I survived 39 District 10 football camps with help from Zac Brown Band, courteous deer

Over the course of two weeks, I traveled more than 1,200 miles on highways, routes and country roads, avoided numerous cooperative deer, dodged many rain drops, endured another sunburn and extended gratitude to 39 coaches for allowing me to interrupt practice. And it all meant another year of trips to every football camp in District 10 was a success.

From new coaches to new star players, there was plenty to take in from the far reaches of Erie County to Warren, Crawford, Venango and Mercer counties, including a midnight madness practice. From state title contenders to teams that are struggling with numbers, there are 39 proud football programs ready to take the field Aug. 25-26 to begin another season.

Overall, the camp trips included 39 head coach interviews and more than 140 player interviews with a video preview of each team being posted at GoErie.com.

Preseason prep: Everything you need to know for the 2023 District 10 football season

Here are some observations and awards from around District 10:

Oh, deer

Avoiding accidents with deer is just part of the deal when driving around District 10. Thankfully, I escaped seven interactions with deer without one bashing into my car.

It all started on the way to my first camp, which was almost a bad omen. As I was heading down Route 19 to Fort LeBoeuf in Waterford on the first day, a deer ran alongside my car for almost half a mile. I guess it was pretty excited for the Bison. As I was wrapping up the first day going from Maplewood to Saegertown, another deer appeared beside the road. I slowed down and asked for some tips on the upcoming season, but the deer gave me a look and ran into the woods.

The next deer encounter was on the way to Northwestern in Albion before several deer sightings in Mercer County. I have to thank all of the deer for either running away, running alongside my car or just staring as I drove by instead of running into the road.

Most entertaining class: 1A

While nothing is guaranteed, it looks like most classes have a heavy favorite to defend their District 10 championship. Farrell is strong in Class 2A, Grove City returns almost everyone in 3A, Meadville lost quite a bit to graduation but is still the team to beat in 4A and McDowell could secure another 6A title in November.

Class 1A, however, is going to be a lot of fun this year. Reynolds is the three-time defending champion, but the Raiders were gutted by graduation, including that of all-time rusher Jalen Wagner. Reynolds also lost several key returning players who decided not to play. Reynolds is mostly sophomores and a handful of seniors, leaving the 1A title wide open.

Cambridge Springs is loaded for bear with a strong team, while Eisenhower returns a solid team despite losing all-time rusher Benji Bauer and most of its linebackers. Lakeview might be the fastest team in Class 1A with Mitchell Tingley and track stars Danick Hinkson and Blake Skiles, while Mercer has a solid rushing duo with Daemyin Mattocks and Carter Addison, and Maplewood has an experienced line.

Cool moments when put on the spot

Tension, fear, anxiety and relief are all part of high school sports, especially with the game on the line. I almost went through that in mere moments at the start of the General McLane visit. I was talking with head coach Marshall McCormick on the sideline when suddenly the entire team is running at me. Do I hide behind McCormick? Do I run? Do I play dead like a bear attack? Is this how it ends?

Luckily the team stopped right in front of me. Shoutout to the one player who yelled out that I was supposed to break them down. Somehow I raised my arm and got “Lancers on three” out of my mouth after realizing what was happening. I then look over at General McLane assistant coach Wayne Bradford, one of the best guys you'll ever meet, and I saw that smile on his face which gave away what happened.

Ironically, one day later I was at Iroquois when I see practice ending and the team cooling down. The Braves start to circle me and I go to move before new coach Manny Johnson yells out “Don't you move, Reisenweber”. The entire team did some jumping jacks toward me and had me break them down as well.

A big thank you to Iroquois and General McLane for the unexpected but cool moments in camp.

Former head coaches are back

There are five new head coaches in District 10 and all five are looking to turn around a program. The new coaches include Bill Henwood (Northwestern), Mike Menold (Greenville), John Cox (Kennedy Catholic), Manny Johnson (Iroquois) and Cody Bupp (Warren).

Several of the old head coaches are still coaching this year at other schools. Former Northwestern coach Mark Brooks initially resigned to take time off, but he eventually rejoined the Cathedral Prep staff as an assistant head coach and running backs coach. Former Greenville coach Brian Herrick joined the Grove City College staff as the secondary coach, while former Kennedy Catholic coach John Reay is on staff at Sto-Rox as the offensive coordinator. Former Iroquois coach Nick Copeland is on staff at Northwestern and former Warren coach Mark Morelli is the linebackers and wide receivers coach at St. Marys.

Another big return this year is legendary Wilmington head coach Terry Verrelli. After several years of retirement, he asked Wilmington head coach Brandon Phillian if he could come to help out. Phillian didn't hesitate to get Verrelli on his staff.

Twinning and winning

There are two teams that have a set of twins playing big-time roles this season. At Cambridge Springs, Preston and Josh Gorton are primed for a big senior season. The two defensive standouts each recorded more than 100 tackles last year. Josh Gorton led the way with 115 and Preston Gorton added 109. The two also help out on offense as Josh Gorton ran for 333 yards and four touchdowns last fall and Preston Gorton had 22 catches for 405 yards and four touchdowns. Cambridge Springs is a top contender for the Region 1 title and the District 10 Class 1A title and the Gorton twins are a big part of the Blue Devils' success.

General McLane features a pair of junior twins in Isaac and Jacob Zietz. The two will be counted on to lead the offense this year as Isaac Zietz takes over at quarterback and Jacob Zietz is a top returning wide receiver. Their chemistry and connection on the field could lead to a lot of passing yards and touchdowns as the Lancers look to defend their Region 5 title.

Zac Brown Band to the rescue

Those who read my camp column last year know Kate Bush was inescapable. "Stranger Things" was popular and the song "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" was played ad nauseam on the radio.

I wasn't taking any chances this year. I gathered all of my Zac Brown Band songs together on my phone and was on my way. Zac Brown Band is one the all-time greatest bands and they have a great range of hit songs and deeper cuts that I enjoy. It has been 10 years since they performed at Erie Insurance Arena. It was a great show. Can we get them back to Erie soon?

Taking to the skies

North East coach Jovon Johnson introduced the use of a drone during practice last year so his players could see a better angle of what is going on. The idea is innovative and helpful to programs utilizing the technology.

Johnson started a trend as several other schools had drones during camp this year, including Fairview and Erie High. As more teams look for new ways to understand formations and what players need to improve on, we might see more drones in the sky around District 10.

'Man of the people'

Most interviews involve the season and team expectations, but every now and then you have to throw a curveball to break things up. At Eisenhower camp, I talked with fullback Tucker Lindell. He is a different kind of fullback because he has the technique of a big-time blocker but the speed of a tailback. Eisenhower graduated its starting tailback from last year, but instead of moving Lindell to tailback, he is staying at fullback because of his value.

I had to ask, would Lindell rather score the game-winning touchdown or throw a block to spring the game-winning touchdown.

After a few seconds to ponder things, he answered, “I'm a man of the people, so someone else can have the touchdown.”

Perfect answer.

Best name in D-10

Another important question was down at Sharon High School, which features a player with the best name in District 10: Mister Ham.

Ham is likely the starting quarterback for the Tigers this year, so I had to ask if there was a story behind his name.

“My mom came up with it," Ham said. "She said it was a sign of respect that every time someone said my name it would start with Mister.”

Biggest offseason transfers

There are several talented players who changed schools since last season and could make a big difference. One of the notable transfers is Tuff McConahy from Wilmington. He transferred before basketball season last year to Girard High School in Ohio. The quarterback will play for head coach Pat Pearson, who was a pass-heavy coordinator at Youngstown State. Grove City lost some of its depth as backup quarterback Alex Hackwelder, who had 53 tackles and 1½ sacks moved to Hubbard in Ohio.

Kennedy Catholic was also hit hard by transfers after questions arose about the program's survival. The head coach resigned after the 2022 season and several players didn't know if there would be a football team in 2023. Standout senior Simeir Wade transferred to Farrell, while lineman Blaiden Parcetich transferred to West Middlesex. Wade was ruled eligible for the regular season but not for the playoffs. He has an appeal pending with the PIAA for the playoffs. Parcetich was ruled ineligible for the regular season and the playoffs because it was ruled he transferred for athletic intent. Sophomore Rider Chiappini also transferred from Kennedy Catholic and will likely start at quarterback for Mercer this fall. Because Chiappini transferred before his sophomore season, he's not subject to the transfer rule for the playoffs. All-region lineman Elias Lawson also left Kennedy Catholic and is now at New Castle.

Another key transfer is Nicanor Andrada from Butler to Farrell. Andrada was a two-year starter at linebacker for the Golden Tornado and could be a big addition to the Farrell defense this fall.

Midnight magic

Hickory held a midnight madness practice this year to start the second week of camp. Aug. 14 was the first day that teams could start hitting around the state and the Hornets didn't want to waste one second. The team was fired up and jumping around ready to practice, but the coaches wouldn't let them touch the turf until exactly midnight.

The team put in a full two-hour practice before heading home. They were called back eight hours later for another practice. The players loved the idea as several seniors said they didn't want to waste one second of their final season, while quarterback Zander Telesz said he thought coach Bill Dungee was kidding at first, but it ended up being a cool idea.

Thanks for the memories

After more than a year of court cases and uncertainty, it's finally decided that this season will be the final year for Butler football to compete in District 10. The Golden Tornado will return to the WPIAL in 2024, which is also a new PIAA two-year cycle.

Butler has been competitive in District 10 and has increased participation in the program, which was the point of joining D-10 in the first place. Coach Eric Christy said that he has enjoyed their time in D-10 and thinks the coaches are great. He wished Butler had just one or two more PIAA cycles in D-10 before going back to the WPIAL as the program continues to grow.

Butler will have one last year to compete for the Region 6 title and the District 10 Class 6A championship. Christy is hoping to still schedule several D-10 teams each year going forward.

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @ETNreisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: District 10 football: Insights after visits to 39 high school camps