A Word with Nick Lovrich

Nick Lovrich is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Bellwood-Antis Blue Devils, but his familiarity with the Backyard Brawl, Central Pennsylvania’s most anticipated football rivalry, goes far beyond that.

Before he replaced the legendary John Hayes in 2018, Lovrich had been an assistant on the Blue Devils’ staff since 1997. And before that, he played for B-A in the early 1990s, as did his younger brother Shawn just a few years later.

Lovrich is steeped in the tradition that permeates the Backyard Brawl, and he’s got a visceral connection with each nuance, but even he had to admit there’s something different happening this year, when the game-of-games is taking place in Week 5 as opposed to Week 1.

Tyrone and Bellwood first played each other in 1934, and the series continued in 1939, after Antis Township merged with the borough school to form the unified school that exists today. In 1944, the game was played in Week 1 for the first time, and with few exceptions it remained that way up until last season, when both Tyrone and B-A joined the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. Schedule makers from the expanding super-conference had different ideas for Week 1, viewing it as the prime spot for intersectional games, so the Eagles travelled to Clearfield, and B-A went to Penns Valley, which meant for the first time since 1983 the Brawl wasn’t played in Week 1.

Lovrich spoke to Orange and Black and the change, about his team’s 0-4 start, and about the Devils’ prospects versus Tyrone in the days leading up to this week’s game.