40 teams in 40 days – Day 11: Scranton (2)

Written by: David Mika on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

2011 season

The Knights finished the 2011 season with an 8-4 record. Scranton had a first round win in District playoffs against Wyoming Valley West, 36-7.

Easton Area ended the Knights season with a 29-20 win.

Scranton had a strong season behind running back Joe McCarthy who rushed for 1,189 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Quarterback Marlinn Waiters passed for 1,395 yards and 16 touchdowns. His big target was speedster Karion Quiller. He caught 27 passes for 732 yards and eight touchdowns.

Q & A with Scranton head football coach Mike Marichak

We sat down with Marichak and talked to him about his team for the 2012 season?

How is your off-season going this summer?

Exactly pretty good. We have had about 65 to 70 kids coming out this summer. We are pleased with their off-season workout. They have put a good off-season in the weight room.

They are working hard.

Who do you have coming back on offense?

My right tackle is back, Paul Brady. He is 6-foot-5, 290-pounds. He really came on the last five games.

My right guard is back from last year, Mike Condrad. As a junior last year he was my best lineman.

I have a left tackle that we are going to move to left guard, Eric McCabe. He is 6-foot-3, 235-pounds. He is a hard worker and good athlete.

We still have to fill the other tackle spot and center. We have kids to choice from.

We always had skill kids, but this year we have a lot of lineman.

When we went to two tight ends set last year, Brandon Navoczynski played a lot for us. He got bigger and stronger. He will be a key on our line.

At quarterback is Marlinn Waiters. He is very athletic and a tremendous arm. He has all the tools to be a great quarterback. This summer you can see he is becoming a leader.

I loose a good running back in Joe McCarthy. The good news I replace him with another McCarthy, his younger brother Jake. He is only going to be a sophomore.

Last year he stepped in one game and rushed for 195 yards. He is young but he has all the tools to be a top back.

Our fullback is a three-year starter. Kyle Czarkowski who is a very good football player, great blocker and a tough kid.

At wide receiver I think we have one of the best kids in the area. He is getting highly recruited by Division One teams. Karlon Quiller is working hard this summer and he is a game changer.

We lost quite a bit at receivers from last year. But we have three or four kids battling for spots.

Who do you have coming back on defense?

We have our nose guard returning in Czarkwoski. He is a nightmare for teams.

We have a kid that transferred in from Valley View, Aqyil Muhammad. He will be at nose guard.

We have depth at tackle. We lost both tackles from last year. But we have Paul Brady and Eric McCabe.

We also have Nazvoczynski who is a three-year starter.

On defense we play a 3-4-4, but it’s more like a 5-3. Its where our outside linebacker steps up at defense end. But it depends on the formation.

My inside linebacker is a three-year starter, Matt Gorton. He is a very smart player. He calls the plays.

We are going to move Mike Condrad on defense to inside linebacker. We have quite of few young kids that could get some playing time.

When we talk about defensive backs, Karlon Quiller is one of the best in the area. I have him at corner.

The other corner is Jake McCarthy. We feel we have the two fastest corners in the area. But with McCarthy running the ball a lot we may have to move him to free safety.

The other spots we have two or three kids battling. We have one kid that played some last year. Jimmy McNally might take one of the spots, maybe strong safety.

Who do you have coming back on special teams?

Quiller will be our punter. Jake McCarthy is going to follow his brother and do the kicking.

McCarthy and Quiller will be at kick-off return. McCarthy will do punt returns unless one of the young kids step up.

That is what we are leaning to right now.

How is your league this year?

I think Delaware Valley is going to be real good. Some say Valley View lost a lot of kids, but they are still a good team. I think Abington Heights will be better than last year. Scranton Prep is a team to keep an eye on.

To have a successful season you have to?

We have to stay healthy. Last year we started off slow and we need to start out stronger this year.

Home Opener

Scranton opens home against Hazleton Area on August 31st

40 teams in 40 days

Day 1 – Mount Carmel Area (4)

Day 2 – Manheim Central (3)

Day 3 – Delaware Valley (2)

Day 4 – Southern Columbia (4)

Day 5 – Berwick Area (2)

Day 6 – Easton Area (11)

Day 7 – LaSalle (12)