It’s all relative for Bethel Park’s Novak
Max Novak relates to Tom Brady, but not because the Bethel Park quarterback compares himself to the NFL’s greatest signal caller.
“Definitely, his story’s stuck with me,” said Novak. “When (Brady) wasn’t the best and nobody wanted him, picked him last, I feel like he overcame a lot and I feel like I had to overcome sitting out for two years and knowing that I always wanted to play on this field. I was itching to go on this field and it’s just never happened yet.”
At 7 p.m. on Aug. 28, Novak will step onto the turf at Black Hawk Stadium against Hempfield as Bethel Park’s starting quarterback.
Not only did he suffer an injury last year as a sophomore, completing only one varsity pass for 21 yards, Novak played behind an outstanding quarterback. A West Liberty University recruit, Evan Devine completed 121 of 224 attempts for 2,239 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Black Hawks, who finished 7-5 overall and reached the quarterfinals in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs.
Of the lost 2025 campaign Novak said, “It definitely was disappointing but I feel I got to learn behind the quarterback that was there previously and he’s taught me so much about this offense.”
Because he recently returned to Bethel Park, the municipality in which he was born, Novak was relatively new to learning head coach Phil Peckich’s playbook.
“Coach Peckich definitely guided me,” Novak said. “He definitely taught me a lot of things and built me to where I am and now I’m ready to take (the offense) over myself and really push these guys past their limits.”
Novak, however, has been preparing for this debut for a much longer time, and his grandfather, more than anybody else, has fashioned him and his progress both as a player and a person.
Novak is the grandson of George Novak, who is considered one of the WPIAL’s all-time greats in any sport.
A three-sport athlete at Munhall High School, he played football at Georgia Tech before converting to coaching, winning 306 games. His squads won six WPIAL football championships, including his first in 1982 at Steel Valley. When Woodland Hills opened in 1987, he took the position and stayed until 2016, amassing district crowns in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2009. Three of his teams reached the PIAA 4A finals.
“Having him as a grandfather has been probably the best experience of my life,” Novak said. “I know him as a grandfather and I always love him for that, but I feel like as a football player, he’s definitely taught me a lot.”
While he allowed him to be a kid, sitting in the press box with a headset on conversing to the coaches on the field, Novak said his grandfather dispensed meaningful advice. His grandfather’s most valuable lesson carries him on and off the football field.
“Character outweighs your performance,” he repeated his grandfather’s mantra. “The person you are is gonna last more than your performance. I feel I am the right person, if I bring people with me, and if I am a kind, caring person with integrity, I feel like that’s gonna push me more than anything I do here, athletically. I want people to remember me not just as a football player but as a good person.”
Novak witnessed such transformation among his grandfather’s players as he patrolled the sidelines in his youth. In addition to his triumphs, Coach Novak put 11 Wolverines into the NFL.
A running back now for the Dallas Cowboys, Miles Sanders most impressed a young Novak.
“I saw some really good players and I would talk to them when I would ride the sidelines but Miles stood out,” Novak said. “He was just a freak athlete and I got to see him go from (Woodland Hills) to Penn State all the way to the NFL.”
Novak noted that when he attended a football camp last summer, Sanders took time out to talk to him.
“He’s just a great dude, and I feel like my grandfather has built guys like him to be great people, as much as they were football players. He knows they love the sport, but he also tells them, teaches them as young men to be a good person.”
Because of his success granddad had plenty to show his grandson, particularly his trophy room.
“Oh, it’s definitely cool,” Novak said. “He’s walked me through every trophy, all the stories, all his achievements, but I feel having him just as a grandfather and as a person, is just as great as having him as a coach.”
Great is being back in Bethel Park and being close to family. For about eight years, ages 7 to 15, Novak lived in Bloomsburg. The family’s roots, however, are in Western Pennsylvania and not just because of grandpa.
His dad, Tyler, played at Woodland Hills with his uncle Austin. While Austin played at Kent State, Tyler walked on at Pitt but experienced his most success at Shippensburg University.
“I made the decision to move back here because I wanted to be closer to my family,” explained the son of Lyndy Novak.
And now, the Black Hawks have decided to make Novak their go-to-guy behind center. He’s certainly matured into the position as signal caller, says Peckich. Novak has blossomed into a 6-2 1/2, 173-pound junior.
“He’s physical and mature and has done some nice things that lead me to believe he is ready to play and take on the responsibilities of this important position,” Peckich said. “He’s mobile, athletic and has a strong arm. He will be someone who can step up and lead us on the offensive side. There’s a lot of pressure as a junior but we are excited to see what he can do.”
Because he has a veteran corps of receivers, which include WPIAL leaders Santino Nowozeniuk and William Savatos, a Miami (Ohio) recruit, and Brady Bruckner, Novak is relaxed heading into the season.
“I trust all my guys and they’re all behind me. So, there’s no pressure. Just excitement about what’s ahead,” Novak said. “It’s definitely been a learning process over these few years, but I feel like this is my time.”
Time is Novak’s ally. He knows his team, as well as personal goals, will be achieved step by step and that he must stay level-headed.
“Obviously, I want to win a championship and make it deep into the playoffs but we’re going into the first week like we are in week 10. We’re going to take every week, week by week. Every game, one at a time. Every practice one at a time. I’n not going to get too high off what’s ahead.”
Novak credits his composure and patience to his grandfather. He said it was a natural result of how he grew up and how he was raised while watching Woodland Hills games.
“I saw how my grandfather ran everything and I knew I was going to get here at a point where I was going to be composed like him,” he said. “I wasn’t going to get too high or too low. If I did something wrong, I wasn’t going to beat myself up. If I scored a touchdown, I wasn’t going to get really high.
“I’m going to keep everybody accountable and I’m going to be the team player that I am expected to be. I’m going to keep everybody in front of me and push everybody week by week so we’ll be a great football team.”
Novak acknowledges that everybody has “wishes” and “aspirations” but his hope is to be a unifier for the football program.
“When I come out here on this field, we’ll get everybody interacting. Make everybody excited and bring this community together,” he said. “That’s all I want.”
Down the road, Novak does desire a future that includes football. Beyond high school, he wants to earn a scholarship and play football in college.
Currently, he maintains a 4.0 GPA in his classes so he could matriculate to schools like University of Pittsburgh that have top-notch medical programs. Novak says that his standard is to always make above 90 percent every marking period.
“Pitt’s my dream school because I’d like to stay in my hometown. I want to look at what school suits me best, not just for football, but also for what’s after that because you never know where your career will go.
“I love sports and I never want to shy away from or get too far away from them but I also love the medical field. So sports medicine makes sense because I can relate to being an athlete and I can also use my knowledge, compassion and patience to help people. I know my work ethic will get me where I want to go.”
Ultimately, Novak would embrace going into the NFL.
“Of course, I’m still dreaming about that,” he said. “I feel like, as a kid, that I’ve just dreamt about what it would be like to play in the NFL but I break it down one by one, step by step, and the goal is always to just get to the next level.”
Currently, the only level that matters to Novak is the scholastic one. Though he’s still learning the playbook, he believes that he is the quarterback that Bethel Park needs because he has the skills and the psyche.
“I’m definitely a quarterback that can throw the ball downfield and definitely can throw those short routes, I also don’t like to stay stationary too much. I like to move in the pocket and make things happen when they’re not there.
“I’m not the quarterback to, if something goes wrong, to really freak out,” he continued. “I’m gonna make my next reads. I’m gonna know who’s downfield, and who I got on this team, and where my blocks are, and I’m gonna get out and make the plays that I need to make.”
Novak learned much of that from his grandfather. He says that he will continue to lean on that fountain of knowledge.
“I’ll always know him as a coach, but even more as a grandfather, and I feel like him pushing me to be the best every week, and him having the talks (with me) as a grandfather, but also as a coach, has really pushed me to where I am today.”