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Great PA Teams – Parkland 2002 @PHSTrojansFB

Tagged under: District 11, Great PA Teams, News

| October 23, 2019


We are pleased to host a series, Great PA Teams, by the great Hal Wilson, a long time contributor to PA High
School Football. Hal has written many stories in the past for PAFootballNews dating back to
our print days.


Great PA Teams – Parkland 2002

In the 2002 season, a great team emerged in the Lehigh Valley, led by one of the best
scholastic running backs in State history. Parkland running back Austin Scott amazed
opponents and spectators week after week to set spectacular rushing records. The
Parkland Trojans shook-off a season opening one-point loss to potent rival Bethlehem
Catholic and climaxed with a decisive 34-12 PIAA AAAA championship victory at
Hersheypark Stadium over perfect record Woodland Hills from the WPIAL.

Austin Scott had an excellent 2000 season, setting a State sophomore rushing record of
1,918 yards. He was the only 10th grader on the All-State team. A summer basketball
knee injury eliminated his junior season. Entering 2002, hopes were high – Scott
reportedly scorched Berwick in a pre-season scrimmage.

Scott and 15 other starters returned, including 1,300 yard fullback and safety Nick
Pinchek;.four offensive linemen plus highly touted 300 pound sophomore Morgan
Thomas; the powerful Decker brothers, senior Cody and junior Travis, all-league
defensive linemen; and middle linebacker Adam Atiyeh from the prolific Lehigh
Valley clan, already a three-year starter as a junior.

In the opening game, Parkland faced a Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawk team that
featured quarterback Adam Bednarik and his three leading 2001 receivers. ”Becahi”
rolled to a 21-7 lead before Austin Scott running tied the score. The Golden Hawks
then won in overtime 29-28. Scott had 36 carries for 289 yards, A playoff rematch
was envisioned.

The next week, junior Phil Searfoss became the Parkland quarterback. Scott ran for
353 yards against Allentown Central Catholic – the Trojans had rushed for 539 yards.
The next two opponents were outside the Lehigh Valley Conference, and Parkland
routed Pocono Mountain East and East Stroudsburg South by a combined 95-0.
Scott’s play was limited to 209 yards on 20 carries.

Facing Lehigh Valley rival undefeated Emmaus, the flustered Trojans led by only
21-15 with five minutes to go. Scott then carried six times for 76 yards, including 30
yards with a pitch and 32 yards to a touchdown. The following week, the opponent
was rival Whitehall. Scott ran for 349 yards and six touchdown on just 17 carries
scoring from 46, 75, 23 and 69.

Northampton was beaten 53-6 as Scott and Pinchek combined for 350 yards and six
touchdowns. The Konkrete Kids were held to just 11 yards on 26 attempts. Bethlehem
Liberty was limited to 78 yards of total offense as the Trojans won 35-0. Freedom was
next up. On the first possession, Scott dashed 97 yards, outracing Mills, a 200 meter
State track finalist. In the second half, Scott carried four times for 248 yards, scoring
four TD’s. For the game, he totaled 402 yards. and six scores. Cody Decker had four
sacks in the 49-13 romp.

Concluding the regular season, the Trojans traveled to Cottingham Stadium to face the
nemesis Easton Red Rovers. Easton forced a three and out, partially blocked a punt, then
scored. On the next play, Scott sprinted 63 yards to score. Just before the half, Sean Reed returned an interception to the three and Scott punched it in. In the second half, it was all
Austin Scott as he scored from 23, 74 and 53 and threw a 58 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chuck McIntosh. Scott had 351 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the game.

Beginning the playoffs, Parkland at No. 5 was the top-ranked one loss team in the State.
Central Dauphin and Becahi were 1 and 2.

In the District 11 semifinal, Freedom led 14-7 in the third quarter. Speedy Brandon
Rosenblatt took the kickoff out to near midfield and Scott ran 47 yards to score. The
Trojans forced a turnover and Scott produced a crazy 24 yard 20 second gain and scored
on the next play. Rosenblatt then carried a punt 44 yards to the one. The final score was
42-27 with Scott scoring twice more including a 74 yarder in the fourth quarter. He
finished the win with 300 yards and five touchdowns.

The long-awaited showdown with Becahi had arrived, to be played before more than
12,000 at Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) Stadium, the Golden Hawks home
field.

Bednarik would be named All-State quarterback.

Parkland took the ball on the opening kickoff and, with Scott getting the ball on six
straight plays, the last one was a 57 yard touchdown.. The Trojans then played with just
three down linemen and inserted Scott in the defensive backfield. A 15 yard penalty
helped set up the Hawks for a field goal seconds before halftime.

A clutch drive by Becahi and two-point conversion gave the Golden Hawks an 11-7 lead.
A nine-minute grind-it-out drive with Scott carrying on nine of 11 plays enabled the
Trojans to take a 14-11 lead. Seven minutes remained. Becahi had two more chances
and crossed the 50 with three minutes to go. Scott broke up a fourth down pass and the
Trojans ran out the clock. Scott had 222 yards on 27 carries and scored both Parkland touchdowns. The Trojan defense held Becahi to 188 yards, completely stuffing the run
with 26 attempts gaining only 55 yards. Bednarik’s 133 yards came on 27 throws.

In the PIAA quarterfinal at Allentown’s J. Birney Crum Stadium, the Trojans faced State
No. 1 Central Dauphin, coached by the legendary George Chaump. Travis Decker forced
a Ram fumble at the 28 and Rosenblatt raced 26 yards to the two. Scott then scored but the
rest of the first half was a stalemate with Scott getting just 20 yards on 11 tries. Chaump
had put ten men in the box trying to stop Scott and force Parkland to pass..

On the first Scott carry of the second half, he found a bit of daylight and went 67 yards
to the Ram eight. Two plays later, Trojan quarterback Phil Searfoss went two yards to
make it 14-0. Then Scott carried eight straight times for 48 yards and a 21-0 lead A
Pinchek interception enabled Searfoss, leaking out of the backfield, to score again..

Behind 28-0, the State’s No. 1 ranked team fought back. Central Dauphin Ram halfback Ardon Bransford zigzagged
58 yards to score and Ram QB Probst led a 63 yard drive that resulted in a touchdown with
five minutes left. After a Parkland punt, Mike Probst drove his team 75 yards in 11 plays against
the Trojan prevent defense. The score came with just 19 seconds remaining. However,
Central Dauphin recovered the onside kick to give the Rams one more chance. Travis
Decker then sacked Probst, the seventh of the game and time expired. Austin Scott had been held
to 138 yards and two touchdowns. Central Dauphin lost seven yards on 21 carries.

In the State semi-final, two of the five biggest schools in the State, Parkland and North Penn
met at Neshaminy. On the second series of the game, Scott ran 53 yards to a touchdown.
Sean Reed’s interception allowed Phil Searfoss to hit Chuck McIntosh for another TD. Pinned inside
their own 20, the Trojans executed an 82 yard drive, manned by Scott’s 23, 34 and an 18
yard touchdown, that made it 21-0 at the half.

North Penn’s Knights opened the second half with an 80 yard scoring drive and a three and
out, but another Reed interception allowed Searfoss to reach tight end Mike Glass for a 42
yard touchdown. Nick Pinchek rumbled 40 yards to the end zone on the fourth quarter’s
first play and the game was essentially over. Parkland won 33-13.

At Hersheypark Stadium in the championship game, on the first play, Scott stunned the
crowd and Woodland Hills with a simple off-tackle play to go 61 yards for a touchdown.
The favored Wolverines then held Scott to 34 yards on the next 13 carries, including four
times from inside the 10. Then a 68 yard pass for a TD and a 49 yard punt return by Ryan
Mundy put Woodland Hills up 12-6. Parkland responded with a six play drive that
included a 36 yard completion, Scott to wide-out Vince Smolczynski inside the red zone,
and later a 14 yard Scott TD to make it 13-12 Trojans at the half.

The second half was all Parkland. A 58 yard touchdown drive in the third quarter was
completed by a classic Scott 24 yard TD run. Early in the fourth, Scott took a pitch 53
yards to make it 27-12. Stopping Woodland Hills on downs deep in their own territory
enabled Scott and the Trojans to put the icing on a 34-12 State title cake.

Scott had scored five touchdowns and run for 251 yards on 28 carries. The Parkland
defense had held Woodland Hills to seven yards and two first downs in the second half.
The Trojans had 433 yards to 202 for the Wolverines. The Trojans had ten sacks
totaling 37 yards.

Scott’s 3,853 rushing yards were the fourth most in national high school history and his 53
TD’s were the country’s highest in 2002. He set Pennsylvania records for single season
rushing yards, touchdowns and points. He was a unanimous selection as Pennsylvania AP
Player of the Year and won similar awards from Gatorade and the Maxwell Club. He was
one of two running backs chosen for the Parade All-America first team. He had no other Division One scholarship players in his Trojan offense,

Nick Pinchek made third team All-State offense and the Decker brothers, Cody first team
Travis third team, along with Atiyeh second team, were selected for defense.

photo McCall

Trojan coach Rob Melosky was at 32 the youngest to mentor a PIAA champion, Fiery but focused, he served at Parkland for just four years, relieved after the 2004 season with a 33-15 record. In 2003, he took the Trojans back to the District 11 final. Rob is the son of Andy Melosky, well known in the Lehigh Valley as a player and coach. Rob had graduated from Northampton in 1987, where he played for his father, and Rowan University where he played
quarterback. He is an offensive innovator who can connect with his players.

The Trojan’s great offensive machine:

TE 83 Mike GLASS 6-3 215 SR
LT 72 Chris PSARSKY 6-2 235 SR
LG 77 Matt SARACENO 5-10 255 JR
C 50 Kyle PAMMER 5-10 225 SR
RG 66 Sean MCKENNA 6-0 250 SR
RT 74 Morgan THOMAS 6-3 295 SO
WR 21 Chuck MCINTOSH 6-0 210 SR
QB 17 Phil SEARFOSS 6-0 180 JR
TB 33 Austin SCOTT 6-2 200 SR
FB 22 Nick PINCHEK 6-2 200 SR
WB 44 Eric ROSNER 6-0 220 JR

WR 36 Brandon ROSENBLATT 5-10 185 JR as a kick returner and receiver and WR
89 Vince SMOLCZYNSKI 6-1 175 SR made key plays. 8 Chris ROSSMAN 6-1 165
handled the place-kicking. .

The Trojan championship defense:

DE 83 Mike GLASS 6-3 215 SR
DT 54 Greg GRANLUND 5-10 215 JR
DT 70 Cody DECKER 6-4 265 SR
DE 85 Travis DECKER 6-2 225 JR
LB 43 Mike HEIST 5-9 190 SR
LB 25 Adam ATIYEH 6-0 225 JR
LB 27 Nick GUIDA 5-10 175 SO
CB 87 Sean REED 6-0 175 SR
CB 15 Heath STANDORF 5-8 140 JR
FS 22 Nick PINCHEK 6-2 200 SR
SS 12 James HERSH 6-1 170 SR

DT 71 Sean SCHNEIDER 6-2 270 JR was a frequent participant in a five-man line.
Scott, also an excellent defensive back, was played when a stronger defensive
secondary was needed. 35 Adam DONCHEZ was the punter.

Atiyeh was used by the offense as a blocker on some critical downs; Cody Decker and
Granlund provided dual backfield blocking power on important short yardage downs.

McKenna, Pinchek, Rossman and 10 QB Michael COLLINS served as co-captains.

Scott and Pinchek both committed to Penn State. Scott had a surprisingly spotty career.
Pinchek made a role for himself on special teams.
Great PA Teams – Parkland 2002 5

Atiyeh played at Pitt and later became an MMA star. Glass walked on at South Carolina.
while Rosenblatt became a kick returner at Yale.

Travis Decker became an All-League and FCS All-American at Duquesne. Morgan
Thomas earned Division II All-America honors at East Stroudsburg
.
The Trojan march to the State title:

28 BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 29
48 ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC 13
49 POCONO MOUNTAIN EAST 0
46 EAST STROUDSBURG SOUTH 0
27 EMMAUS 15
56 WHITEHALL 14
53 NORTHAMPTON 6
35 BETHLEHEM LIBERTY 0
49 BETHLEHEM FREEDOM 13
49 EASTON 6

DISTRICT 11 Playoffs

42 BETHLEHEM FREEDOM 27
14 BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 11

PIAA STATE Playoffs

28 CENTRAL DAUPHIN 21
33 NORTH PENN 13
34 WOODLAND HILLS 12

The Parkland team was termed “the Mean Red Machine”. Team togetherness was
emphasized throughout the season.

Woodland Hills had been ranked No. 3 in the country by “USA Today” coming in
to the title game. Champion Parkland finished No. 11.

The Parkland linemen formed the core of an outstanding Powerlifting team, one that
could matchup with national power Glen Mills. All of the starting linemen could bench
press 300 and squat 500 pounds. Granlund was a three-time State champion.

Parkland High School was formed in 1949 in the western suburbs of Allentown when
South Whitehall and North Whitehall Townships joined to form the Parkland Union
School District. Upper Macungie Township joined in 1950. A section of western
Allentown later became a part. The predecessor school had been South Whitehall High
School.

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