Times' Game of the Week Preview: South Park at Beaver Area

BEAVER – The two coaches whose teams meet Friday at Pat Tarquinio Field – South Park’s Brian Abbey and Beaver’s Cort Rowse -- have much in common.

They’re pleased with how their teams have played the past three weeks in non-conference games. Both the Eagles and Bobcats are off to 3-0 starts.

They’re excited about the next challenge, a WPIAL Class 3A Western Hills Conference opener that, even at this early date, figures to have playoff implications.

And finally, they are men coaching their alma maters. They fully understand the culture and traditions on their respective programs.

“Each week, you play these three non-conference games, they’re like auditions for the season,” Abbey said of South Park’s performance so far. “Each of the past three weeks, our kids have checked most of the boxes. We’ve faced adversity each week, but our kids stood tall. They’ve grown as a team.”

In their three non-conference games, South Park beat East Allegheny, 22-16; Keystone Oaks, 15-10; and Brentwood, 38-0.

Meanwhile, Beaver recorded three straight wins over Beaver County teams from the Class 2A Midwestern Conference: 35-14 over Western Beaver; 31-28 over Beaver Falls, which has played in the last three WPIAL 2A championship games; and 42-0 over Freedom.

“It’s great playing those games because there’s a lot of people in the stands for both teams,” Rowse said of Beaver’s non-conference slate. “They’re all Beaver County teams so there’s a lot of energy in those games. Our kids have played well. They’re learning the process of what it takes to win and be successful.”

The process for Rowse and his coaching staff is different than it was a year ago.

Last year, the Bobcats had an experienced, senior-laden team that put together an eight-win season that included a win in the playoffs. Along with South Park and West Mifflin, they finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Western Hills Conference behind Avonworth, which advanced to the WPIAL final. This year, the Bobcats returned only one starter. That would be Gabe Lutton, a junior running back/linebacker.

“The whole roster flipped from the past two years,” Rowse said. “We have so many first-year guys.”

The youth movement is especially noticeable on the offensive line where Beaver starts five underclassmen: two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.

Beaver's new quarterback, Travis Clear, is only a sophomore. He’s replacing Isaac Pupi, who threw for 1,040 yards and 16 touchdowns with only four interceptions last year.

“He’s a 15-year-old kid learning how to play quarterback,” Rowse said of Clear. “He’s our leader. The team trusts him. He’s getting better every week. He’ll only get better.”

Clear has thrown three TD passes so far. The first was a 59-yarder to junior wide receiver Amari Jackson in the season-opening win at Western Beaver. The Bobcats trailed 14-0 at the time but went on to score 35 unanswered points. He also threw a game-winning 38-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Brady Mayo in the thrilling home win over Beaver Falls.

As Clear continues to develop, Beaver will lean heavily on junior running backs Qualan Cain and Drey Hall. Cain leads the team in scoring with six rushing TDs, including four against Western Beaver.

Rowse also is excited to see what Mayo can do the rest of the season. A talented athlete who starred on Beaver’s 17-5 basketball team that made the playoffs last year, Mayo also takes a few snaps at quarterback in what basically is a “wildcat” look.

“Brady wasn’t a full-time starter last year but he played a lot,” Rowse said. “He’s a dynamic athlete who played in a lot of high-level situations last year on the basketball court. We’ll move him around, inside and outside as a receiver and run him at quarterback in certain sets.“

While Beaver has a lot of new faces throughout its lineup, South Park returns 18 lettermen from last year’s team that finished 5-6 after a first-round playoff loss. Among them are two of the most dynamic athletes in Eagles history.

One of them is running back Eric Doerue, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior. Last year, Doerue carried the ball 216 times and racked up 1,378 rushing yards and 18 TDs. So far this season, he’s carried 57 times for 522 yards and four TDs.

“He’s a back that brings a lot of vision, power and speed,” Rowse said of Doerue. “He’s the real deal.”

“He’s one of the best backs we’ve ever had at South Park,” Abbey said.

South Park’s other high-profile player is Zack Ludwig, a Michigan recruit. He’s a senior linebacker who’s also playing quarterback this year. Ludwig has replaced three-year QB starter Harper Conroy.

Last year as a junior, Ludwig didn’t have any college scholarship offers when he attended a game at Michigan in November. He’s the nephew of Ben Herbert, a West Allegheny High School graduate who’s Michigan’s strength and conditioning coach. During Ludwig’s trip to Michigan, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh surprisingly offered him a scholarship. Ludwig accepted.

Ludwig doesn’t throw the ball a lot. But with Doerue carrying the ball so often and with so much success, Ludwig doesn’t have to throw that much. He’s completed 10 of 22 passes for 162 and no TDs with two interceptions. But he’s also carried 27 times for 133 yards and two TDs.

“It will be a tall task,” Rowse said of the challenge South Park presents. “But it will be a great environment at Pat Tarquinio Field on Friday night. We’re looking forward to that opportunity.”

Rowse, a 1988 Beaver graduate, knows all about the environment on the Bobcats’ home field on Friday nights during football season. He played for Tarquinio and the Bobcats as an offensive and defensive lineman. And before he was hired as head coach in 2021, he served as an assistant coach under Jeff Beltz for 15 seasons.

Rowse feels so proud and honored to be the man chosen to follow Tarquinio and Beltz, who gave the Bobcats 55 years of service (Tarquinio 34, Beltz 21).

“It’s a blessing. I have the greatest job in the world,” Rowse said.

“It was an honor to play for Coach Tarquinio. Not only was he a great coach, he was a mentor and father figure for me. And Jeff came here, he took me sight unseen and basically taught me the daily ins and outs of coaching. Getting a chance to carry on that legacy, that tradition, I’m humbled and privileged. I understand what’s expected of us and the program, what we need to do and how we need to do it.”

Abbey understands the way Rowse feels about coaching at Beaver.

“My story at South Park is similar to Cort’s at Beaver,” said Abbey, a 2001 South Park grad who’s in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach.

When Abbey played at South Park, his coach was Tom Loughran, a legendary figure in Eagles’ sports history who retired in 2015 after guiding the football team for 32 years. In 1997 and 2005, Loughran led South Park to WPIAL and state titles.

Abbey was a freshman on the ’97 championship team and an assistant coach on the ’05 championship team. For the past eight years, Abbey served as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator under coach Marty Rieck.

“I’m just looking to continue the tradition that is South Park football,” Abbey said.

Abbey and Rowse both get their chance to carry on their alma mater’s tradition on Friday in the Beaver County Times’ Game of the Week.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Times' Game of the Week Preview: South Park at Beaver Area