Football

New West Branch football coach hoping to turn program around

High School football

LOYSBURG -- The Inter-County Conference held its annual high school football media day at Northern Bedford County High School on Wednesday, and there were plenty of new faces leading programs along with other teams entering the season with big expectations.

One of those teams -- surprisingly -- is West Branch.

The Warriors currently are on a 22-game losing streak and last won a high school football game in 2023, but new head coach Kenn Vandevander has his players believing.

"This summer has been really different, mostly because of the coaching staff," West Branch senior Brayden Williamson said. "The weight lifting program has been amazing. We haven't had anything like it before, and it showed in our liftathon the numbers we got. We had seven guys in the 1,000-pound club this year, and that's something that hasn't happened at West Branch in so long. We have had clinics every week. We have gained so much in the six months we have had with the new coaching staff, and the energy around the team is so exciting."

Vandevander coached at Tyrone under John Franco for seven years and was with previous Golden Eagles coach Jason Wilson for a year before that. He also was involved with Tyrone's youth football program from 2005-2016. When Franco retired earlier this year, Vandevander was one of the assistant coaches he lobbied for to get the Tyrone job that ultimately went to Jason Jones.

Vandevander decided to pursue the head coaching job at West Branch after Tyrone didn't work out, and was hired there to take over a West Branch team that really struggled to be competitive last season, partly due to a rash of injuries.

"I came up there to a great group of people -- the players, parents, fans of the program and the administration," Vandevander said. "But the culture was not a winning one. So, when I first got hired, I tried to implement the weight room. That was my very first order of business. We had a great liftathon. We started summer clinics back in May that have been awesome."

Vandevander didn't come alone.

Many members of the Tyrone coaching staff -- Wilson, Troy Smith, Thad Graham, John Gressler and Franco himself -- decided to join Vandevander in Morrisdale. In addition, Tyrone graduate Mark Mitchell is West Branch's superintendent.

"(It means) a lot, because the core group we had at Tyrone under Franco really kept Tyrone relevant for the past several years," Vandevander said. "That whole core group is now with us up at West Branch. We're bringing that same Team, Toughness, Tyrone mindset. We have evolved that into Warrior Grit, and that's what we're trying to hang our hat on at West Branch."

Franco had planned to possibly stick around at Tyrone to help Vandevander if he was hired there and decided to do the same even though the location is different.

"He's taking on a monumental challenge," Franco said. "I just wanted to try and help him not make the same mistakes so many first-year coaches have made, including myself. His enthusiasm is going to be a great benefit for the players there. He coached with me at Tyrone for seven years, and he's really dedicated to this."

That started right away as Vandevander went to work on the mindset around the team.

"We're trying to change the culture to a mentally tough hard-working buy-in," Vandevander said. "I'm hoping we can create a winning mindset and we can get this thing rolling."

The players are already buying it.

"We have a whole new coaching staff," West Branch senior Conner Danko said. "The players are really excited about it. We have good leadership, and the coaching staff has given us an opportunity. We have all the keys to have success this year. All we have to do is listen to them and trust in them. They are giving us an amazing playbook, and I think every player has felt the attitude become positive and change throughout the program. People are ready to come back to West Branch football and come watch us play, and it starts with Coach V."

The Warriors had a workout with Bellwood-Antis, one of the favorites in District 6 Class 2A, in July.

"Bellwood is going to be really good this year," Vandevander said. "We had an 11-on-11 workout with them, and our kids hung tough. They competed and held their own against them, which I thought was a huge measuring stick as to where we are as a program, because Bellwood is going to be pretty good this year and is a Laurel Highlands team. If we can hang with them, we can hang with anyone in the ICC."

And that means even dreams of making it to Mansion Park for a District 6 title game.

"The District 6 championship is our main goal," West Branch senior Max Gibson said. "We just need to get that first win under our belt. Our senior class doesn't want to be remembered for going 0-22. We have to change that and get to the district championship."