Kia Stiansen, Junior
The 2021 Palisades Football team had a disappointing year. Palisades won the district championship two years ago and had an 8-2 record. But in the 2021 year the team played badly and went 2-8.
Palisades joined a new league for football and that definitely played a part in the bad record. Palisades played 3A teams Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe, and North Schuylkill for the first time. The Pirates also played Notre Dame and Wilson who are tough 4A teams. Palisades is losing starting quarterback Jaden Newton, wide receiver Kyle Mgrath, and O-lineman Nate Carr, and Liam Riexinger, and kicker Mike Wabillich.
In the previous paragraph I talked about the players that the team is losing; now here are the returning players: running backs Steven Lilly and Kai Stiansen, wide receivers Mason Lambert, Greg Borgeson, and Logan Winters, and O-linemen James Mitsch, Sheadon Carr, Joe Zaleski, Gavin Lee, and Galen Limantour. The team lost a lot of talent from this previous year but the Pirates do have a lot of starters returning.
Palisades also has a new coach to try and get things back in a winning direction. Rami Moussa stepped down as Palisades coach after last season. Bobby Smith will take over as the head coach. Coach Smith served as the Linebackers coach last season. He has been around Palisades for a long time and will be a great head coach. Also Palisades has a returning offensive coordinator in Tom Brader and a new defensive coordinator in Coach Cress. The rest of the coaching staff includes John Jones for wide receivers and defensive backs. Skylar Carr for offensive and defensive lineman. Bobby Shoemaker for Offensive and Defensive Lineman as well. These new additions to the coaching staff should help make Palisades a better team.
In an interview with Palisades leading tackler last year Steven Lilly, he stated that he has high hopes for this season. Lilly talked about how the new coaching staff could produce a better output on the field. Steven Lilly also looks to be one of the top players in the league this year. He said that he has been working hard in the weight room getting stronger.
There are a lot of changes for the 2022 Palisades team, but they have a chance to be one of the top teams in the league. I believe that the coaching change and the talent that the Pirates have coming back will make them a good team for the upcoming season.
2022 Pirate Football Schedule
8/26 Bangor
9/2 Wilson
9/9 Palmerton
9/16 Southern Lehigh
9/23 Schuylkill Haven
9/30 Panther Valley
10/7 Pen Argyl
10/14 Minersville
10/21 Catasauqua
10/28 Saucon Valley
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