Submitted Photo/Mahoning Valley Sports The 2024 Canfield football team and cheerleaders.
CANFIELD — Former Canfield coach Mike Pavlanski led his Cardinals teams to historic heights before retiring at the end of last season.
Pavlanski won 183 games in his 23-year coaching career and led Canfield to seven league championships, 13 playoff appearances, five region championship games, two state championship game appearances and the team’s first state championship victory in 2022.
New head coach Joe Ignazio spent the last three seasons as defensive line coach under Pavlanski and now looks to build on the Cardinals’ tradition and success.
“(Pavlanski) has always been a great leader,” Ignazio said, “he had great attention to detail in every aspect of our football program and was demanding of his staff. I’ve always said he was very strict, but always fair, always willing to listen, speak his mind and get input on what we see on offense, defense and special teams. But the expectations for his staff and student-athletes are very high, and they know it.”
Ignazio spent three years on Pavlansky’s staff and also brings a wealth of head coaching experience to Canfield: After 10 years on three different staffs at Boardman, Ignazio was promoted to head coach of the Spartans in 2013 and led the program for eight seasons.
Canfield’s coaching staff plays a vital role in the success of the program, and one of the most important things to Ignazio was keeping as much of the coaching staff as possible to help with the coaching transition.
“We have a great staff and we want to keep them,” Ignazio said. “We thought that was the easiest way to transition into a new era.”
Ignazio’s own coaching philosophy is consistent with what has long been the Cardinals’ identity.
Ignazio wants the Cardinals to continue to be a run-heavy team with a physical style of play, just like Canfield did under Pavlanski.
“Pav and I laugh because we’ve been on the other side of the ball with him for years,” Ignazio said. “In a very similar way, we want to be run-oriented first. Not that we won’t pass, but we want to be highly efficient in the passing game. We want to develop mental toughness, and I think we can do that through a physical style of football play. We’ve had a pretty strong advantage against most opponents by establishing the run, and that’s something I’ve tried to do at Boardman.”
Canfield went 7-4 last year but got off to a slow start against a tough schedule. The Cardinals opened the season with a win over West Branch, handing the Warriors their only loss of the regular season, but then lost three straight games to Mansfield Senior, Olmsted Falls and rival Poland.
Yet despite starting 1-3, Canfield won five straight games to finish the regular season before losing to Ursuline in the playoffs.
This season’s schedule is nearly identical to last year’s, with Canfield playing the same opponents and in the same order as last year, but instead of Holy Name, the Cardinals will host Louisville.
Two years removed from winning a state title, the two senior classes that paved the way for the Cardinals’ success the past few seasons are gone.
There are only 13 seniors this year, so Canfield is a young roster, but Ignazio has been pleased with the play so far.
“We’re losing Brock Lawrie, a state championship year, and arguably the greatest senior class in Canfield history. Expectations weren’t going to be high next year, but the kids know we’re not going to get complacent and back down. I feel the same way about this year’s group,” Ignazio said. “But guys like Brock Lawrie, Danny Inglis, Scottie Eaton and Vince Roos set the expectations for the next senior class, so our senior class knows that when they come in. I’m not going to tell them to be like Brock or Danny or Scottie. They just have to be who they are, and that’s going to be enough. They know the traditions and expectations here, and that’s not going to change.”
attack
While the setup may be similar, Canfield’s offense will look very different this season with only four starters returning.
With last year’s quarterback Paul Bindas transferring to Ohio Dominican University, senior Tyler Schaller, juniors Enzo Cocca and Tyler Lapacci will compete for the starting center position for the Cardinals.
With the way Canfield runs his offense, the quarterback needs to be someone who can run the ball while also distributing the ball to skill position players in the passing game.
“We’ll decide who’s the No. 1 player and who’s the No. 2 player,” Ignazio said. “As we get closer to the season, we need to reduce the opportunities for players at the bottom of the depth chart.”
In the backfield, Canfield will rely on juniors Sean Boling and Ashton Albrecht, but Ignazio added that Schaller may also make some appearances at running back.
The Cardinals will rely on experience up front, especially with players like senior Angelo DeLucia returning to back up Canfield on the offensive line.
“Angelo is one of those guys that the kids look up to,” Ignazio said. “We had the combine in the spring and there were like 60 (college) coaches in attendance, and the kids quickly realized that wherever Angelo is, all the college coaches are there by rotation, so the kids see that too.”
DeLucia will play in the trenches on both offense and defense, as well as catch passes at tight end for the Cardinals. He already has scholarship offers from several schools during his junior season, including Kent State, Akron, Toledo, Ohio State, Western Michigan, Youngstown State, Lehigh and the University of Massachusetts.
“He’s got scholarship offers all over the place,” Ignazio said. “He’s a big, athletic kid. He’s probably 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, and he can move and jump. He’s a big, athletic guy up front who can set the mood, but he can also obviously get in space and cause problems.”
Landon Cena is also returning on the offensive line and, like DeLucia, can also play as a tight end. At guard, the Cardinals have AJ Hewko and DJ Erickson back, and at tackle, Geno Pacella returns.
But Ignazio said Canfield will need to build on graduate experience along the line to add more depth behind that core group.
defense
Canfield returns with a bit more experience on the defensive end after allowing just 15.3 points per game last season.
In the secondary, Schaller and Cocca will each reprise their safety roles, with Schaller leading the team with four interceptions.
“We’re looking forward to the leadership that comes back with their experience,” Ignazio said, “Tyler Schaller is a state championship wrestler and will be a three-year starter for our team, at least in the secondary. Our kids know he’s a rugged kid and they look up to him.”
Ezra Staal, MJ Pompoko and Erickson each played linebacker last season and are back to continue playing at the middle level of the defense. Ignazio also pointed to sophomore Gabe Miller as a young player who has performed well so far at linebacker over the summer.
“(Pompoko) is a quick, physical kid up front, tough, stubborn kid. And DJ is the same type of guy who can run down the hill and play intense football,” Ignazio said.
At the front of the unit, DeLucia and Hewko will continue to play both ways and lead the Cardinals as the offensive anchors of the defensive line. Ignazio added that Cena and Adam Christie will continue to be key parts of Canfield’s front seven. DeLucia recorded 31 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack last season.
Special teams
As for specialists, Canfield football senior Ethan Retainer will return as the Cardinals’ placekicker and will also handle kickoff duties, while junior Luke Goodrich will continue to serve as Retainer’s backup.
But Ignazio said the team will search long and hard for a new punter, adding that he likes Adam Christie’s play so far, but another Cardinals football player has contacted the coaching staff and expressed interest in a punter.
“We’ll see how it unfolds in the first part of doubles (practice),” Ignazio said.
Have an interesting story to share? Contact Neel Madhavan at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter): @NeelMadhavan.
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