Matt Freiler

It was a long night for Williams Valley head coach Tim Savage, as Steel-High advanced to the PIAA Class A Semifinals with a 41-6 win over the Vikings.

Star RB Dylan Rabuck, who injured his ankle in last week’s PIAA opening round win over Old Forge, played in limited capacity through the first quarter before being pulled out in the second. Nick Savage entered the game to relieve Rabuck, and exited with an injury of his own after being dragged down by the collar.

Steel-High got on the board early and often, with their first two drives ending in Malachi Young touchdown passes of five and 10 yards. This gave the Rollers an early 14-0 lead.

Just when it looked like the Vikings were putting a drive together, the snap sailed high over Levi Engle’s head. Steel-High’s Javion Grant completed the scoop and score for a touchdown, giving the Rollers a 20-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Dupri Andrews added scoring runs of 30 and 15 yards, extending Steel-High’s lead to 34-6 midway through the third quarter. Andrews also intercepted a Levi Engle pass in the game.

With Rabuck and Savage down, Dylan Wolfgang took most of the carries for the Vikings. The senior finished with 133 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

The Steel-High defense set up camp in the Viking backfield all night, recording 13 tackles for loss and two turnovers. The Rollers capitalized on good field position throughout the game and only punted once. Senior receiver Jake Wolfgang, who gave the Rollers fits in last year’s quarterfinal, was held without a reception on the night.

The Rollers advance to the PIAA Class A Semifinals to face Homer-Center, who knocked off top-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle in their quarterfinal clash. Williams Valley ends the season 13-1, wondering what could have been had they remained at full strength during the playoffs.

Late in the first half, a deafening silence fell over the Williams Valley side of Lehighton Multi-Purpose Stadium. Star senior tailback, Dylan Rabuck, who’s rushed for over 2,700 yards and 40 touchdowns this season, was down on the far sideline. Ten minutes later, Rabuck was carted off the field.

 In his absence, Williams Valley held on to defeat Old Forge 44-25, remaining unbeaten and advancing to the second round of the PIAA Class A playoffs.

 The injury happened with Williams Valley leading 22-0 after the Vikings scored on their first three possessions. QB Levi Engle was playing a near perfect game, throwing two beautiful touchdown spirals in the first quarter.

 With Rabuck down, Nick Savage entered the game and held his own against a tough Old Forge defense. The senior finished with 114 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

 Williams Valley entered the half with a 30-6 lead, but more bad news came on the first play of the third quarter. Engle tossed a jump ball into double coverage intended for senior receiver Jake Wolfgang, who landed awkwardly on his leg. The pass was intercepted by Old Forge.

 Without Wolfgang and Rabuck, the Vikings marched on. A pair of Savage runs extended the lead to 44-12 with eight minutes to play. Dylan Rabuck returned to the sideline on crutches to a standing ovation from the Viking crowd. His linemen, who he credits for his success, carried him to a seat on the bench.

 Williams Valley head coach Tim Savage elected to send out the victory formation up 44-18 with three minutes to go. The Old Forge coaching staff objected, and called two timeouts to prolong the game. The Blue Devils scored their final touchdown after a blocked punt set them up on the goal line.

 With the win, Williams Valley moved to 13-0, a school record for victories in a single season. The Vikings move on to the PIAA Class A Quarterfinals next weekend.

On their first possession, North Schuylkill turned the ball over. The next play, Notre Dame-GP QB Cole DeFranco found Dan O’Hare down the middle for a 56-yard touchdown.

It was big plays like this which decided the District XI AAA Quarterfinal in Fountain Springs, where Notre Dame-Green Pond defeated North Schuylkill 28-6.

Even when the Spartans controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock, the Crusaders struck quickly.

Late in the first, DeFranco found David Sanders Jr. for another touchdown, this time a 32-yard strike. Notre Dame-GP led 14-0 at the end of one.

There was no quit from North Schuylkill, as the Spartans pulled within eight in the second quarter. Justin DeAngelo finished off a long drive with a 1-yard run, but the extra point missed.

That was the only time the Spartans would find the end zone. The two teams battled through the scoreless third quarter, exchanging punts throughout. Notre Dame-GP led 14-6 heading into the fourth.

Early in the fourth, DeFranco set up Gerald Grube on a screen that went for an 18-yard touchdown, extending the Crusader lead to 21-6.

Fighting to stay in the game, North Schuylkill drove into Notre Dame territory but could not convert on a 4^th down with six minutes to go. The Crusaders took the ball back and finished off their final drive with a 5-yard rushing score.

Notre Dame-GP will advance to the District XI AAA Semifinals to meet undefeated Colonial League champion Palisades next Saturday. The teams played in Week 1, and Palisades won a 22-17 nail biter.

North Schuylkill finishes 8-3 on the season. Their losses came against three fourths of the AAA semifinals, as they dropped league games to Jim Thorpe and Lehighton.

The Tri-Valley Conference championship is back in Williamstown for the first time since 2012.

All-State RB Dylan Rabuck rushed for over 300 yards and five touchdowns in the first half, including a record-breaking 99-yard score that put Williams Valley up 46-0 at the break.

“I think Dylan is the best running back in [Class] single A,” said Williams Valley head coach Tim Savage.

Dylan’s twin brother Devon Rabuck also got involved in the scoring department, with a 6 -yard touchdown pass from Levi Engle in the second quarter.

Up 46-0 at the start of the second half, Williams Valley inserted their second team in the game. Shane Harris and Brady Miller scored fourth quarter touchdowns to cap off the Vikings’ championship night.

This was nothing new for Williams Valley, as they’ve dominated their competition. The Vikings’ closest game this season was a 42-26 win over Line Mountain in Week 5.

“We’ve actually won more District (XI) titles lately than we have league titles,” Savage said. “It’s great to bring the title back.”

Pine Grove got on the board in the third quarter, when senior RB Garrett Lehman plunged into the end zone. It turned out to be the lone Cardinal score of the night.

After the game, there was nothing but respect between head coaches, as Cardinal head coach Jeff Sampson stopped to chat with Savage after the teams shook hands.

At 10-0, Williams Valley heads into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in District XI Class A. The Vikings will begin what has potential to be a deep playoff run with a home semi-final against Marian Catholic next weekend.

Dylan Rabuck extended his season rushing total to over 2,100 yards. The senior has scored 35 touchdowns in ten games, and most have come in the first half. Since the Vikings always insert their younger players when they’re up big in the second half, Rabuck’s workload is limited compared to other backs in the state.

Pine Grove finished the season 1-9. The Cardinals have won just four games in three years since qualifying for the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2014. In 2013, the Cardinals were 10-0 Tri-Valley conference champions.

Kobe Brish scored seven total touchdowns, six on the ground and one through the air, to lead Schuylkill Haven to a 63-21 road win over Minersville. The sophomore sensation also racked up 188 yards on 28 carries.

“Football games are won in the trenches,” Schuylkill Haven head coach Mike Farr said. “I thought we did a really good job tonight up front.”

Trailing 7-0 after a Brish score early in the first quarter, Minersville’s Jared Yoder broke off an 80-yard kick return touchdown that fired up the home crowd. The extra point missed, and Haven led 7-6.

From there, the Hurricanes scored 28 unanswered points by way of four Brish touchdowns on four straight possessions. The Miners found themselves down 35-6 in the second quarter, but never gave up.

Minersville reached into the bag of tricks and pulled out a halfback pass. Kenny Yurkonis found a wide-open Bryce Ellinger for the 58-yard score, cutting the deficit to 35-14 with six minutes left in the first half. Ellinger finished with three catches for 129 yards and two TD’s.

The Miners forced Haven to punt on the ensuing possession, and capitalized when quarterback Scott Schwalm hit Ellinger on a slant route that resulted in a 66-yard touchdown. The momentum shifted heading into the break, and 13 unanswered points pulled the Miners within striking distance at 35-21.

“Minersville was very scrappy. Hats off to them,” Farr said. “I was a little disappointed, and I voiced that at halftime.” It was all Hurricanes from there, as Schuylkill Haven blanked Minersville 28-0 in the second half and allowed just one first down.

The second half scoring opened when quarterback Josh Kalyan hit Brandon Koch on a screen pass that went 60 yards for a score. Two more touchdowns from Brish on the ground and another from his backup Jake Luckenbill capped off the scoring, making the final 63-21.

“It’s just another win,” Farr said. “We’re 3-4, we started out 0-4, we just have to continue to get better every week.”

Kicker Dawson Evitts was a perfect nine-for-nine on extra points in the win. Brish has been on an absolute tear, scoring 17 touchdowns in Haven’s last three games.

The Hurricanes are in the driver’s seat of Schuylkill League Division II and their playoff destiny, as they host Panther Valley in Week 8.

Minersville fell to 2-5 on the year and will visit Mahanoy Area for a league contest next week.

Down 22-14, North Schuylkill lined up for a fourth and 11 from the Lehighton 15-yard line with 30 seconds left in regulation.

Doug Weist’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, as the Lehighton defense came through in the clutch to cap off an impressive performance.

“The defense has improved dramatically,” head coach Tom McCaroll said. “That’s been the difference in our whole season.”

The Indians pressured Weist all night, leaving him uncomfortable in the pocket and disrupting the North Schuylkill passing attack. Lehighton eliminated North Schuylkill’s playmakers, as leading receiver Scotty Grigas was held to just two catches for 26 yards.

Lehighton star QB Cody Scherer was involved in all three touchdowns for the Indians, including a 74-yard breakaway run. Scherer finished with 101 yards passing and 144 yards rushing.

North Schuylkill was without starting tailback Mitch Wagner, who was out with a shoulder injury. Sophomore Zach Chowansky stepped in and scored his first career touchdown from three yards out, giving the Spartans a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter. Chowansky finished with 27 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Scherer’s lone target throughout the night was Zach Crum, who recorded five catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Lehighton took their first lead of the game by a score of 8-6, when Crum caught a 25-yard pass from Scherer and converted the two-point try.

Although down 8-6 at half, North Schuylkill controlled the clock with slow, methodical drives. Red zone penalties and lack of a kicking game limited the Spartans opportunities for points, but Lehighton’s defense was on the field for long periods of time.

After Scherer’s electrifying 74-yard run and 62-yard bomb to Crum, Lehighton found themselves up 22-6 with just seven minutes in regulation. North Schuylkill was facing a late deficit for the second straight week, coming back from being down by 13 to beat Mount Carmel in Week Five.

The Spartan resurgence started when Weist found Jayden Leiby for a 24-yard touchdown and converted the two-point try. With four minutes to go, the Lehighton lead was cut to eight.

On North Schuylkill’s final drive, Weist played with an extreme sense of urgency. The senior QB completed more passes on the drive than the entire game, giving the Spartans life as they marched down the field.

The Lehighton defense was the story yet again, as they came up with another big stop deep in their own territory, extinguishing North Schuylkill’s comeback bid.

The Indians improve to 6-0, as Tamaqua comes to town in Week Seven. North Schuylkill will play another undefeated team, hitting the road to visit Jim Thorpe and the elite “Red Swarm” defense.

by Matt Freiler, Schuylkill League Reporter

As Nate Boyle powered in for his fifth touchdown of the night with under a minute left in the game, the celebration began. Sam Bonner’s Tamaqua Blue Raiders defeated Blue Mountain 48-28 in front of an energized home crowd, improving to 5-0 in the opening week of Schuylkill League play. It was the Raiders’ first win over the Eagles since 2004. Blue Mountain had no answer for Tamaqua’s tandem of tailbacks all night. Senior Nick Breiner and sophomore Nate Boyle combined for over 300 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in a dominating performance.

Things didn’t start out as planned for Tamaqua, as quarterback Thad Zuber was intercepted by Blue Mountain’s Jason Dean on the Raiders’ first drive. The defense did not allow the Eagles to capitalize on the turnover, forcing a three-and-out.

Breiner got the Raiders on the board with a five-yard touchdown scamper around seven minutes to go in the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Blue Mountain’s Chase Sincavage broke off an 88-yard return that set the Eagles up in the red zone. Ben Kramer plowed in for the touchdown, tying the game at seven mid-way through the first.

Tamaqua answered right back, as Breiner found a seam and raced 58 yards for his second touchdown of the opening quarter. However, the extra point was missed, and Tamaqua led 13-7 with four minutes to go in the first.

The turning point of the game came on the ensuing kickoff. Tamaqua attempted a squib kick, which they ended up recovering after a Blue Mountain muff.

The Raiders turned the opportunity into points, as Zuber found tight end Casey Rother for a 61-yard score. The long catch and run gave Tamaqua a 21-7 lead at the end of the first.

Blue Mountain got things going midway through the second quarter, as Chip Umbenhaur scored from nine yards out. The Eagles came within one score, down 21-14.

With the ball back and looking to tie the game, Blue Mountain quarterback David Krewson was intercepted by Braden Knoblauch along the sideline. Tamaqua capitalized yet again, when Nate Boyle found the end zone from 21 yards out, giving the Radiers a 28-14 edge at the half.

The longest touchdown of the night came on Tamaqua’s first drive of the second half, when Knoblauch found Boyle for a 63-yard deep ball. The raucous home crowd roared with excitement, as the Raiders led 35-14.

Down three scores, coach Cory Mabry’s Eagles never quit. After a quick Sincavage touchdown, Blue Mountain found themselves driving deep into Tamaqua territory trailing 35-21 near the end of the third quarter.

Again, the Raider defense came up clutch as Boyle made an acrobatic one-handed interception, stalling the Eagles’ drive and crushing the momentum.

Capitalizing on opportunities created by the defense and special teams was the story of the game for the Raiders, as they went up 42-21 on another Boyle touchdown run with six minutes to play.

Blue Mountain dropped to 1-4 on the season, and will host 5-0 Jim Thorpe next week. Tamaqua will travel to Pottsville for a massive league game.

Dawson Evitts trotted out and lined up for a 25-yard field goal with just under five minutes left in the game. Schuylkill Haven had come storming back from a 12-0 first half deficit, and found themselves trailing North Schuylkill 18-17 with a chance to take the lead.

Evitts had drilled one from 34 yards out in the first half and is considered by many to be one of District XI’s best kickers. With his steady and reliable leg, the odds were stacked against North Schuylkill to mantain their one-point lead.

Evitts’ kick just barely evaded the upright and missed wide left. The Spartans breathed a major sigh of relief and hung on to their one-point lead, winning 18-17.

The kick ended up being Schuylkill Haven’s last opportunity to win the game, as Mike Farr’s Hurricanes dropped to 0-4 on the season.

“Schuylkill Haven is probably the best 0-4 team in the state,” said North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall. “This is two games now where our kids had to rise up and play and they did.”

The difference ended up being a 14-yard run by fullback Tyler Elsdon, which put the Spartans back in the lead 18-17 with 1:04 left in the third quarter.

Elsdon’s touchdown resulted just a few minutes after quarterback Doug Weist found his top receiver Scotty Grigas on a screen pass that went for a 70-yard touchdown, but was called back for holding.

The lethal combo of Weist and Grigas got North Schuylkill’s scoring started midway through the first quarter, when they connected on a 15-yard touchdown. Grigas finished with 9 receptions for 105 yards and a score.

On the Spartans’ next possession, Mitch Wagner took a sweep right and raced 93 yards down the near sideline to extend the lead to 12-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter. Wagner carried the ball 24 times for 168 yards and a score on the night.

While Evitts 34-yard kick put the Hurricanes on the board towards the end of the first half, Schuylkill Haven faced a 12-3 halftime deficit that seemed unlikely to overcome.

Schuylkill Haven came out of the second half gates angry, as Jake Luckenbill and Kobe Brish scored a pair of touchdown runs that gave Haven a 17-12 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter. Brish continued his streak of impressive games with 129 yards and a touchdown, even after sitting out a few drives due to cramping.

“I’m proud of our kids for coming through,” said Hall. “We lost our edge a little bit there, but being 4-0 is great.”

Schuylkill Haven, the defending Schuylkill League “small school division” champs, shockingly defeated all four “big school division” opponents last season. This year, the road has been much tougher, as the Canes have fallen short in four close games. North Schuylkill remains unbeaten.

By: Matt Freiler, Schuylkill League Reporter

It was a party for the Lehighton defense under the lights at Rotary Field in Schuylkill Haven on Friday night. The Indians racked up five takeaways, including three interceptions and two fumbles, defeating Schuylkill Haven 30-14.

“Our defense played the way we used to play,” said Tom McCarroll, Lehighton head coach. “Schuylkill Haven is too good of a team to go scoreless, and we got everything we could handle from them in the second half.”

The Indians went into the locker room up 14-0, after a three-yard touchdown run by Philly-area transfer Taquan Chambers and a pick-six by Chris Whiteman.

The Hurricanes responded on the first drive of the second half, marching down the field and cutting the deficit to 14-7 after Kobe Brish’s three-yard touchdown run. While this was the sophomore’s lone touchdown of the night, he rushed for a total of 220 yards on 30 carries.

Lehighton answered back immediately. Indian quarterback Cody Scherer found a wide-open Ben Schatz down the middle for a huge gain to the one-yard line. From there, Scherer punched it in. Lehighton converted the two-point conversion and made it a 22-7 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Schuylkill Haven countered with Brandon Koch’s 55-yard dash to the end zone that electrified the stadium and the Hurricane sideline. The score put Haven within one possession, down 22-14 at the end of the third.

The turning point of the game came early in the 4^th quarter. Schuylkill Haven was faced with a 4^th & 6 from the Indian 16. Quarterback Josh Kalyan tossed it up to the back corner of the end zone, but the pass was broken up and Lehighton took over on downs. Kalyan threw three interceptions on the night, including one that was returned for a touchdown in the first half.

On Schuylkill Haven’s next drive, the quarterback-center exchanged was muffed, and Lehighton pounced on the ball for a fumble recovery. Scherer led his team down the field, and Chambers scored his second rushing touchdown of the night from 19 yards out. Lehighton extended the lead to 30-14 with the two-point conversion. The Indians would play conservative the rest of the way and improve to 2-0 on the season. Schuylkill Haven dropped to 0-2 for the first time since 2012.

“These kinds of games can be momentum builders,” said McCaroll. “Schuylkill Haven is a quality opponent, and I hope we can use this momentum to catapult us through the rest of the season.”

Matt Freiler is a Penn State junior who covers Schuylkill League Football games for EasternPAFootball.com. You can contact Matt by e-mail at psumatt95@gmail.com