2009 District 2 Top Players

AJ McGovern, Senior OL, Wyoming Valley West – The Spartan center is a verbal commitment to West Point, and will be one of the veteran leaders, if the term can be used in high school, on the Valley West offensive line this season. The Spartans qualified for the District 2/11 “AAAA” playoffs each of the last three seasons.

AJ Mihaly, Senior QB, Berwick Area – Mihaly gets an honorary spot on this list, even though he’s going to miss the season after tearing his ACL during a legion baseball game. He went 97-of-195 in his junior season for 1,319 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging over 100 yards passing per game. He also ran for 263 yards and one touchdown. Mihaly led Berwick to an 11-3 record and the Bulldogs’ first District 2 championship under new coach Gary Campbell.

Alec Ladonis, Senior RB, Berwick Area – Ladonis finished the season as Berwick’s leading rusher, tallying 97 carries for 539 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry and just over 49 rushing yards per game.

Brian Copeland, Senior TE, Dunmore – A starter since his sophomore season, Copeland figures to be a major factor in the Buck offense this coming season – if not for blocking purposes then hauling in passes, too. He’s a 6’3, 220-pound specimen.

Billy Gates, Senior CB, Wilkes-Barre GAR Memorial – Gates finished the season for the Grenadiers with 57 tackles (40 solo) and intercepted five passes. He averaged 4.8 tackles per game.

Bryan Cosgrove, Senior OL, Wallenpaupack – Cosgrove recently verbally committed to Richmond, and he helped pave the way for a Buckhorn’s power-oriented offense that averaged 337 yards and 27 points per game last season. Of the Buckhorns’ 337 total offensive yards, 272.5 of them, on average per game, came on the ground. He had also generated interest from Boston College, NC State, and Pitt.

Casey Davenport, Junior DL, Berwick Area – Davenport didn’t finish the season with a very high number of tackles, but he did get quite a number of sacks. The sophomore chalked up 23 tackles, five sacks, and recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs, and figures to see those numbers increase this season.

Chad Nicholas, Senior WR/P, Hazleton – Nicholas was a multi-faceted athlete for the Cougars last season, contributing on offense, defense, and special teams. He caught 15 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns as a wide receiver; registered 28 tackles (18 solo), and added three interceptions, two deflected passes, a fumble recovery and two forced fumbles on defense; averaged 36.2 yards per punt on 34 attempts with a long of 62; and returned 13 punts for 219 yards, with a long of 82 yards against Pleasant Valley.

Charlie Armetta, Junior K, Abington Heights – Armetta pulled double-duty last season for the Comets, playing on defense and serving as place-kicker. He tallied 45 tackles and picked off a pass defensively, and accounted for 60 points, converting 36 extra points and eight field goals. Armetta scored 12 points ( three extra points, three field goals) in a Comet victory against Scranton.

Charlie Craig, Senior LB, Hazleton – Craig did help contribute somewhat to the Hazleton offensive attack last season, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, but he did the vast majority of his damage defensively. He tallied 87 tackles (49 solo) and intercepted four passes, averaging 7.3 tackles per game. Craig posted a season-best 16 tackles (10 solo) against Delaware Valley, and finished with 12 total tackles against Stroudsburg and 10 against Williamsport.

Chris Price, Senior RB, Pittston Area – Price finished the season as the Patriots’ leading rusher, totaling 112 carries for 663 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 5.92 yards per carry and just over 94 yards rushing per game.

Christian Martinez, Senior LB, Wyoming Valley West – Martinez is a potential Division-1 prospect at his position, according to Rivals.com. There was no additional statistical information submitted by Valley West, either to Rivals.com or to Maxpreps.com.

Cody Komroski, Senior RB, Lake-Lehman – Komroski posted solid numbers during his junior campaign for what turned out to be one of Lehman’s best seasons. He ran for 635 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 77 carries, and added 12 receptions for 215 yards and an additional touchdown as a receiver. Komroski averaged 8.25 yards per carry and 17.9 yards per reception, all told tallying an average of nearly 121 all-purpose yards per game.

Corey Talerico, Senior ATH, Taylor-Riverside – He was one of the multi-faceted athletes that contributed to Riverside’s 13-1 outburst last season. He played some running back, wide receiver, and defensive back, and rumor has it that he might be moved to quarterback this year, replacing career 4,000-yard passer Jay Velehoski. Talerico was part of a Viking team that set a District 2 single-season record with 612 points scored last year.

Dane Dudick, Junior DL, Wilkes-Barre GAR Memorial – Dudick returns to the Grenadier defense after posting 92 tackles, two sacks, an interception, and three fumble recoveries last season. He averaged 7.7 tackles per game.

Dennis O’Hara, Senior DB, Mid Valley – O’Hara did the bulk of his statistical damage between his receiver and defensive back positions for the Spartans last season. O’Hara hauled in 31 passes for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns, averaging 11.45 yards per catch and just over 35 yards per game. Defensively, he added 37 tackles and led the team with four interceptions. He also recovered two fumbles.

Dominic DeAntonio, Senior QB, Carbondale Area – A starter since his sophomore year, DeAntonio helped the Chargers to the D2 playoffs last season. He figures to be one of the keys to the Carbondale football team in 2009.

Dylan Cerra, Senior RB/DB, Carbondale Area – A starter since his sophomore year, Cerra helped the Chargers to the D2 playoffs last season. He figures to be one of the keys to the Carbondale football team in 2009.

Evan Craig, Senior DL, Abington Heights – Craig finished the season with 82 tackles (54 solo), six sacks, and a safety. He averaged 6.8 tackles per game, and recorded the safety against North Pocono.

James Fruehan, Junior SS, Abington Heights – Fruehan did the vast majority of his damage defensively for the Comets last year, tallying 87 tackles (63 solo), deflecting eight passes and intercepting three others. He averaged 9.7 tackles per game, adding 10 carries for 42 yards on offense.

Joe Defebo, Senior RB, Wallenpaupack – Defebo scorched the majority of the teams he ran against last season, save for a handful, as he chalked up 320 carries for 2,321 yards and 29 touchdowns. He added two receiving touchdowns to give him a total of 31 touchdowns scored. Defebo earned 1st-team “AAAA” All-state honors last season for his efforts. He sits perched at just over 3,100 yards rushing for his career, and is a potential Division-1 collegiate football prospect.

Joe Semanchik, Senior DE, Hazleton – Semanchik was a force defensively for the Cougars last year, wreaking all kinds of havoc on opposing backfields. He finished the season with 57 tackles (31 solo) and 7.5 sacks. Semanchik personally owned East Stroudsburg South last season – in two meetings he finished with 14 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Had Hazleton played each of its games against the Cavaliers, taking Semanchik’s per game average against them, he’d have finished with 84 tackles and 33 sacks.

Katie Scalzo, Junior K, Wyoming Area – Scalzo served as the Warriors’ placekicker last season, and she did a solid job, converting each of the extra points and the lone field goal she attempted. Wyoming Area does not utilize her duties on kickoffs, but it has been said that she kicks a good-looking and very accurate ball.

Kyle Wallace, Senior OL, Wyoming Valley West – Wallace is a potential Division-1 prospect at his position, according to Rivals.com. There was no additional statistical information submitted by Valley West, either to Rivals.com or to Maxpreps.com.

Louis Hampton, Senior RB, Berwick Area – Hampton finished the season as Berwick’s leading rusher, tallying 164 carries for 797 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged nearly 4.9 yards per carry and just over 61 rushing yards per game. Hampton also added 11 receptions for 77 yards out of the backfield.

Matt Kintz, Sophomore RB, Wyoming Area – He was part of the youth movement last year, a year in which numerous freshmen across the state stepped up and made key contributions to their teams. Kintz closed out the season on a tear for the Warriors as their feature back, surpassing 100 yards on a couple of occasions and even scored a couple of game-winning touchdowns. He could possibly be a big stat producer if given the chance in a feature role this coming year.

Matt Starrick, Senior DL, Hazleton – Starrick finished the season as one of Hazleton’s top defensive players. He posted 91 tackles (58 solo), four sacks, and a fumble recovery. He averaged 7.6 tackles per game, and finished two games with double-digit tackle totals, posting 12 tackles against Stroudsburg and 10 against Pittston Area.

Michael Perry, Senior RB, Dunmore – Perry could set some milestones this season. After an impressive 218 carries for 1,823 yards and 27 touchdowns in his junior season, Dunmore’s feature back sits at 4,832 rushing yards and 62 touchdowns for his career. Barring any major catastrophe, the Bucks’ main weapon is 168 yards shy of becoming the 5th District 2 running back to surpass 5,000 career rushing yards, and is 1,168 yards shy of becoming just the 2nd back from the district to hit 6,000 career yards (Honesdale’s Terrin Ash is the other). Perry is 2,916 yards shy of Ash’s career mark.

Mike Ehnot, Senior WR, Dunmore – Ehnot figures to be the primary receiving threat in Dunmore’s aerial attack this coming season. Last year, he hauled in 23 passes for 444 yards and scored four touchdowns. Ehnot averaged 19.3 yards per reception and just over 34 yards per game.

Nick Bell, Junior WR, North Pocono – Bell is a potential Division-1 prospect in the Class of 2011 at his position, according to Rivals.com. There was no additional statistical information submitted by North Pocono, either to Rivals.com or to Maxpreps.com.

Paul Gallagher, Junior OLB, Abington Heights – Gallagher was an integral part of the Comets’ system last season, both offensively and defensively. He totaled 119 carries for 739 yards and caught eight passes for 49 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns (nine rushing). Gallagher averaged 6.2 yards per carry, 61.6 rushing yards per game, and 6.1 yards per reception. Defensively, Gallagher added 105 tackles (75 solo), four sacks and an interception – he averaged 8.8 tackles per game.

Richard Ivanov, Senior LB, Wilkes-Barre GAR Memorial – Ivanov ran for 257 yards and three touchdowns while averaging over seven yards per carry, but he did a lot of damage defensively, totaling 90 tackles, two sacks, an interception, and two fumble recoveries. He averaged 7.5 tackles per game.

Robert Hoover, Senior OL, Mid Valley (Transferred from Dunmore) – Hoover provided blocking for a Dunmore offense that went 12-2 last season and made it all the way to the PIAA “AA” quarterfinals. He checks in at 5’11, 200 pounds, and was also a starter on the line as a junior.

Roy Dennis, Junior DL, Berwick Area – Dennis played well, statistically speaking, in his sophomore season, tallying 39 tackles and sacking opposing quarterbacks six times and recovering two fumbles. He averaged three tackles per games, and had a season-high seven tackles against West Scranton. Also, in that West Scranton game, Dennis posted two sacks – his only multi-sack game of the season.

Sal Conaboy, Senior OL, Abington Heights – Conaboy may be the best returning offensive lineman in all of District 2. The Comet senior-to-be owns a slew of Division-1 football offers (17 total), from schools like Maryland, Michigan State, Oregon, West Virginia, Illinois, and Vanderbilt. The 6’5, 255-pound Conaboy helped pave the way for a Comet team that averaged 288 total yards of offense and 28 points per game last season.

Shane Gensiak, Senior QB, Valley View – Gensiak is a potential Division-1 prospect for the Cougars, listing an offer from Akron, according to Rivals.com. The 6’4, 215-pound field general has interest from Villanova, Kent State, and Toledo. Gensiak completed 88-of-167 passes for 993 yards and eight touchdowns last year, averaging just over 90 yards per game. He also scored six rushing touchdowns on 37 keepers.

Taylor Newcomer, Senior FB, Wallenpaupack – Newcomer was primarily blowing up holes for Wallenpaupack’s main source of offense last season, but he did occasionally get some carries and even caught a few passes. Newcomer ran for 187 yards on 40 carries and added five catches for 132 yards and a touchdown out of his fullback position. The potential Division-1 prospect averaged 4.68 yards per carry and 26.4 yards per reception.

Tomas Cabrera, Senior WR, Hanover Area – After posting nine catches for 252 yards as a sophomore, Cabrera exploded as the featured receiver in his junior year. Cabrera hauled in 50 passes for 916 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 18.3 yards per catch and over 76 yards per game, thrice surpassing 100 yards receiving in a game. But his stat line didn’t stop there. He added 60 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts; he tallied 92 tackles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense; and he returned 23 combined kickoffs and punts for 272 yards.