Each day since November, Gianni Marino thinks about how close Valley View came to winning a District 2 Class 4A championship.
It drives him.
A 21-18 loss to eventual PIAA Class 4A finalist Dallas pushed him on every extra repetition in the weight room and every wind sprint on the practice field.
Marino stood out in his team’s most important games at linebacker and is more determined to lead the Cougars to a championship level.
“I saw that a Class 4A team from our district can reach the state final and that we were four points away from beating that team,” Marino said. “We weren’t able to make any of our extra points after touchdowns, so that hurt us. I hit the weights really hard, and I worked hard on my footwork because I felt that I was lacking in that last season.”
As a junior, Marino emerged as a playmaker for a tenacious Valley View defense. He finished with nine games with double-digit tackles. Among those, he had 14 tackles in a loss to eventual Lackawanna Football Conference Division I champion Delaware Valley, 12-tackle games against Scranton Prep, the eventual District 2 Class 3A champion, and Berwick in the District 2 Class 4A semifinals.
Marino had 10 solo tackles and 13 tackles total In that emotional defeat in the District 2 championship game against Dallas.
Overall, the 6-foot-3, now 225-pounder, had 135 tackles and earned a selection to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class 4A all-state team.
Marino is the leader of the defense. This year’s team, however, must replace several key starters.
“We have to play smash-mouth football,” Marino said. “I have to help the guys and make sure everyone is in the right places. If we work hard to do what we are coached to do, our defense will be pretty good.”
Valley View returns some experienced players on both sides of the ball.
Patrick McIntyre, Zach Cwalinski, and Tyler Scoblick join Marino to make up a solid linebacker corps. McIntyre finished second on the team in total tackles with 79; Cwalinski had 42 stops in limited time while he battled an injury; and Scoblick had 20 tackles.
Nick Kucharski finished with three interceptions and 47 tackles and Richie Leslie made 33 total tackles in the secondary last season.
Aidan Mushel and Nick Williams started on the defensive line.
Valley View graduated All-Region players in running back Camryn Higgins and center Jerry Wasilchak on offense.
The Cougars return bruising fullback Preston Reed, a devastating run blocker who ran for 614 yards and scored five touchdowns. Kucharski contributed 500 yards rushing.
Quarterback Casey Malsberger threw for 541 yards, and Cwalinski, who can play quarterback and running back, had 185 yards passing and 139 yards rushing.
Beyon McLean, a big, physical receiver, had six catches for 113 yards last season.
Valley View must replace starters on the line, but has experience and size in Tom Fiorelli (6-2, 255), Niico Hazelton (5-10, 245), and Danny Murphy (6-3, 250).
