#8 Nazareth (5-5) at #1 Wyoming Valley West (10-0)
Nazareth
Record: 5-5 (t-5th Place, EPC South)
District/Subregional Titles: 1 (2011)
All Time District/Subregional Playoff Record: 4-5
All State Candidates: Jahan Dotson, Travis Stefanik
All Conference Selections: Jahan Dotson, Julian Liaci
Nazareth is making their first trip back to subregional playoffs after their run to a title in 2011 on the backs of one of the most explosive offenses ever seen in D11. That year, Dan Harding threw for 970 yards and 9 touchdowns in three playoff games, including a D11 playoff record 380 yards against Parkland in semis.
This year’s squad doesn’t have the overwhelming number of offensive options the ’11 team did, but they have scored points in bunches, averaging 31.7 points per game. They’re led by quarterback Travis Stefanik, a Division I wrestling prospect who is completing 63% of his passes for 2,108 yards and 24 TDs, and has rushed for 998 yards and eight TDs. Two more rushing yards will make Stefanik only the second QB in D11 history to post a 2,000/1,000 season in the largest classification (Dan Persa being the other). Stefanik’s favorite target is sophomore Jahan Doston, who is already Nazareth’s career leader in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Dotson, with 60 catches for 1,007 yards and 12 TDs, is one of two players in the state with 1,000 receiving yards during the regular season and finished in the top four in the state in catches, yards, and touchdowns. He’s joined at receiver and defensive back by Julian Liaci, a state finalist in the 100 meter dash and one of the fastest players in Pennsylvania. He has 53 catches for 660 yards and seven TDs. Nazareth is the only team in 4A with two players in the top 10 in receptions.
Stefanik is most of the Nazareth running game. He’s the only Nazareth ballcarrier to break 100 yards in a game this year, and he has rushed for over 700 yards more than their second leading rusher. Nicholas Schepis receives a bulk of the carries from the running back position.
Defensively, Nazareth has a great offense. They’re giving up 33.8 points per game, largely due to an undersized and injury riddled defensive front and the inability to stop the run. Nazareth gives up 309 rushing yards per game, eleven different players have rushed for at least 100 yards, four different plays have rushed for at least 200 yards, and Nysir Minney-Gratz shattered the D11 record last week with 469 yards against the Blue Eagles, including a staggering 325 in the second half. The pass defense is stronger, largely because Dotson and Liaci are superior athletes and can match up with anybody in the secondary. And importantly, they can run down ballcarriers who have broken loose (Minney-Gratz had three runs last week of over 60 yards that did not result in touchdowns).
Wyoming Valley West
Record: 10-0 (Wyoming Valley Conference Champions)
District/Subregional Championships: 1997 (D2)
All Time District/Subregional Playoff Record: 1-8
All State Candidates: Sean Judge, LJ Wesneski, Chris Bleich, Billy Davidson
All Conference Selections:
The Spartans are making their ninth trip to the subregional since D2/4 merged with D11 in 2004 upon the inclusion of the Philly Public League. Their only state playoff appearance came in 1997, when after an undefeated regular season they drew CB West in the first round of the state tournament. They’ve been snake-bit in the subregionals, as they’ve qualified more than any other D2 team, but only have made it out of the first round one time, when they beat Delaware Valley in 2007. They are 0-7 against Lehigh Valley schools in the playoffs.
WVW returned 14 starters from last year’s group that went 8-3 and lost in the first round of the subregional and have been a force in the northeast all year. The Spartans average 44.4 points per game, thanks in large part to a running game that churns out 285 yards every Friday. Four different players have rushed for at least 300 yards on the year, led by all state candidate Sean Judge with 1,114. The junior, who converted from wide receiver to running back this fall, has scored 22 touchdowns (14 rushing, 4 defensive, 3 receiving, 1 punt return) and averages over 12 yards per carry in the running game. Judge and Chris Melovitz are both smaller, scat-back type runners, and WVW runs them out of spread sets. The Spartans are huge up front, and despite their spread/no-huddle scheme, they play physical football. They average 266 pounds across the line, led by 6’6 330 FBS prospect Chris Bleich at left tackle (the runt of the group is 6’1 230 Brydon Rukstalis). The Spartans also feature a pair of 230 pound tight ends in LJ Wesneski and Chris Reese, and a 220 pound fullback in Bill Davidson, if you’re in to that sort of thing.
What make the Spartans dangerous is their offensive balance. Junior quarterback Aaron Austin is completing 66% of his passes for 1,446 yards and 21 touchdowns. Wesneski is one of the better pass catching tight ends in Pennsylvania, and has 31 catches for 417 yards and 7 touchdowns. Devon Weidman is a deep threat, with 578 yards and 9 touchdowns on his 32 catches. Judge also averages 20 yards per catch out of the backfield.
Defensively, the Spartans give up 7.8 points per game thanks to a vicious pass rush. They’ve recorded 37 sacks, with Wesneski and Reese each totaling seven from their defensive end spots. Davidson is the feature guy in the back seven, a 220 pound assembly line middle linebacker with 92 tackles (11.5 for loss) and five sacks in only nine games. Leading tackler Zach Davies has 113 stops on the year. Judge leads the team in interceptions with five, and Weidman has picked off four passes. They’re plus 12 in turnover margin, with 14 picks and 10 fumble recoveries, compared to 9 picks and 3 fumbles lost on offense.
The Match Up
Wyoming Valley West has to be licking their chops looking at the Nazareth rush defense. For a team that likes to impose their will with the ground game, this is exactly what they want to see as the top seed in their first round playoff match up. Dotson and Julian Liaci certainly can cause sleepless nights for a DC, but Nazareth only has so much firepower, particularly against a defense as big and physical as WVW, and the Spartans should be heavy favorites.
The Pick
Wyoming Valley West 56-14
Nazareth
Record: 5-5 (t-5th Place, EPC South)
District/Subregional Titles: 1 (2011)
All Time District/Subregional Playoff Record: 4-5
All State Candidates: Jahan Dotson, Travis Stefanik
All Conference Selections: Jahan Dotson, Julian Liaci
Nazareth is making their first trip back to subregional playoffs after their run to a title in 2011 on the backs of one of the most explosive offenses ever seen in D11. That year, Dan Harding threw for 970 yards and 9 touchdowns in three playoff games, including a D11 playoff record 380 yards against Parkland in semis.
This year’s squad doesn’t have the overwhelming number of offensive options the ’11 team did, but they have scored points in bunches, averaging 31.7 points per game. They’re led by quarterback Travis Stefanik, a Division I wrestling prospect who is completing 63% of his passes for 2,108 yards and 24 TDs, and has rushed for 998 yards and eight TDs. Two more rushing yards will make Stefanik only the second QB in D11 history to post a 2,000/1,000 season in the largest classification (Dan Persa being the other). Stefanik’s favorite target is sophomore Jahan Doston, who is already Nazareth’s career leader in catches, yards, and touchdowns. Dotson, with 60 catches for 1,007 yards and 12 TDs, is one of two players in the state with 1,000 receiving yards during the regular season and finished in the top four in the state in catches, yards, and touchdowns. He’s joined at receiver and defensive back by Julian Liaci, a state finalist in the 100 meter dash and one of the fastest players in Pennsylvania. He has 53 catches for 660 yards and seven TDs. Nazareth is the only team in 4A with two players in the top 10 in receptions.
Stefanik is most of the Nazareth running game. He’s the only Nazareth ballcarrier to break 100 yards in a game this year, and he has rushed for over 700 yards more than their second leading rusher. Nicholas Schepis receives a bulk of the carries from the running back position.
Defensively, Nazareth has a great offense. They’re giving up 33.8 points per game, largely due to an undersized and injury riddled defensive front and the inability to stop the run. Nazareth gives up 309 rushing yards per game, eleven different players have rushed for at least 100 yards, four different plays have rushed for at least 200 yards, and Nysir Minney-Gratz shattered the D11 record last week with 469 yards against the Blue Eagles, including a staggering 325 in the second half. The pass defense is stronger, largely because Dotson and Liaci are superior athletes and can match up with anybody in the secondary. And importantly, they can run down ballcarriers who have broken loose (Minney-Gratz had three runs last week of over 60 yards that did not result in touchdowns).
Wyoming Valley West
Record: 10-0 (Wyoming Valley Conference Champions)
District/Subregional Championships: 1997 (D2)
All Time District/Subregional Playoff Record: 1-8
All State Candidates: Sean Judge, LJ Wesneski, Chris Bleich, Billy Davidson
All Conference Selections:
The Spartans are making their ninth trip to the subregional since D2/4 merged with D11 in 2004 upon the inclusion of the Philly Public League. Their only state playoff appearance came in 1997, when after an undefeated regular season they drew CB West in the first round of the state tournament. They’ve been snake-bit in the subregionals, as they’ve qualified more than any other D2 team, but only have made it out of the first round one time, when they beat Delaware Valley in 2007. They are 0-7 against Lehigh Valley schools in the playoffs.
WVW returned 14 starters from last year’s group that went 8-3 and lost in the first round of the subregional and have been a force in the northeast all year. The Spartans average 44.4 points per game, thanks in large part to a running game that churns out 285 yards every Friday. Four different players have rushed for at least 300 yards on the year, led by all state candidate Sean Judge with 1,114. The junior, who converted from wide receiver to running back this fall, has scored 22 touchdowns (14 rushing, 4 defensive, 3 receiving, 1 punt return) and averages over 12 yards per carry in the running game. Judge and Chris Melovitz are both smaller, scat-back type runners, and WVW runs them out of spread sets. The Spartans are huge up front, and despite their spread/no-huddle scheme, they play physical football. They average 266 pounds across the line, led by 6’6 330 FBS prospect Chris Bleich at left tackle (the runt of the group is 6’1 230 Brydon Rukstalis). The Spartans also feature a pair of 230 pound tight ends in LJ Wesneski and Chris Reese, and a 220 pound fullback in Bill Davidson, if you’re in to that sort of thing.
What make the Spartans dangerous is their offensive balance. Junior quarterback Aaron Austin is completing 66% of his passes for 1,446 yards and 21 touchdowns. Wesneski is one of the better pass catching tight ends in Pennsylvania, and has 31 catches for 417 yards and 7 touchdowns. Devon Weidman is a deep threat, with 578 yards and 9 touchdowns on his 32 catches. Judge also averages 20 yards per catch out of the backfield.
Defensively, the Spartans give up 7.8 points per game thanks to a vicious pass rush. They’ve recorded 37 sacks, with Wesneski and Reese each totaling seven from their defensive end spots. Davidson is the feature guy in the back seven, a 220 pound assembly line middle linebacker with 92 tackles (11.5 for loss) and five sacks in only nine games. Leading tackler Zach Davies has 113 stops on the year. Judge leads the team in interceptions with five, and Weidman has picked off four passes. They’re plus 12 in turnover margin, with 14 picks and 10 fumble recoveries, compared to 9 picks and 3 fumbles lost on offense.
The Match Up
Wyoming Valley West has to be licking their chops looking at the Nazareth rush defense. For a team that likes to impose their will with the ground game, this is exactly what they want to see as the top seed in their first round playoff match up. Dotson and Julian Liaci certainly can cause sleepless nights for a DC, but Nazareth only has so much firepower, particularly against a defense as big and physical as WVW, and the Spartans should be heavy favorites.
The Pick
Wyoming Valley West 56-14