New head coach brings spark to young Northgate team

New head coach brings spark to young Northgate team&emsp;&emsp;Although Northgate did not crack the WPIAL playoffs last year, a cohesive group of seniors made the seasn memorable. Those seniors, as well as former head coach Michael Fulmore, are gone now, and new head coach Chris Lucas is beginning a new era of Northgate football with a group of hungry young players.&emsp;&emsp;In 2021, the Flames finally snapped a 32-game losing streak and captured three wins -- including an extraordinary one on senior night against 2021 WPIAL Class A runner-up OLSH. Can Norhgate carry that momentum forward to the 2022 season?&emsp;&emsp;Lucas is no stranger to Northgate. A 1998 alumnus, he played and is now in his second stint of coaching football at Northgate as part of his 20-year career. From 2007 until 2010 he served as an assistant coach. For the previous two seasons, he was a coordinator under Fulmore. Lucas switched from offensive to defensive coordinator last year despite being an offensive play caller his entire coaching career.&emsp;&emsp;"Being a defensive coordinator is a lot more fun than being an offensive coordinator," Lucas said. "You can be way more aggressive."&emsp;&emsp;That aggressive nature and the passionate energy that Lucas brings to the table must be enticing for Northgate's student-athletes. This year's roster has approximately 35 players, which is the most kids the team has had in many seasons. The team is relatively young, as the roster is filled with freshmen and sophomores. Only eight or nine of the 35 are upperclassmen. This inexperience was expected after the loss of last year's seniors, but many of those players will gain experience this season in junior varsity games, as Northgate's substantial numbers have allowed them to create a JV team for the first time in years.&emsp;&emsp;Coach Lucas's leading message to his players is commitment, and he is pleased with how they have responded, "Throughout spring workouts, we had no less than 25 kids come every day." Spring workouts included many outdoor football drills and a weightlifting program. &emsp;&emsp;Along with commitment, Lucas has incorporated a no-nonsense standard to get his young group to become more disciplined. He brought back an old Northgate football tradition from his playing days to make kids learn from their mistakes. "When I played here, Coach [Rich] Hurley had us run up the hill at the field here, and it got the name Mount Hurley. The guys know that if anyone is one minute late to practice, they're going to see Mount Hurley."&emsp;&emsp;Lucas, named "Coach Lucky" by his team, is also trying to get his players to become more team-oriented. "An acronym we use is INAM, which stands for 'It's Not About Me.' We want our guys to be concerned with what they can do to help the whole team."&emsp;&emsp;Lucas's coaching staff is similar to Fulmore's previous staff, but there are a few new faces. He will leave the play-calling duties to Lewis Clark, promoted to defensive coordinator, and Logan Parsons, promoted to offensive coordinator. Northgate teacher and former University of Pittsburgh lineman Mark Fratangelo is the new offensive and defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach. Lucas has also brought in Dan Sefick, who worked alongside Lucas as the defensive coordinator for the North Catholic Trojans' 2013 state championship team as the secondary coach. Ryan Long, a player on that team, is the new assistant offensive line and linebackers coach. Longtime Northgate coach Frank Camella Sr. has returned to Northgate football thisyear to help coach the receivers and defensive backs.&emsp;&emsp;For this year's varsity team; Northgate is counting on a small group of upperclassmen to lead some talented underclassmen. Senior captain Manny McGrail will anchor the offensive line at center and will be rushing the passer at outside linebacker. Junior captain Aidan Gross will be calling out plays at middle linebacker and will see snaps at halfback on offense. Senior Lewis Clark will be the number one wide receiver and cornerback on Northgate's depth chart. "Those guys have fully dedicated themselves to getting better and are leading the younger guys to buy into what we're doing here," Lucas said proudly. "They have set a great example.''&emsp;&emsp;Two younger players who have followed their example are sophomores Darius Fields and Angelo Valeriano, who impressed Lucas with their commitment to the weight room in the off season. Fields has earned the starting running back job, and Valeriano will see action at outside linebacker. Another sophomore Lucas described as "fully committed" is Sonteon Layne. Layne will be the new starting quarterback for the Flames.&emsp;&emsp;A big question mark on Northgate's offense is the new group of offensive linemen that will be filling the big shoes of the seniors who anchored the line last year. Several of those players are now playing at the next level. Except for McGrail and junior Alex Wozniak, senior Daniel Moser and sophomores Caleb Billings (listed at 6'3 310 lbs.) and Jake Lenoski will all be getting significant playing time on the line for the first time.&emsp;&emsp;Northgate will compete in the WPIAL Class A Big 7 Conference and see some new opponents in their section due to WPIAL class and section realignment. Coach Lucas knows that this year's schedule will be just as challenging as last year's, if not more so. "Laurel and South Side are moving down from Class AA, and both of those teams were very successful last year," he noted. "Shenango and Rochester will continue to be tough as well."&emsp;&emsp;Northgate opens its season on Aug. 26 with a non-section game at former section foe Fort Cherry. The home opener is also a non-section game on Sept. 2 against Springdale.