Sep 5, 2025 By Rob Burchianti 5 min read

Albert Gallatin had never beaten Connellsville on the football field until holding off the Falcons for a 29-26 victory last year in a rugged battle at York Run.

The Colonials will again try to do something they’ve yet to accomplish against the Falcons tonight. AG has never beaten Connellsville at Falcon Stadium.

“It did build some confidence in our players that we finally got them last year,” Albert Gallatin coach Drew Dindl said. “We always play them tough at home, but historically we do not do well at their place. We’re looking to try to change that.”

The game is one of two clashes between Fayette County independent teams in Week Two, the other being Brownsville at Uniontown.

There are three more games in which area teams face off against each other tonight with Laurel Highlands traveling to Southmoreland in a meeting of 2-0 squads, Waynesburg Central (1-1) hosting California (2-0) and Carmichaels (1-0) traveling to Frazier (1-1).

The rest of the Week Two schedule has Mapletown (1-1) hosting Chartiers-Houston (1-1) and five other local teams on the road with Jefferson-Morgan (2-0) at Burgettstown (1-0), Belle Vernon (0-1) at Central Valley (0-2), Beth-Center (0-2) at Monessen (2-0), West Greene (0-2) at Fort Cherry (2-0) and Mount Pleasant (1-1) at Burrell (0-2).

All are non-conference games with 7 p.m. kickoffs.

The Uniontown Area High School Academics, Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame will honor its Class of 2025 in a pregame ceremony before the Red Raiders (1-1) and Brownsville (0-2) kick off at Bill Power Stadium. The class will be officially inducted at the high school auditorium Saturday after a brunch in the cafeteria beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Both teams have new coaches this season with Tim Bukowski now guiding the Red Raiders and Uniontown graduate Cody Castor – whose dad will be among those honored before the game as a member of the 1974-75 Red Raiders WPIAL basketball championship team – steering the Falcons.

Connellsville is 1-1 in trying to avenge losses from a year ago with a win over Latrobe but then a loss at Meadville. Dindl, whose team is coming off a victory over Carrick at Cupples Stadium, is aware the Falcons will want revenge for last year’s defeat at AG which went down to the final seconds.

“I told our guys Thursday night after the Carrick game, Connellsville is going to be chomping at the bit to get us,” Dindl said. “We know they’re going to be ready for us and they’re going to give us everything they’ve got. We’ve got to be ready to match that.

“We’re not harping on that though. We’re just at practice doing the same thing that we always do. I keep preaching hard work is what got us where we’re at and we’ve got to continue to do that and not take anyone for granted.”

Dindl gives much of the credit for his team’s 2-0 start to AG’s experienced offense.

“This has been the most advanced we’ve been with our playbook this early in the year,” Dindl said. “In the past it’s taken us four, five, six games to get to where we are right now. These guys have been running this stuff since middle school and we see that carryover in how we’re calling plays, where we can send different guys and things like that. That’s definitely been a plus.

“The carries have been evenly distributed. It’s not like we’ve been heavily focused in the middle or on the outside. I think we’ve had pretty good balance with everything.”

Quarterback Bronx Jamison and running backs Tee Guesman, Adam Pegg and Roman Smith have all found success on the ground for the Colonials who rarely put the ball in the air, although their first touchdown against Carrick came on a 13-yard pass by Jamison to Smith.

“We did complete three passes on Thursday,” Dindl said. “I was joking with Jace (McClean) earlier in the week, get ready for the pass because we’re going to throw it all over the place. He kind of got a chuckle out of that.”

McClean is one of the Falcons’ three head coaches along with Chad Lembo and Mick Lilley and has a good relationship with Dindl despite their rivalry on the field.

“Me and Jace get along so well,” Dindl said. “It’s a big rivalry for sure but him and I talk all year long, even in the offseason. He’s a really good dude. It’s nice to have guys like that you can relate to and support you.”

Dindl said the two independent schools pull for each other for the most part.

“As long as it’s not the week we’re playing, I’d do anything for Jace and I know he’d do the same for us. We definitely have a good relationship with those guys.

“But we still want to beat them Friday night.”