Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Montour's co-head coach Dick Butkus watches the field last night. Click photo for larger image.

Dick Butkus isn't really a football coach, but he's going to play one on TV. Butkus, the mustachioed NFL Hall of Fame linebacker formerly of the Chicago Bears, got his first taste of high school football Western Pennsylvania-style last night as his Montour Spartans dropped the season opener to Chartiers Valley, 14-7, before a capacity crowd at Chartiers Valley High School Stadium.

Butkus is the star of the ESPN reality series "Bound for Glory," which will debut Sept. 20. The series will continue for the next eight weeks in one-hour, Tuesday night installments.

"It was good. It's exciting to see how far the kids have come from when we started," Butkus said afterward. "We could have easily had that game. We had blown opportunities. I'm trying to convince these guys that good things can happen. That's part of the deal. These guys are looking around for when the roof is going to fall in. We have to get them over this losing atmosphere."

For the sake of the reality series, Butkus is being given the title of head coach. But based on his actions yesterday, he seems more of a cheerleader and interested observer, someone there to encourage the players. At least, it seemed that way on game day. It was assistant head coach Lou Cerro who called up the huddles after timeouts and led his team on and off the field. And it was Cerro who was wearing the headset and making the play calls.

Montour quarterback Gianni Ricci is tackled by Chartiers Valley's Jim Kuntz, left, and R.J. Slater, while Devin Greene backs them up. Click photo for larger image.

Cerro said last night that Butkus and former NFL defensive back Ray Crockett, another ESPN hire, are more involved in game preparations during the week.

Butkus sure looked the part of a coach. He wore black sneakers, khakis, a black Montour windbreaker and baseball cap.

When he was upset, he stood with his hands on his hips or tinkered with his cap, raising it above his brow. When he was really mad, he took the cap off, holding the brim in his hand by his side.

When the Spartans played well, he pumped his fist, clapped his hands or made like a third-base coach and windmilled his right arm when one of his players tried to turn the corner.

For the most part, he was a bystander and allowed Cerro -- who'd been hired by Montour as head coach before the ESPN deal turned up -- and his assistants to coach the game.

"Those guys do the X's and O's," Butkus said. "Ray and I talk on the sidelines. Ray made a bunch of nice calls tonight. We're not here to change the system they're running. But we're here to change some things. Something has to change."

It was an all-too-familiar result for Montour, coming off a 1-9 season in 2004 and mired in losing for the past several years. But that's why ESPN chose the Class AAA school in Robinson for its television show. The cable network wanted to follow a program that had fallen on hard times.

	Montour's Butch Kriger tries to take down Chartiers Valley's Robertino Coury last night at Chartiers Field. Click photo for larger image.

The idea is to have Butkus jump-start a revival through his motivation and expert football knowledge.

For the first 23 minutes and 20 seconds of the game, Butkus calmly patrolled the sidelines in a quiet, almost stoic manner. The subdued appearance was in stark contrast to the fiery demeanor NFL Films crews used to capture when Butkus terrorized the NFL as the hard-hitting and intimidating middle linebacker for the Monsters of the Midway in the 1960s.

Not that Montour was giving much to get excited about. The Spartans played listlessly and trailed, 6-0. But the ESPN cameras finally got what they were looking for with 40 seconds remaining before halftime when senior defensive lineman Anthony Pastin read a screen, stepped in front of the lofted pass and sprinted 36 yards for the go-ahead score.

Butkus broke out of his shell, smiled wide and sprinted toward Cerro, who met him with a high five. Butkus gave another high five to Crockett. Montour took a 7-6 lead into halftime, and, for a short while, ESPN had themselves one fine series premiere.

But that was all the celebrating Butkus and the Spartans would do.

Chartiers Valley running back Brian Becker scored on an 80-yard run late in the third quarter for the winning score to send the Spartans and Butkus home with a loss.

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The game was played before a packed house. Close to 5,600 fans endured a heavy rain to take in the game. Additional bleachers were brought in to accommodate the overflow crowd.

Extra security measures were taken. Before the game, six police cars from Collier, Scott, Heidleberg and Bridgeville -- the municipalities that make up Chartiers Valley -- flashed their lights and formed a barrier between fans from the locker room to the field. They don't do this for the annual game against Keystone Oaks, folks.

The media circus surrounding the team has become ordinary for Montour players, according to Cerro.

"The kids are used to the cameras now," Cerro said. "They told us before we started that we weren't even going to notice them. And it took our guys maybe only three or four days to get used to it. I think the bigger thing now is for the opponents who have to play us."