#7 Delaware Valley (7-3) at #2 Parkland (9-1)
Delaware Valley
Record: 7-3 (2nd Place, Lackawanna Conference 1)
District/Subregional Championships: 0
All Time Playoff Record: 3-8
All State Candidates: (none)
All Conference Selections:
The Warriors are back in the subregional again and get an opening round rematch of last year’s subregional semifinals and the 2012 subregional final. Del Val is one of three D2 teams to make a subregional finals, and the 2012 group lost a classic to Parkland, a 49-42 barnburner in Milford.
After getting outscored 72-13 in back-to-back losses to Upper Dublin and Wyoming Valley West to open the season, Del Val has won seven of eight (including a forfeit by West Scranton due to the teacher’s strike). The big difference (besides quality of competition) has been the return of running back Austin Cernak. Since returning in week 3 against Hazleton, Cernak has rushed for 920 yards and 9 touchdowns in seven games. Cernak is a bigger back (5’11 190) but has an extra gear when he breaks into the open field. He runs behind a good sized offensive averaging 241 headlined by all conference tackle Nick Kepple. The passing game is limited, Matt Cavellaro has thrown for a shade over 1,000 yards on the year and no receiver has more than 12 catches.
Defensively, they’ve given up 14.1 points per game in the seven games since the opening week disasters. Defensive end Lorenzo Curto has 8.5 sacks and 59 tackles on the year, both of which lead the team by wide margins. Sophomore corner Dylan Kelly is one of the better d-backs in the area. When they’ve struggled, it’s been in stopping the run, as they were gashed by WVW, Upper Dublin, and even in a win against Scranton by teams that had the personnel to commit to the ground game.
Parkland
Record: 9-1 (EPC South co-Champions)
District/Subregional Titles: 7 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014)
All Time Playoff Record: 23-9
All State Candidates: Devante Cross, Noel Brouse, Erik DiGiralomo
All Conference Selections: Kenny Yeboah, Devante Cross, Patrick Ferry, Noel Brouse, Erik DiGiralomo, Alex Vanwoert, Billy Danko, Mario Dellis
The Trojans are attempting to be the first D11 4A program to win four consecutive district/subregional championships. Bethlehem Catholic won three straight from 1999-2001, but had their try for four thwarted in the finals by…Parkland, who snapped Becahi’s 31 game D11 winning streak and went on to win the 2002 state championship. Interestingly, this will be the highest seed Parkland has entering the tournament in this run. They won as the 5 seed in 2012, the 3 seed in 2013, and the 7 seed last season.
Offensively, the Trojans are a high-tempo, spread team led by senior quarterback Devante Cross. Cross is looking to become the second quarterback to start three straight championship games (Dan Persa from 2004-2006 being the other) and the first QB to win three titles. He’s thrown for 1,832 yards and 17 TDs while completing 63% of his passes this year. Cross also has rushed for 833 yards and 14 TDs, and could join Persa (and potentially Nazareth’s Travis Stefanik) as the members of the 2,000/1,000 club. He also has an outside shot at throwing and running for 20 TDs, a feat only accomplished locally by Brendan Nosovitch.
The Trojans are big everywhere on offense, from the line (Noel Brouse is 6’6 270, Patrick Ferry is 6’2 315, Steven Feher is 6’5 270 and Andrew Perry is 6’0 230) to receiver (6’6 220 Kenny Yeboah, 6’4 205 Zach Bross, and 6’2 200 Nolan Ridgway). Yeboah, a Temple commit, has 47 catches for 652 yards and eight TDs, and needs nine more catches for 100 in his career. Ridgway and Bross have 28 and 27 catches, respectively. The line is massive, and pass protects very well.
The running game has improved in recent weeks, with Erik DiGiralomo emerging as the go to guy in the running game. He set a school record with a 98 yard touchdown run last week against Emmaus, where he ran through no less than four tackles, including getting fully spun around at the Parkland 45. He’s run for 764 yards and 14 TDs on the year, and is on a streak of 492 yards and seven TDs in the last four games. He’s a straight ahead, thrives on contact runner, while Cross is the home run threat in the backfield.
Defensively, Parkland is the best unit in the Lehigh Valley. They’re giving up 14.5 points per game, but have yielded just 29 points in the four games since their perplexing 41-34 loss to Liberty. They have the best front seven in D11, their defensive line shuts down the run as well as anybody, and DiGiralomo is having a fantastic year at linebacker. The one spot they are vulnerable is in the secondary, where they don’t have tremendous speed. They do have big d-backs, led by the massive Yeboah, so lazy throws get intercepted due to their tremendous range and physicality. But when Parkland struggles, it’s because receivers are running past them. Of course, their best defensive back is Cross, who they use sparingly in the secondary to keep him fresh at quarterback. But he’s been recruited to Boston College to play defense, and I bet we see more Devante Cross the cornerback as the stakes get higher.
The Matchup
Delaware Valley is not set up to beat Parkland. They’re a smash mouth team that isn’t quite big or talented enough to smash the mouths of the Parkland defensive front. And they don’t have the weapons or the scheme to exploit Parkland’s secondary, the Achilles heel of the Trojan squad. Defensively, they’ll need to put pressure on Cross. Collapsing the pocket has been the one reliable way to limit the Trojan offense, which they’ll have to do rushing four, because Cross handles the blitz as well as anybody, either by getting the ball out quickly or exploiting overzealous pursuit and man-to-man coverage behind it that can’t see him take off.
The Pick
Parkland 42-7
Delaware Valley
Record: 7-3 (2nd Place, Lackawanna Conference 1)
District/Subregional Championships: 0
All Time Playoff Record: 3-8
All State Candidates: (none)
All Conference Selections:
The Warriors are back in the subregional again and get an opening round rematch of last year’s subregional semifinals and the 2012 subregional final. Del Val is one of three D2 teams to make a subregional finals, and the 2012 group lost a classic to Parkland, a 49-42 barnburner in Milford.
After getting outscored 72-13 in back-to-back losses to Upper Dublin and Wyoming Valley West to open the season, Del Val has won seven of eight (including a forfeit by West Scranton due to the teacher’s strike). The big difference (besides quality of competition) has been the return of running back Austin Cernak. Since returning in week 3 against Hazleton, Cernak has rushed for 920 yards and 9 touchdowns in seven games. Cernak is a bigger back (5’11 190) but has an extra gear when he breaks into the open field. He runs behind a good sized offensive averaging 241 headlined by all conference tackle Nick Kepple. The passing game is limited, Matt Cavellaro has thrown for a shade over 1,000 yards on the year and no receiver has more than 12 catches.
Defensively, they’ve given up 14.1 points per game in the seven games since the opening week disasters. Defensive end Lorenzo Curto has 8.5 sacks and 59 tackles on the year, both of which lead the team by wide margins. Sophomore corner Dylan Kelly is one of the better d-backs in the area. When they’ve struggled, it’s been in stopping the run, as they were gashed by WVW, Upper Dublin, and even in a win against Scranton by teams that had the personnel to commit to the ground game.
Parkland
Record: 9-1 (EPC South co-Champions)
District/Subregional Titles: 7 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014)
All Time Playoff Record: 23-9
All State Candidates: Devante Cross, Noel Brouse, Erik DiGiralomo
All Conference Selections: Kenny Yeboah, Devante Cross, Patrick Ferry, Noel Brouse, Erik DiGiralomo, Alex Vanwoert, Billy Danko, Mario Dellis
The Trojans are attempting to be the first D11 4A program to win four consecutive district/subregional championships. Bethlehem Catholic won three straight from 1999-2001, but had their try for four thwarted in the finals by…Parkland, who snapped Becahi’s 31 game D11 winning streak and went on to win the 2002 state championship. Interestingly, this will be the highest seed Parkland has entering the tournament in this run. They won as the 5 seed in 2012, the 3 seed in 2013, and the 7 seed last season.
Offensively, the Trojans are a high-tempo, spread team led by senior quarterback Devante Cross. Cross is looking to become the second quarterback to start three straight championship games (Dan Persa from 2004-2006 being the other) and the first QB to win three titles. He’s thrown for 1,832 yards and 17 TDs while completing 63% of his passes this year. Cross also has rushed for 833 yards and 14 TDs, and could join Persa (and potentially Nazareth’s Travis Stefanik) as the members of the 2,000/1,000 club. He also has an outside shot at throwing and running for 20 TDs, a feat only accomplished locally by Brendan Nosovitch.
The Trojans are big everywhere on offense, from the line (Noel Brouse is 6’6 270, Patrick Ferry is 6’2 315, Steven Feher is 6’5 270 and Andrew Perry is 6’0 230) to receiver (6’6 220 Kenny Yeboah, 6’4 205 Zach Bross, and 6’2 200 Nolan Ridgway). Yeboah, a Temple commit, has 47 catches for 652 yards and eight TDs, and needs nine more catches for 100 in his career. Ridgway and Bross have 28 and 27 catches, respectively. The line is massive, and pass protects very well.
The running game has improved in recent weeks, with Erik DiGiralomo emerging as the go to guy in the running game. He set a school record with a 98 yard touchdown run last week against Emmaus, where he ran through no less than four tackles, including getting fully spun around at the Parkland 45. He’s run for 764 yards and 14 TDs on the year, and is on a streak of 492 yards and seven TDs in the last four games. He’s a straight ahead, thrives on contact runner, while Cross is the home run threat in the backfield.
Defensively, Parkland is the best unit in the Lehigh Valley. They’re giving up 14.5 points per game, but have yielded just 29 points in the four games since their perplexing 41-34 loss to Liberty. They have the best front seven in D11, their defensive line shuts down the run as well as anybody, and DiGiralomo is having a fantastic year at linebacker. The one spot they are vulnerable is in the secondary, where they don’t have tremendous speed. They do have big d-backs, led by the massive Yeboah, so lazy throws get intercepted due to their tremendous range and physicality. But when Parkland struggles, it’s because receivers are running past them. Of course, their best defensive back is Cross, who they use sparingly in the secondary to keep him fresh at quarterback. But he’s been recruited to Boston College to play defense, and I bet we see more Devante Cross the cornerback as the stakes get higher.
The Matchup
Delaware Valley is not set up to beat Parkland. They’re a smash mouth team that isn’t quite big or talented enough to smash the mouths of the Parkland defensive front. And they don’t have the weapons or the scheme to exploit Parkland’s secondary, the Achilles heel of the Trojan squad. Defensively, they’ll need to put pressure on Cross. Collapsing the pocket has been the one reliable way to limit the Trojan offense, which they’ll have to do rushing four, because Cross handles the blitz as well as anybody, either by getting the ball out quickly or exploiting overzealous pursuit and man-to-man coverage behind it that can’t see him take off.
The Pick
Parkland 42-7