Nazareth – Berks Sports Report https://berkssportsreport.com Paul Roberts Sat, 06 Sep 2025 12:10:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 Blue Eagles Soar Past Wilson https://berkssportsreport.com/blue-eagles-soar-past-wilson/ Sat, 06 Sep 2025 12:10:45 +0000 https://berkssportsreport.com/?p=5093 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.

]]> Doug Dahms-Wilson https://berkssportsreport.com/doug-dahms-wilson-10/ Sat, 07 Sep 2024 13:54:27 +0000 https://berkssportsreport.com/?p=4415 Wilson made an 80-minute trip north to Nazareth and nearly knocked off the #5 ranked team in the state in Class 6A. “We had them. We had them. I think the second half we outplayed them,” said longtime coach Doug Dahms. The (3-0) Blue Eagles held on for a thrilling 35-31 victory. The (2-1) Bulldogs reached the 1-yard line when Correll Akings fumbled with 54 seconds left. Matt Dorniak, a 270-pound senior defensive lineman, recovered the ball in the end zone for the defending District 11 champions. The first half was loaded with big plays. The second half, however, included just one touchdown. Peyton Falzone sprinted 50 yards down the left sideline to give Nazareth a 35-31 lead with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. The 6’5, 205-pound junior quarterback is also on the track team and has run the 100 meters in 11.1 seconds. “His speed really makes him a threat to run all the time. He has a nice nucleus of receivers and he finds them,” replied Dahms. Falzone showed off his arm strength in the first half. The Virginia Tech commit hit Caleb Newsome for a 53-yard score on the opening possession. The teams combined for eight consecutive touchdown drives! There were 525 total yards and 27 first downs in the first half. A 4-yard run by Wilson senior quarterback Madyx Gruber made it 7-7. Falzone responded with a 62-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Tanner Zelachowski. After his defender fell down, Zelachowski raced untouched down the right sideline. Falzone heaved a 35-yard TD pass to Newsome early in the second quarter for a 21-13 advantage. Dahms and his assistants were screaming for offensive pass interference, but no flag was thrown. Gruber answered with his second 1-yard touchdown run with seven minutes to go in the second quarter. The basketball standout connected with tight end Cam Zullinger for the 2-point conversion which knotted the game at 21-21. The Blue Eagles went back on top just three plays later. This time it was Falzone to sophomore Matt Leluga for a 42-yard strike. A 1-yard run by Akings capped a 45-yard drive to even things at 28-28 with 3:22 left in the first half. On their next possession, the Bulldogs pulled off a successful fake punt from their own 33-yard line. Christo Hunsicker hit Zullinger for a 14-yard gain. Hunsicker kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired and Wilson was on top 31-28 at the break. Hunsicker, who piled up a team-high eight tackles, missed a 33-yard field goal to begin the second half. Nazareth then marched 80 yards on six plays. Falzone’s 50-yard run ended up being the difference. He also boomed a 64-yard punt early in the fourth quarter that pushed the Bulldogs back to their 10-yard line after a penalty. Gruber lofted a 24-yard pass down the right sideline to Akings in the final minutes. 6’3, 220-pound sophomore tight end Michael Glover reeled in a 20-yard pass before Akings’ fumble on a toss to the left. Akings ran for 131 yards on 29 carries. Glover provided 132 yards on eight catches. Gruber finished 15-of-24 for 233 yards and three touchdown runs. “He’s making a lot of plays. He’s not the greatest passer in the world, but he keeps things alive with his feet. He’s smart,” noted Dahms. Wilson outgained the Blue Eagles 434-397. Falzone went 13-of-23 for 254 yards and four scores. Newsome, who’s committed to Lafayette, had four receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Nazareth was limited to 24 passing yards in the second half. Dahms, in his 19th season as head coach, mentioned that speedy freshman Damian Greer was inserted at cornerback to give Akings a break. The Bulldogs also made sure that Gruber was covering Newsome in the second half. This was only the second meeting between the schools. Jami Sands, now the head coach at Boyertown, ran for 227 yards and 3 TD in Wilson’s 61-21 win over Nazareth in 1995. Despite the miscues on Friday night, including a dozen penalties, Dahms was proud of his team’s effort. “They fought all the way to the end…That was just two really good football teams going at it,” he said.

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