2024 Team Preview: Palmyra Cougars (3)

Written by: David Mika on Thursday, August 15th, 2024. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

Head Coach: Chris Pavone

Assistant Coaches:
Nate Monroe
Zach Stuart
John Arndt
Tony Beam
Noah Reale
Logan Trout
Matt Madonna
Shane Herbe
Austin Anderson
Mason Blanchard
Danny Byrd
Garrett Kohr

Team Name: Palmyra Cougars

District: 3

Class: 5A

League: Mid-Penn Conference, Keystone Division

2023 Record: 2-8

8/25 @ Lebanon (6A) 7:00 pm W 51-7
9/01 East Pennsboro (4A) 7:00 pm L 14-28
9/09 @ Donegal (4A) 11:00 am W 21-14
9/14 @ Bishop McDevitt* (4A) 7:00 pm L 7-68
9/22 Mifflin County* (6A) 7:00 pm L 10-20
9/29 @ Lower Dauphin* (5A) 7:00 pm L 7-28
10/06 Red Land* (5A) 7:00 pm L 7-24
10/13 Cedar Cliff* (5A) 7:00 pm L 18-55
10/20 @ Milton Hershey* (4A) 7:00 pm L 6-41
10/27 Hershey* (5A) 7:00 pm L 13-21

Key Starters Lost:
Keagen Kleinfelter (WR/DB)
Kadan Readinger (WR/DB)
Jason McCurdy (TE/Punter)
Titus Orlando (TE/DL)
Nathan Eisenhooth (WR/DB)
Jon McDannell (WR/DL)
Kyle Koennecke (RB/LB)
Matt Bordner (Kicker)
Kadin Jones (OL/LB)
Logan Howard (OL/DL)
Andrew Manning (OL/DL)
Anthony Snyder (DL)

Offensive Starters Returning:
Ryan Kowalski (Sr. QB)
Justin Kaplan (Sr. RB)
Braxtin Risser (Jr. RB)
Tyler Comarnitsky (Jr. OL)
Beau Toler (Sr. OL)

Defensive Starters Returning:
Justin Kaplan (Sr. LB)
Joseph Altebrando (Sr. LB)
Charlie Stewart (Sr. DB)
Hayden LeVan (Sr. DB)
Travis McDannell (Jr. DL/LB)
Beau Toler (Sr. DL)
Xavier Smith (So. DL/LB)

Special Team Starters Returning:
Justin Kaplan (Sr. Kickoff Return)

Key Newcomers:
Roman Russek (So. QB)
Talon Speck (Jr. WR/DB)
Nate Holt (Jr. WR)
Liam Setcavage (Jr. WR)
Jasiah Francis (Jr. DB)
Alex Csongradi (So. RB/LB/Returner)
Kam Koennecke (Jr. OL/DL)
Brayden Hoover (Jr. TE/LB)
Riley Litzenberger (Jr. TE/LB/Long Snapper)
Aaron Villafane (So. RB/DB)
Jake Schelhorn (Jr. OL/DL)
Braeden Basehore (So. OL/DL)
Jackson Kipp (So. OL/DL)

2024 Returning Player Stats:
Ryan Kowalski (96/194 for 944 yards passing, 7 TD. 141 yards rushing, 1 TD)
Braxtin Risser (113 carries for 661 yards and 5 TD)
Justin Kaplan (66 carries for 375 yards and 3 TD. 20 tackles, 2 TFL. 5 kickoff returns for 200 yards, 1 TD)
Joseph Altebrando (46 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF)
Beau Toler (24 tackles, 4 TFL)
Xavier Smith (21 tackles, 1 TFL)
Charlie Stewart (20 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 blocked FG returned for a TD)
Travis McDannell (6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL)

2024 Offensive Outlook: We come into 2024 with returning starters at some key positions up front and in the offensive backfield where some new faces will break onto the scene as well. We will have some new faces at receiver and tight end but we are excited for their skill sets and potential. The overall keys on offense will always be execution on our assignments at every position, limiting both negative plays and turnovers, finishing drives with points on the board, and playing a fast and physical brand of football.

2024 Defensive Outlook: We have a good number of guys back on this side of the ball at all three levels which will help get our newer guys acclimated with the returning experience of the guys around them. The keys will be playing a physical, fast, and aggressive style of football that looks to limit big plays and points while creating turnovers, TFLs, and opportunities for our team as a whole.

2024 Special Teams Outlook: We need to create big plays of our own and limit any big plays of our opponents with special teams. It’ll be new guys handling our kicking and punting positions but we return a fair amount in our return game and general special teams experience, as a lot of our guys played on various units last season. The keys will be to use this third of the game as a weapon for our team by setting our offense and defense up in good spots field position-wise, while creating momentum-shifting plays and scoring points.

2024 Palmyra Cougars
Interview with Head Football Coach Chris Pavone@palmyrafootball @CoachPavone @palmyraareahs #PAHSFB @hsfbamerica pic.twitter.com/4qd1Ti5ike

— EasternPAFootball (@EPAFootball) July 24, 2024