Flying solo

Aug 20, 2026 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

There were two major changes with the Connellsville football team during the offseason.

The Falcons have opted to reenter the WPIAL after two years as an independent and their trio of head coaches who worked together for the past four years has been reduced to one.

Jace McClean enters his fifth season guiding Connellsville only this time he’ll be the lone man in charge.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s a lot of work, I’m not going to lie,” said McClean who had been sharing top duties with Chad Lembo and Mick Lilley.

“Chad was the P.R. guy. He dealt with the parents, the boosters, the meetings,” McClean said. “I just ran the defense and Mick did the offense.”

Connellsville brought in two new coordinators to help McClean.

“Howie Metzger is going to be our offensive coordinator this year,” McClean said. “This will be his first year. He played at Waynesburg University, was a receiver there. We’re looking to open it up a little more this year than we did last year.

“Mike Kuhns is the defensive coordinator. He played at Duquesne as a lineman. He and I will work hand in hand a lot.”

The rest of the Falcons coaching staff includes Jared Ozias, Jason Pletcher, Hayden Light, Joe Bonadio, Justin Haines, Stephen Bush, Bronson Mickens and Todd Barrett with Lembo staying on as a volunteer assistant along with Tyler Metzger.

The WPIAL pegged Connellsville for the very formidable Class 5A Big East Conference along with Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills.

“The kids are excited about getting back into the WPIAL, but it’s going to be a true challenge,” McClean said. “I believe it’s the best 5A conference and it’s going to be running the gauntlet.

“The heart of our schedule is the toughest with Penn-Trafford, Woodland Hills, Gateway. That part we’ll be trying to get through without injuries. Then the last three, Latrobe, Franklin (Regional), Fox (Chapel), those will be the ones we’ll be battling for a playoff spot with. We haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years, so that’s our goal.”

The Falcons open their season with four non-conference games against nearby teams.

“One reason we did get back in is the non-conference schedule,” McClean said. “The WPIAL did help us out there. We open up with Southmoreland, Albert Gallatin, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown, four local games the kids are really excited for. That was a big plus.

“All the local (independent) teams, AG and Uniontown, we said the same thing, that if we could schedule these non-conference games, we’ll get back in. And the WPIAL made it happen.”

Both coaches are excited about the Southmoreland-Connellsville clash that will open the season on Aug. 28 at Falcon Stadium.

“We’re looking forward to that,” Scotties head coach Dustin Shoaf said. “We named it the Battle of 119. We have a trophy the kids are going to compete for.”

McClean is hoping the game will be an annual affair.

“Yeah, the Battle of 119, traveling trophy, whoever wins gets to keep it,” McClean confirmed. “They’re only 15 miles down the road. It’ll be fun. I think the crowd will be into it, too.”

The Falcons then go on the road to face the Colonials and Mustangs before returning home to play the Red Raiders.

“We’ve had some good battles with AG the last few years,” McClean said. “We haven’t played LH since we were in the WPIAL. Then right after that we have Uniontown, another close-by rival, who we play for the Coal Bucket.

“So we go through a nice stretch of local games there.”

McClean feels his team is making strides as the 2026 season approaches.

“We’ve had a pretty good offseason,” he said. “We did I would say four or five 7-on-7 tournaments and we held our own. We won one. The kids have been battling all summer long.”

Some of his players would have been fine with the Falcons remaining an independent, but the final decision was to rejoin the WPIAL.

“It’ll be interesting. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen,” McClean said. “We took a poll at the end of last year and actually it was kind of split. Some liked being an independent and some wanted to be back in the WPIAL.

“But sitting down as a coaching staff we decided the best move was to get back in. So here we are.”