“Greatest show on turf” in the Lehigh Valley
Written by: David Mika on Monday, November 28th, 2011. Follow David Mika on Twitter.
Lately I have seen some high-powered offenses in the Lehigh Valley. I was thinking who has the best offense on turf in the Lehigh Valley? Is it Allentown Central Catholic or Nazareth Area? You can make a good argument for both teams this season. I will break down both teams and you can decide who should get the title of “Greatest show on turf” in the Lehigh Valley.
All-State senior quarterback Brendan Nosovitch and record-breaking receiver Kevin Guylas lead Allentown Central Catholic. These two players are considered the best pitch-catch combo the state has ever seen.
This season Nosovitch has passed for 3,219 yards and 33 touchdowns. His two favorite targets are Kevin Gulyas and Jalen Snyder-Scipio. Gulyas has caught 108 passes for 1,777 yards and 24 touchdowns. Snyder-Scipio has caught 64 passes for 980 yards and eight touchdowns.
Daniel Harding who has thrown for 3,468 yards and 31 touchdowns leads Nazareth Area. His favorite targets are the Bridgeforth brothers. Adam Bridgeforth has caught 75 passes for 1,205 yards and eight touchdowns. Andrew Bridgeforth has caught 55 passes for 898 yards and eight touchdowns.
In October these teams met and Nazareth won 31-30 in a thrilling game. Harding threw for 201 yards and the Bridgeforth brothers combined for 160 yards receiving. Nosovitch threw for 246 yards and two scores. Guylas had 158 yards and Sndyer-Scipio added 77 yards receiving.
In 13 games Nazareth has 3,375 yards passing and 1,833 yards receiving. Allentown Central Catholic has 3,229 yards passing and 2,344 yards rushing.
I will leave you with this. Both offenses are fun to watch unless you are a defensive coordinator on the opposing team. Who do you think is the “Greatest show on turf” in the Lehigh Valley?
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December 4th, 2011 at 2:57 am
I was taking photos at the ACC Naz game and the final kick missed by only a foot. if that goes in this could be a different discussion
December 3rd, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Grade does not matter…if you turn 19 on August 31st you are not eligible. Does not matter if you are al Frosh or a senior
December 2nd, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@dylan, ummm, yes, it’s been known to happen! Some coaches will “encourage” an 8th grader to stay behind a year; in some cases, the parents believe it will better prepare the kid for a scholarship down the road.
Yes, there are rules and there are those who will get around them; always been that way, always will.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:47 am
@skat i totally agree with you im an acc alum so im always pulling for them and even when competing against teams like parkland and liberty i always rooted for them in the state playoffs, dont forget about pen argyl too lehigh valley teams have been represented 8 of the last 10 years in the state finals, thats a testament to how lucky we really are to see such good football, district 11 has to be one of the best districts in the state and the lvc has to be one of the best conferences in the state. its an awesome time period for lvc fans we need to pull for a repeat state champion!
December 1st, 2011 at 2:45 pm
nosovitch and gulyas are the best ive ever seen play. ive met them both and you wouldnt know. extremely humble but they take care of business. the gray fellow from nazareth is pretty legit but as far as being the most underrated player in D11 id have to go with mcdermott from ACC. hes been overshadowed by brendan and gulyas for the best two years and as some of you have mentioned has gone for 3000 yards combined the past two years. im just excited i can go out and see the great match ups coming up
December 1st, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Why don’t LVC fans quit complaining/arguing with each other and root for each other? ACC plays a little too far for me to make it out there or I’d be there.
LVC fans need to attend the game at BASD’s Frank Banko field and root for Nazareth. It’s not every year that we get a home game in our backyard (every other year). Come out and show support for our teams when they are in the playoffs!
PS: Both teams (ACC and Nazareth) are very skilled and talented. No need to argue!
December 1st, 2011 at 2:36 am
@Adam nazareth acc score was 31-30 not 31-10 but i feel you the teams that acc lost to in the regular season would all make it to the easter final or further if they were 3A but thats besides the point, nosovitch to gulyas is an epic combo we wont see for a very long time if we ever see it again
November 30th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
I love when people give ACC crap for playing in the 3A playoffs, but a 4A conference, etc. Valley View is a 3A team, ACC is a 3A team. ACC scored almost as many points on VV as they gave up all season. VV beat Scranton 21-0, who almost beat Easton (lost 29-20)…Remember VV was 11-1 going into the ACC game. Easton was 11-2 this season before losing to a very good (12-1) Nazareth team (which ACC lost 31-10)…if you think ACC’s offense isn’t potent, you’d be dreaming. Maybe not more than Nazareth’s, but what is the “pure passer” nonsense? This day in age, it’s a liability to have a “pure passer”. It’s also something to be said for Nosovitch-Gulyas doing this, putting up numbers like this, for three years straight. Something no other duo has done in state history.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
@Buddy, I believe PIAA rules do not permit red shirting in grades 9 through 12. Some programs though will redshirt a kid in grade 8 to get around the intent of the rule. I was just curious if that was the case here.
The age thing could be for many other reasons though I guess.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@ O.L. Coach, as Buddy said there is no such thing as redshirting in high school. Unless you’re trying to say the coach purposely made him fail last year so that he could be a freshman this year.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
I did not say anything about a red-shirt. And i am not a NAZ. fan. I read the by-laws. Enjoy the games. piaa.org
November 30th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
@ Andy:
I didn’t know one could redshirt in high school. If so, where does the 5th year come in?
November 30th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
@Andy, did Nazareth red shirt Gray because they already had a stud RB last year?
November 30th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Suburban One Fan:
C’mon back! We need your sage advice!
November 30th, 2011 at 3:31 am
Nosovitch has been playing hurt all year. His left shoulder has been banged up all year. And his legs have both been heavily taped up. There’s a reason he hasn’t been running the last several games. Or else he would also have over 1000 yards rushing and would have broken the school record for all time points scored. I think I can speak for all Central Catholic fans by saying we will never see anything like this again in our lifetime. It’s too bad we can’t clone both Nosovitch and Gulyas for the next 10 years.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Gray’s age and eligible is not a factor. As long as you dont turn 19 before sept.1 of his SR. yr. Good matchups this week. NAZ-LaSalle, 1A Pius X- SO.Com. Pen A-West Cath. Enjoy.
November 29th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
@ O.L. coach i heard hes turning 16 in january….just what i heard not sure if it can be confirmed
November 29th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
nosovitch also had offensive line problems if you watch the 1st 4 or 5 weeks of the season more then half his throws were off balance and he wasnt setting his feet because he was gettin knocked down and beat up pretty hard the first few weeks, since his line has got it together the 2nd half of the year hes played pretty much lights out
November 29th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
O.L.Coach,
Gray turned 16 in October.
November 29th, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Nosovitch got a full scholarship to the SEC for a reason. He has had an amazing career and has put up monster numbers playing hurt this season. He shattered the state total yardage (pass/run) record by more than 2000 yards, and counting. Gulyas’ numbers speak for themselves. State reception and yardage records. Scipio is underrated offensively and will go over 1000 receiving yds for the season. McDermott has rushed for over 1300 yards two years in a row. Nazareth is having a terrific season and I don’t want to belittle it in any way. I hope they go all the way. Harding, Gray and the Bridgeforths are legit. Both teams have similar stats this season but the big difference is that CCHS guys have been doing it for three years. Very consistent, as the state records show. As for the AAA/AAAA competition comment. They both play in the same conference. Central seeks out a tough AAAA opponent (Downingtown East) in the one open date that both teams have while Nazareth chooses to play a weak MVC opponent. When the playoffs start I’ll put Valley View, Archbishop Wood and Bishop McDevitt against the AAAA opponents Nazareth has faced or will face. As for the fact that Nosovitch had 8 touchdown passes against VV. Coming into that game VV was the 5th best defensive team in the state in points allowed (69). Central put up 61. Actually, Valley View beat Nazareth’s first round opponent by 2 touchdowns. My point is that the schedule comment is bogus. It’s laughable that someone feels that Nosovitch is an inferior “pure passer”. If anyone saw the VV game or last year’s Wood game or others, they would not make a comment like that. Not sure what else the Central offense has to do to convince some people that they can play a little bit.
November 29th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Is it true that Gray is a 16 yo freshman?
November 29th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Harding and Nosovitch aren’t even close. I love the “pure passer” comment. What exactly is a pure passer? Nosovitch is head and shoulders better than Harding. This isn’t even a question. You Nazareth fans are starting to act like your Head Coach. Nosovitch according to TV played the first half of the year with a banged up shoulder and has been playing the last few weeks with a sprained ankle the last few weeks
I’ll give the RB argument. But it is not nearly as far apart as you think ACC RB ran for 1600+ last year and has 1300+ this year. Talk about underated.
The WR position simply is this the #1 and #2 WR’s for ACC are better than Nazareth’s 1 and 2. The #3 and #4 WR for Nazareth are better than the 3 and 4 for ACC.
I am a Freedom fan but it is obvious that you are a Nazareth guy. You said 3A team I love it. That 3A team gave only 63 points all year and smoked the team that almost beat Easton in the playoffs
November 29th, 2011 at 10:18 am
I dont think you can say they “definitly” should have won that football game, both teams played in those conditions, and Nazareth did build a pretty decent lead on ACC early. Game was sloppy on both ends.
When it comes to the offense question:
Harding is a better “pure” passer than Nosovitch, but Brendan is an incredible dual threat.
Nazareth wins the battle at running back, Gray is the most underrated player in D11, his numbers are just incredible.
Guylas is the kid i cant figure out, i have seen him play in person and work on the practice field, and i still just dont know how he produces at that level. I really dont see much outside of his speed, but cannot argue with the numbers, kid has had one amazing career.
The 4 Nazareth recievers are better as a whole then the 2 ACC. (Bridgeforths, Tonnies, and Shepapard all have over 500 yards and 5 TDs)
I think if i look at the season as a whole, Harding and Gray’s numbers stand out, we forget that Nosovitch did just throw 8 TD passes against 3A VV, if that game doesnt take place, he isnt as close in yards and TD’s.
Over a body of work , against all 4A competition, i Would take Harding and company by a hair. Just because of balance.
Nosovitch is one amazing player. Best of luck to both going forward
November 29th, 2011 at 1:12 am
ACC should have definitely won the first meeting between these 2 teams. The weather was terrible and we decided to go for a 35 yard field goal which had absolutely no chance of being good. Harding and the Bridgeforth’s are a good combination. Nosovitch and Gulyas are an all time hall of fame combination. The greatest in Pennsylvania history.
November 29th, 2011 at 12:32 am
thats insanely tough to decide which offense to take. the bridgeforth brothers i feel are better go up and get the ball receivers compared to gulyas. gulyas is just faster then everybody else and burns alot of people and makes them miss scipio is a good possession receiver tho. harding and nosovitch its hard to debate, certainly the south carolina recruit is gonna get more love since hes headed to the SEC but harding has thrown for more yards but its pretty even. with that being said tho i feel like acc can score at will on one play from anywhere on the field, not saying nazareth cant but its a toss up for sure
November 28th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Tough call. They are so much alike offensively. I was thinking as I watched ACC on Friday, that I’d love to see these teams matched up again. This time without the rain of course.
November 28th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
what are the stats for the other recievers? And i say acc
November 28th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
I don’t know if you can really determine this one. Of course the ACC people will say ACC and the Nazareth people with Nazareth. Then you will get the people who hate ACC say Nazareth, the people who hate Melosky will say ACC.
I think ACC by just a little bit. Here is why Nosovitch vs Harding: harding started the year much better, but passing stats are almost the same. I think that part of QB is a wash. The Bridgeforth’s v Gulyas/Scipio Advantage ACC. McDermott v Gray, I would say the advantage goes to Gray. I think both Oline’s have played about the same. I say ACC because of Nosovitch running ability.
I would love to see the ACC/Nazareth game again. ACC should have won the game, but it never materialized into the shootout we expected. Take it for what its worth.