Defense made its presence felt across Pennsylvania high school football, with several players piling up double-digit tackles, creating turnovers and turning defensive plays directly into points.
Great Valley’s Beau Kosmalski and Phoenixville’s Jake Gray led all reported defenders with 18 tackles, while Salisbury’s Jadiel Gonzalez and Southern Lehigh’s Jack Pavis were ballhawks in the secondary with three interceptions apiece.
There were also plenty of game-changing defensive touchdowns, including Northampton’s Colby Brearman taking an interception 100 yards to the end zone.
Kosmalski, Gray Lead the Tacklers
Kosmalski and Gray set the pace with 18 tackles each.
Tri-Valley’s Robert Schwartz was right behind them with 17 tackles, while Line Mountain’s Cade Feger and Great Valley’s Dean Kosmalski each recorded 16.
Line Mountain’s Caden Carson and Tri-Valley’s Landon Horoschack finished with 15 tackles apiece.
Seven players reached the 14-tackle mark: Holy Redeemer’s Alex Snyder, Schuylkill Haven’s Brayden Chappell, Schuylkill Valley’s Evin Ortiz, Halifax’s Keaton Rummel, Muncy’s Kynton Fish and Shikellamy’s Willie Bender.
Chichester’s Arrian Howard, Great Valley’s Cameron Finlay Jr., Muncy’s Finn Thomas, Marian Catholic’s Gregg Tirpak, Notre Dame-Green Pond’s John Hull and Central York’s Josh Bahr each registered 13 tackles.
Palmyra’s Cadin Smith, Wyoming Valley West’s Isrel Davis, Muncy’s Nate Rogers, Milton Area’s Schuyler Humphrey, Marian Catholic’s Tyler Price, Roman Catholic’s Walter Hudson Jr. and Central Dauphin’s William Guigma each finished with 12.
Archbishop Wood’s Cole Wiberley, Central Bucks East’s Hunter Pulford, York Suburban’s Jack Lenzi, Octorara Area’s Joey Mowday, Ridley’s Kevin Farley, Line Mountain’s Luke Malaria, Mount Carmel Area’s Max Karycki, East Stroudsburg South’s Michael Udeh, Mount Carmel Area’s Mike Higgins, Bloomsburg’s Shane Fey, Chester’s Shane McClain and Archbishop Ryan’s Steve Brunkel each recorded 11 tackles.
Milton Area’s Brady O’Rourke, Northwestern Lehigh’s Brady Zimmerman, Garnet Valley’s Brody Orr, Marian Catholic’s Dominick Rodino, Shenandoah Valley’s Dylan Getz, Line Mountain’s Garrett Cockeril, Phoenixville’s Max Eagle, Muncy’s Nixon Lamper, Northern Lehigh’s Paul Porobenski, Shenandoah Valley’s Xavier Hernandez and Bloomsburg’s Zane Thomas rounded out the double-digit performers with 10 tackles each.
Gonzalez and Pavis Pick Off Three Passes
Two players led the interception category with three apiece.
Salisbury’s Jadiel Gonzalez picked off three passes and made one of them count in a big way, returning an interception 60 yards for a touchdown.
Southern Lehigh’s Jack Pavis also recorded three interceptions.
Montoursville’s Brayden Burkett, Penn Wood’s Dallas Hariston, West Perry’s Drew Brandt, Towanda’s Gabe Wolf, Newport’s Henry Barlup, Stroudsburg’s Jeremiah Hernandez and Susquehannock’s Nikolai Graham each intercepted two passes.
Hariston also turned one of his interceptions into points, returning it 45 yards for a Penn Wood touchdown.
Bender Lives in the Backfield
Shikellamy’s Willie Bender wasn’t just among the week’s leading tacklers. He was also the leader in tackles for loss.
Bender recorded five tackles behind the line of scrimmage as part of his 14-tackle performance.
Line Mountain’s Cade Feger had four tackles for loss to go along with 16 total tackles, while teammate Garrett Cockeril also recorded four tackles for loss.
Cardinal O’Hara’s Josh Dahn and West Catholic’s Zymir Langerston joined them with four tackles for loss.
Lansdale Catholic’s Chris Kittredge, Cedar Crest’s Garrett Starry, Notre Dame-Green Pond’s John Hull, Mifflinburg’s Landon Moser, Northern Lehigh’s Paul Porobenski and Chester’s Zyon Santana each finished with three tackles for loss.
Brearman Goes 100 Yards to the House
Few defensive plays can change a game faster than a pick-six, and Northampton’s Colby Brearman produced the longest reported interception return for a touchdown with a 100-yard return.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Drew Boyd returned an interception 65 yards for a score, followed by Salisbury’s Gonzalez with his 60-yard touchdown.
Blue Mountain’s Sonny Amato had a 56-yard pick-six, Western Wayne’s Jason Sparks went 55 yards and Penn Wood’s Hariston, Shenandoah Valley’s Gene Sinkus and Norristown’s Xavier Blackwell each had 45-yard interception returns for touchdowns.
Pottstown’s John Hill returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown, Archbishop Carroll’s Trevon Veney went 37 yards and Springfield-Delco’s Chase Christy scored on a 36-yard return.
Shenandoah Valley’s David Burrous and Southern Lehigh’s Declan Walsh each added 25-yard interception returns for touchdowns.
Fumble Recoveries Turn Into Six Points
Turnovers also became touchdowns on fumble returns around the state.
Pittston Area’s Lucas Lo Presto led the reported fumble-return touchdowns with a 50-yard return.
Lower Moreland’s Jager Fink had a 42-yard fumble return for a touchdown, while another Lower Moreland fumble return went for 39 yards.
Boiling Springs’ Carsen Brownawell, North Pocono’s Henry Wolff, Old Forge’s Joey Dominick and Northeastern’s Sean McDermott also recovered fumbles for touchdowns.
Special Teams Defenses Find the End Zone
Blocked punts provided another path to the end zone.
Whitehall’s Rocco Fonzone scored on a 29-yard blocked-punt return.
Dallas’ Hunter Pitcavage had an especially disruptive performance with two blocked punts, including a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown.
Pottstown’s Jose Charriez also scored a touchdown following a blocked punt.
From Kosmalski and Gray piling up tackles to Gonzalez and Pavis taking the football away three times each, defenses across Pennsylvania produced plenty of standout performances.
Whether it was Bender creating havoc behind the line of scrimmage, Brearman racing 100 yards on a pick-six or special teams units turning blocked punts into touchdowns, defenders did much more than simply keep opponents off the scoreboard — they helped put points on it themselves.
2 Responses
It’s Carsen Brownawell for Boiling Springs, not Carson.
Fixed. Thank you!