40 teams in 40 days – Day 29: Valley View (2)

Written by: David Mika on Sunday, August 19th, 2012. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

2011 season

Valley View finished the season with an 11-2 record. During the regular season they had big wins against Scranton, Wallenpaupack and Delaware Valley. In the playoffs they defeated Crestwood and Dallas to win the District two title. In the first round of playoffs they lost to Allentown Central Catholic.

The Cougars were led by their running game. Tyler Phillips rushed for 1,483 yards on 155 carries and 23 touchdowns. Pat Jeffers rushed for 1,122 yards and 17 touchdowns. Tyler Kapinus added 781 yards and six touchdowns.

Quarterback Liam Callejas led the way with 940 yards passing and 12 touchdowns.

The two top receivers were Brian Lalli and Nyeem Wartman.

Q & A with Valley View head football coach George Howanitz

We sat down with Howanitz and talked to him about his team for the 2012 season.

How is your off-season going this summer?

All the kids have been here and practice is going well. We have around 50 kids. They are excited about the season.

Who do you have coming back on offense?

We have two linemen coming back. They are C Anthony Mengoni and OG Anthony Galantini. Both players are third-year starters.

We have our quarterback back, Liam Callejas. He has been a three-year starter for us. Having him back knowing the offense is a big deal for us.

We have a great tailback in Tyler Phillips. At wide receiver we have Garrett Rupe. He is a three-year starter too. We lost good kids last year, but we have a good core coming back on offense.

Who do you have coming back on defense?

We have DE Darnell Ashton coming back and RaeKwon Patrick at nose guard.

We lost a lot at linebacker and we need the young kids to step up.Our secondary is where the strength is. We have Garrett Rupe and Cody McAndrew at corner back position.

Who do you have coming back on special teams?

We will have a new punter this year. Our kicker is back.

League

I think the league should be really balanced. Delaware Valley has a lot of returning starters and Scranton Prep has a lot back. Scranton also has a lot back. The rest of the teams should be equal.

To have a successful season you have to?

I think there are two things we have to do to be successful. We need to stay away from injuries. We aren’t as deep as last year. Secondly, we have to stop teams. A lot of our good defensive players graduated. We need our younger kids to step in.

Home Opener

Valley View opens home against Wallenpaupack on August 31^st

40 teams in 40 days

Day 1 – Mount Carmel Area (4) Day 11 – Scranton (2)

Day 2 – Manheim Central (3) Day 12 – Pottsville (11)

Day 3 – Delaware Valley (2) Day 13 – Cardinal O’Hara (12)

Day 4 – Southern Columbia (4) Day 14 – Shenandoah Valley (11)

Day 5 – Berwick Area (2) Day 15- Central Dauphin (3)

Day 6 – Easton Area (11) Day 16 – Scranton Prep (2)

Day 7 – LaSalle (12) Day 17 – Garnet Valley (1)

Day 8 – Downingtown East (1) Day 18 – Spring-Ford (1)

Day 9 – Council Rock North (1) Day 19 – Southern Lehigh (11)