Moving Forward

How do you describe the unexpected, the inexplicable, the improbable, the impossible?

Nestled in the small town of Sewickley, Pennsylvania and surrounded by some of the most dominant high school football powerhouses in America, the Quaker Valley Quakers had never come close to winning a district or state championship in their long history. Track and field coach, PA announcer, and former athletic director Jerry Veshio had not coached football in more than thirty years. Here was a team in disarray, a team that would have been easy to write off even before the first snap of the first practice.

But everywhere Veshio looked, he saw gifted players, senior leadership, and common purpose. Through a message of unity, of striving to get better at one thing every day, and of always Moving Forward, the team came together to win championships and accolades that few would have ever thought possible.

The struggles and triumphs of that group of players, their coaches, their school personnel, and their parents will be remembered long after the snow clears, the birds sing, and the late summer sun blazes over many football seasons to come. The journey will linger in the hearts and minds of those who experienced the excitement and camaraderie of that remarkable season. It is with pride and the utmost humility that Coach Veshio shares the story of an improbable journey that changed a great community forever.