The Pleasant Valley football program got to experience winning again last year after a 0-10 campaign in 2019.

Blaec Saeger enters his third year as PV head coach and after an abbreviated 2020 season with two wins, the Bucket going back to Brodheadsville and a trip to the District 11 playoffs.

“Last year was like no other,” Saeger said. “We would’ve never expected with the pandemic and the unbelievable adversity that we all had to go through. I’m proud of our kids and our program of how we handled everything.

“We made a lot of strides and improvements last year coming off an 0-10 season, which was my first. We got a lot back from last year and looking to grow and build off of that.”

PV picked up its first win of 2020 in Week 2 with a 43-0 rout of East Stroudsburg North, before a tough loss to Stroudsburg the following week in the regular season finale. The Bears showed their resolve in the district playoffs before falling to eventual champion Nazareth.

The year was capped with a 42-0 shutout against rival Pocono Mountain East, bringing the Bucket back to PV for the first time since 2016.

The Bears look to improve even more in 2021 with a veteran team that mainly consists of juniors and seniors.

“We’re not that young team anymore that we were,” Saeger said. “We have a lot of sophomores who played two years ago and they’re seniors now. We looked at their leadership to move us forward. It’s a long process. I took over a program that was as far down as you can go and we just continue to work hard each day to improve.”

With the pandemic still lurking, it is business as usual for the Pleasant Valley Bears in getting ready for this fall’s season. The last time the Bears played a full season was 2019. Saeger was also optimistic about getting better for 2021.

“We’ve had two very good weeks,” Saeger said about practices. “We dealt with some serious weather throughout the course with hot days and thunderstorms rolling in and in the gym and outside. I was always dealing with adversity. Our kids handle everything and we’re continuing to work hard and get better and I like where we’re headed.”

The program has three wins in the last three seasons and 2021 has the possibility to be an even better year for the Bears.

“I would say we are a very tough-minded team,” Saeger said about the Bears. “We have a lot of kids that have been through adversity from 0-10 through COVID. I don’t know if there’s two tougher seasons to overcome than that.

“The mental and physical toughness that our kids show is what we’re going to rely on. We’re not the fastest, biggest, or most athletic team. We’re going to compete with discipline and toughness. Those are the kind of kids we have.”

There isn’t one particular thing in the Pleasant Valley program Saeger wants to work on.

“We’re trying to work on everything,” Saeger said. “There isn’t that one little pinpoint thing that we got to get better at. It’s continuing to grow and get better at everything and put kids in the right spots.”

There were three goals Saeger wanted to achieve for the season. They are to win the North Division, retain the Bucket and make District 11 playoffs again.

The Bears open up the season Friday, Aug. 27 at home against Parkland and, PV encounters three Lehigh Valley teams in the first five contests. The team also makes a return trip to Swiftwater for the Old Oaken Bucket game on Oct. 1.

QUARTERBACKS

Senior Robert Papaleo returns to quarterback for his second straight season. Papaleo was the team’s leading rusher in 2020 with 409 yards. He threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Backup Jacob Gethen also saw some snaps last year, completing five passes for 127 yards.

RUNNING BACKS

PV will use three starting running backs in its rotation. Senior Jacob Gethen (21 carries for 110 yards) and juniors Jarod Moore and Fela Olaniyan will all share time in the backfield. Graduated running back Jared Salazar ran for 385 yards in 2020. Salazar shared carries with Papaleo and the duo combined for 794 rushing yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Papaleo gets his main target back in Ryan Blass for this fall. Blass caught nine passes for 250 yards last season and the Papaleo-Blass combo has the potential to be very dangerous. The Bears didn’t pass much in 2020, but when Papaleo hit Blass, it was usually for a big completion. Papaleo will have to search other targets to go along with Blass.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Brian O’Neil will be under center for the Bears snapping the ball to Papaleo. Joining him on the line is guards Blake Edgar and Xander Higgins and tackles Kyle Danny and Michael Barrett. The five will try to be a protective offensive line and add more rushing yards to the team’s total.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Senior John Brennan and juniors Jim Barruzza and Buddy Stephani will control the Bears defensive line. Brennan returns to an experienced PV team looking for more in 2021. Barruzza and Stephani join Brennan on the line to go up against the top teams in the area. The defense gave up 782 rushing yards in 2020.

LINEBACKERS

The Bears will have senior James Syracuse, and juniors Fela Olaniyan, Michael Barrett and Jackson Tyner at the linebacker position. Syracuse leads with his veteran experience as the defense hopes to cut down on the 362.8 yards per game they gave up a year ago.

SECONDARY

Pleasant Valley has four defensive backs set for the season. Robert Papaleo will start in the secondary, along with the trio of Ryan Blass, Jacob Gethen and Jarod Moore.