Football team walks out of board meeting after Pine Richland names new coach

PITTSBURGH — Parents, students and the entire football team packed the side of the Pine-Richland high school auditorium. They were upset and angry the school board chose to name a new head coach.

Defeated.

That’s how the Pine-Richland football team, WPIAL and PIAA champs, described the moment they walked out of Wednesday’s school board meeting as their new head coach was voted in.

For the first time in eight years, the Pine Richland football team will not be stepping onto the field with coach Eric Kasperowicz.

Former head coach Eric Kasperowicz was fired, along with the rest of the coaching staff, following allegations of hazing. He has since hired an attorney to file a lawsuit against the district.

Now, a new coach will lead the defending state champions. Channel 11 told you first that Steve Campos, the quarterback coach at Seneca Valley, is being hired.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the district shared his long resume over three decades of coaching. Campos went to the WPAL playoffs while head coach and athletic director at Ringgold. He’s the third-winningest coach in program history at Bethany College. Campos was also an assistant at several colleges including Washington and Jefferson; and Robert Morris University.

“I’m just really sad. They’re clearly not doing what’s best for us and the kids,” said football player Brad Gelly.

They’re not protesting their new coach, Stephen Campos, from Seneca Valley.

They’re angry at their school board for the way it handled the firing of their beloved former coach, Eric Kasperowicz.

“Losing coach, I know coach personally. He’s a really high character, quality man, and we all stood up for him,” said the vice president of the Football Booster Club, John Corey.

The board voted 8-1 to approve Campos, who spent the last seven years as the assistant coach at Seneca Valley and formerly coached at several local colleges.

Campos shared a statement that reads:

“As the head coach, the two most important things I want our players to achieve are accountability and dependability. Everything else will fall into place. GO RAMS!”

After eight weeks off the field, these players are ready to get back to work.

The football captains we talked to said they have nothing against Campos. They plan to sit down with him one on one and have a heart-to-heart conversation so that they can heal and move forward.

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