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Dunmore, Abington Heights in state football playoffs

By Tom Robinson
Scranton Edition sports correspondent

The state football playoffs start with a bang Friday night when Dunmore and West Catholic of Philadelphia meet in a game featuring the top two Class AA teams in Pennsylvania.

James Fruehan and the Abington Heights Comets will take on Allentown Central Catholic Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Liberty High School, 1115 Linden St., Bethlehem. .

Abington Journal Photo/Stephanie Walkowski

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While the Bucks and Burrs meet in the showcase game as the state works its way down from 16 teams to eight in each class, Abington Heights and Allentown Central Catholic find themselves in the most intriguing matchup of Class AAA.

Dunmore is ranked first and West Catholic second in Class AA by the Harrisburg Patriot-News going into their 7 p.m. game at Palisades High School in Kintnersville, 13 miles south of Easton. The teams were the last two eastern representatives in the state final where Dunmore lost in 2007 and West Catholic lost in 2008.

Allentown Central Catholic is ranked fifth and Abington Heights seventh in what is now a wide-open Class AAA race since two-time defending champion and previous number-one team Thomas Jefferson lost, 28-21, to West Allegheny in last week's Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (District 7) semifinals.

The Vikings and Comets meet in one of three games pitting top 10 teams against each other, but it is the only one with two teams in the top seven and two teams so close to each other in the rankings. The game is scheduled for Bethlehem School District Stadium, located next to Bethlehem Liberty High School.

The Dunmore-West Catholic game is a rematch of last year's state quarterfinal when the Burrs used their speed advantage to overwhelm the Bucks early on the way to a 49-21 win that did end the state's highest-scoring team's streak of 50-point games at eight.

Current Penn State freshman wide receiver Curtis Drake was the quarterback, who ran a high-octane offense that went over 500 yards by the end of the third quarter in that game.

"It looked similar to games we've had in the past," Drake said when it was over. "They were a very physical team. It was not as easy as it looked.

"As far as heart and strength and size, they were one of the top three teams we played. As far as speed, they were not the same. That's why we were able to do what we wanted on offense."

The loss of Drake and the team's other biggest stars from that game should even out some of the difference in speed level, but the game probably will still be a clash of styles with Dunmore trying to rely on the power running of Michael Perry.

The same should be true in Class AAA where Abington Heights will put the game in the hands of its strong, veteran line and I-formation running attack against Allentown Central Catholic's spread offense, led by sophomore Brendan Nosovitch.

Perry, in his fourth season as a 1,000-yard rusher, has been busy at linebacker as well as one of the team's defensive leaders. When the lineup needed to be altered because of injuries for last week's District 2 championship game, Perry moved from outside to inside linebacker.

On the season, Perry ranks second on the team in tackles behind Tim Brier. He has carried 262 times for 1,782 yards and 31 touchdowns.

In the playoffs, Perry has five touchdowns and back-to-back, 100-yard games. That gives him eight straight multiple-touchdown games and nine 100-yard efforts for the season.

The Lackawanna Football Conference Division 2 champions (12-0) have balanced out the offense when needed with the quick hits of fullback Frank Santarsiero and the accurate passing of Dave Olivetti.

Santarsiero has turned 72 carries into 555 yards, an average of 7.7.

Olivetti has hit 67 percent of his passes, going 48-for-72 for 696 yards and seven touchdowns with just two interceptions.

The senior quarterback, who is in his first year as a starter, has helped the Bucks protect the ball.

Dunmore has forced 31 turnovers while giving the ball away just 10 times.

Defensively, the Bucks have been at their best when forcing opponents into passing situations.

Dunmore took a 28-0 lead in last week's 35-8 district championship game victory over Lakeland when it intercepted three passes in the first half and came up with two key sacks. Michael Ehnot returned one interception for a touchdown, Morgan Holmes brought another one back to the 1 and Jim Pichiarello and Brier combined on a fourth-down sack to stop the Chiefs' best scoring threat of the half.

On the season, the Bucks have 28 sacks and 20 interceptions.

Brier has nine of the sacks, Jim Sabia five and Brian Copeland 3 1/2. Ehnot and Holmes each have eight interceptions.

While Drake was most dangerous running and using his legs to buy more time to pass, his replacement, Jarred Evans, has been the most effective passer in West Catholic history.

Evans has completed nearly 62 percent of his passes (91-for-147) while throwing for a school-record 1,596 yards with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

The offense, while not at last year's level, remains explosive at 35.3 points per game.

Brandon Holloman has rushed for 1059 yards and 14 touchdowns on 123 carries and caught 20 passes for 317 yards and three more scores.

Joshua Mathis has 125 carries for 864 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Quran Kent leads the team with 34 catches for 639 yards and five touchdowns while also averaging 23.3 yards per kickoff return. Jaelen Strong-Rankin is second in receiving with 22 catches for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

The Philadelphia Catholic League small school and District 1-12 Subregional champions (10-2) have won six straight.

The Burrs only lost 28-21 to Archbishop Wood, a Class AAA team that won its final 10 games, and 16-14 to LaSalle, which is still alive in the Class AAAA playoffs.

Abington Heights (11-1) shared the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 title with North Pocono, but stood above the pack in the District 2 Class AAA tournament.

The Comets fell out of the state rankings with their loss to North Pocono, but climbed back in after crushing Berwick, 53-19, and Dallas, 35-6.

Sal Conaboy, a guard who has committed to the University of Maryland, and Evan Craig, a state wrestling champion and all-state defensive tackle, lead Abington Heights up front.

Evan Craig, Morgan Craig, John Price and Adrian Brunori are two-way starters in the line.

With the line in control, Paul Gallagher and James Fruehan have had big seasons on both sides of the ball.

Gallagher has averaged 8.2 per carry while running for 1,811 yards and 25 touchdowns. He is also third on the team in total tackles and first in sacks with four.

Fruehan has averaged 9.2 while running for 845 yards and 14 touchdowns. Defensively, he has a team-high seven interceptions and is second on the team in tackles.

The team averages 270 yards per game and 6.7 per carry.

John Snyder is the leading tackler.

Mike Umerich, a big-play threat as a kick returner, has made the most of the team's limited passing game, averaging 24.4 yards on his 11 catches.

Allentown Central Catholic has approached games in a much different way while going from 4-6 a year ago to 11-1.

The Vikings, who won state titles in 1993 and 1998, lost only to Class AAAA playoff team Parkland. They responded to the loss by winning five straight and scoring at least 42 points in four of those games.

The latest outburst came in last week's District 11 final when Nosovitch went 10-for-13 for 285 yards and four touchdowns passing while running for 86 yards and two more scores. Fellow sophomore Kevin Gulyas pulled in six of the passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns.

The Abington Heights-Allentown Central Catholic winner will likely face the state's top team.

Unbeaten District 4 champion Selinsgrove is averaging 48 points per game heading into its matchup with District 6 champion Greater Johnstown (8-3).

The Dunmore-West Catholic winner will face the winner of the District 11 championship game between North Schuylkill (12-0) and Northern Lehigh (10-2).

For updates throughout Friday night's action, return to www.scrantonedition.com/sports.

PREDICTIONS

Abington Heights 22, Allentown Central Catholic 17

West Catholic 29, Dunmore 19

Last Week: 3-0 (100.0 percent)
Playoffs: 8-4 (66.7 percent)
Season: 106-25 (80.9 percent)