Trending
After watching his team open its 2026 season with a 46-14 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference mercy-rule victory over Penns Valley last Friday night at Hollidaysburg's Tiger Stadium, Bishop Guilfoyle Academy coach Justin Wheeler realizes that the sledding will get much tougher for the Marauders this Friday night.
BG -- which reached the PIAA Class 1A state championship game for the second year in a row last December -- takes to the road this Friday to face a talented, high-powered Richland team that is a legitimate contender to win the PIAA Class 2A championship this year.
Kickoff for the Laurel Highlands Conference showdown is set for 7:30 p.m. at Richland's Herlinger Field.
In his 25 seasons as head football coach at Richland, Brandon Bailey has directed many teams with eye-opening, gaudy offensive talent.
Wheeler said that Bailey claimed that this year's Rams team may be the best offensive squad that he has ever coached.
"They're extremely talented,'' Wheeler said of the Rams. "When you start talking about Richland's offense, they're going to have more weapons than we're probably going to be facing the entire rest of the season.
"They're really good,'' Wheeler said. "I talked to Coach Bailey this summer and he said that this might be the most skilled offense that he's ever coached, which is a huge statement considering that he's had some very good ones over the years at Richland.''
Leading Richland's prolific offensive unit is talented, athletic and speedy wideout Arnold Mugerwa, a Rutgers commit who was also heavily recruited by Florida State and the University of Pittsburgh.
Mugerwa was a First Team Pennsylvania Football News Coaches Select and Pa. Football Writers All-State Team selection last year, when he caught 54 passes for 1,020 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Another senior wideout with equally impressive credentials, Jamere Christian, was also selected to both all-state teams last year while making a team-leading 68 catches for 1,030 yards and 11 TDs.
"Arnold and Jamere are going to stand out for them,'' Wheeler said. "Arnold has all the Division I offers but Jamere is about as good as you'll see at the high school level.''
Richland is multi-dimensional offensively. Along with Mugerwa and Christian, junior wideout Alex Bond gives the Rams another potent receiving and running option, as does senior running back Joey Ragno.
Bond caught five passes for 74 yards, Mugerwa caught four for 81 yards, and Christian grabbed four for 51 yards as Richland pulled away in the second half for a 28-7 season-opening LHAC victory at Central Cambria last week.
Junior quarterback Jake Regan had a great night throwing the ball last week, completing 14 of 21 passes for 213 yards, including TD throws to Ragno in the second quarter and Bond in the third.
Ragno and Bond also ran for touchdowns in the fourth quarter for Richland, which rolled up 345 yards in total offense in last week's game.
"Jake did a nice job at the quarterback position distributing the ball, and we had three different receivers in Alex Bond, Arnold Mugerwa and Jamere Christian having multiple catches and a bunch of yards, as well as Jake and Joey Ragno also having good games running the ball.''
Richland senior Grayson Mahla, a two-way standout at fullback and linebacker, sat out the opening game and Bailey declined to comment on his status for Friday.
Whether Mahla is available or not Friday, Richland promises to be a handful for a Marauders' defense that played very well in last week's opening game.
"They can throw the ball for sure, but in the years they've beaten us, they've beaten us by running the ball,'' Wheeler said of Richland, which defeated the Marauders, 28-18 in last season's matchup between the two teams at Mansion Park. "You can get so worried about all the receivers that they have that you forget about their running game, and as talented as they are on the perimeter, their offensive line and their backs are also very good, so you've got to stop the run as well against them and you've got to avoid giving up the big plays.''
BG put together a complete effort last week against Penns Valley. Sophomore running back Keegan Hewitt returned the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown, and also rushed for 128 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns.
Wheeler's son, junior quarterback Justin Wheeler, had a fine game, rushing for two touchdowns and 82 yards, and completing seven passes for 75 yards.
"The Wheeler kid at quarterback is a field general for them,'' Bailey said. "He got a lot of experience at quarterback last season, playing in 14 or 15 football games, and he'll definitely be somebody that we have to deal with.
"The running back Hewitt is only a sophomore but he also got a lot of experience last year, and he looked pretty good against Penns Valley,'' Bailey said. "They have a lot of kids who can catch the ball and they always have big, athletic linemen on both sides of the ball. Watching them on film, they fly around defensively. They're not going to make things easy for us.''
Coach Wheeler was impressed by his team's senior leadership last week, offering special kudos to two-way starters Connor Okonak (fullback-linebacker) and Rocco Cacciotti (guard-defensive tackle and defensive end.
"I thought that we had some great senior leadership for the first game,'' Coach Wheeler said. "Rocco Cacciotti was leading us on both lines, and Connor Okonak had a ton of tackles at linebacker and made some big plays and big blocks from the fullback position and also made a couple real nice catches.''
Cacciotti, a three-year defensive starter and two-year offensive starter, was happy with the Marauders' season-opening win, but knows that a big challenge awaits the team against Richland.
"I thought we played well overall last week, and it was a great way to start the season, but we also know that we have a lot to improve on,'' said Cacciotti, who was also named to both the "PFN and Pa. Football Writers All-State Teams as a defender last season. "Richland is a good team every year, and we have to show up ready to play all four quarters, and play with the same energy and physicality that we did last week.''
Both Richland - which has won six District 6 Class 2A titles since 2012 - and BG, which has won five Class 1A state championships and has had seven appearances in the state final since 2014, bring a ton of successful tradition to Friday's matchup.
"It should be a great football game,'' Bailey said.
Bishop Guilfoyle at Richland
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Herlinger Field
Records: Both teams are 1-0
Coaches: Justin Wheeler is 162-42 in 16 seasons at BG; Brandon Bailey is 180-98 in 25 seasons at Richland.
Last week: Both teams opened with victories. BG beat Penns Valley, 46-14, and Richland defeated Central Cambria, 28-7.
Last season: Richland won, 28-18 at Mansion Park.
TV/Radio: The game will be telecast on WJAC-TV (Channel 6). The radio broadcast will air on WRTA-FM 98.5