High School Sports

By Dave Rosengrant drosengrant@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

HAZLETON – Needing a win or help from an outsider to qualify for the District 2/4/11 Class 4A playoffs, Rocco Petrone tinkered with his playbook.

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The Hazleton Area coach wanted to get one his most impact player, Chad Nicholas, more touches.

The scheme worked to perfection for the Cougars.

Nicholas, a do-it-all senior, lined up at quarterback on several snaps giving starting signal caller Chad Hoffman a few breaks.

Nicholas stepped up by running for a pair of touchdowns. He also caught a TD pass, passed for a team-high 54 yards and even recovered his own onside kick as the Cougars knocked off Berwick, 28-6 to advance to the first round of the playoffs. Nicholas also led his team in receiving yards (34) and rushing yards (79).

Berwick already secured a spot in the District 2 Class 3A tournament and was just playing for positioning and will play at Abington Heights next Saturday afternoon.

“We wanted to put the ball in his hands,” Petrone said. “Chad Hoffman is a very talented athlete but to get the ball in Chad Nicholas’ hands was our plan this week to get our offense moving and get a different look and it worked.”

Trailing 7-6 at halftime, the Bulldogs (7-3) got possession to start the second half. But the tide quickly turned as quarterback Jared Pierce was intercepted by Jared Buchman on the Dawgs’ third play of the drive.

The Cougars (7-3) capitalized on the turnover going 67 yards on just five plays to open a 14-7 lead as Nicholas scampered 29 yards for a touchdown with 7:46 remaining in the third quarter.

After the score, Nicholas, who also handles the kicking duties for Hazleton Area, tricked the Berwick kick return unit by slapping the ball the minimum 10 yards then falling on the onside kick.

Hazleton Area took advantage of that play also by going 50 yards and needing just eight plays to find the end zone. The drive was capped by a 21-yard touchdown run by A.J. Petrone, handing the Cougars a 21-6 lead with 3:54 remaining in the third.

“We talked about it all week,” coach Petrone said about the onside kick attempt. “We work on that stuff all the time. Getting the onside kick was great.”

Nicholas, who added a 16-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put the Cougars up 28-6 with 4:18 left in the game, wasn’t the only one contributing for the Cougars.

The Hazleton Area defense played superb against a very run-oriented Berwick offense, holding the Dawgs to just 61 yards on the ground, 78 through the air, only six first downs and just 79 total yards in the second half. In addition to Buchman’s interception, the Cougars also forced four fumbles, recovering two.

Berwick’s tough running back duo of Lou Hampton and Alec Ladonis were held in check combining for just 18 yards on nine carries.

Pierce finished with nine completions on 19 attempts. His favorite target was Sean Ridall, who caught five balls for 55 yards. The QB and receiver hooked up for a 13-yard score with 2:54 left in the first quarter to put Berwick up 6-0 as the extra point was missed.

The touchdown for Berwick came after a Hazleton Area fumble on its own 25.

“To only give up (six points) to a power team like this, I’m very, very pleased,” Petrone noted. “The defense played well. To stop running backs like Hampton and Ladonis…just everybody played well. The only touchdown was with a short field so I’m pleased.”