GAR star selected as small school MVP
TIMES LEADER: November 30, 2011
By John Erzar jerzar@timesleader.com
Sports Writer |  John Erzar on Facebook |  @TLJohnErzar on Twitter
GAR standout Darrell Crawford led the selections to the Wyoming Valley Conference Football Coaches Association’s small school all-star team.
Crawford was selected as the small school MVP after a season where he shined as a quarterback, defensive back and return specialist. Crawford led WVC Division 2A in rushing touchdowns with 24 as he amassed 1,308 yards on the ground despite missing a game. He also threw for 673 yards and nine touchdowns. He also intercepted six passes, returning one for a touchdown, and made 47 tackles. As a returner, he ran back four punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Another versatile quarterback, Wyoming Area’s Nick O’Brien, was named the small school Offensive MVP. O’Brien, who also played running back, rushed for 1,204 yards and 23 TDs during the Warriors’ nine-game regular season. He finished with 154 points, second only to Crawford’s 190 WVC-leading total.
GAR defensive end Shakir Soto was selected as the Defensive MVP. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior, who is already drawing interest from major college programs, led the team with 114 tackles. He also had a team-leading nine sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Randy Spencer was named Coach of the Year after leading the Warriors to a 7-4 record and a spot in the District 2 Class 2A title game. Spencer and his staff had to deal with several issues during the September flooding, including losing one game and having a home game moved to Lake-Lehman.
The team consisted of players from WVC schools that play at either Class 2A or Class A. The Times Leader will release its All-WVC team, which will consist of players throughout the conference, at a later date. The remainder of the all-star backfield consisted of Northwest quarterback Gunner Majer and running backs Parrish Bennett of Hanover Area and Lucas Benton of GAR.
The receivers were Holy Redeemer’s David Gawlas, GAR’s Shaliek Powell and Lake-Lehman’s Nick Shelley. Meyers’ Jalen Miller was selected as the tight end. Wyoming Area’s Ahmad Bouie was chosen as offensive utility player.
The offensive linemen were Wyoming Area’s Nick Bartoli, Lake-Lehman’s Ryan Hoyt, GAR’s Christian Skrepenak, Hanover Area’s Martin Steve, Nanticoke’s Christian Stevenson and Meyers’ Ed Walters.
Lake-Lehman’s Jamie Aldrich, Hanover Area’s Anthony Dennis, GAR’s Joe Olejar and Wyoming Area’s Corey Popovich were the defensive linemen.
Selected as linebackers were Lake-Lehman’s Curt Barbacci, Holy Redeemer’s Dave Bertram, GAR’s Max Gates and Wyoming Area’s Matt Kintz.
The secondary selections were Meyers’ Chris DeMarco, Nanticoke’s Jeff Jezewski, Northwest’s Jeramie Rittenhouse and GAR’s Dwayne Wright. Lake-Lehman’s Jared Novitski was chosen as the kicker.
SMALL SCHOOL
HONORABLE MENTION
GAR
Mykel Dempsey, RB; Zach Faust, OL; Andres Jones, OL; Ariel Peguero, OL; Rich Sickler, LB; John Yashkus, TE
HANOVER
AREA
Robert Conklin, WR; Tyler Edwards, OL; Dillon Ropietski, FB; Chuckie Schmoll, TE; John Zuder, FB
HOLY
REDEEMER
Tom Cosgrove, WR; Ron Foy, OL; Kurt Jones, OL; Mike Martin, FB; Robert Morgan, OL; Collin Shandra, WR; Jimmy Strickland, QB
LAKE-LEHMAN
Cole Barbacci, LB; Pete Borum, OL; Brady Butler, RB; Brian Derhammer, OL: Bill Hillman, DB; Dustin Jones, RB; Cody Poepperling, WR
MEYERS
Jacob Brominski, LB; Matt DeMarco, WR; Rudy Goodwin, OL; Kyle Krepich, OL; Johntae Nelson, LB; Dakota Owens, DL; Fabian Smith, QB; Tyriek Steward, WR
NANTICOKE
Rich Badowski, OL; Giacoma Bova, OL; Pedro Bracero, DL; Mike Colatosti, LB; Chris Gavrish, DB; Pat Hempel, RB; Brian Maslowski, RB
NORTHWEST
Jim Begliomini, LB; Rich Dillon; Mike Faruolo, LB; Alan Gulbierz, LB; Dave Johnson, OL; Tyler Kishbaugh, DL; Tony Politz, RB; Wyatt Reese, OL; Dalton Tomko, LB
WYOMING
AREA
Joe Adonizio, WR; Joe Erzar, OL; Trent Grove, TE; Justin Langdon, DB; Cody Schmitz, WR; Jeff Skursky, LB; Jacob Smith, OL; Jordan Zezza, DB; Carl Zielinski, OL |
