First off, we want to welcome senior football offensive center Brandon Fusco to our blogging family.
Click here to read Brandon's first blog about the day to day routine of being a potential NFL player.
In our last blog, we saluted Rock men’s soccer alums
Jeremy Spering,
Matt Thompson and
Patrick Cormac for their success this fall as coaches. We want to also recognize four other former Rock soccer student athletes who are enjoying successful seasons as high school and college coaches.
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Blair Gerlach (men’s soccer 1997-99) has led the Mars (Pa.) High School girls soccer team to a perfect 22-0 record, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class AA championship and a berth in second round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) playoffs. The Planets’ second-round game is Saturday.
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Lisa Castiglione (women’s soccer 2000-02) led the Karns City (Pa.) High School girls soccer team to a 17-5 record and a berth in the PIAA Class A playoffs. The Gremlins were eliminated from the state playoffs by a first-round loss.
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Steve Perri (men’s soccer 2004-07) led the Knoch (Pa.) High School girls soccer team to an 11-6-1 record and a berth in the WPIAL playoffs in his first season as head coach.
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Sarah Arsenault (2001-04), the leading scorer in Rock women’s soccer history, has helped the Waynesburg (Pa.) College women’s soccer team compile a 10-6-3 record in her first season as a Yellow Jackets assistant coach. Prior to joining the Waynesburg staff, Arsenault served two seasons as a men’s and women’s soccer assistant coach at Wagner (N.Y.) College and one season as Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Salem International University in West Virginia.
Shifting gears and sports:
• Central Connecticut State University's football team, under the leadership of Rock alum
Jeff McInerney (Class of 1982), stands 6-3 overall and 5-1 in Northeast Conference action following its 42-24 loss last Saturday at Robert Morris University in Moon Township. The outcome snapped a five-game win streak for CCSU and assured RMU of at least a share of the NEC title and the conference's automatic berth into the FCS playoffs. McInterney has compiled a 36-20 record in five seasons as CCSU's head coach. Prior to assuming that position on January 13, 2006. McInerney spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Rhode Island. He also has experience as an assistant coach at Tulsa, UNLV, Oregon State, Georgia Southern and Southern California. He has been part of three national championship teams (1984 and 1987 at Troy State; 1990 at Georgia Southern).
• An interesting sidenote: Robert Morris' head coach is former New York Jets head coach and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator
Joe Walton, a cousin of Rock Offensive Line Coach
Joe Walton. RMU's Walton was Chuck Noll's offensive coordinator in 1990-91 after serving as the Jets' head coach from 1983-89. Prior to that, he served as offensive coordinator for the Jets (1981-82), seven seasons with the Washington Redskins (offensive coordinator 1978-80; running backs coach 1974-77) and five seasons with the New York Giants (wide receivers coach1969-73). SRU's Walton is in his 25th season on The Rock staff. Both Joe Waltons are former standouts at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Former Rock football defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator (2006-09)
Rob Keys is part of a University of New Hampshire staff that has led their squad to a 5-4 record this fall and a No. 17 ranking in the latest Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 FCS poll. The defensive secondary coached by Keys is a primary reason the Wildcats are ranked second in the Colonial Athletic Association in pass defense efficiency and third in pass defense (169.8 yards per game).
That’s it for now. Until we talk again …
GO ROCK!!
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
