2021 Team Preview: Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils

Written by: David Mika on Friday, August 6th, 2021. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

 

Head Coach: Ed Moran (2^nd Season, 1-9)

Assistant Coaches:
Dave Shiffer (Def. Cor./OL)
Shea Mealia (OL/LB)
Zach Bitting (RB/S/Spec. Teams Cor.)
Frank Drozal (RB/DL), Joe Kayes (OL/DL)
Noah Woodford (WR/S)
Joe Lazarchick (OL/DL)
Al Matakonis (Head Jr. High)
Mike Elchisak (Assistant Jr. High)

Team Name: Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils

2020 Record: 1-9

District: 11

Class: AA

League: Colonial-Schuylkill League, Blue Division

Key Starters lost: 
Jason Migliaccio (G/DT) 6-5 295
Franklin Arguetta (T/DT) 6-2 200

Offensive Starters Returning:
QB Owen Kosar 5-11 175
SR. WR Joe Vevasis, 5-8 170
SR. RB/TE Brian Dunne 5-10 200
JR FB Aaryn Nickerson 5-10 200
JR RB Hunter Teter 5-9 180
JR WR Zach Slater 5-8 165
JR OG Lucas Zelinsky 5-10 200
SO. OG Kelvyn Coredero 5-8 200
SR. OT Korbyn Kayes 5-10 180, JR OT

Defensive Starters Returning:
CB Owen Kosar 5-11 175
SR. S Joe Vevasis, 5-8 170
SR. DE Brian Dunne 5-10 200
JR LB Aaryn Nickerson 5-10 200
JR DB/LB Zach Slater 5-8 165
JR DT Lucas Zelinsky 5-10 200
SO. DT Kelvyn Coredero 5-8 200
SO. LB Alex Kozlosky 5-9 170
SO. S Ben Dempster 5-9 170, SR. DB

Special Team Starters Returning:
K/P Owen Kosar 5-11 175

Key Newcomers: 
LB/TE Jeremy Thomas 5-9 175

2020 Returning Player Stats: 

Owen Kosar: QB: 750 YDS, 3TDS, 12.7 YPC, CB: 5 INT’s

Joey Vevasis: WR: 20 Rec, 338YDS, 2 TDS, 16.9 YPC, SS: 39 Tackles, 25 Solo

Brian Dunne: RB:66 Car, 284 YDS, 3 TDS, 4.6 YPC, DE: 25 Tackles, 4 TFLS, 1 SACK, 2 FMB REC

2021 Outlook: This season we expect our team to take the next step and be more competitive on both sides of the ball. We return two dynamic playmakers in seniors WR/S Joe Vevasis (1st Team SCFCA North Offense and Defense) and QB/CB Owen Kosar (2nd Team SCFCA NORTH DB), who are both respectively two of the best football players in our area. We will lean heavily on Vevasis, Kosar, and fellow senior Brian Dunne (DE/TE/RB) to make plays and provide leadership on a still rebuilding team.

Additionally, in 2020 we were a young team that only had 3 seniors. We look to build on the experience that many of the younger players were able to gain last season. We are excited by the growth and development of many of our younger players, and expect our strong sophomore class to make a big impact this season.

Offense: We are really excited about our returning skill positions for this upcoming season. Senior QB Owen Kosar is one of the best all-around athletes, and QB’s in our area. Kosar is a dual-threat QB, who can make plays with his arm or his legs. Kosar and senior WR Joe Vevasis give us big playability in our pass game. Vevasis was one of the best receivers in our area last year, averaging 16.9 yards per catch, and leading our team receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns. Junior RB Hunter Teter really progressed during the 2020 season, and we look to him to provide us speed at the RB position. Bruising senior RB Brian Dunne will help us in the backfield and at TE. We expect big things from sophomore WR Nick Ryan and sophomore RB Ben Dempster, who we feel are ready to take a big step on the offensive side of the ball and provide us with big playability. We are really excited about Sophomore Nick Ryan and think he is really going to surprise a lot of people this season. We feel he can be one of the best receivers in our league this year, as he has dominated this offseason in 7v7’s.

Our young and developing offensive line will be anchored by our two guards junior Lucas Zelinsky and sophomore Kelvyn Cordero. Sophomore center Mike Diehl has made tremendous progress since his freshmen year, and we are excited to see what he can do in a starting role. Senior Korbyn Kayes and junior Juan Ruiz look to fill out our offensive line. Our success in the trenches will be predicated on how quickly our young players build on the experience they gained last season.

Defense: In 2021 we will be switching our defensive scheme, but strive to still possess the intensity instilled by the player beloved 2020 Defensive Coordinator Anthony Staivecki. Coach Staivecki was integral in helping us build our team culture last season, and our defense truly exemplified his passion. Unfortunately, Coach Staivecki was forced to relocate with his job, so we will look to a new Defensive Coordinator for the 2021 season. In probably our biggest offseason move, we were able to steal away Blue Mountain Defensive Coordinator Dave Shiffer, who while at Blue Mountain was integral to the Eagles’ success, coaching one of our area’s top defensive units. We feel that our defense will be the strongest part of our team this season. Our new-look defense will be bolstered by a strong and skilled secondary.

Defensively, we will rely heavily on seniors Joe Vevasis, Brian Dunne, Owen Kosar, and Junior Lucas Zelinsky. Vevasis is one the best tacklers in our area (led our team in tackles, only playing 5 games), and we will look to him and aggressive sophomore safety Ben Dempster to anchor the back end of our defensive. We expect Dempster to be an impact player for us on defense, and drive teams crazy for the next few years. Defensive End Brian Dunne can dominate games, and we will look to him to anchor the edge and provide the pass rush. Junior DT Lucas Zelinsky is the strongest player on our team, and we will to him to solidify the interior with sophomore Kelvyn Cordero. We will look to senior Owen Kosar (5 Int’s in 2020) to be our shutdown corner, and expect big things from sophomore Nick Ryan, who really started to excel last season before a season-ending injury.

Special Teams: Senior Owen Kosar handled our punting and kicking duties last year, however, we expect sophomore Ben Dempster to challenge for our punter position this season.

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