RUNNINGBACKS:
Niko Carestia of Schuylkill Haven scored his 70th career td before getting hurt in their win over Mahanoy Area. He moved into 17th place all-time in the District, bumping Artie Owens of Stroudsburg (1969-71) and Jim Dudash of Mahanoy Area (1996-99) down a notch. Both scored 69 td’s in their careers. Teammate Colton Reber rushed for 185 yards and scored 4 td’s in the game to go over 2,000 yards rushing for his career. The junior now has 2,022 career yards. A third teammate Niko Castillo also scored 4 td’s in the game. Sophomore Terrence McDowell of Tamaqua had 42 rushing attempts that netted him 273 yards and 3td’s in their loss to Jim Thorpe. Sean Steckert of Southern Lehigh rushed for 222 yards and 3 td’s in their win over North Schuylkill. Steckert leads the District with 716 rushing yards and is tied for the lead in touchdowns scored with 11. Cole Ordway of Easton has the 2nd most yards rushing with 625 yards and is tied with Steckert for td’s scored with 11. Gabe Green of Liberty scored his 30th career td in their win over Northampton. QB Brady Shomper of Williams Valley scored his 30th and 31st td’s in their 43-40 win over Minersville. Marquez Wimberly of Nazareth and Aaron Gordon of Notre Dame were 2 more players that scored 4 td’s last week. Two sophomore running backs join the chart this week with similar stats. Parker Hatter of Tri-Valley has 1,087 career rushing yards and 14 td’s while Christrian Stiehler of Pocono Mountain West has 1,069 career rushing yards and 10 td’s scored.
QUARTERBACKS:
Tanner Dogmantis became just the 2nd QB ever in District 11 to complete all his passes and throw for 300 yards. Dogmantis was 17 for 17 for 339 yards and 4 td’s in their 45-13 win over previously unbeaten Pocono Mountain West. Tre Jordan of Pius X was the first QB when he was 7 for 7 for 329 yards and 5 td’s in their 49-12 win over Bucktail in 2013. Jason Marraccini of Bangor was near perfect when he was 15 for 16 for 343 yards and 6 td’s in a 40-0 rout over Pen Argyl in 1994. Peyton Falzone of Nazareth threw for 335 yards and 2 td’s in the first half of their win over Freedom. Falzone went over 1,000 yards passing for the season and leads the District with 1,168 yards. Antonio Fontanez of Liberty threw for 282 yards and 5 td’s vs Northampton to also go over 1,000 yards passing on the season. Fontanez has thrown for 1,022 yards and leads the District with 15 td passes. Jack Trickel of Palisades had his 2nd consecutive 200 yard passing game when he threw for 203 yards and 2 td’s in their win over Northern Lehigh. Shane Leh of Northwestern threw for 246 yards and 2 td’s in their 34-28 win over Blue Mountain and joined the “4,000 yard” club. Leh has thrown for 4,046 career yards and 54 td passes. Dante Carr of Minersville threw for 217 yards and 3 td’s in their close loss to Williams Valley. Carr now holds the school record for career passing yards (4,665) and td passes (62). Scott Schwalm threw for 4,471 yards and 34 td passes from 2016-19. Carr also rushed for 179 yards and 3 td’s in the game. Julian Pagan of Allen threw for 216 yards and 3 td’s in their loss to ES South. Cole Ordway threw his 30th career td pass in their win over Bethlehem Catholic. Gavin Taff of Northampton went over 3,000 yards passing for his career vs Liberty (3,007). He became the 6th Konkrete Kid to reach the 3,000 yard mark. Two quarterbacks went over 2,000 yards for their careers in week 4. Jackson Mitchell of Stroudsburg (2,121 yards) and Garrett Smoyer of Northern Lehigh (2,038 yards).
RECEIVERS:
Lincoln Cook of Palisades leads the District with 28 receptions. Justin Williams of PM East leads the District in receiving yardage with 476 yards that he accumulated in the first 3 weeks. Carter Vassa of Bethlehem Catholic is 2nd in the District with 24 catches and also broke the school record for career receptions vs Easton. Vassa has 108 career catches breaking the record of 104 catches that Eric Wert had from 2020-22. Talon Dogmantis of Whitehall caught 6 passes for 85 yards and 2 td’s from his brother Tanner to joins the “100 catch” club with 102 career catches. Brady Behr of Pocono Mountain West also joined the “100 catch” club in the same game. Behr extended his school records to 103 receptions for 1,346 yards. Jaylen Walker of Allen caught 3 td passes vs ES South to tie the school record. In 1969 vs arch rival Dieruff, Bob Handschue was the first Canary to catch 3 td passes in a game. Jeff Martinez also caught 3 td passes vs Dieruff in 1982. And George Clay caught 3 td passes vs Parkland in 1987. Sophomore Spencer Gothard of Jim Thorpe caught 3 passes vs Tamaqua and all 3 went for touchdowns in a 35-27 win. Tanner Zelachowski of Nazareth caught 6 passes for 199 yards and 2 td’s vs Freedom. Teammate Luke DiPietro caught 5 passes vs Freedom which went for 145 yards and a td. Zyaire Davis of Liberty had his second 150 yard plus receiving game vs Northampton when he caught 5 passes for 157 yards and 2 td’s. Teammate Jake Pukszyn also caught 2 td passes in the game and leads the District with 8 td catches. Six players were added to the chart with at least 500 career receiving yards. They are, Luke DiPietro of Nazareth (594 yards), Drew Boyd of Notre Dame (530 yards), Cole Gemberling of Tri-Valley (529 yards), Cameron Hersh of Northampton (523 yards), Blazer Lords of Williams Valley (503 yards), and Christian Alvarez of Pottsville (502 yards),
TIDBITS:
I was able to bring together all my records of the 300 yard rushers in District 11 over the years and I found that it’s been done 115 times. Here’s some info on them with more to come as time permits.
1st recorded 300 yard rushers (1st 6):
Gil Strunk of Pen Argyl vs Bangor in 1934 (302 yards on 53 carries and 5 td’s scored) won 33-13
Maurice Schleicher of Slatington (NL) vs Lehighton in 1954 (300 yards on only 9 carries and 5 td’s scored) won 56-13
John Rosella of North Schuylkill vs Bloomsburg in 1968 (306 yards on 23 carries and 4 td’s scored) won 38-12
Tim Posivak of Liberty vs Allen in 1976 (309 yards on 32 carries and 4 td’s scored) won 41-14
Bob Agosti of Marian Catholic vs Pottsville in 1986 (306 yards on 27 carries and 2 td’s scored) won 37-14
Jim Hope of Tamaqua vs Shenandoah Valley in 1989 (331 yards on 30 carries and 3 td’s scored) won 28-21
There were no 300 yard rushers in 1990. So, that means (109 of the 115) 300 yard rushers have been since the 1991 season.
TOP 6 HIGHEST RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME (all over 400 yards)
- 469 yards – Nysir Minney-Gratz of Easton vs Nazareth in 2015 (scored 6 td’s) won 56-41
- 429 yards – Nick Kurtz of Whitehall vs Freedom in 1999 (scored 4 td’s) won 41-14
- 422 yards – Colin McDermott of Central Catholic vs BECA in 2012 (scored 5 td’s) won 42-7
- 413 yards – Zack Barket of Schuylkill Haven vs North Schuylkill in 2008 (scored 7 td’s) won 54-19
- 405 yards – Trey Robinson of Wilson vs Notre Dame in 2011 (scored 5 td’s) won 47-17
- 402 yards – Austin Scott of Parkland vs Freedom in 2002 (scored 6 td’s) won 49-13
Zack Barket of Schuylkill Haven has the most 300 yard games with 7 (1 in 2007 and 7 in 2008)
For the large schools, Austin Scott has the most when he recorded 5 – 300 yard games in 2002.
14 TEAMS WITH ONLY 1 – 300 YARD RUSHER
Bangor – Josh Wing – 337 yards – 3 td’s in 2011 vs Catasauqua (34-13 win)
Cardinal Brennan – Josh Deeter – 306 yards – 3 td’s in 2004 vs Mahanoy Area (41-28 win)
Jim Thorpe – Justin St. Hill – 324 yards – 4 td’s in 2017 vs Blue Mountain (27-0 win)
Marian Catholic – Bob Agosti – 306 yards – 2 td’s in 1986 vs Pottsville (37-14 win)
Nazareth – Chuck Dibilio – 334 yards – 7 td’s in 2010 vs Williamsport (63-24)
Northwestern – Eli Zimmerman – 337 yards – 2 td’s in 2024 vs Danville (31-14 win)
Notre Dame – Dan Tavani – 304 yards – 4 td’s in 2003 vs Salisbury (27-7 win)
Palmerton – Matt Machalik – 319 yards – 5 td’s in 2023 vs Jim Thorpe (41-31 win)
Panther Valley – Brennan Kunkel – 324 yards – 6 td’s in 2023 vs Shenandoah Valley (39-21 win)
Pius X – Desmond Spady – 311 yards – 5 td’s in 1998 vs Freedom Village (69-14 win)
Shenandoah Valley – Eric Whalen – 371 yards – 4 td’s in 2009 vs Jim Thorpe (43-21 win)
Tri-Valley – Chase Herb – 302 yards – 2 td’s in 2019 vs Nativity (41-17 win)
Whitehall – Nick Kurtz – 429 yards – 4 td’s in 1999 vs Freedom (41-14 win)
Wilson – Trey Robinson – 405 yards – 5 td’s in 2011 vs Notre Dame (47-17 win)
2025 single-game highs: ( ) is the week the player accomplished the stat
Single Game Touchdowns (4)
5 (1) Rory Dixon (Marian Catholic) *Ties School Record*
5 (3) Jake Pukszyn (Liberty)
4 (1) Sean Steckert (Southern Lehigh)
4 (1) Luke Miller (North Schuylkill)
4 (2) Paiten Lapoint (Minersville)
4 (2) Cayden Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
4 (3) Cole Ordway (Easton)
4 (3) Reese Miller (Blue Mountain)
4 (3) Lashawn Johnson (Freedom)
4 (4) Aaron Gordon (Notre Dame)
4 (4) Marquez Wimberly (Nazareth)
4 (4) Colton Reber (Schuylkill Haven)
4 (4) Niko Castillo (Schuylkill Haven)
Single Game Rushing Yardage (200)
273 (4) Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)
260 (2) Cayden Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
237 (1) Luke Miller (North Schuylkill)
226 (1) Rory Dixon (Marian Catholic)
222 (4), 203 (1) Sean Steckert (Southern Lehigh)
210 (3) Leshawn Johnson (Freedom)
209 (2) Keyen Johnson (Stroudsburg)
205 (1) Colton Reber (Schuylkill Haven)
204 (3) Amari Green (Pocono Mountain East)
Single Game Passing Yardage (200)
361 (3), 203 (4) Jack Trickel (Palisades) *School Record*
339 (4) Tanner Dogmantis (Whitehall)
335 (4), 302 (2), 274 (3), 257 (1) Peyton Falzone (Nazareth)
317 (3), 282 (4), 251 (1) Antonio Fontanez (Liberty)
286 (2), 285 (1) Ceejay Serfass (Pocono Mountain East)
277 (1) Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)
247 (1), 233 (3) Matt Bodnar (Notre Dame)
246 (4) Shane Leh (Northwestern)
235 (3) Brody Breiner (Panther Valley)
231 (1) Cole Lazorick (Jim Thorpe)
217 (4) Dante Carr (Minersville)
216 (3) Patrick Cahill (Central Catholic)
216 (4) Julian Pagan (Allen)
203 (3) Cayden Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
Single Game TD Passes (4)
6 (3), 5 (4) Antonio Fontanez (Liberty) *School Record*
5 (2) Matt Bodnar (Notre Dame)
4 (1) Ceejay Serfass (Pocono Mountain East)
4 (3) Jack Trickel (Palisades) *Ties School Record*
4 (3) Dante Carr (Minersville)
4 (4) Tanner Dogmantis (Whitehall)
Single Game Receptions (10)
10 (1) Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
Single Game Reception Yardage (140)
269 (3) Lincoln Cook (Palisades) *School Record*
224 (2) Justin Williams (Pocono Mountain East) *School Record*
199 (4) Tanner Zelachowski (Nazareth)
166 (1), 157 (4) Zyaire Davis (Liberty)
159 (3) Jake Pukszyn (Liberty)
145 (4) Luke DiPietro (Nazareth)
Single Game Reception TD’s (3)
5 (3) Jake Pukszyn (Liberty) *School Record*
3 (2) Ty Nansteel (Lehighton)
3 (3) Lincoln Cook (Palisades)
3 (3) Talon Dogmantis (Whitehall) *Ties School Record*
3 (4) Jaylen Walker (Allen) *Ties School Record*
3 (4) Spencer Gothard (Jim Thorpe)
Field Goals (40 yards)
49 (3) Gabriel Ferguson (Stroudsburg) *School Record*
District 11 Season Leaders
Rushing (475)
716 Sean Steckert (Southern Lehigh)
625 Cole Ordway (Easton)
610 Luke Miller (North Schuylkill)
580 Terrence McDowell (Tamaqua)
573 Lashawn Johnson (Freedom)
557 Lukas Croizier (Lehighton)
529 Gianni Gonnella (East Stroudsburg South)
526 Cayden Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
519 Fletcher Thompson (Williams Valley)
516 Jeziah Gregory (Whitehall)
499 Amari Green (Pocono Mountain East)
492 Colton Reber (Schuylkill Haven)
492 Christian Stiehler (Pocono Mountain West)
476 Keyen Johnson (Stroudsburg)
Touchdowns (9)
11 Cole Ordway (Easton)
11 Sean Steckert (Southern Lehigh)
10 Rory Dixon (Marian Catholic)
9 Luke Miller (North Schuylkill)
9 Cayden Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
9 Jeziah Gregory (Whitehall)
9 Marquez Wimberly (Nazareth)
9 Fletcher Thompson (Williams Valley)
9 Colton Reber (Schuylkill Haven)
Passing Yards (650)
1,160 Peyton Falzone (Nazareth)
1,022 Antonio Fontanez (Liberty)
905 Ceejay Serfass (Pocono Mountain East)
854 Tanner Dogmantis (Whitehall)
848 Matt Bodnar (Notre Dame)
784 Jack Trickel (Palisades)
705 Jackson Mitchell (Stroudsburg)
671 Colton Sams (Southern Lehigh)
Touchdown Passes (8)
15 Antonio Fontanez (Liberty)
12 Dante Carr (Minersville)
11 Peyton Falzone (Nazareth)
11 Matt Bodnar (Notre Dame)
10 Tanner Dogmantis (Whitehall)
8 Ceejay Serfass (Pocono Mountain East)
8 Brady Shomper (Williams Valley)
8 Max Heim (Schuylkill Haven)
Receptions (18)
28 Lincoln Cook (Palisades)
24 Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
20 Justin Williams (Pocono Mountain East)
20 Luke Kawczenski (Southern Lehigh)
19 Zyaire Davis (Liberty)
19 Garrett Yurichek (Panther Valley)
18 Brady Behr (Pocono Mountain West)
18 Thomas Cahill (Saucon Valley)
Reception Yardage (275)
476 Justin Williams (Pocono Mountain East)
444 Lincoln Cook (Palisades)
430 Zyaire Davis (Liberty)
321 Luke Depietro (Nazareth)
316 Tanner Zelachowski (Nazareth)
314 Talon Dogmantis (Whitehall)
307 Carter Vassa (Bethlehem Catholic)
293 Brady Behr (Pocono Mountain West)
282 Keegan Munch (Stroudsburg)
Reception Touchdowns (5)
8 Jake Puksyzn (Liberty)
6 Talon Dogmantis (Whitehall)
5 Justin Williams (Pocono Mountain East)
5 Paiten Lapoint (Minersville)
5 Zyaire Davis (Liberty)