Summary: The Wyoming Area offensive juggernaut continued to roll as the Warrior's polished off Nanticoke Area 48-6 in front of a Homecoming crowd at Jake Sobeski Stadium. In the Warriors' first offensive play from scrimmage, Nick O'Brien sent three wide receivers to the right and two to the left with an empty backfield. With the defense spread out, O'Brien ran off right tackle, broke to the far sideline, and went 77 yards for the score. It was very similar to the first play of the game against Lake Lehman. On all of these long runs, blocking is critical. Obviously the guys up front are doing a great job--Jake Smith at center, Nick Bartoli, Carl Zielinski, Joe Erzar, E.J. Driving Hawk, Trent Grove, and Joe Taylor-- who is seeing an increased amount of playing time on both sides of the ball. Taylor hasn't been mentioned much this year, but he played a great game against Hanover at offensive tackle.
In addition to the guys up front, the wide receivers have embraced their role as blockers. On O'Brien's long run, Justin Langdon did a great job on the right side which gave O'Brien some running room. Tight End Trent Grove ran 30 yards downfield from his tight end position on the left side of the line, and threw a block on the far sideline to help spring O'Brien. Every week, you can see Trent Grove playing better and better. If the offensive line and the wide receivers continue to block like they are, the Warriors will be unstoppable. Before discussing the other offensive stars of the game, Matt Kintz has to be mentioned regarding his great play at fullback this year. Matt hasn't piled up alot of yardage on his runs--but he consistently does a great job of blocking as a fullback.
After the first play of the game, O'Brien got a little help from his friends. At 5:39 of the first quarter, O'Brien found Ahmad Bouie streaking down the far sideline wide open for a 39 yard touchdown pass. This was the beginnig of Bouie's best night ever on a high school football field. Ahmad had 3 rushes for 100 yards, and 2 receptions for 50 yards. After sitting out his entire junior year with an injury, Ahmad really has something to smile about. Later in the first quarter, from the Trojan 14 yard line, O'Brien lofted the ball into the end zone where Joe Adonizio made an amazing one handed catch with a Trojan defender draped all over him. Adonizio finished the night with 2 catches for 26 yards, including a nice slant over the middle. In the second quarter, O'Brien scored on a 32 yard keeper that opened up after downfield blocks by Matt Kintz and Joe Taylor.
Leading 28-0 at half, the Warriors came out with the same offensive intensity with which they started the game. Early in the third quarter, O'Brien lofted a 28 yard rainmaker to Cody Schmitz to move the ball into Trojan territory. Shortly thereafter from the 42 yard line, O'Brien took the snap under center, handed the ball to Jordan Zezza who was in motion, who then handed off to Ahmad Bouie who went in untouched for the score. O'Brien, returning the favor for his teammate, delievered a vicious block 20 yards downfield to enable Bouie to score. Later in the third quarter, Bouie took a handoff from his position as halfback in the "I" formation, ran right up the middle behind Matt Kintz, and busted through for a 55 yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Quarterback Jordan Zezza threw a beautiful 90 yard touchdown pass to a streaking Cody Schmitz down the middle of the field. It was a thing of beauty. Zezza was being rushed hard and saw Schmitz running a post pattern. Right before he got hit, Zezza threw the ball 40 yards in the air and hit Schmitz in stride. It looked like an ESPN highlight. Zezza might be the best backup quarterback in the WVC. He's a real competitor and plays many positions on the field.
The Warriors put up 515 yards of offense. O'Brien had 6 rushes for 116 yards. It's hard to improve on the 10 yard per carry rushing average that he brought into the game, but O'Brien did just that. Bouie added another 100 yards on three carries. O'Brien was 8 for 8 passing for 246 yards. Jordan Zezza's box score looks --shall we say "efficent" --with one completion for 90 yards. Cody Schmitz had 119 yards receiving on 2 receptions, and Trent Grove had a nice catch for 35 yards. Trent is destined to make it into the end zone this year. Freshman AJ Lenkaitis was a perfect 5 for 5 in extra points.
Nice offensive numbers--but they don't amount to a hill of beans unless you play defense (ask Western Wayne who lost 56-55 on Friday night). Nanticoke made it quite clear what they wanted to do. They pack 11 men in as close as they can to the center--no wide receivers--and they try to gain three yards per carry. The middle of the Warrior line would not be pushed around. Big guys Bartoli and Zielinski stood their ground blocked up the middle. And you have to love Ryan Filiiak, the 160 pounder who plays nose tackle. He does alot of the dirty work inside against guys who outweigh him by 60 pounds. E.J. Driving Hawk and Jake Smith are also anchors who hold their ground and are agile enough to pursue laterally. Zak LaNunziata had a fabulous night night on defense--batted ball, fumble recovery--he is becoming a real force on the field. Matt Kintz played his typical solid game at linebacker--and Joe Taylor had a nice sack and is a playmaker on defense. Trent Grove -- a great mixture of size, speed, agility and attitude can dominate while still learning the game. Overall, this defense is very athletic. Nanticoke did pile up 180 yards of offense, mostly behind the hard-earned yards of Brian Maslowski, who had 88 yards on 22 carries. The guys in the secondary continue to do their job in pass defense (Schmitz and Zezza each had INTs) They also are doing a great job coming up and making tackles--in particular Justin Langdon is a tough dude.
The Warriors kept the penalties to a minimum last night--4 penalties for 25 yards, well below their 85 yard per game average. That's a good sign and something they need to work on. Kickoff coverage, (which there was a lot of when you score 48 points) was not up to snuff. Safety valve O'Brien had to make one touchdown saving tackle. Numerous times, Nanticoke returners broke through the first wave of Warrior tacklers.
The coaches probably feel satisfied that they accomplished their goals for this game. They were able to get lots of players involved in the offense, played solid defense, kept the penalties to a minimum, and it appears that there were no major injuries. The Warriors travel to Wilkes Barre Memorial next Friday night to take on the Meyers Mohawks. See you there--Nick Perugini |
Game Preview: It was hard to see this coming. After losing a heartbreaker to Western Wayne in Week 1, and having the West Scranton game canceled due to the flood in Week 2—who could have predicted the Warriors would come out and put a shellacking on two of its biggest conference rivals in back to back weeks? The Warriors put up impressive numbers in defeating Lake Lehman, 43-10, and then followed with an exclamation point by trouncing Hanover Area, 48-0. The explosiveness of the Nick O’Brien-led offense is impressive. But the real story is the shut-down play of the defense. Sooner or later, the Warriors will find themselves in a low scoring defensive struggle. The front four defensive line, led by Nick Bartoli looks solid. The linebackers and defensive secondary have done a great job of sealing off the outside in the last two games. The secondary is also knocking down passes left and right. Justin Langdon, Ahmad Bouie, and Marty Michaels each have interceptions.
It would be easy for the Warriors to look at the upcoming three game stretch as a soft spot in their schedule. Nanticoke, Holy Redeemer, and Meyers have a combined record of 2 and 9. This includes Meyers’ upset victory over Nanticoke last week. Of those three teams, Nanticoke may be the biggest threat to catch the Warriors napping.
The Trojans return 9 players on both offense and defense from their 2010 squad that ended the year with a respectable 4-6 record. This year’s Nanticoke team (1-2) has had its share of adversity. After opening with a convincing 48-14 thrashing of Montrose, the Trojans’ second game of the season was canceled due to the flood. In Week 3, they lost to a good Susquehanna team, 26-7, and were upset by Meyers last week, 14-8, on a rainy Friday night where the football game looked more like a team mud-wrestling contest. So, the year has not gone well for this senior laden Trojan team, however, any team that can score 48 points in a game should be considered dangerous.
Nanticoke is led by Senior Running Back Brian Maslowski (#22). Maslowski has rushed for 268 yards on 61 carries with four touchdowns. Senior RB Tom Vitale(#44) has also rushed for 107 yards on 25 carries. Senior QB Josh Decker (#9) is 11 for 30 for 190 yards, with 1 TD and 4 INTs for the year. Decker is not a threat to run. Senior Jeff Jezewski (#13) is the leading Nanticoke receiver with 4 receptions for 100 yards.
It’s a good bet that the Warriors will look to spread the ball around this week and take some of the offensive burden off of Nick O’Brien. Look for Popovich, Skursky and Kintz to run the ball inside, with Bouie and Schmitz sweeping around to the outside. Trent Grove continues to develop as a football player, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Grove targeted in the passing game.
As a team, the Warriors need to continue to play aggressive defense. They must also focus on clean execution and reduce the number of needless penalties they are taking. The Warriors should not take this veteran Nanticoke team lightly. Wyoming Area has had its way with Nanticoke over the last several years, so there is nothing the Trojans would like better than to pull off a big upset.
The game will be broadcast on the Warrior Internet Channel. See you at the game on Friday—Nick Perugini
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