Campos joins RMU coaching staff
Former Ringgold athletic director and football head coach Stephen Campos is in his first season as a special offensive assistant coach at Robert Morris University. He is coaching under Colonials' 18th-year head coach Joe Walton.
While athletic director, Campos served as Ringgold's head coach for the 2006 season. He guided the Rams to a WPIAL Class AAA playoff appearance after a 3-3 showing in the Keystone Conference. Ringgold was defeated by eventual WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson in the opening round of the playoffs.
As athletic director he was involved in the creation of the Ringgold Hall of Fame. The Rams' first class consisted of Fred Cox, Ken Griffey Sr., Joe Montana and Stan Musial.
Previously Campos served as the quarterbacks' coach from 2003 to 2006 at Washington and Jefferson College.
From 1993 to 2001, Campos served as the head football coach at Bethany College in W.Va. In nine years he produced an overall record of 39-47-1, finishing as the runner-up in the Presidents Athletic Conference five times.
Campos has also served coaching stints with Memphis State, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Geneva, the University of Texas El Paso, Marietta, and California University of Pennsylvania.
He earned a bachelor's degree in education from IUP in 1982 and a master's degree in athletic administration from Memphis State in 1984. His son, Luca, is a sophomore on Robert Morris' men's soccer team.
Vilella leads again
A familiar coach has returned to lead the Charleroi's boys soccer team this fall.
In August the Charleroi Area School Board hired Tom Vilella as the Cougars' head coach. The previous head coach was George Watkins.
Vilella began coaching at Charleroi in 1982 as an unpaid assistant coach under Dennis Laskey, a member of both the Charleroi soccer and Mid-Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame. He then served as Charleroi's assistant coach under Ed Corona from 1984 to 1990.
He was then Charleroi's head coach from 1991 to 2000 and Charleroi won five straight section titles over Vilella's final five years. Charleroi reached the WPIAL quarterfinals in 2000 and 1998.
Vilella resigned when his daughter was born but again served as an unpaid assistant coach, this time under Watkins for 10 years. He helped with the Cougars this past summer as a volunteer and even accompanied the team to a summer camp.
"You won't find anyone more loyal and dedicated then Tom Vilella," said Laskey, a longtime college coach. "He is very knowledgeable about soccer and sincerely cares about the kids and that program."
After losing its first two section games this season, Charleroi owned a 2-3-1 record in WPIAL Section 6 (AA) with a 3-4-1 overall record as of Sept. 26.
Forse a finalist
Though his season was cut short because of a broken ankle suffered in the ninth game, Nate Forse was part of a championship team.
The Laurel Highlands graduate and Ringgold football and basketball assistant coach was part of the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League.
He helped the Rattlers compile a league best 16-2 regular season overall record and National Conference Western Division title.
Arizona won the National Conference with playoff victories over Spokane and Chicago to reach the league championship game before losing 73-70 to the Jacksonville Sharks.
The Rattlers opened the season by defeating Jacksonville, 55-52. In that game Forse caught five balls for 46 yards and a touchdown.
He finished 2011 with 19 receptions for 212 yards and six touchdowns.
Forse previously played for the AFL's Milwaukee Mustangs in 2010 and the Green Bay Blizzard in 2010.
Forse helped Arizona defeat Milwaukee this past season when he caught five balls for 58 yards and three touchdowns in a 62-31 home win.
According to Arizona Media Relations' member Krisanne Ryther, Forse is expected to return at full health in 2012.
