Railroad City News

Farwell- October 6, 2023 in St. Mary’s against Elk County Catholic was the last time the Bucktail Bucks tasted a victory in an actual game. Their 36-7 smashing of the Crusaders seems so far away.

Fast forward to 2026 and Bucktail’s program has completely changed. Bruce Ransom has returned to the sidelines, which has brought some added excitement for both his players and the Bucktail football community.

Ransom inherits a stacked roster from outgoing head coach and his brother Kevin, who ironically inherited those players from Bruce at the junior high level.

Among those players is sophomore quarterback Corbin Pentz. Pentz broke out as a freshman with a 1,000-yard season. He added an extra 270 with his legs to solidify himself as a D9 League Region 4 standout.

Pentz has unlimited targets. Junior Teagan Stone is the team’s speedster. Stone hauled in over 500 of Pentz’s 1,000 yards.

The All-Regional selection joins senior tight end Aidan Ditty to help comprise the most effective receiving corps in all of Region 4.

Bransen Getz returns for his junior season. Getz converted both of his catches a season ago into touchdowns. He will also be the Bucks’ punter.

Stephen Heiser lost his entire junior season due to an injury, but he’s back and healthy for a potential strong senior season in the backfield. He’ll be bringing along his lightning fast freshman brother Joey to the backfield.

Expect Joey Heiser and sophomore Angelo Tarantella to see plenty of action on both sides of the ball.

Senior Jaden Intallura brings experience to the offense in the backfield and could complement Levi Stevenson in the backfield.

As you can see, Ransom has unlimited options and combinations that will drive statisticians crazy in 2026.

JJ Ditty is poised to lead a Bucktail defensive front that will need to stop opponents. Look for the Bucks to get plenty of defensive help from Pentz, Aidan Ditty, Angelo Tarantella and first-year senior Patrick Tarantella.

Thomas Tarantella will anchor a Bucktail front line that features sophomores Luca DeMarte and Isaac Graw. Eli Barndt and Camden Barnes will also see plenty of time in the trenches.

Depth at the skills positions only continues for Coach Ransom with Nick Dennis and Marv Robinson. Both are very athletic, with Dennis already contributing to the varsity program a season ago. Robinson, only a sophomore could develop into a solid target.

Sam Mansfield also seen time at wideout last season.

The reality of the 2026 season is simple, this Bucktail team can be better than any that has come before them. The talent is there and the schedule is favorable. This team’s best case scenario is a 6-2 regular season and a 4-0 Region 4 record is very much possible. Worst case scenario, given what the schedule looks like a 4-4 finish is an extremely great improvement.

Moniteau and Columbia Montour Vo Tech games carry a ton of District IV power points. A 2A and 4A win mixed with a few other wins could realistically see the Bucks playing at Dwyer Memorial Field the week after Halloween.

As far as PIAA District IV 1A playoffs goes, Bucktail should be in the mix along with Montgomery, Line Mountain and Muncy.

Then again they’re just kids, so ultimately it’s anybody’s guess how Bucktail will do. The biggest coming out of the season is the Bucks 27-man roster and the fact that the smallest public school in Pennsylvania to field a football team still will turn on the Friday Night Lights. Let’s hope there’s no timer on them this season.