Neshannock soccer stars tackle football for kicks
Written: Oct 14, 2011
  By Joe Sager
News Correspondent
John Fennick and Mark Bleggi are competitors.
So, when the two got a chance to add another sport to their resumes, they took full advantage of the opportunity.
The seniors have been standouts for the Neshannock High soccer team, which tops the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s WPIAL Class A rankings. Having excelled on the pitch, they’ve taken to the gridiron and performed well for the Lancers’ football team the past two seasons — Fennick is a placekicker, while Bleggi punts.
“They both are good kids,” Neshannock football coach Pat Cuba said. “They work hard. They have done a good job for us.”
Fennick first got the idea to try football during his sophomore season after watching soccer teammate Michael Molinaro pull double duty with the football squad.
“I just decided maybe I’d kick, too,” he said. “I came out halfway through the season and I kicked in JV and he kicked varsity.”
After recovering from an injury sustained before last season, Fennick took over as Neshannock’s kicker. He booted field goals of 40 and 39 yards. This year, he has connected on field goals of 30 and 37 yards as well as five PATs.
“Johnny has gotten a lot stronger from last year,” Cuba said. “He has the ability to actually kick a long field goal. I don’t have any problem sending him in there. He can kick 45-yard field goals. He kicked two of them in practice (Monday). I told the kids, if they could protect him, we have no problem sending him in there. You have to take every point you can get.”
Fennick works extensively with Neshannock special teams coach Dave Bowen to perfect his technique.
“I had to learn to kick the ball up instead of driving it down. The coaches really helped me out,” he said. “Mr. Bowen can always tell me what I am doing wrong and I can adjust.
“Over the summer, I practiced kicking a lot and just worked on my form. Coach Bowen got some better steps for me and I was able to kick the ball a little better. It helped out practicing a little more.”
Fennick noticed improvement on kickoffs, especially.
“That was another thing I had to work on, too. Last year, I was stutter stepping to the ball,” he said. “This year, I can run straight through. I think it’s added about 10 more yards to my kickoffs.”
Bleggi, a son of former Wilmington baseball star Doug Bleggi and a grandson of former New Castle High star athlete and Neshannock football coach/athletic director Bob Bleggi, joined the football team last year at Fennick’s urging.
“I wasn’t as good a punter as I was a kicker. I remember when we were younger, whenever we’d punt the soccer ball around, he was able to punt it the furthest. He ended up coming out and he’s really good at it,” Fennick said. “It really helps out a lot to have him on the team, too. If one of us messes up, we’re one of the first people to talk to each other and tell ourselves to relax.”
Bleggi filled in placekicking while Fennick recovered from an injury last year. However, he’s been the Lancers’ regular punter.
“It’s really exciting for me. I have fun playing football,” he said. “I have a bunch of friends on the team, so it’s nice to see them and get in the games and help out.”
When watching Bleggi punt, you’ll notice his style is a little different. Instead of a traditional three-step punting approach, he’ll field the snap and run laterally before booting the ball.
“From the beginning, we tried the normal straight-on kicking, but I wasn’t too successful with it,” he said. “Then, we tried the rugby style, sort of like how soccer goalies kick. I am doing well at that. I’ve stuck with that.”
Cuba has noticed Bleggi has improved this year, too.
“He is athletic and very quick. He has been getting kicks off quicker,” he said. “He plays the snaps like he’s a shortstop and I have a lot of confidence in him to field the ball. He can move around back there, which gives us a chance to get down the field on coverage.”
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