Western Beaver football taking selfless approach for 2024

INDUSTRY — The past month for the Western Beaver football program has been a whirlwind.

In July, quarterback Jaivin Peel announced that he would be transferring to Central Catholic after breaking the WPIAL passing record in 2023.

After just six days at Central Catholic, Peel transferred back to Lincoln Park where he attended classes and rejoined the Western Beaver football team at the beginning of August.

Peel had to undergo an eligibility hearing for the 2024 season after transferring in and out of the program; the WPIAL deemed Peel fully eligible for the 2024 season on Aug. 12.

Now with all of the distractions out of the way, the Golden Beavers are looking to use a variety of weapons this season to find success after making their way to the WPIAL quarterfinals a season ago.

“We have guys this year that are hungry,” coach Ron Busby said. “This is a team where we don’t have that one guy that everyone is looking to and that we have an advantage of being good across the board and that is a great environment to coach and play in so I am enjoying every moment I have out on the field with this team."

Last season the team had two big targets in Dorian McGhee and Mikey Crawford, who have gone on to play collegiately at California University and the University at Buffalo, respectively.

This Western Beaver team has options it can use at any position and Busby believes that this group isn't worried about personal stats and accolades.

“Great players want the ball but I think that when you have a great team, they are not worrying about touches or receptions they are just focused and dialed in on wins so I just think that makes are job much more enjoyable and we are not as one dimensional trying to stop those two or three key guys. We are able to mix it up during the game and we can transition when something is not working.”

More: Beaver County Times' 2024 High School football preview

More: High school football in the Beaver Valley: Coverage for the 2024 football season

More: The Times' Top 40 Players in the Beaver Valley

On a team that is selfless and has multiple players making an impact on a roster, vocal leadership is key making sure that players are all on the same page and Chris Kirkland has been that player for Western Beaver.

Kirkland is a senior that has made his voice heard throughout camp this season coaching the younger players through drills, picking them up when they make mistakes and being the voice around the program.

Busby believes that with Kirkland’s vocal leadership, he provides a good mix of players on this Golden Beaver squad that leads with their voice and leads by example.

“Chris is one of those guys that likes to be heard and motivate and he does that vocally,” Busby said. “We have a great mix of leaders on this team and we have some other guys that might not be big talkers but they lead by how hard that they work and the effort that they give. That is one of the things I am most proud about is how these guys have embraced each other.”

Head coach: Ron Busby (Fourth season, 21-13 overall)

2023 record: (7-5, 5-2 Midwestern)

Top players lost: Mikey Crawford, Dorian McGhee, Dontay Green, Tyson Florence

Offense: Western Beaver’s offense will be run around Jaivin Peel, who is coming off of an exceptional freshman season. There will be huge shoes to fill with the Golden Beavers losing their top three receivers from a year ago but Chris Kirkland and Jaden Bishop should fill the void for Western Beaver with Peel’s strength commanding an offense under center.

Top players returning: Jaivin Peel, Dennis Harris, Eli Cooper, Chris Kirkland, Wyatt Sparbanie, Collin Reader, Jaden Bishop

Defense: Defensively, the Golden Beavers are anchored by Dennis Harris and Wyatt Sparbanie, who have played key roles on the defensive line throughout the past several seasons. Eli Cooper will also play a pivotal role after putting up 48 tackles and three sacks a season ago.

Classification: 2A

Last WPIAL playoff appearance: 2023

Last WPIAL title: 1994

WPIAL titles: 3

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Western Beaver football taking selfless approach for 2024