Scranton (2)
Conference: Lackawanna Football Conference, Division I
Class: AAAA
Nickname: Knights
Coach: Mike Marichak
2012 Record: 11-1
Returning Players – Offense: Sr. OT Jeff Nunez; Sr. OG Anthony Saul; Sr. TE Marcus Morrison; Sr. FB Jared Little; Jr. FB Charle Pabst; Sr. QB Kyle Pieczynski; Jr. RB Jake McCarthy
Returning Players – Defense: Jr. DL Jordan O’Hearn; Sr. DE Marcus Morrison; Jr. DL Charlie Pabst; Jr. SS Scott Gorton
Special Teams: “We have our kicker back. He is Alvaro Fernandez. The punter spot is up in the air. But Kevin Boyer is working hard. Returning kicks/punts will be Jake McCarthy, Ramon Fields and Josh Gonzalez.”
Top Newcomers: Jr. C Brett Engleman; So. TE Dylan Granahan; Sr. FS/WR Josh Gonzalez; Jr. WR Ramon Fields
Coaches comments:
How’s your defense line?
“We have a kid that played a little bit for us last year at nose guard. He is Jordan O’Hearn. Marcus Morrison returns at end. Jeff Nunez, Fabian Coleman, Cody McPhillips, Mike Ray and Anthony Saul are both going to battle for a spot. So we have a lot of guys battling and we are going to stay with the same 3-4 defense. John Marichak and Tyler Elden are a few names that will battle for the other end spot. Inside we are going to have Jared Little and four other players battle for that spot.”
How are your linebackers?
“These kids are inexperienced, but they are big and strong. At inside linebacker we have Dylan Granahan and Charlie Pabst. Jared Little will battle that spot too.”
What about your secondary?
“We have our strong safety back. He is Scott Gorton. The free safety is going to be Josh Gonzalez. Jake McCarthy is a returner and will play some secondary. If we need him to play defense in a big game he will be out there. Ramon Fields will play corner. Cody Miller is going to battle for corner.”
How’s your offensive line?
“We have one kid returning that had a couple of starts. He is Jeff Nunez. He will play right tackle. Anthony Saul is back at right guard. He filled in spots for us last year. At center is going to be Brett Engleman. The other spots that players will be battling on the line are Chris Lewis, Fabian Coleman, Cody McPhillips and Mike Ray. At tight end we have Marcus Morrison. Last season when we went two tight ends he saw a lot of playing time. The other tight end will be Dylan Granahan.”
You lost a great quarterback to graduation. Who’s your quarterback this season?
“We have a kid that is going to be a Senior. He is Kyle Pieczynski. He has a strong arm and all we asked him to do this year is manage the game. He is a smart kid and a leader.”
How’s your running game look?
“Let’s start at fullback. We have two backs, they are Jared Little and Charlie Pabst. Really the only returning back we got back is Jake McCarthy.”
Note: McCarthy as a sophomore rushed for 1,745 yards on 226 carries and 25 touchdowns. “He’s our bread and butter. We are going to run the ball and Jake is going to get the bulk of it.”
How do your receivers look?
“We have more depth at receiver this year. We did lose a great player, Karlon Quiller. We have a kid that transferred in from Virginia. His name is Josh Gonzalez. He’s very athletic and a great kid. Ramon Fields is another kid that will see time. He is really fast. John Marichak, Tyler Newhart and Cody Miller add depth.”
“We don’t have a lot of experience coming back, but a lot of them are going to be seniors. A lot of these kids have seen how much success we had the last two years and they bought into it. They saw what it needs to take. The key for us is the first game and get some experience.”
What is your key on offense this year?
“It first always starts up front. The second thing is to keep Jake healthy and run the ball with him. The third thing that is really important is for our quarterback being able to manage the game. He has to make some plays for us and open up the field for us.”
What is your key on defense?
“We need to be physical and run to the ball like we did in the past. The young kids need to get some confidence. The key is our secondary being able to cover people.”
