Whodathunkit?
Wallenpaupack Area is suddenly a hotbed with Division-1 football talent, according to Rivals.com and head coach Mark Watson.
The Buckhorns are coming off of a 7-4 season that ended in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and three athletes, running back Joe Defebo, fullback Taylor Newcomer, and offensive lineman Bryan Cosgrove are all potential D-1 prospects.
The athlete who received the most attention was Joe Defebo. At one point during the ’08 season, he ranked 7th in the nation in rushing yardage, according to Maxpreps.com. He finished the season with 320 carries for 2,321 rushing yards, scoring 31 total touchdowns (29 rushing) on his way to an Associated Press 1st-Team All-State nomination.
Defebo, who has run for over 3,100 yards in his career, has interest from NC State, Pitt, and Buffalo.
Newcomer didn’t get nearly as many carries as Defebo, primarily because he was wrecking defenders trying to tackle the Buckhorn feature back. Newcomer has interest from the same D-1 programs as Defebo. He ran for 187 yards and averaged over 4.5 yards per carry last season.
Cosgrove is a hulking 6’5, 255-pound offensive tackle. He’s generated the most D-1 interest of the trio. Schools like Boston College, Cincinnati, NC State, Northwestern, and Pitt are showing interest. Cosgrove helped pave the way for a Wallenpaupack offense which averaged 272.5 rushing yards, 337 total yards, and 27.1 points per game.
