p.m.
Oct. 20 at Maplewood* 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 Bye
*Region 1 game
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Cochranton football looks to bounce back, become contender
