Thomas Jefferson has a strong senior class, one headlined by lineman and Pitt recruit Shep Turk and strong-armed quarterback Luke Kosko.
The Jaguars have quite a few talented juniors, too, with the likes of center Zane Sable and linebacker Zach Villa leading the way.
But the group that has really opened eyes early in the season are the sophomores, who have played a big part in the team’s 3-0 start and have shown that the future may be very bright in TJ Country.
Don’t get it wrong — Thomas Jefferson is a serious bunch that is hunting its first WPIAL title since 2020, but the Jaguars can also be labeled sophomoric in that they have so many sophomores playing important roles.
“It’s kind of a situation where we expected them to step up and be pretty good, and a lot of them have. And that doesn’t happen all of the time,” coach Bill Cherpak said. “It was a group that coming in as freshmen we thought highly of, and so far they have done very well.”
Cherpak said the last sophomore class to make this big of an impact might have been the one that included Shane Stump and Dan Deabner, a group that won a WPIAL title as sophomores and went on to win WPIAL and PIAA titles their senior season.
Thomas Jefferson (3-0), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A in the Pittsburgh Union Progress rankings, is coming off a thrilling 34-31 overtime win against McKeesport. The Jaguars rallied from a 28-7 halftime deficit, and quite a few sophomores were on the field in the second half helping the team storm back to defeat a team they lost to by three touchdowns a season ago.
Among the sophomore standouts have been running back Tyler Eber, wide receiver-linebacker Kane Eggerton, defensive tackle Deacon Kamberis, offensive tackle Beckett Everley, tight end-defensive end Luke Patterson, and cornerbacks Nate Costa and Elijah Fant.
Eber (5 feet 10, 170 pounds) is the latest talented running back to come through the program. He has rushed for 402 yards, which ranks among the WPIAL leaders, and has added five touchdowns. He can be a workhorse, too, as he had 39 carries for 186 yards and three touchdowns against McKeesport, this after tallying just 12 carries his entire freshman season.
“He’s been amazing,” Cherpak said. “He’s so steady. Nothing really affects him. He just works so hard. He’s focused. You can tell this means a lot to him. He just gives you everything. He runs hard, runs fast, plays with power and speed. He’s not a huge kid, but he hits the hole hard and makes it tough for defenders to adjust. For us that’s a great style of runner.”
Eggerton (6-1, 201) is unique in that he was one of just a handful of freshmen who have started in Cherpak’s 30 years at Thomas Jefferson. He then saw a lot of minutes on the Thomas Jefferson basketball team that won a section title and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals. This season, Eggerton has proven to be one of the area’s top young linebackers and also had a touchdown catch in the season opener.
“He’s not really a sophomore,” Cherpak said. “He’s so experienced and played in so many basketball games, and he’s a big kid. We don’t even look at him as being a sophomore.”
Kamberis forms one half of yet another excellent brother duo at Thomas Jefferson. While Deacon (5-11, 232) plays defensive tackle, his brother, senior Kooper (6-4, 215), is a defensive end. The two combined for a sack against Central Valley.
“We had a missing link, and we needed someone. I thought maybe he’d give us some help on the defensive line, and he has,” Cherpak said of Deacon. “He’s a big kid. He comes off the ball well. He’s tough to block and has good leverage. He has brought a dimension to the defensive line that we didn’t have.”
At 6-5, 265, Everley is one of Thomas Jefferson’s most physically imposing players.
Cherpak said that another sophomore that has seen significant time is defensive lineman Frank Bernardi.
Thomas Jefferson, 3-0 for the eighth time in nine seasons, wraps up non-conference play with games against Avonworth and West Mifflin before hosting Belle Vernon in the conference opener Sept. 27.
Best vs. worst
No team in the WPIAL has been lighting up the scoreboard as much as Monessen, and no district team has been surrendering points like Serra Catholic.
Friday, those teams square off in their Class 1A Black Hills Conference opener.
It has been a vastly different start to the season for these two teams. Monessen, which is 3-0 for the first time since 2018, has produced 59 points per game, a huge improvement from last season when the Greyhounds averaged 20.3. Serra (0-3), meanwhile, has given up 51 points a game, nearly double the 28.2 the Eagles surrendered a season ago.
Both of these teams were playoff teams a season ago, and much was expected from Serra this season with the Eagles dropping from Class 2A to 1A and returning an outstanding pass-catch duo in Quadir Stribling and De’reon Washington. For the Eagles, the biggest problem hasn’t been offense (they’ve scored 26 and 27 in two games), but rather defense, as they have given up 62, 43 and 48 points in the three losses.
This is a juicy matchup for Monessen running back Ty Kershaw, who leads the WPIAL with 16 touchdowns and ranks third in rushing with 501 yards.
Yough QB shines
At 2-1, Yough is off to its best start since 2013, also the year it last qualified for the postseason. As the Cougars try to get on the playoff radar, a senior named Raidon Kuroda is putting up terrific numbers as the team’s dual-threat quarterback.
A quarterback passing and rushing for 1,000 yards in a season is a big feat, and Kuroda might just do it this fall for a school that isn’t known for football success. Kuroda (6-0, 205) leads all WPIAL quarterbacks in rushing, as he has amassed 453 yards on 64 carries and has scored five touchdowns. He ran for 176 and 172 yards the past two games. Kuroda has made some plays with his arm, as well, passing for 349 yards and five touchdowns.
But Kuroda’s impact has also been felt on defense. As a linebacker, he has collected a team-best 24 tackles and a sack. A season ago, he racked up a team-best 101 tackles.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.