LEETSDALE – The 2017 PIAA Class 3A State Championship football team has found its new coach.
Five months removed from capturing the first WPIAL and state football titles in program history, Quaker Valley High School has chosen Ron Balog as the new head football coach for the 2018 season. Balog was formally approved by the school board Tuesday night.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity and I look forward to the challenge,” Balog said. “It’s going to be fun, and I am grateful to be a part of academic and athletic tradition at Quaker Valley.”
Balog comes to Quaker Valley after serving as the offensive coordinator and the freshman head football coach at Pittsburgh Central Catholic. He has coached football for close to 10 years at the youth and high school levels. He also is a founding member of the North Pittsburgh Catholic Ironmen football program. Balog also played quarterback at Muskingum University in Ohio.
After interviewing about eight candidates for the position, Quaker Valley Athletic Director Mike Mastroianni said that Balog was impressive across the board and seemed like the perfect fit to take over the Quaker Valley Football program.
"He was impressive in all aspects," Mastroianni said. "From a coaching aspect he seemed great, but his leadership and his philosophy with our approach at Quaker Valley as a school district and as an athletic program. His beliefs were very identical to our approach."
If one thing is for certain, the new leader of the QV football program will be stepping into an interesting situation. He will replace interim head coach Jerry Veshio, who stepped into the role last season after the Quakers were left without a head coach when John Tortorea stepped down just before the start of training camp.
Veshio, who is also a track coach at Quaker Valley, took the reins of the program and returned to the football sideline for the first time since the mid-1980s.
Along with capturing those elusive WPIAL and state championships, Veshio went on to earn the Beaver County Times Football Coach of the Year award after leading the Quakers to a 14-1 season. Quaker Valley will graduate a talented senior class led by quarterback Ricky Guss.
Their only loss last season came at the hands of Aliquippa, which defeated Quaker Valley 22-7 in the regular season. The Quakers got their revenge in the Class 3A WPIAL Championship Game, when they defeated the Quips, 2-0.