Field general
This is the second in a series of articles profiling the 2011 inductees of the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of FameCRANBERRY TWP — Some football players were born to play a certain position. Such was the case with Sean O’Shea.From the time he was 10 years old until his playing days at Westminster College were through, the 1991 Seneca Valley graduate was a quarterback ... and a good one at that.His name still appears high on both the SV and Westminster career passing lists.He was the starting quarterback on SV’s first-ever playoff team (1989) and for the Titans’ national title team in 1994.O’Shea’s arm and leadership skills have landed him a spot in the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame. He will be inducted with six others Sept. 24.“I loved being the field general,” said O’Shea. “Regardless of the level of football you’re playing at, so much of the offense depends on the quarterback.“The position demands responsibility and I loved that,” he added.O’Shea became SV’s starting quarterback as a junior in 1989 and helped the Raiders to an 8-2 regular season record. One of those victories was an 18-7 win at Aliquippa Oct. 27.One month later, the Raiders and Quips faced off again, this time for the WPIAL Class AAA title at Three Rivers Stadium. Aliquippa prevailed in the rematch 17-9.“In the regular season, we had beaten them (Quips) at ‘The Pit’ and handled them pretty well, that was unheard of,” said O’Shea, who passed for 1,049 yards in 1989. “Things just didn’t work out for us in the WPIAL title game, but that was the season of a lifetime.“I’m still good friends with a lot of the guys I played with that year,” he added. “We can recall certain games and plays like it was just last year.”O’Shea’s senior season coincided with another pivotal year in the history of Seneca Valley football — 1990 was the program’s first year at the Quad A level.The Raiders went up against several schools with much larger enrollments and came away with a respectable 6-2-2 mark, which included a 14-0 win over North Hills.“We more than held our own in our first year of playing Quad A,” said O’Shea, who graduated with the third-most career passing yards (2,031) in school history.O’Shea’s relationship with then-SV head coach Terry Henry proved vital to the team’s success.“I respected his understanding of the game,” said O’Shea. “I was able to earn his trust and he adapted his Wing-T offense to suit my abilities. We had semi-rollouts, full rollouts, even some plays from the shotgun.”O’Shea would go on to be the starting quarterback at Westminster, beginning in his sophomore year.As a junior in 1993, he and the Titans played for the NAIA Division II national title, but dropped a 50-20 decision to Pacific Lutheran.“My junior season was motivation, it was the fuel that ignited our engines and kept us going.” said O’Shea. “We had eight or nine starters returning on both sides of the ball. Anything less than a national title my senior year would have been a disappointment.”The Titans made it back to the title game in 1994, this time defeating Pacific Lutheran 27-7 in a game played in Portland, Ore.During his senior campaign, O’Shea passed for a then-school record 2,401 yards and added 26 touchdown tosses.“I’d put our offense my senior year up against any in the history of Westminster football,” said O’Shea, who was inducted into the Titans’ Hall of Fame in 2004.O’Shea and his wife of 14 years, Tricia, live in Cranberry Township with their four children — Shannon, Abby, Sean and Rory.
Note: Sean O’Shea’s paternal grandfather, George “Doc” O’Shea, was inducted into the SV Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 after serving as an athletic trainer in the district’s early years. ... For more details on the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s 2011 induction ceremony, call 724-452-6040.
