20
Written by
Chuck Fiebernitz
cont. on pg 23
photo by Mikell Clark Webb
PISGAH
When Pisgah High School head
football coach Brett Chappell
arrived on campus in 2013, he
brought a blueprint on how
to build a consistent winning
program. It wasn’t a hard sell as
every player and fan bought into
it. In six seasons under Chappell,
Pisgah has won 72-percent (56-
22-0) of its games, claimed one
outright conference title (2018) and
shared (2016) another, made the
postseason six consecutive seasons
and most importantly to the
Pisgah fans, his “Milltown Boys”
are 6-0 against arch-rival Tuscola.
Maybe it should be called the
“Chappell Way.”
“Every year, we seek a continuation
of what we built and to get into
a position to win a conference
championship,” said Chappell.
“Every year, teams have to replace
great players. We are no different.
We lost several
talented seniors,
including Kam
Walker to
N.C. State
University and
Terran Brown
to Western Carolina
University. So we take our hardworking
kids and plug them into
the voids created by graduation.
Eventually, they will make
contributions. We are confident
they will.”
As for the 2019 edition of Pisgah
football, Chappell and his staff’s
main focus will be to fill a few voids
on the interior lines.
Another area of concern is trying
to figure out how to get enough
touches for an abundance of
speedy skill playmakers, who can
stress opposing defenses on any
given Friday night. But Chappell
loves that challenge.
OFFENSE
On the O-line, senior Travis Shuford,
juniors Neyland Walker and Caleb
Bradford return to start for the
Black Bears in the trenches. There
will be an open competition for the
remaining two spots from seniors
Brentley Radder, Zach Jones, junior
Hunter Brown and sophomore
transfer Dylan McClellan. Senior
Tucker Lockerson could be in the
mix for an offensive lineman spot
in an emergency situation. But
Chappell sees Lockerson as the
Black Bears’ tight end.
“We won’t be the same team as last
year,” said Chappell. “But we still will
have a good group of kids. We have
to replace two holes on the line. It’s
the main focus for us. But we have
talented kids competing for those
jobs.”
Running the football will fall on the
capable shoulders of junior Levi
Cagle and senior Hunter Cseledy.
That’s right, the very same Cseledy
who last year suffered a severe,
season-ending elbow injury against
Tuscola.
“He’s back!” laughed Chappell.
“I am surprised at the progression
Hunter (Cseledy) made from that
very ugly elbow injury. By Spring,
he was playing baseball. Even doing
some pitching. Amazing! But I’m so
glad he is back for his senior season