This is the most wide open the Lehigh Valley has been in some time. There is significant turnover at all of the key programs from 2015, most notably at the quarterback position. Last year, ten of the twelve teams in the EPC South had a returning starter under center. This season, there are only three, Freedom, Nazareth, and Northampton. Similary, the only 1,000 yard rushers returning are Libety’s Gunner Anglovich and Nazareth’s Travis Stefanik. It’ll be fun. Below are initial thoughts on the contenders, organized by projected order of finish.
The early favorite seems to be Freedom, who brings back three year starter Joe Young at quarterback and 4/5ths of their offensive linemen, and defensive stalwarts Brady Hornbaker (middle linebacker) and Alex Huertas (cornerback). Young is a next level talent, but has had trouble staying on the field in the previous two seasons. A hip injury prematurely ended a very promising sophomore season, then a knee injury cut short his junior year. When he’s on the field, he’s a big, athletic quarterback with a career completion percentage above 65%. He makes great decisions in the read option and throws the best deep ball in the Valley. They need to replace all five of their leading receivers and their two leading rushers, but they have the QB and linemen to ease the transition. Defensively. Hornbaker is the reigning EPC DPOY, a big, hard hitting middle linebacker who will be in his third year as a starter. Huertas led the squad in interceptions as a sophomore, and could be the premier defensive back in the area, and also figures to be a key piece at receiver. They also return depth along the defensive line.
Four time defending champion Parkland needs to replace one of the best classes in school history. Gone are three first team all state picks at three of the most important positions on offense (QB, WR, and LT) and they also lose a 1,000 yard rusher, a slot receiver with 1,000 all purpose yards, and their right tackle. The strength of the offense will be the interior offensive line, which brings back all three starters, including massive left guard Patrick Ferry (6’3 325) a three year starter with FCS offers. New coach Tim Moncman has referenced a slight return to a power run game based on personnel, and that likely entails pounding fullback Jahan Worth (6’1 220) behind Ferry and company. Offensive coordinator Brett Comp is a quarterback whisperer, so whoever wins the job under center will be working closely with one of the best QB coaches in eastern Pennsylvania, and will have senior receiver Zach Bross (6’4 205; 40 catches and 5 TDs in 2015) to rely on. Defensively, Parkland brings back defensive ends Palmer Kerch and DJ Hohman, who combined for 19.5 sacks last season as juniors. Worth is the man of mystery, he filled in masterfully at defensive tackle last year, leading them in tackles during the state championship game and playing the game of his career against LaSalle, but is a linebacker by trade and has the size and explosiveness to be one of the best in the state at that position. Bross is the only returning starter in the secondary.
Replacing a four year starter at quarterback will be a serious priority, but Liberty will have the most experienced ground game in the Valley. Nasir Legree started as a freshman last season, and rushed for over 600 yards in the first six games of the year before an ankle injury cut his season short. He had been sharing the load with Gunner Anglovich, who received all of the carries when Legree went out. Anglovich responded with 390 yards and 7 TDs in his first start as the feature back, and finished the year with 1,400 yards and 20 TDs. Both will be back as a thunder and lightning combo. They also bring back FBS recruit Darian Street (6’4 195; 29 catches) at wide receiver for likely new starter Todd Erney to rely on. The big question on offense is, how will they replace all five starters on the offensive line? They made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 last year, largely because they could run block and protect the quarterback for the first time in ages. The succession plan will be critical. Defensively, they must replace the entire back seven, but first team all state defensive end Jaohne Duggans (6’3 250) will be a star to build the defense around. He’s a three year starter and the best pass rusher in the Valley.
It will be a fascinating year in Easton, where they have one of the tiniest seniors classes that I can remember. Only four juniors started last season, and it’s not out of the question that there will be only five seniors in the lineup this year. The bad news is, they’ll be young and could take some lumps. The good news is, there is a lot of talent in the sophomore and junior classes. Offensively, guard Liam Ekoko (5’10 225) and tackle Mike Pugilese (6’1 240) are back, with Pugilese primed to be one of best tackles in the conference. Sophomore Albert Gayle (6’0 255) and junior Ayyub Dail (6’1 260) are both options along the line with major size and potential. Sophomore Elek Ferency (6’3 245) also has enormous physical potential. It’s obviously a running back oriented offense, and there will be an open competition there. Seniors Katrell Thompson (5 TDs, 6.2 yards per carry) and Jahmel Foreman will be pushed by junior Israel Selassie, sophomores Gernard Finney (who flashed his potential with 76 yards and TD against Whitehall during his freshman season) and Harold Reynolds, and freshman Tavion Banks. Thompson received regular time at fullback, but is more ideally slotted as a slasher/scat back type. Finney, Reynolds, and Banks are the future, and how physically mature they are by the time camp rolls around will go a long way to determining their playing time in 2016. Finney and Banks both just medaled at PJW state wrestling tournaments at 167 (5th) and 157 (3rd), respectively, and if they’re cutting to get there, that’s a good sign. Reynolds is the younger brother of 1,100 yard rusher Dalvyn Reynolds, who was 5’11 190 as a senior, so the genes are there. Ben Nimeh received some time at quarterback last year due to injury and figures to be the starter. He’ll have fellow senior Trey Bailey (6’1 185; 25 catches and 5 TDs in 2015) as his main target, with a plethora of big sophomores and juniors competing for the rest of the receiver spots. They have five underclassman receivers and tight ends who are at least 6’2, including 6’7 junior Trevor Storm, so in the coming years this could look like Parkland’s ’15 receiving corps. Defensively, only Thompson and Foreman, the two corners, return with significant playing time. They always seem to find a way to reload on that side of the ball, but it’ll be a wholesale rebuild. It will likely be centered on the secondary, with Thompson and Foreman the best corner pairing in the Valley and Selassie a very promising candidate at safety. Ekoko is a likely starter at middle linebacker. There is also this winter's community coaching mutiny to watch.
No team took a bigger offseason loss than Nazareth when it was announced that rising junior Jahan Dotson would be transferring to Peddie School for the fall of 2016. Dotson is already Nazareth’s all time leader in every receiving category and has football offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, and a dozen other schools. He’s also on pace to score 1,000 points in hoops, and is a contender this spring to win state titles in the 100, 200, and long jump. Replacing Dotson will be impossible, but they do return the other leading receiver in the Valley, junior Julian Liaci. Liaci is one of the best sprinters in the state (6th in the 100 as a freshman last spring, ran a hand timed 10.5 100 earlier this year, and their 4x100 relay team with Liaci and Dotson this spring has run the fastest time in the state) and is uber dangerous in the open field. He caught 55 passes for 663 yards and 7 TDs last year, mostly in screens and short routes designed to get him the ball in space. Quarterback Travis Stefanik is one of two returning QBs in the state who threw for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards last year. The rising senior totaled 38 TDs passing and rushing. Stefanik is slightly undersized, but an excellent athlete (he finished the 2015 season ranked #7 in the country at 152 pounds in wrestling) who really executes in Tom Falzone’s offensive. Defense and line play are always a problem at Nazareth due to being on the smallish side of (now) 6A, but Liaci is as good as they get in the secondary. If Dotson was also coming back, I’d pick them as the favorite, but I think without such a transcendent talent, they’re a step behind the leaders.
Whitehall and Wyoming Valley West both move down to 5A, so it will be easier making the playoffs in 2016 with two of the most consistently strong programs no longer there. That provides the opportunity for an Emmaus, Williamsport, Hazleton, or a possibly improved Northampton squad another opening to qualify for the postseason.