Hold that line, goal for Wash High, Deer Lakes
Wash High’s Khalid Blount and the Prexies start their quest for a WPIAL title as they open the playoffs against Deer Lakes tonight.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Wash High's Kurt Adkins runs the ball down the field during the first half of the game against Waynesburg on Friday.
Deer Lakes head coach Steve Sciullo turned on the game footage, grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down every defensive lineman’s number during each snap for Washington High School. As a former offensive lineman at Marshall who started 18 games in the National Football League, Sciullo appreciates good line play.
That respect can turn into concern when those defensive linemen are opponents. After every sack and tackle for a loss, Sciullo took a note and could not believe the Prexies’ depth.
During the two games he watched, Sciullo lost track of the linemen making plays. It has him concerned heading into tonight’s WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff game at Wash High Stadium, when third-seeded Wash High (9-0) hosts No. 14 Deer Lakes (6-3).
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
“There are so many different guys out there for Wash High and they just keep getting bigger and bigger,” Sciullo said. “We’ve seen big dudes replace other big dudes. We saw two 300-pounders when we faced South Allegheny, but these guys for Wash High are 300 pounds and they’re moving around, smacking people, sacking the quarterback and what not. It’s incredible.”
Sciullo knows a thing or two about line play and it shows for the Lancers, who have one of the best running games in the WPIAL. Deer Lakes is led by senior linemen Nate Morrissey (6-3, 280) and Brandon Zilavy (6-3, 285), both of whom have received Division I interest.
They have helped Lancers senior running back Hunter Burns, who played wide receiver last season, rush for 1,814 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is the key for an offense that is averaging 28.7 points per game and has Deer Lakes in the playoffs for only the second time in school history.
Sciullo’s concern also includes the Prexies’ offense, which averages 365 yards and 48.6 points per game. The line has paved the way for senior Kurt Adkins to rush for 1,113 yards with 17 touchdowns and senior Jordan West has added 988 yards with 13 touchdowns.
“They have like four guys in the backfield that are running these weird motions everywhere,” Sciullo said. “It presents a heck of a challenge. They’re running a whole gamut of stuff. There are plenty of bells and whistles with their speed and size. It’s tricky to prepare for it in only three days.”
The praise isn’t one-sided. Wash High head coach Mike Bosnic, who was a lineman at Pitt, believes the Lancers are much better than their seeding.
“The biggest challenge with Deer Lakes is their size and they have a very good running game, but their quarterback can also throw the ball well enough to keep you off balance. They’re very physical and they’re a dangerous football team.”
The Lancers’ methodical approach on offense, which includes grinding out tough yards using Burns, will be facing a defense that is second in the WPIAL with 5.4 points per game allowed and is holding opponents to just 63 rushing yards per game.
The success has begun up front with senior defensive linemen Khalid Blount, Nate Swart and pass-rushing linebacker Kenya Davis. Bosnic believes there is more to the Prexies’ success than talent.
“We’ve had undefeated regular seasons three of the last four year and this group of seniors has been a part of that,” Bosnic said. “Winning has become an expectation here. There’s an attitude a camaraderie and a pride on that defense. We play physical, we attack and you add our team speed to that. This group takes it personal and I think when you have that, you really have something special.”
The final game at James Swartz Stadium has arrived. The 75-year old stadium will be replaced by a new facility at Freeport High School next season and the Yellowjackets (8-1) are looking to give the field that is nestled in a residential area a proper sendoff.
McGuffey (6-3), which broke a four-year playoff drought last fall, has other plans. The Highlanders are looking to win their first playoff game since the WPIAL championship victory at Three Rivers Stadium in 1994. An upset over Freeport would send them into the quarterfinals to face the winner of Wash High and Deer Lakes, but a sixth seed in Class AA has not been upset in the first round since 2011.
“We aren’t looking ahead,” McGuffey head coach Ed Dalton said. “We haven’t won a playoff game since 1994. That’s a long time and that’s our goal. Maybe the first job is to get back in and now it’s getting into the tournament to advance. That’s been our focus all season and that hasn’t changed.”
The task will include stopping a familiar fast-paced, no-huddle offense led by a dangerous quarterback. Freeport senior Ryan Weigold has thrown for 1,630 yards with 20 touchdowns with at least five going to three different receivers.
Like the Yellowjackets, who won the Allegheny Conference title, McGuffey has had success with a dual-threat quarterback and veteran wide receivers. Junior Marcus Czulewicz has almost 1,800 total yards with 23 touchdowns.
Playing on the grass surface of James Swartz Stadium could come at a price for both teams. With rain in the forecast, a no-huddle offense could be drastically slowed down.
“We’re no-huddle, they’re no-huddle,” Dalton said. “We feel we have good athletes at the skill positions and they do, too. Both of our lines are maybe a little more inconsistent than we want them to be. They had 182 plays in their Valley game. If neither of us huddle, it may be 225 tonight, depending on what the field is like. They’re explosive and they’re 8-1 for a reason.”
Freeport head coach John Gaillot, who has the Yellowjackets back in the playoffs for the first time since 2012, echoed Dalton’s words, saying the styles of play are eerily similar.
“McGuffey works very, very hard,” Gaillot said. “This is going to be a very good game to where it’s going to go back and forth. No one is going to run away with it. We’re so evenly matched.”