Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Auburn commit Peyton Falzone threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score as Nazareth beat Wilson 30-20 at John Gurski Stadium. The 6’5, 208-pound senior went 16-of-27 for 258 yards. “He’s the real deal, but we didn’t do what we practiced all week. We wanted to press receivers, we wanted to get in their faces. We played soft,” said longtime coach Doug Dahms. That wasn’t the only thing that Dahms was unhappy about. “They’re all too worried about themselves instead of being worried about what the team is doing. I’ll take credit for the loss because I let them get away with it. My fault, but it ain’t gonna happen anymore,” stated Dahms. This is his 50th season with the program and 20th as the head coach. Dahms’ 198 victories are the most in school history. He was frustrated with the mentality of his players on Friday night. “It’s too much me and not enough we. I want to get my stats. I want to get this, I want to get that. I said it’s done,” remarked Dahms.
The (2-1) Bulldogs fell to the (3-0) Blue Eagles for the second straight year. Wilson started strong and took a 7-0 lead twenty seconds into the second quarter. Mason Young lofted a beautiful pass down the right sideline for a 23-yard touchdown to senior running back Correll Akings. Nazareth responded less than two minutes later. On fourth-and-8, Falzone found sophomore Luke Depietro behind the defense for a 36-yard score. After an interception by Kaiden Buscemi, the Blue Eagles went on an 11-play, 64-yard drive. Falzone, who’s also a track & field standout, ran it in from 1-yard out for a 14-7 advantage midway through the second quarter. Wilson then held the ball for nearly five minutes, but came up empty. A short touchdown pass to All-State tight end Mike Glover was called back due to a holding penalty. The Bulldogs turned it over on downs at the 30-yard line with 45 seconds left in the first half. “We didn’t do a very good job protecting the quarterback. He was scrambling for his life. We moved the ball and then we’d get a holding penalty,” lamented Dahms. Wilson piled up 405 yards and 22 first downs, but committed ten penalties for 98 yards. Owen Hall made a 37-yard field goal with four seconds remaining for a 17-7 halftime edge.
Falzone connected with senior tight end Tanner Zelachowski along the right sideline midway through the third quarter for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked, however, the Blue Eagles extended their lead to 23-7. On the ensuing possession, Lance Zuercher appeared to have a long pick-6, but the junior defensive back celebrated a little too early. Bulldogs’ wide receiver Jaiden Carpenter caught up with Zuercher just before the goal line and knocked the ball loose for a touchback. Wilson marched 80 yards on 13 plays to pull within 23-13 on an 11-yard touchdown run by Akings. The 2-point conversion pass failed. Akings ended up with 68 yards on 15 carries. Nazareth senior running back Marquez Wimberly rumbled for 99 yards on 15 carries. The Sacramento State commit added eleven tackles, five tackles for loss, and three sacks.
With seven minutes to play, Falzone rolled right which brought up the cornerback on that side and left junior receiver Matt Leluga wide open. The 40-yard TD pass made it 30-13. The Blue Eagles racked up 392 total yards and 21 first downs. They averaged 6.6 yards per play. The final score looked closer due to a 56-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline from Young to Carpenter. That score came with 24 seconds on the clock. Young was 22-of-35 for 270 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT. Carpenter hauled in seven passes for 127 yards. Glover provided six receptions for 50 yards. Depietro led Nazareth with 101 receiving yards on five catches. Zelachowski added six receptions for 76 yards.
The Bulldogs open league play next week against Reading. “We got two options now. We can fall apart and be a bunch of individuals, or we can pull together and be a hell of a football team,” said Dahms.