Before delving into some notes from around the eastern half of the state, many individual milestones were achieved throughout the course of the weekend. Some of the following made Dave Mika’s shoutouts which he posts weekly on Eastern PA Football’s Facebook page. Some did not. Check these items out:
– Harriton senior quarterback Pat Moriarty helped engineer a 36-35 victory over Strath Haven Friday night. In the victory, Moriarty set numerous milestones. First, he surpassed 6,000 career passing yards, becoming the first Harriton quarterback to ever accomplish that feat. Moriarty also established himself as the Central League’s all-time leading passer for career yardage, with 6,153 yards, passing former Marple Newtown quarterback Chris Gicking, who threw for 5,897. Moriarty also set a new single-season career high in passing yards (2,115), edging his mark of 2,040 as a junior.
– Colin McDermott of Allentown Central Catholic rushed for 422 yards on 43 carries in a rout of Bethlehem Catholic, giving him the Vikings’ single-season rushing yardage record of 2,114 yards (and counting). McDermott surpassed the 5,000-yard career benchmark Friday night as well, and unofficially has 5,294 yards for ACC in his career.
– Tri-Valley senior running back Blake Bowman surpassed 4,000 career yards rushing in the Bulldogs’ 42-28 victory over Line Mountain Friday night. Bowman scored all six T-V touchdowns in the game and has rushed for 1,958 yards and scored 31 touchdowns this 2012 season and has rushed for 4,228 yards for his career.
– Riverside senior quarterback Nick Dranchak surpassed 5,000 career yards passing Friday in the Vikings’ 34-20 loss to Dunmore by completing 16-of-36 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Dranchak is now up to 5,165 yards for his career, and has an upcoming playoff game to add to those totals against Old Forge. Dranchak is Riverside’s career passing leader and first-ever 5,000-yard passer in school history.
– Cedar Cliff junior quarterback Andrew Ford eclipsed the career 4,000-yard passing benchmark in Cedar Cliff’s 38-34 loss to Mechanicsburg Friday night. Ford’s 153 yards on a 13-of-21 night moved him to 4,087 yards and 46 touchdowns for his career and 2,717 yards passing and 34 touchdowns in his junior season alone. The Colts have qualified for the District 3 AAAA playoffs and will face Penn Manor Friday.
– Delaware Valley senior quarterback and Miami (OH) recruit Bryan Schor surpassed the 2,000-yard mark in passing, giving him his first-ever season of 2,000 pass yards or more. Schor has thrown for 2,001 yards for the Warriors (9-1) for the season and is just 66 yards away from 6,000 for his career. Schor is already the first quarterback in Del Val history to surpass the 4,000 & 5,000-yard career passing benchmarks.
– One week after rushing for a school single-game record 345 yards, Archbishop Wood’s Andrew Guckin posted a second consecutive 300-yard rushing performance. Guckin rushed for 304 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-28 blitz of Cardinal O’Hara, giving him 10 touchdowns over the last two weeks. Consecutive 300-yard rushing performances is a first for Guckin’s career at Wood.
– Just weeks removed from setting a District 2 single-game passing yardage record, Holy Redeemer’s Jimmy Strickland was at it again, throwing for 447 yards and five touchdowns while completing 22-of-28 passes. Strickland threw for 481 yards earlier in the season and now owns two of the top three individual single-game passing performances in District 2 history and two top-10 single game passing performances in state history.
– Eastern York’s Alex Cooley rushed for 492 yards scored 10 touchdowns in the Golden Knights’ 81-56 (81-56!!!!) Week 10 victory over York County Tech. Cooley’s 10 touchdowns are a single-game school record, breaking the mark of eight touchdowns he scored against Hanover in establishing himself as the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association’s all-time career leading rusher. Cooley’s 492 yards are the second-highest single-game rushing totals in both District 3 and state history, trailing only his 500-yard performance against Hanover earlier in the season.
– Nazareth’s Parish Simmons joined the 1,000/1,000 quarterback club despite the Eagles losing to Easton, 35-14, Monday. Simmons has passed for 1,499 yards and rushed for 1,075.
– Williamsport’s Devin Miller finished with his third consecutive season of 1,000+ rushing yards. Though 2012 was a struggle for the Millionaires, Miller still rushed for 1,064 yards and nine touchdowns, giving him 3,260 yards for his career.
– ELCO freshman quarterback Jeff Martin threw for a career-high 282 yards in the Raiders’ 42-28 loss to North Schuylkill Saturday, giving him 1,016 yards passing for the season. Martin is the second freshman quarterback from eastern Pennsylvania this season to surpass 1,000 yards in the air (Council Rock North’s Brandon McIlwain is the other). Martin is also the 17th freshman to pass for 1,000+ yards in a season since 2005.
***
Following Friday night’s 24-14 loss to Danville, I caught up with Seals head coach Dave Hess (44-19) and got his take about a few things from the game and his team. Last year, Selinsgrove went through an aberration of a season, finishing 1-9 overall. But this season, the Seals rebounded and won seven games, finished second in the Heartland Athletic Conference Divsion-I and earned its traditional No. 1 seed in the District 4 AAA playoffs.
I noted to Hess that maybe this season was about validation that Selinsgrove hadn’t faded off from being relevant in the District 4 football community, and he wholeheartedly agreed.
“That’s correct – we haven’t gone anywhere (as a football program),” Hess said. “This is one of the youngest teams I’ve ever coached in my 30+ years here at Selinsgrove. Our three losses came to Berwick, Southern Columbia and Danville, and there’s no shame in losing to those teams. Plus we beat a state-ranked Trinity team. The future here is very bright.”
Another bright future lies with one of Hess’ former Seals, Seth Lauver, who scored the game-winning touchdown in the Seals’ 2009 PIAA AAA championship victory over Manheim Central just months before a horrific car accident on prom night which seriously injured both he and his date.
Hess said his former fullback is attending Bloomsburg University and commutes there daily. He transferred home from Edinboro University, where he played in a wheelchair basketball league.
“His goals have still remained the same,” Hess said. “He is majoring in counseling at Bloomsburg and he hopes to eventually get back down to Philadelphia to work with young people who are going through things similar to what he experienced.”
***
Last week’s notebook column generated a lot of comments about 1,000-yard backfield duos and even a question about 1,000-yard backfield trios. As I was going over those comments and responding to some of them, I realized I’d left out a really cool tidbit about Pottsgrove’s Tori Hudgins and Mark Dukes in relation to pairs of 1,000-yard rushers.
I promised I’d share that tidbit in this week’s notebook.
Hudgins and Dukes, recall, both surpassed 1,000 yards rushing each one week prior to last, and that’s especially noteable because they’ve added their names to the list of repeat 1,000-yard backfield duos. Plus, Hudgins and Dukes are the second Pottsgrove pair to finish consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards rushing each.
Hudgins and Dukes join a list which includes, at a minimum, the following backfield tandems: Alex Svetz and Tyler Johnson, North East (10), 2010-11; Roman Clay and Brandon Hollister, Lancaster Catholic (3), 2010-11; Desmon Peoples and Brandon Peoples, Archbishop Wood (12), 2010-11; Maika Polamalu and Kayvon Greene, Pottsgrove (1), 2009-10; Rob Hollomon and Ray Maples, West Catholic (12), 2007-08; and Jeffrey Noyes and Matt Falcone, Palmerton (11), 2007-08.
***
Two Lancaster-Lebanon League teams added their names to the list of 1,000-yard backfield rushing duos over the weekend – Cocalico and Donegal.
For the Indians, Kris Trimby (1,236) and Dylan Maxwell (1,069) gave the Indians their first 1,000-yard rushing duo under head coach Jeff Polites. The Indians, who are 9-1 and have qualified for the District 3 AAA playoffs, will face Conrad Weiser in the opening round. Weiser has played Donegal in non-league action before, and enjoyed success against the Indians.
Cocalico, meanwhile, is averaging 325.8 yards rushing per game and is led by Nick Reitenbach (1,030 yards) and Spencer Moser (1,027). The Eagles are no strangers to enjoying a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the same backfield. 2012 marks the third time since 2007 that the Eagles have had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers on the same team.
The 2012 Donegal and Cocalico duos are the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s 9th and 10th 1,000-yard rushing duos since 2003 – Cocalico has three of the 10, and Lancaster Catholic and Manheim Central have produced two each. Donegal, Cedar Crest and Penn Manor each have one.
***
Speaking of 1,000-yard backfield duos, Shippensburg Area in District 3 is closing in on one. Junior William Burt has already surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau and senior Tyrell Kater needs just 81 yards to reach 1,000 himself.
Shippensburg, which has qualified for the District 3 AAA playoffs and is 9-1 overall, has had quite a run of success these last three years under head coach Eric Foust. Foust has helped turn the Greyhounds into an annual playoff contender, finishing 8-3 in 2010 and 9-3 last year, winning a playoff game and reaching the D3 AAA quarterfinals. Foust has coached at Shippensburg since 2001, and has posted a 58-67 record.
***
On the subject of coaching, Ridley’s Dennis Decker completed his second unblemished regular season since becoming the head coach of the Green Raiders prior to the 2009 season. Decker’s overall record at Ridley is 42-7 and includes a District 1 AAAA championship, which came in 2009.
Bermudian Springs and head coach Jon DeFoe also capped its second straight undefeated regular season Friday night. Bermudian finished 11-1 overall last season and reached the District 3 AA semifinals.
***
Wyomissing blue-chipper Alex Anzalone reaffirmed his decision to continue his collegiate football career at Notre Dame. The Spartan senior running back/linebacker issued a statement via Twitter Monday evening. Anzalone is Wyomissing’s leading rusher and has scored a team-high 19 touchdowns in 10 games. In helping preserve Wyomissing’s 10-0 record against rival Berks Catholic Saturday afternoon, Anzalone recorded a pair of sacks and picked off a pass. He also scored both Wyomissing touchdowns.
Follow Josh Funk on Twitter @Funk_pafb.
