FOXBURG — A-C Valley is counting on seven being a lucky number.

Brad Dittman, the lone Division I college football player in the school’s history, was hired recently as the Falcons’ seventh head football coach since the year 2000.

He replaces Chris McNany, who lost the job after three years when the school board decided to open up all of the football coaching positions.

“I’m excited about this move,” A-C Valley athletic director Anita Orton said. “This man definitely has a plan.”

Dittman, a 1995 A-C Valley graduate, lives in Parker and was an assistant junior high boys basketball coach last year. He is not a teacher.

He was a tight end at the University of Virginia and played in the Peach Bowl and CarQuest Bowl. The Cavaliers won at least seven games in each of his four years there. The only other A-C Valley graduate to play any level of Division I football was Dave Milozewski, who played at Division I-AA William & Mary.

Dittman has been a youth football coach in the A-C Valley district of late, working with 11- and 12-year-olds.

“I’ve been working on changing the mentality of these kids,” Dittman said. “Our goal is to win every game we play.

“We’ve put together a good power-lifting offseason program, with football-oriented lifts. The kids are really buying in. They’re excited about the change and we’re rolling forward.”

The Falcons finished 2-7 last season after snapping a 46-game losing streak in 2010.

Dittman has been talking to the elementary school kids and is planning a football clinic next week for the varsity and JV “just to get everybody together.”

The coach said there are 15 players involved in the weight program right now.

“But we had 12 others involved in baseball and another six in track,” Dittman said. “Those seasons just ended, so we’ll be getting more kids on board.

“I’ve talked to high school kids who previously played football and got a lot of them to come back. Our numbers will be solid. We’ve had 35 kids at the varsity football meetings.”

A-C Valley finished last season with 24 varsity players, including two from Cranberry as part of a co-op that has now ended.

“Our numbers are on solid ground for the next two years and Coach Dittman is quickly building enthusiasm in the program that will carry us beyond that,” Orton said.

Dittman’s staff includes former Keystone High School head coach Dan Reed and Josh Albright, a defensive coordinator at Keystone. Reed will be the offensive coordinator, Albright the defensive coordinator for the Falcons.

“Both of those guys applied for the head coaching position here when I did,” Dittman said. “When I got the job, I was able to reach out to them and get them to join me.

“We have the same philosophies. Dan Reed has 23 years of coaching experience. Those guys will be invaluable to me.”

Other assistants include Kline Terwilliger (offensive line), Raymie Fox (receivers-defensive backs), Bryn Chalmers (running backs) and Bob Bowser (line).

“I coached youth football with all of those guys and we’re on the same page,” Dittman said. “We’re all working together.”

A-C Valley has 19 of 22 starters returning, but Dittman informed all of the players that every starting position is open.

“There’s a strong group of seniors coming back and a strong 10th-grade class coming up,” the coach said. “My eyes are wide open. Everyone gets the same shot. We’ll see what happens.”

A-C Valley has not had a winning football season since finishing 7-4 in 1999.