Schaerli settles into Mt. Lebanon offense
Noah Schaerli speaks German and French as fluently as English. However, the universal language of football enabled him to smoothly transition from living in Europe to residing in the United States.
After living 15 years in a small Swiss village, 10 minutes outside of Zurich, Schaerli transferred into the Mt. Lebanon School District in April of 2022
“At first it was tricky,” said Schaerli. Noting he enrolled just before spring break he added, “School was totally different. It was difficult to adjust but I figured it out. Football especially helped me integrate socially and academically.”
Scholastically, Schaerli had little to fret about because he maintains a 4.8 GPA due to his proficient language skills. Ivy League colleges such as Harvard, Penn and Brown as well as universities like Carnegie Mellon, Robert Morris and Duquesne are interested in his consummate classroom skills.
Athletically, there wasn’t much adapting to do either. Schaerli always played American football even though Switzerland’s biggest sport is the European version of the game.
“Soccer is huge there. They have a good national team but the best players are in Germany. I never got into soccer when I lived there.”
To pursue his pigskin passion, Schaerli was forced to commute an hour to practice because football was considered a ‘club sport’ and was not connected with school.
Schaerli credits his mother, Rebecca, for introducing the game to his dad, Nathaneal. A Mt. Lebanon native, Rebecca graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School. A Swiss citizen, Nathaneal is employed by Google, which has offices based in Zurich as well as Pittsburgh. The pair met while doing an internship in Los Angeles.
“Once when my dad was visiting, my mom took him to a Steelers game,” Schaerli explained. “There’s nothing like it.”
An NFL Game Pass subscription enabled father and son to bond. It also fueled Schaerli’s fancy for football.
“At first my dad would watch games on his own, then I grew up watching with him and I loved it. It got to the point where I said, ‘I just gotta play’ this game,” Schaerli said.
“I watched so much football as a kid. Watched all the old games too,” he continued. “I learned as much as I could from watching and then breaking down films. I became a student of the game.”
In 2023, Schaerli made the grade. He earned all-conference honors as a wide receiver for the Blue Devils. He pulled in 12 passes for 233 yards and four scores in Lebo’s run-oriented offense.
“Last year was 80 percent run but I still had cool plays,” Schaerli said.
In Greg Perry’s high-powered passing attack, Schaerli anticipates making his share of grabs once he masters the playbook.
“It’s more complex and harder than last year but manageable,” he said. “It’s full of new plays and I love running new plays.”
Perry is new to the Lebo program. He is the third head coach in three seasons but Schaerli is excited about playing for the coach who has won multiple WPIAL titles and coached standout quarterbacks like Bruce Gradkowski, who played in the NFL, former Pitt standout Bill Stull and Anthony Doria, who was a standout at St. Francis University before becoming a coach at Duquesne.
With the merry-go-round of coaches Schaerli said a player must roll with the changes.
“With three different coaches, you have to adjust and be a pretty flexible person. Coaches and players need to be on the same page,” Schaerli added. “I think the team is. We like Coach Perry’s style. At first he was quiet but as soon as he hit the field, he was fiery and all business. I love that because what matters is what happens on the field. I have had a lot of different coaches. You take them all seriously and you learn something from all of them.”
Schaerli, who will start as a cornerback on defense for the Blue Devils, has learned that playing receiver is much like playing chess, which is a game he also enjoys.
“It’s the closest sport to chess and I like that aspect,” he said. “It’s understanding what the defense is trying to do and what you are going to do to get open. Reading coverages and schemes,” he added. “You are trying to outwit the opponent and you have to be creative with your play.”
Individually, Schaerli says that is working on his ‘breaking points’ in an effort to outsmart the competition.
“I can accelerate but what separates you is if you can decelerate quickly,” he said. “You try to make the defensive back run vertical and stop on a dime. That’s super essential to getting open.”
While Schaerli hopes to get open and catch ‘a lot’ of touchdowns as well as perhaps gain all-district and all-state recognition, he has bigger aspirations. Those objectives center around the Blue Devils.
“The main goal is to win that WPIAL championship,” he said. “If we win a championship, I would be the happiest man on earth.”
Noah Schaerli
Bio Box
Age: 17
Birthday: Aug. 22
Parents: Nathanael and Rebecca
Siblings: Lily, 15; Elijah, 13; Emilio, 11; Cecelia, 9
School: Mt. Lebanon
Year: Senior
GPA: 4.8
Sports: Football, basketball
Food: Watermelon.
Color: Red
Restaurant: Waffles, INCaffeinated.
Music: Hip hop
Movie: Essential Intelligence featuring Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson.
Who would play you in a movie: Ryan Reynolds
Dream destination: Japan
Athlete: Antonio Brown. “In his prime, he was influential but then he became controversial.”
People might be surprised to know this about you: I’m into board games. My favorite is Risk
Person you would like to have dinner with: Michael Jackson. “I feel like we really didn’t know what he was like because he was so big. I’d like to know what was going on there with him.”
Lesson sports has taught you: “Hard work pays off. It’s a cliche but definitely true.”
Career highlight: Catching the overtime game-winning touchdown pass against Bethel Park.