Defense took center stage across Pennsylvania high school football this week, with players piling up tackles, forcing turnovers, getting after quarterbacks and turning takeaways into touchdowns.
Schuylkill Haven’s Brayden Shappell led all reported defenders with an impressive 21 tackles. Central Bucks West’s Louie Cipollo picked off three passes, while several defenders made trips to the end zone, including Pottsgrove’s Colton Millone on a 99-yard interception return and Berwick Area’s Gavin Galutia on a 97-yard pick-six.
Shappell Tops 20 Tackles
Schuylkill Haven’s Brayden Shappell was everywhere defensively, finishing with a week-high 21 tackles.
Delaware Valley’s Anthony Boo and Tunkhannock’s Brandon Carter were close behind with 19 tackles apiece.
Line Mountain’s Caden Carson, Bethlehem Freedom’s Davyan Moore and Delaware Valley’s Dylan Bannon each recorded 16 tackles.
Holy Redeemer’s Amir Pierce-Zaghloul, Shenandoah Valley’s David Burrous, Schuylkill Haven’s Triston Davis and Penncrest’s Will Giles each finished with 15.
Archbishop Ryan’s Frank Lorenti, Columbia’s Kareem Nicholas, Cocalico’s Logan Horning and Rocco Colatta-Rigney each had 14 tackles.
Jersey Shore’s Chase Ellison and Zeke Sechrist, West Perry’s Christian Laugh, Halifax’s Keaton Rummel, Montrose’s Keith Gregory, Penncrest’s Kevin Graham, Tri-Valley’s Landon Horoschack, Williams Valley’s Trevon Bair and Central Dauphin’s William Guigma each recorded 13.
The 12-tackle group included Schuylkill Haven’s Bode Hinnershitz, Berwick Area’s Brock Simms, Pennridge’s Brody Blomgren, Palisades’ Carter Kilhefner, Conwell-Egan’s Dane Austerberry, Williams Valley’s Fletcher Thompson and Magnus Monger, Line Mountain’s Garrett Cockeril, Minersville’s John Lutzsky and Justin Cutler, Susquehanna Township’s Rick Brown and West Catholic’s Sincere Herring-Wilson.
Plenty of Defenders Reach Double Figures
Northern Lehigh’s Bill Slattery, Pennridge’s Blake Landherr, Northern Lebanon’s Brady Ryan, Marple Newtown’s Jack Dreger and Nick Link, Central York’s Josh Bahr, Eastern York’s Lennox Golder, Northampton’s Logan Rusnock, Emmaus’ Nik Castro and Susquehanna Township’s Titus Brown each recorded 11 tackles.
Another large group finished with 10 tackles, including Pocono Mountain East’s Ben Surocvik and Zakai Chambers, Bloomsburg’s Braden Holbert, St. Joseph’s Prep’s Brandon Lockley, Schuylkill Haven’s Bradyn Diehl, East Pennsboro’s Cassius Comp, Germantown Academy’s Chris Weber, Williams Valley’s Cole Hubler, Central Bucks South’s Cole Walke, Annville-Cleona’s Dan Shuey, Shenandoah Valley’s Dylan Getz, Halifax’s Eli Miller, Pequea Valley’s Jadon Sheroka, Penn Wood’s Jaiden Smith, Conwell-Egan’s Joel Joseph, Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Joseph Nehme, Line Mountain’s Liam Troutman, Pennridge’s Marquan Walker, Tri-Valley’s Parker Hatter, Bethlehem Freedom’s Reshaun Jones, Southern Lehigh’s Tanner Traub and Shikellamy’s Willie Bender.
Cipollo Leads Ballhawks With Three Interceptions
Central Bucks West’s Louie Cipollo led the reported interception totals by picking off three passes.
York High’s Brian Hunter, Penn Manor’s Christian Herman, Northern York’s Dalton Porter, Chester’s De’mir Hatchett, Palmyra’s Jaxin Robinson, Minersville’s Jordan Bowers, William Penn Charter’s Kingston Rountree and Cumberland Valley’s Torin Lang each intercepted two passes.
Hatchett made his two interceptions especially costly for the opposition, returning both for touchdowns.
Defenses Attack the Quarterback
Four players led the sack category with three apiece.
Dallas’ Hunter Pitcavage, Stroudsburg’s Keegan Much, Tunkhannock’s Moses Montero and Pocono Mountain East’s Zakai Chambers each recorded three sacks.
Chambers combined his three sacks with 10 total tackles, while Pitcavage and Much also appeared among the week’s tackles-for-loss leaders.
Bair Creates Havoc in the Backfield
Williams Valley’s Trevon Bair led the tackles-for-loss category with five while also recording 13 total tackles.
Ephrata’s Ian Ellis followed with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Berwick Area’s Brock Simms, Jersey Shore’s Isaac Shirey, Milton Area’s Jackson Wertz, Montrose’s Keith Gregory and Susquehanna Township’s Titus Brown each recorded four tackles for loss.
Simms combined his four tackles for loss with 12 total tackles, while Gregory had four tackles for loss as part of his 13-tackle performance.
Among those recording three tackles for loss were Pequea Valley’s Andrew Blank and Jadon Sheroka, Tunkhannock’s Carson Petrak, Shikellamy’s Chase Swartz, Lower Moreland’s Gabe Bonitatis and Luca Incollingo, Dallas’ Pitcavage, Chester’s Jacoby Roman, Notre Dame-Green Pond’s John Hull, Central York’s Bahr, Stroudsburg’s Much, Ridley’s Kevin Farley, Bonner-Prendie’s Logan Rogers, Palmerton Area’s Parker Davis, Penn Manor’s Rashaun Doyle, Schuylkill Haven’s Triston Davis and Lansdale Catholic’s True Ezell.
Sechrist, Seiger and Reynolds Recover Two Fumbles
Three players led the reported fumble recovery category with two apiece.
Jersey Shore’s Zeke Sechrist added two fumble recoveries to a strong defensive performance that included 13 tackles.
Shenandoah Valley’s Todd Seiger and Milton Area’s Jack Reynolds also recovered two fumbles each.
Millone Nearly Goes the Distance
Pottsgrove’s Colton Millone provided one of the week’s biggest defensive plays, returning an interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
Berwick Area’s Gavin Galutia wasn’t far behind with a 97-yard pick-six.
Cardinal O’Hara’s Simon Horta returned an interception 84 yards for a score, while Chester’s De’mir Hatchett went 80 yards on one of his two interception-return touchdowns.
William Penn Charter’s Kingston Rountree had a 76-yard pick-six, Dunmore’s Weston Yannone went 67 yards and Lakeland’s Chase Rosenkrans returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Luke Kopetchny scored on a 53-yard return, Riverside’s Brayden Rose went 52 yards and Pottstown’s Aaron Williams had a 46-yard pick-six.
Archbishop Wood’s Cole Wiberley returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown.
Hatchett added his second pick-six from 33 yards, while Dunmore’s Jake Costanzo and Shenandoah Valley’s Sam Mentusky each scored on 30-yard returns.
Shamokin’s Logan Steele went 27 yards, West Chester Rustin’s Dane Roche scored from 26 yards and Ridley’s Gene D’Amico had a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Wyoming Seminary’s Dylan Liner and Williamsport’s Anthony Manley also returned interceptions for touchdowns.
Fumble Recoveries Turn Into Points
Conrad Weiser’s Luke Walter led the fumble-return touchdowns with a 45-yard return.
Shamokin’s Logan Steele returned a fumble 33 yards for a score, while West Catholic’s Tyler Smith had a 22-yard fumble-return touchdown.
Bethlehem Freedom’s Reshaun Jones returned a fumble three yards for a touchdown.
Mifflinburg’s Brady Threet, Lake-Lehman’s Devon Wright, Hempfield’s Lucas Weisglass and Northeastern’s Reese Wooden also scored touchdowns on fumble recoveries.
Germantown Academy Scores on Blocked Punt
Special teams defense also got into the scoring.
Germantown Academy’s Maurice Gooseby blocked a punt, and Cameron Peoples recovered it for a touchdown.
From Shappell’s 21-tackle performance to Cipollo’s three interceptions, defenders across Pennsylvania made their presence felt throughout the week.
Bair’s five tackles for loss, the three-sack performances from Pitcavage, Much, Montero and Chambers, and long defensive touchdowns from Millone and Galutia highlighted a week in which defenses didn’t just stop drives — they created points of their own.