2023 Schuylkill/Colonial League Preview: BLUE Division-Small School

Tagged under: Conference Previews, District 11, News

Daniel Reed | August 19, 2023

2022 SCHUYLKILL/COLONIAL LEAGUE FINAL STANDINGS
*BLUE DIVISION*

With the 2022 season officially in the past, we begin the 2023 football season with some team previews starting with the Schuylkill-Colonial League BLUE Division.

Let’s start things off with the defending Class 1A District XI Champions Tri-Valley Bulldogs who are guided by head coach Jeff Sampson.

Tri-Valley Bulldogs

2023 Tri-Valley Bulldogs Schedule

Last season, the Bulldogs scored an average of 29.75/pts a game, giving up 12.66 on their way to state playoffs. Tri-Valley lost 11 Seniors from last years squad, returning 7 starters from last season and a slew of key newcomers. One of them newcomers is Blake Schwartz, who will be leading the team at quarterback while returning Senior starters like Kash Tobin and Layne Yoder will be looking to at least repeat last years performance if not improve even more.

This could be a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs offensively as many of their opponents will have improved as well with less key losses at the skilled positions. Look for the Bulldogs to be very competitive however with Jeff Sampson coaching the young men along with his assistants which include… Vern Stroupauer, Justin Strouphauer, Corey Shadle, Mike Ulicny, Marty Shade, Joe Miller, Jamie Schwartz, Brent Becher, Danny Scheib.

Words from the Head Coach Jeff Sampson(6th season):

The loss of 11 seniors stings but young faces are eager to fill those roles. How quickly those young players gel together will ultimately determine our success.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Jacob Scheib, Cole Miller, Kam Wetzel
Justis Troutman. Reece Huntzinger, Jake Tietsworth
Jolten Flory, Braxton Schwartz

KEY NEWCOMERS:
Chase Stephen-WR, Hogan Troutman-OL, Ryan Colahan-OL
Blake Schwartz-QB, Dave Shoffler-OL, Dawson Manning-DB
Jaelan Olano-LB, Hunter Troutman-DB, Donavan Keeth-DL
Tyler Reho-RB, Hunter Updegrave-OL, Elliott Stiely-LB
Owen Mitchell-OL, Matt Raulston-DE, Max Masser-WR, Trey Porter-WR

RETURNING STARTERS:
Layne Yoder, WR/DB, 5’10, 165, Sr, Kash Tobin, LB, 6’0, 205, Sr, Ayden Rodichok, OL, 6’2, 255
Wyatt Algerier, OL, 6’0, 225, Sr, Noah Porter, LB, 6’1, 195, Jr, Shawn Bowman, 6’2, 185, DE
Cole Gemberling, LB, 6’0, 185, So

Next up in the BLUE DIVISION, the Williams Valley Vikings. Williams Valley will be coming into this season with a new Head Coach in Steve Sedesse, who was an assistant coach for the Vikings last season under former HC-Tim Savage. Savage, guided his Vikings teams to many League and District titles throughout his coaching career at Williams Valley.

Williams Valley Vikings

2023 Williams Valley Vikings Schedule

The Vikings were the odds on favorite to win the District crown but were upset in the semi-final round of the District XI playoffs 22 to 20 by the Raptors of E.E.A.C. Since then, the Vikings lost some very solid players from the last seasons team from graduation and return just 3 starters from last year. One of them returnees is RB Alex Achenbach, who rushed for over 1700 yards on 214 carries, scoring 23 touchdowns in the process. The Vikings will be looking to Alex for leadership for sure. The he team will be looking for leadership from its returning starters to help guide their success. This could be much different season for the Vikings than most of us are used to seeing year in and year out. Helping first year Vikings HC-Sedesse on the sidelines will be… Ben Ancheff, Mike Sedesse, Paul Herb, Ray Archer, Owen Daniel, Josh Rodichok, Brent Wolfe, Nick Savage.

Words from the Head Coach Steve Sedesse(1st season):

We are a very young team upfront, with a heavy Sophomore class. We will be looking to find leadership from our returning starters, and play physical.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Ezi Hite(T,DE)
Brady Evans(WR,DB)
Isaac Whiteash(QB,DB)

KEY NEWCOMERS:
Brady Shomper(10, QB)
Evan Achenbach (10, WR,DB)
Kian Kyzrzanowski(11, WR,DB)

KEY STARTERS RETURNING:
Alex Achenbach( 12, HB,S)
Jesse Koons(11, OL,DE)
Braydon Crisswell(11, WR,DB)

Mahanoy Area Golden Bears

2023 Mahanoy Area Golden Bears Schedule

A team on the rise, the Mahanoy Area Golden Bears, lost some good talent to graduation but do return very talented skilled position players. Going back to last season, it was their RB/qb that stood out to me, rushing for over 1200 yards, scoring over 20 touchdowns offensively. He returns to lead the team back to the playoffs. Mahanoy Area will be a team to watch for sure as long as they can stay healthy. Helping Coach Babinsky on the sidelines will be… Pat Morgans, Sam Quick, John McGroarty, Joe Kane, Jordan Mroczka, Mick Connolly, Dieter Holman, Zack Matrician, Gabe King.

Words from the Head Coach Paul Babinsky(4th season):

We return a good group of skill players on offense and defense. We are led by Colm McGroarty at RB. We will try and build our line around 4 year starter Cael Quick. We have experienced players returning in our secondary. We return Colm McGroarty who was 1st team All-State Free Safety. The development throughout the season of our defensive line, linebackers and offensive line will be the key to a successful season.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Ben Manley, Dave Sanchez, Louie Frye
Noah Hayes, Joe Lagaza, Dylan Andrushichen
Drew Pollack, Billy Bachman

KEY NEWCOMERS:
Sr. OT/DT-Dylan Davidson, 6-3,240, Sr. OT-Jeremias Molina, 5-9,225, Sr. WR-Colin Ryan, 6-3 170
Jr. OT-Joe Dabashinsky, 6-2,190, Jr. FB-Brian Gallagher, 5-11,220, Jr. RB/CAustin Green 5-11,165
Jr. OG/LB-Kyle Pollack, 6-1,210, So. RB/DE-Kyler Quick, 5-11,175, Jr. LB-Aiden Bowman 5-10,175
Jr. C/DT-Kaiden Komosinsky, 6-2,250, So. DT-Rasheed Jackson, 6-2,230

KEY STARTERS RETURNING:
Sr. RB/FS-Colm McGroarty, 5-9,160, Sr. WR/SS-Ethan Manley, 6-3,170, Sr. TE/DE-Joe Noraka, 5-11,195
Sr. OG/DE-Cael Quick, 5-11,200, Jr. RB-Mike Oblas, 5-8,150, Jr. C-Levi Terry 6-1,170

Marian Catholic Colts

2023 Marian Catholic Colts Schedule

Legendary Coach Stan Dakosty will be leading his team, Marian Catholic Colts, looking to improve on past seasons play. The Colts will be led by a pair of brothers on the offensive and defensive lines in James and Jesse Rodino, Jesse will also be at the FB position opening holes for the RB. TE-Micheal Gelatko(6’4, 230lbs) will be leading the receiving core. As with most teams in the area, staying healthy will be key for the Colts to succeed this season. Offensive line will need to perform and protect the QB, and open holes for the RB.

Words from the Head Coach Stan Dakosty(44th season)

We are an experienced team on both sides of line. We have a strong wide receiving core as well. Defensively, our strong point is our secondary. We will need to improve at the RB position with losing Matt Martin to graduation. We should be able to eliminate the big plays that we gave up last season.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Matt Martin-RB/LB, Joey Walko-RB/LB, Rawlin Melendez-OL/DL

KEY PLAYERS:
Bruce Hopeck-QB, Dylan Rodino-QB, Nova McGuire-WR/DB, Aidan Milkovits-OL/DL
Julian Hermany-OL/DL, Jayden Fermin-RB/DB

KEY RETURNING PLAYERS:
Jesse Rodino-OL/FB/DE, James Rodino-OL/DL, Michael Gelatko-TE/DB

Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils

2023 Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils Schedule

Another team on the rise in the division are the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils. The Blue Devils are returning 7 key players that started last season, including their QB-Ben Dempster, and WR-Nick Ryan, who led the team offensively in 2022. The Blue Devils will definitely make some noise this season with the return of Dempster, Ryan, Cordero and Diehl. How well the defense can perform will determine the outcome of most their games as the offense will put up points.

Words from Head Coach Ed Moran(4th season)

We need to establish a run game to complement the passing game. Senior’s Kelvyn Cordero and Mike Diehl need to pave the way for a new group of running backs, and Sr. 1,000 Yard passer Sr. QB Ben Dempster. Sr.-Nick Ryan is one of the most dynamic receivers in the state and should break all of Shenandoah Valley’s receiving records this season. We will need another receiver to step-up to stop teams from doubling and tripling Ryan. Expect a more balanced attack this season, with an improved run game. Defensively, the we need an improved front four to improve in stopping the run. We return several defenders, highlighted by leading tacklers Cordero and Kozlosky, and safety Nick Ryan. Expect better output from the defensive line, and improved coverage in a more experienced and athletic secondary. Sr. Punter-Ben Dempster was one of the better punters in the area in 2022, and we expect him to improve again this season. We are excited about newcomer Fr. Kicker Sam Mentusky. A soccer star, Mentusky provides us a game changer with a big leg to change field position and extra points.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
ATH/LB-Erick Hernandez, WR/DB-Aaryn Nickerson, T/DT-Juan Ruiz
RB/DE-Hunter Teter, G/DT-Lucas Zelinsky

KEY NEWCOMERS:
Fr. TE/LB-Mike Elchisak, 5-11, 175, Fr. K-Sam Mentusky, 6-3, 160, Fr. ATH/DB-Joel Nunez

KEY STARTERS RETURNING:
Sr. G/DE-Kelvyn Cordero, Sr. T/DT-Mike Diehl, Sr. QB/DB-Ben Dempster,
Sr. ATH/LB-Alex Kozlosky, Jr. C/LB-Brayden Lutz, Sr. WR/FS-Nick Ryan,
Jr. RB/DB-Jeremy Thomas

Nativity BVM Green Wave

And… now we have reached the final team in the division, Nativity BVM Green Wave. The Green Wave look to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2020 season when they went 5-4-0. Last season Nativity struggled offensively. That could’ve been because they were somewhat a young team. The Green Wave return a slew of players while adding many more. With all the players returning from last seasons squad, the Green Wave will make a huge impact in the division and could very well upset a few teams along way. Look for Nativity’s offense and defense to be much improved this season led by their RB/LB-Samuel Spolski and Noah Dolbin-WR/DB. Keep an eye on Will Mongrain-OL/DL to lead the big men.

Words from Head Coach Pat Mason (7th Season)

We will return a vast majority of starters on both sides of the ball. Offensively we return our leading passer, receiver and rusher. On defense we return our leading tackler and interception leader. Our success will be determined by how well our offensive and defensive lines perform. We will need to sort through some position battles during the offseason and we will need to improve significantly in our ability to run the ball and stop the run.

KEY PLAYERS LOST:
Kyle Kenton, Blake Whalen

KEY NEWCOMERS:
Colt Mason-QB, Kevin Kanute-OL/DL, Andrew Verchick-OL, Dominic Rowlands-WR
Nikolas Steele-LB, Nolan Daynorowicz-DB, Coy Mason-DL, Lukas McNamara-DL
Brandon Schwartz-DL, Aiden Becker-LB, Evan Ritter-DB

KEY STARTERS RETURNING:
Noah Dolbin-WR/DB, Mike Stank-WR/DB, Will Mongrain-OL/DL, Mark Kimmel-OL/DL
George Shimko-OL/DL, Jacob Rosenberger-OL/DL, Ben Kreitzer-QB, Samuel Spolski-RB/LB
John Borrell-RB/LB, Nolan Ferhat-WR/DB, Devon Smith-RB/LB, Drew Seaman, DL
Jasir Jones-DL, Gavin Frie-LB, Barry Jenkins-LB, Sam Walborn-DB

2023 Nativity BVM Green Wave Schedule

That concludes the preview for the Schuylkill/Colonial League BLUE Division. Look forward to some great games throughout the season between all these much improved squads. The biggest surprises in the division will be Nativity and Shenandoah Valley, Check out my quick pre-season personal ranking shown below and compare to how your rankings will end.