During his speech at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West's preseason luncheon last week, Slippery Rock coach George Mihalik said his team was looking for a running back to compliment junior Brandon Markus.
That running back could be Mike Vernillo.
Mihalik is expecting big things from the Fort Cherry graduate and the WPIAL's all-time leading rusher.
"I'm confident in Mike being the second part of the two-running back system we have," Mihalik said.
Slippery Rock uses a one-back offense but rotates its backs each possession. Markus rushed for 712 yards last season in a back-up role behind Sto-Rox graduate Dorian Glenn, who gained 1,448 yards as a senior.
"Three of the past five years, we've had two 1,000-yard rushers," Mihalik said.
Vernillo, a 2000 graduate, went to Division I West Virginia as a freshman and red shirted. He initially returned to West Virginia for another season but then transferred to Division II Slippery Rock during training camp. Vernillo didn't break into the starting lineup or get many carries as a redshirt freshman — only rushing for 18 yards on 13 carries. The highlight of his season was returning a blocked punt 34 yards for a touchdown.
"Last year was tough on Mike," Mihalik said. "He came in the second week of camp. He had to learn a whole new system and make some adjustments."
Vernillo, who rushed for 7,646 yards in his high school career, was recruited to West Virginia by Don Nehlen's staff, but Nehlen retired and Rich Rodriguez took over the program before Vernillo's second season. The new staff changed the offense from a one-back to a spread, no-huddle that didn't fit Vernillo as well.
"I don't think that was the right system, but he can play Division I football," Mihalik said. "Mike has the skills to play Division I, that's for sure."
Which is why Mihalik is glad Vernillo chose Slippery Rock.
"We want him to be a three-year starter," Mihalik said. "We expect him to do a lot for us."
Vernillo still has the skills that allowed him to become the second-most prolific Pennsylvania high school running back.
"He has great vision and a great ability to make people miss," Mihalik said.
NO TITLE THIS YEAR
North Hills swept Mt. Lebanon last week, winning the title of the 18-and-under Greater Pittsburgh Fast-pitch best of three Softball Championship at Scharmyn Park.
North Hills (20-1), which had lost in the finals each of the past two summers, won the opener, 15-4, and the second game, 9-1. It was North Hills' first 18-and-under crown in the 14-year history of the league.
Mt. Lebanon, the South Division champion, had a bad start to the series when North Hills scored nine runs in the first inning of Game 1.
SELECT COMPANY
Thomas Jefferson junior Richard Costanzo again made the Olympic Development Program's Region I soccer pool in the 1986 birth year.
Costanzo made the Region I team last year and played in tournaments in Costa Rica and Spain.
Upper St. Clair's Ben Zemanski made the 1988 team, and Washington's Stephen Reihner is on the 1985 team. These players will get a chance to play at national and international tournaments with the Region I team.
They qualified for the Region I team by being selected from a tryout that included players from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.
TORCHIA'S TIME
Andrew Torchia, a Bethel Park resident who will be a senior at Shady Side Academy in the fall, is among the goaltending leaders at the 28th annual Hockey Night in the Boston Summer Tournament in North Andover, Mass.
Torchia, who plays for Team Midwest, is tied for second in the 10-team National Division with an 0.9 goals against average.
The playoffs for the 20-team event, which attracts some of the top high school-aged players in the nation, were scheduled to start Saturday.
