'Miraculous season': Rochester football's season highlight film to be shown at area movie theater

CENTER TWP. – Coming to a theater near you: The Story of the 2022 Rochester Rams.

That’s right. The highlight film for last season’s Rochester football team will be shown on the big screen.

It will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cinemark Center Township Marketplace.

“It’s so cool. I know the kids will like it,” said Mark Macuga, the man who produced the highlight film. “When I tested it (the other day), oh my goodness. I was blown away and it’s pretty hard for me to be that happy about something.

“I wasn’t sure it was going to look or sound as good as it did. But it is.”

Macuga, a New Brighton native, works in the video business. He’s a partner/production manager at Ryno Production, a Center Township-based multimedia communications firm that produces video and high-definition projects for local, regional and national clients.

Among its many other projects, Ryno has produced highlight films for a few local high schools in the past, New Brighton, Blackhawk, Center, Monaca and Ellwood City among them. Ryno also shoots video for football games at North Allegheny, which shows highlights on its gigantic state-of-the-art scoreboard/video board.

Rochester’s highlight film was shot and edited by Macuga.

“It was Mark Macuga Production,” he said with a chuckle.

Macuga put together Rochester’s highlight film because he has a grandson who plays for the Rams. That would be sophomore running back/linebacker Antonio Laure.

In 2021, another of Macuga’s grandsons – Antonio’s older brother Sal – was a senior on a 9-3 team that lost to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the WPIAL 1A semifinals, 14-13.

Macuga didn’t put together a full-blown highlight film for the 2021 Rams. It was basically a game-by-game video recap that was shown during dinner at Rochester’s annual team banquet.

This past season, Antonio Laure expected his grandfather to do the same for his team.

“So, of course, the younger grandson Antonio said, ‘You’re going to do it again, right?’ I said, ’Yeah, I guess. I’ll do it for you,” Macuga said.

The Story of the 2022 Rochester Rams, which is 90 minutes long, documents one of the most rewarding seasons in Eugene Matsook’s 23-year run as coach.

No, the Rams didn’t win a championship like some of Matsook’s greatest teams from the past (he’s guided the Rams to four WPIAL titles and two state championships).

Last season, Rochester finished fourth in the Big Seven Conference and was 3-3 in section play and 7-5 overall. It qualified for the playoffs as a No. 14 seed.

In the first round of the playoffs, Rochester stunned No. 3-seed Greensburg Central Catholic, 36-15.

In the quarterfinals, it routed No. 6-seed Fort Cherry, 30-14

However, in the semifinals, the Rams’ season came to an end when they lost to 10th-seeded Union in an 18-16 thriller played at Freedom’s Jimbo Covert Field.

“Considering all the injuries we had, going to the playoffs as a 14th seed, and to do what we did to get to the semifinals and to lose by just two points in the semis, it was just a miraculous season,” Matsook said. “You don’t always have to win a championship to have a great year.

“When you have a season like that, when you go against the odds and adversity and show resilience, it’s kind of neat.”

Rochester’s 2022 season was such an inspiring story that Macuga decided to make the highlight film special. Beside game highlights, there are interviews with Matsook and six players:  tight end/linebacker Ryan Clark, wide receiver/defensive back Jerome “Duke” Mullins, quarterback/defensive back Parker Lyons, two-way linemen Dylan Yunt and Mark Shaffer and center/linebacker Adam Schurr.

At first, Macuga figured that his 2022 highlight film would be shown again at the annual team banquet. But one night during a family dinner, he remembered that during the COVID-19 pandemic Cinemark Center Township Marketplace allowed the public to rent out a theater for private showings.

He ran the idea past his grandson Antonio, who in turn asked his teammates what they thought.

Two days later, Antonio called Macuga and said, “Pap, my teammates really want to do this. They want to show this at Cinemark.”

So, with the bIessing of Matsook and Rochester athletic director Brad Verrico, Macuga arranged to show the highlight film at the Center Township Cinemark.

It costs $875 to rent out one of the theaters for one night.

The cost for the theater rental has already been covered.

Admission is $10 per person. The theater seats 224 people.

As of last week, 161 tickets were sold. There’s a good chance the showing will be sold out.

Once the theater rental is paid, any extra money will be given to the Rochester Quarterback Club.

Tickets are available at Rochester High School and the Rochester Public Library. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

“I have not seen the highlight film,” Matsook said. “Mark wants it to be a surprise. I can’t wait to see it. I’m sure it will be good.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'Miraculous season': Rochester football's season highlight film to be shown at area movie theater