PUP high school football Coach of the Year: Avonworth’s Duke Johncour

When you think of the blue bloods of high school football in Western Pennsylvania, what are the first teams that come to mind?

Central Catholic. North Allegheny. Woodland Hills. Thomas Jefferson. Aliquippa. Clairton.

These are just a few of the area’s most prestigious programs, and there are a handful of others with proud championship pedigrees and a rich winning tradition year in and year out. But while a long track record of historic success is typically required to be mentioned in this conversation, it might be time to finally make a seat at the table for Avonworth.

Yes, the same Avonworth team that waited 60 years between its first WPIAL title in 1959 and its second in 2019. They might not have the same storied tradition as some of the other premier programs in the WPIAL, but in recent years, few teams have enjoyed a more sustained run of excellence than the Antelopes under the watchful eye of coach Duke Johncour.

Hired in 2011, Johncour spent the better part of his first decade at the helm instilling a culture centered around selflessness, hard work and dedication while taking a sense of pride in the community. Slowly but surely, Avonworth started to reap the benefits of its newfound approach, finally culminating in a WPIAL Class 2A title and the school’s first trip to the state championship game in 2019.

Fast forward to 2024, and the Lopes have now played in three consecutive WPIAL title games while raising two WPIAL championship banners over the past six years. This season may have been the best in school history, as Avonworth overcame a slew of injuries and an up-and-down regular season to bulldoze its way through the WPIAL tournament, posting a shutout victory against Central Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game and coming just short of its first state title in an unforgettable 36-33 overtime defeat against Northwestern Lehigh.

Although the season ended in heartbreak for the Lopes, it was one that players, coaches and fans alike will look back on many years from now with nothing but fond memories. And for all he did in guiding Avonworth to a 12-win season and its third WPIAL crown in school history, Johncour is the 2024 Pittsburgh Union Progress Coach of the Year.

“It’s been a special ride, a special year,” Johncour said. “We knew we were a great team going in, and we figured ourselves out along the way. We made a great run and just fell a couple plays short. That [PIAA championship] game could have gone either way. That’s the fine line between being a state champ and a runner up. Just a couple plays.

“It was disheartening and frustrating, but I’m so proud of this team and these kids. It was a great run.”

Despite all of its success in recent years, the Lopes have never really had a major Division I prospect, and certainly no future Power Four recruits. In 2019, Jax Miller was the team’s star running back who finished with 2,384 yards rushing and 30 TDs in a sensational senior season, but Miller never received an FBS scholarship offer to play football. In 2022-23, Brandon Biagiarelli and Andrew Kuban were the top two playmakers on Avonworth teams that reached back-to-back WPIAL Class 3A finals, with Biagiarelli moving on to play at Bucknell and Kuban now at Gannon.

And yet, the Lopes have managed to assemble a combined record of 63-13 over the past six years, with four WPIAL championship appearances, two PIAA championship appearances and a pair of WPIAL titles during that span.

“I think the expectation has been there,” Johncour said. “I’ve always said we’ve kind of been slighted in the rankings and recognition. … Last year, we were ranked No. 2 all year long while undefeated. We weren’t even a thought with Belle Vernon. This year, Imani Christian was ranked No. 1 the whole season. Just the level of respect among the WPIAL and media in terms of seedings and rankings, it is what it is.

“I think after this season, we’re not going to fly under the radar anymore.”

This fall, many wondered who would step up as the new focal point on offense for the Lopes, and how they would keep up with the more high-powered offenses in Class 3A like Imani Christian, Beaver and Elizabeth Forward. The answer, it turns out, was a late-season switch to the Wildcat offense that worked wonders for Avonworth with brothers Nico and Luca Neal taking turns running the ball behind the Lopes’ punishing offensive line.

“The weather turned a little sour in November,” Johncour said. “The philosophy going in was, ‘OK, let’s get our athletes the ball.’ Luca is one of our best athletes. Nico is one of our best athletes. We have a lot of great athletes.

“If they’re going to deliver, we’re not going to veer away from that.”

In order to implement the Wildcat, though, Johncour had to have a difficult conversation with junior quarterback Carson Bellinger, who broke onto the scene with 1,556 yards passing and 21 touchdowns in his debut season as a sophomore. This season, Bellinger finished with 1,074 yards passing and 11 TDs to eight interceptions, with most of those numbers coming during the regular season.

In the end, Johncour said it was a smooth transition thanks to Bellinger’s mature attitude and willingness to do what was best for the team.

“He got to play in every game, maybe just not as much as he would have liked to,” Johncour said. “But that’s part of life, dealing with adversity in situations and difficult things that are hard to handle. … To be honest, that’s a mentality that we try to instill in our kids. It’s not easy to navigate or handle, but our motto is, ‘It’s not about you, it’s about us.’”

The results speak for themselves, as both Neal brothers put up monster numbers in the playoffs while wearing defenses down with their physical running style. Nico Neal, a 5-11, 225-pound senior, rushed for 264 yards and scored five total touchdowns (four rushing, one passing) in a 42-21 WPIAL quarterfinal win against Beaver, then tallied 102 yards and two TDs in the 17-0 WPIAL championship win against Central Valley. But he sustained a turf toe injury in Avonworth’s 16-6 PIAA semifinal victory against Penn Cambria, setting the stage for Luca Neal’s emergence as the WPIAL’s next breakout star.

In the state semifinal win against Penn Cambria, the 5-11, 185-pound junior rushed for 263 yards and two TDs on 27 carries to power the Lopes to their second state championship appearance. There, in an epic overtime affair against unbeaten Northwestern Lehigh, Neal carried the ball 36 times for 252 yards and four scores in the 36-33 defeat. After rushing for only 213 yards on 26 carries during the regular season, Luca Neal finished the year with 1,018 yards and 13 TDs on 135 attempts, while Nico Neal totaled 770 yards and 12 TDs on 104 carries. Sophomore Dimitri Velisaris also produced his fair share of yardage on the ground, rushing for 595 yards and 12 TDs on 112 attempts.

“It was almost like the [Neal] brothers took turns each week,” Johncour said. “Once it was working in the playoffs — Nico went for 250 yards and five touchdowns against Beaver, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a pretty good recipe.’ … We had some really good options to move the ball and give opponents fits. And the Neal brothers gave us no reason to get away from that.”

Another prime example of Avonworth’s unselfish nature under Johncour can be traced back to the actions of senior lineman Mason Metz, who began the season as an H-back on offense but volunteered to move back to his old position at right guard after a season-ending injury to standout lineman Nik Englemore in Week 0. Metz then went on to earn all-conference honors on the offensive line for the third year in a row while also being voted as the Western Hills Conference defensive player of the year.

“He probably weighs 215 or 220. You can’t teach the nasty factor, and he has the nasty factor,” Johncour said. “There was no question on his part about not getting the ball. Mason can throw it, catch it, kick it, run it. He’s an exceptional athlete. He could have done anything for us, and he played O-line and D-end. And he was the defensive player of the year in our conference. Special athlete.”

These kinds of selfless acts don’t happen without a coach who instills a team-first mentality into each and every one of his players, who then have to buy in to the approach for the duration of the season in order to reach their full potential. For several years, Avonworth has been the embodiment of a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, and that was never more evident than the Lopes’ memorable 2024 season.

Now, of course, the only thing left for them to do is secure that elusive first state title — and with Johncour steering the ship, it wouldn’t be wise to bet against it.

“I think now, a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, wow, they’ve been to four WPIAL championships in six years.’ It’s something pretty special,” Johncour said. “Our kids are bought into what we do. They play hard and work hard, and it was a great season to be a part of Avonworth football.”