HERSHEY, Pa. – When Blane Gold took over the Redbank Valley football program three short years ago, the Bulldogs were a program that couldn’t get beyond the district level.
Gold set out to change that and over the past two years has done just that cumulating in the Bulldogs having the best season in school history with a second-place finish in the PIAA Class 1A after a 21-14 loss to state power Bishop Guilfoyle Thursday afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa.
But Gold doesn’t take the credit. He says that credit belongs to the players.
“If you look at the culture of this year, three years ago we got blown out in the district championship game,” Gold said. “Last year, we were able to win that district championship (the first a the school in 24 years). This year, these guys took it down to basically zero (seconds) against a team, in my mind, in Bishop Guilfoyle that is the standard for Single-A football in the state.”
Gold said the seniors showed from the start that they were willing to do what it took to make Redbank Valley into a program that could be seen on a statewide level as opposed to just a local level.
“A lot of those guys were in the weight room a ton, lifting a ton, doing those sort of things,” Gold said. “These guys, we did more with them in the summer than we’ve ever before. We were asking for hundreds of hours from them. We went to the University of Pittsburgh and spent 10 hours in the sun. We were going to WPIAL seven-on-sevens because we thought this was a potential. They did all that. They put all the work in, and that’s why they were here today.”
There was probably not a better example of that senior leadership than following what could have been a soul-crushing 22-20 loss to archrival Keystone in the opening week of the season after the Bulldogs were ranked fifth in the state in 1A to start the year.
“After that opening-season loss, without good leadership, the season doesn’t turn out well,” Gold said. “They set the tone. They set the culture. They made it clear we were going to move on from that, and we were going to roll from that. To have 13 straight wins in a row and to go toe-to-toe with a heavyweight in the state championship game and give it everything they have, it speaks to them. It speaks to their leadership.”
Perhaps the amazing thing about the senior leadership was they didn’t all enter the program at the same time and they all didn’t have starring roles on the field.
Joe Mansfield and Kolby Barrett predated Gold taking over as head coach, as they were starters and key contributors as freshmen in Ed Wasilowski’s final season as head coach in 2018.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
Marquese Gardlock transferred to Redbank Valley from Farrell his sophomore season, Chris Marshall didn’t play football until his junior year, Bryson Bain not until his senior season.
“The unique thing about our freshman is it’s really a collection of guys that were kind of a mishmash,” Gold said. “They all just jelled really, really well. Even out of those 15 guys, we have some guys like an Anthony McGuire, an Ethan Young that don’t see the field a ton but are still at practice every single day. This season really comes down to the leadership of all those seniors and getting us to where we need to be.”
The 2022 senior class won’t be easy to replace, Gold said.
“I thought last year’s senior group was going ot be hard to replace,” Gold said. “Each senior group, obviously, they are unique in their own ways. But I mean this senior group took us to a place that it’s never been to before. It’s going to be really hard to replace these guys.”
While the seniors won’t be easy to replace, Gold believes that their leadership, just like the leadership of the senior classes before them, will continue to help move the program forward.
“As long as each senior class leaves it in good hands, you will have a chance,” Gold said. “Obviously, with high school sports moving in cycles and things along those lines, I can’t say that necessarily it is a realistic option that you can get here each year. But, each senior class, especially this senior class, has made it believable that Redbank Valley can compete for district championships every year.”
