After the end of last season, head coach Brian DeLallo retired after his fourth season as head football coach at Bethel Park.  The question then became who would lead the team the next fall.

The front-runner for the position was offensive coordinator Phil Peckich.  And on Jan. 24, it became official and  Pekich became the new head coach beating out around a dozen others who applied.

“I believe Bethel Park is a unique place that has great alignment. This starts from administration to faculty and continues into the community. Bethel Park is a place that offers the best in academics, athletics and facilities. Friday nights in the fall are truly community events at Bethel Park. Lastly, a major part of my pursuing the head coaching position was having a thorough understanding of the state of the football program in grades 7-12,”  Pekich said about his opportunity to be the head coach at Bethel.

This past season was Pekich’s third season coaching at Bethel.  He has coached quarterbacks and took over play calling in his second season here.  Pekich played a key role in helping the team go from 0-7 in 2020 to 10-2 in 2022 and winning the section championship and a playoff game for the first time since 2019 when Bethel beat Kiski Area in the first round.  

Prior to coaching at Bethel, Pekich coached at Montour High School with DeLallo.  He also played his high school football at Montour and played in a WPIAL championship.  He then went on to play collegiately at Pitt before transferring to Robert Morris to finish his career.  

The Hawks ended their season last year with a semifinal loss to rival Upper St. Clair.  They hope to return to the playoffs next year despite losing a lot of experience, only returning four out of 11 starters on offense and only two on defense.  

However, Pekich is hopeful to lead the Hawks to victory next season, “There are many things I am looking forward to this coming season. First on the list is finalizing a coaching staff that will be great leaders, and men who will develop the person, student, and athlete throughout the student’s high school athletic experience. The second is to build a team that will represent this community the right way. We will continue to build on where we left off last year knowing we have unfinished business ahead. ”

The Hawks open the season next year at North Hills.  A rematch of last year’s season opener and first-round playoff matchup, in which Bethel was victorious in each, 22-10 and 19-17 respectively.