Butler
grad works for Waynesburg postseason berth
By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor
WAYNESBURG— At some point soon, Dan Andreassi's football career will come to an
end.
The
Andreassi was named Presidents' Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the
Week recently in Waynesburg's 22-21 loss to seventh-ranked Washington &Jefferson.
He collected 12 solo stops and 18 total tackles in that game, along with
forcing a fumble on the Yellow Jackets' 1-yard line. The previous week,
Andreassi led his team with eight solo stops and 14 total tackles in a 25-20
win over Thiel.
Now Waynesburg (7-2) is fighting for a Division IIIplayoff berth when it closes
the regular season Saturday with a home game against Westminster.
"I think we still have a chance to get in,"Andreassi said, despite
his team's two-game losing streak. "I'm hoping to play a few more games
yet."
The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Andreassi is in his second full season at inside
linebacker. He was recruited as a safety by then-Waynesburg coach Jeff Hand and
was moved to outside linebacker by current coach Rick Shepas.
Andreassi has skyrocketed up the Waynesburg tackle charts during the second
half of this season.
"It was a matter of me settling in to playing on the
inside,"Andreassi said. "I'm relatively small for the position I
play, but my speed helps me get to the ball."
"Speed is his game,"Shepas said. "That and the way he
understands our defensive scheme."
For the year, Andreassi has 69 tackles, 41 solo tackles, 7Z\x tackles for loss
and two sacks. Only Mike Czerwein and Brendon Steele, with 71 each, have more
tackles.
Shepas, a former Seneca Valley High head coach, is in his third year at
Waynesburg. The Yellow Jackets finished 4-6 in 2005, 6-4 last year and have
lost only the two games this year.
"Coach Shepas is big on putting the responsibility on each player to
prepare himself to play each game,"Andreassi said. "I've watched a
lot more game film this year because of that."
While Andreassi is not a team captain, he remains an integral part of
Waynesburg's defensive unit.
"He's not a captain, but he's definitely a leader,"Shepas said.
"He's a good player playing out there with other good players. Those guys
feed off each other."
When Waynesburg changed coaches after Andreassi's freshman year, he admitted
that he considered leaving the program.
"Yeah, I thought about it,"Andreassi said. "I'm glad I didn't
leave. I wish I was going to be here for another year or two.
"Coach Shepas taught us how to handle our business, how to become better
players on our own. He's turned this into a Top 25-caliber program and he wants
to turn it into a national title contender. And he's gonna get there."
A business management major, Andreassi is scheduled to graduate in May. He's
not planning to coach or be involved in football in the near future.
He will always enjoy talking about his football past.
"My favorite game was at Thiel last year," he said. "They were
talking trash to us pretty good before the game and we jumped on them for a
21-0 lead and beat them.
"That was the first time we'd beaten them and they were undefeated in the
conference at the time. I love playing this game. I'm gonna miss it."