Owen Urschler is a big outdoorsman.
“We go bird hunting. My uncle’s got bird dogs. We’ll do that all winter,” Urschler said. “We go out for deer. I like to archery hunt. And in the spring I like to go fly fishing with my grandfather and cousins.”
But for Urschler, Fridays during the late summer and fall are reserved for another of his favorite outdoor activities — football. And through two weeks of the season, there might not be a player in the WPIAL doing a better job of hunting down opposing quarterbacks.
Urschler is a senior defensive end and tight end at North Allegheny (2-0) who is having a breakout season after moving into the starting lineup for the first time. The Tigers needed some players to take a big step following the graduation of nine starters on defense, and Urschler has delivered in a big way by collecting five sacks in wins against Woodland Hills and Gateway.
“The expectation was for him to fill some voids, and he’s definitely accepted that challenge,” North Allegheny coach Art Walker said. “He’s a strong, explosive player. It gets to the point that this is it, this is your senior year, and you want to make the most of your opportunity. Now as a senior, things are starting to click.”
Urschler has already more than doubled his sack total of two from last season when he also finished with 25 tackles (seven for loss) and an interception. Urschler racked up three sacks in a 28-26 win at Woodland Hills and added two more in a 41-0 triumph at Gateway. Senior teammate and Pitt recruit Lincoln Hoke paced North Allegheny with 6½ sacks last season, but it might not be long before Urschler surpasses that mark. The Tigers, the WPIAL Class 6A runner-up a season ago, host Penn Hills (0-2) on Friday.
So, why the big improvement? Urschler said it’s due to him becoming bigger and stronger. He’s added 20 pounds onto his frame since last season — he’s now 6 feet 2, 220 pounds — and has put in a lot of work with North Allegheny strength and conditioning coach Terry Grossetti.
Urschler is a third-generation North Allegheny player, as his dad and grandfather also played for the Tigers. His brother, Aidan, is a junior lineman for the Tigers. In addition, two of his relatives played at Pitt. His maternal grandfather, Joe Kovacic, was an offensive lineman, and his dad’s brother, Gary Urschler, was a defensive back.
Owen Urschler said he would like to play in college, as well. While he doesn’t yet have any offers, Urschler said that he was evaluated at a few camps this summer and that a coach from Ohio reached out to him following his three-sack effort in the season opener.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty underrated my whole career, so I’m just trying to go out and get some attention and maybe pick up a few offers,” Urschler said. “And hopefully help the team and bring them another WPIAL championship.”
And while we won’t know for another two-plus months whether North Allegheny wins a third title in four seasons, Walker said he already knows that one of his breakout performers is good enough to play at the next level.
“He can definitely play at the next level. It’s just a matter of where and in what division,” Walker said. “I think he’s a very good player coming off the edge, probably built more like a linebacker in college. Playing linebacker he’d be a run stopper for sure. I think he has a future playing college football. Right now he just needs to put together some good film and get it out there.”
Next man up
Southmoreland lost one of the WPIAL’s top young quarterbacks when sophomore Anthony Smith transferred in the offseason, but it turns out his replacement is pretty talented, as well.
He has also led the Scotties to a 2-0 start.
Junior Dawson Wolfe accounted for five touchdowns in Southmoreland’s 49-7 win at East Allegheny last Friday. Wolfe finished 8 of 14 for 116 yards and four touchdowns (all of those scores came in the first half) while also rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown. Through two games, Wolfe is 17 of 28 for 239 yards and ranks among the WPIAL’s touchdown leaders with six. He’s also rushed for a pair of touchdowns. Wolfe starts at linebacker, as well.
Smith, by the way, is now enrolled at Fairmont High School in West Virginia. He originally transferred to Seton LaSalle, but after the WPIAL ruled him ineligible for the season due to transfer rules, Smith decided to go elsewhere. Fairmont, nicknamed the Polar Bears, opens its season Friday.
Homecomings
Class 2A top-ranked Steel Valley (1-1) plays its home opener Friday, and it comes against a team whose coach once guided the Ironmen to WPIAL and PIAA titles.
Rod Steele is in his first season at Bishop Canevin (0-2) after spending the past six seasons at West Mifflin. Prior to that, Steele coached Steel Valley for nine seasons, leading the Ironmen to WPIAL and PIAA titles during an undefeated 2016 season and another WPIAL title in 2018.
Also returning to his old digs is Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz, whose Planets (2-0) travel to Martorelli Stadium to take on North Hills (0-2). As a player, Kasperowicz led North Hills to WPIAL and PIAA titles in 1993. He later spent a decade as an assistant coach at North Hills prior to becoming head coach at Pine-Richland, which he guided to four WPIAL and two PIAA titles. Kasperowicz is in his fourth season at Mars.
Hall of Fame game
Central Catholic (1-1) and Woodland Hills (1-1) are headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. The Vikings and Wolverines will meet at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for a non-conference game at a cool venue — Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 23,000 and is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame.
The contest is the middle game of a Pro Football Hall of Fame High School Classic triple-header that also includes four Ohio schools. Canton GlenOak takes on Cleveland East Tech at noon, and Canton McKinley takes on Cleveland Heights at 7 p.m. All six participating schools have a Pro Football Hall of Fame player as an alumnus. That includes Central Catholic’s Dan Marino and Woodland Hills’ Jason Taylor.
In all, there are 15 Hall of Fame players from Western Pennsylvania. The others are Joe Schmidt (Brentwood), Bill George (Waynesburg), Johnny Unitas (St. Justin’s), George Blanda (Youngwood), Joe Namath (Beaver Falls), Mike Ditka (Aliquippa), Tony Dorsett (Hopewell), Joe Montana (Ringgold), Russ Grimm (Southmoreland), Curtis Martin (Allderdice), Ty Law (Aliquippa), Jimbo Covert (Freedom) and Darrelle Revis (Aliquippa).
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.