Perfect ending
Colonials wrap up undefeated season with 34-6 win over Weir
YORK RUN 鈥� When Drew Dindl took over as football coach at Albert Gallatin in 2018 the Colonials were stuck in a non-competitive situation, battling teams with much bigger rosters in Class 5A of the WPIAL and forced to go on long road trips against schools they had no natural rivalries with.
AG went 0-10 that season.
In the offseason Dindl and athletic director Duane Dupont considered pulling the program out of the WPIAL and going independent to try to rebuild the program against a more competitive schedule that included Fayette County rivals. AG did just that.
Eight years later, the Colonials reversed that winless slate of 2018.
Tee Guesman and Bronx Jamison both rushed for over 100 yards as AG rode its vaunted ground attack as it has all season to a 34-7 victory over visiting Weir of West Virginia on Friday night to complete a perfect 10-0 season.
In the 10 years before Dindl took over, Albert Gallatin won a combined 11 games.
鈥淚 definitely think it was the right move for us, I think we鈥檝e proven that,鈥� Dindl said after Friday night鈥檚 game on going independent. 鈥淓ven some WPIAL teams have been reaching out and congratulating us, saying maybe this is the right thing to do to rebuild a program.鈥�
The last football team in the Albert Gallatin School District to put together an undefeated regular season was before consolidation when coach Doc Franks led AG to a 10-0 record and a conference championship in 1980.
鈥淎G had a history of losing ever since my dad played,鈥� said AG senior Adam Pegg who had nine carries for 63 yards against Weir (0-8) and was one of the Colonials鈥� three 1,000-yard rushers this season along with Guesman and Jamison.
鈥淭his group of seniors has helped turn everything around. It鈥檚 such a brotherhood here, everybody pulls for each other. We don鈥檛 usually get much good attention. This is something that never happens at AG. This is definitely one for the books.鈥�
It was a workmanlike effort by the Colonials who gradually imposed their will on the Red Riders.
Albert Gallatin took control from the start, forcing a three-and-out and then churning out an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive capped by Jamison鈥檚 5-yard run and Sam Evans鈥� first of four extra-point kicks.
Weir threatened to score on its second possession thanks to Daniel Howland who caught a 17-yard pass from Nick DiMatteis and ran for a 26-yard gain to the AG 15.
The Colonials鈥� Brock Turney foiled the drive when he tipped and intercepted a short pass.
Albert Gallatin drove to the Weir 5 from there but was stopped a yard short on fourth and three.
鈥淚 give them credit,鈥� Dindl said of the Red Riders. 鈥淭hey showed up, they played really hard. I told our guys you cannot take anybody lightly. When people started to see that undefeated mark on us, everybody came and gave us their best.鈥�
The Colonials defense again got the ball back on an interception by Pegg at the Weir 43 four plays later.
From there AG covered the 57 yards in eight plays, including a fourth-and-12 completion by Jamison to Pegg for 20 yards, with Guesman鈥檚 3-yard touchdown run ending the drive for a 14-0 advantage.
Albert Gallatin forced another three-and-out, then marched 46 yards in five plays with Pegg finishing off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the half. A high snap led to a failed two-point conversion pass, leaving AG up 20-0 at halftime.
The Colonials went right back to work when the second half began, moving the ball 67 yards in seven plays, including a 27-yard run by Guesman and runs of 19 and 11 yards by Pegg, with Ethan Kennedy finishing up the drive with a 3-yard TD run for a 27-0 lead.
Albert Gallatin鈥檚 final touchdown came on Jamison鈥檚 40-yard run with 4:05 left.
Dindl saw a flaw in Weir鈥檚 defense that helped lead to Jamison鈥檚 big night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a play that鈥檚 been in the back pocket I guess you could say and tonight was a good night to call it,鈥� Dindl explained. 鈥淛ust how they were lining up and kind of pushing up field, we saw a chance how we could use that to sneak underneath them and Bronx did a good job executing that and getting some big runs.鈥�
Dindl removed all his seniors from the field after the following kickoff to an ovation from the crowd.
鈥淚 thanked the seniors,鈥� Dindl said. 鈥淲e had a good group a few years ago that kind of did the same thing in that they had a good year, a winning year. We went backwards a little bit for a couple years but this group came in and turned it right around again.
鈥淲hat a great environment they鈥檝e created. The brotherhood that we鈥檝e built here is special.鈥�
Weir averted the shutout with a 65-yard drive against the AG reserves with Aiden Cunningham scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds remaining.
Guesman wound up with 20 carries for 143 yards and a TD and Jamison ran 13 times for 119 yards and two scores. Jamison completed 2 of 6 passes for 26 yards.
The Colonials piled up 401 yards on the ground and controlled the ball for almost 20 more minutes than Weir (35:28 to 15:32).
鈥淭hey were hitting on all cylinders like they have all season,鈥� Dindl said. 鈥淭hey make play-calling easy sometimes because I know any one of those guys can give me what I need.鈥�
Dindl has now led the Colonials to winning records in five of the last seven years. Their low mark since going independent was 3-6 in 2022 but since then they鈥檝e gone 4-5, 6-3 and now 10-0, including wins over Fayette County rivals Uniontown, Connellsville and Brownsville.
鈥淲hen I first came here we weren鈥檛 anywhere like this,鈥� said Jamison, who is a junior. 鈥淭his senior group really turned the tide here. They worked hard every day and inspired us underclassmen to do the same. This is really a product of them and our coaches.
鈥淢y brother played here and I think he won three games in his four years. So to turn the tide and do this is incredible.鈥�
An emotional Guesman savored the final game of his senior season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the last time I鈥檓 going to be on this field with my family,鈥� said Guesman, who lauded AG鈥檚 underclassmen. 鈥淭hese kids right here mean a lot to me. We wouldn鈥檛 be 10-0 without every one of these kids. It鈥檚 really special.
鈥淲e came a long way from where we were my freshman year. I鈥檇 like them to succeed more in the future, too.鈥�
Dindl admitted he didn鈥檛 foresee a 10-0 record going into the season.
鈥淚 thought we were going to be OK. We lost a lot from last year and I didn鈥檛 know if we had the pieces to plug in there,鈥� Dindl said. 鈥淏ut these guys, the same group, all winter, all summer long, just worked their butts off. They all came together. It鈥檚 been such a close-knit group. The chemistry here is just unbelievable. They play so hard and they鈥檙e such a scrappy group.鈥�
Dindl pondered what may have happened had his 2025 team played in the WPIAL.
鈥淲e have those moments where maybe we think what could鈥檝e been if we were in the WPIAL this year and could we have made a playoff run? I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Dindl said. 鈥淚 guess you always have that 鈥榳hat if鈥� thing.
鈥淏ut this group, they exceeded all expectations.鈥�