Nazareth finally beats Parkland

FROM THE MORNING CALL

Nazareth football coach Rob Melosky could have felt a lot of varied emotions after his team defeated Parkland 35-28 in a Lehigh Valley Conference game on Senior Night at Andrew Leh Stadium on Friday night, but for some reason, he didn't.

Melosky, who coached Parkland to a PIAA Class 4A state title in 2002 and was relieved of his duties less than two years later, is in his third season at Nazareth, which beat Parkland for the first time since 1994.

"It's been so long now, what's it been? Six years?" Melosky said on a bench in the Nazareth's coach's locker room. "I probably made some calls with my heart rather than my head tonight."

While Melosky coached against some of his previous assistants, his players took apart the Parkland passing game with four interceptions and Chuck Dibilio got 132 rushing yards on the way to a 35-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.


Nazareth (6-2, 5-2) was a play away from invoking the mercy rule, but Parkland cornerback Jarred Curry returned a Dan Harding pass 94 yards to make it 35-14. A successful onsides kick and two Tobi Salako touchdown receptions helped the Trojans (3-5, 3-4) make it close at the end. It was Curry's second interception.

"There's no excuse for [ending like] that," Melosky said. "We have to do a better job. We didn't finish well, but hey, it's a win. I'm proud of the way the kids executed in the first half."

The Blue Eagles, who are in the middle of the race for a playoff berth in Class 4A with road games left at Whitehall and Northampton, got touchdowns three different ways in the first half.

Parkland scored on its first possession when it covered 45 yards over nine plays, capped by Rob Dvoracek's 3-yard run. Nazareth went nowhere on its first two possessions, but found its rhythm on its third possession. Dibilio capped the drive with runs of 19 and 23 yards, his only touchdown of the game.

Cornerback Kris Kent, playing with a cast on his right arm to protect a hand broken in a game last week, had his first of two interceptions on the second play of the second quarter. But the Eagles didn't go ahead until Harding connected with Sean Sauerzopf on a 13-yard TD pass with 4:23 to go in the half.

Nazareth scored twice more before halftime — once on Harding's 12-yard run when he faked a handoff to Dibilio, and another on a 14-yard pass from Harding to Jeremy Klump after Kent's second interception.

Nazareth had four interceptions. The Eagles forced six turnovers in all.

"It's only a disadvantage when catching the ball," Kent said. "Our coach challenged us to get three interceptions today. We got four, so we did our job."

"Kris Kent, with one arm, made two amazing interceptions for a high school football player," Melosky said. "He caught both with his left. Great athlete. Unbelievable. I'm surprised they threw as much as they did, because our secondary is pretty good."

Parkland coach Jim Morgans was happy that his team did not give up, but obviously had a problem with his team's turnovers and six penalties.

The Trojans had to play most of the second half without star fullback Rob Dvoracek, who rolled an ankle. Sophomore Zach Gurinowich filled in and led Parkland in rushing with 51 yards.

"I know this is wrong, but it seemed like we had 10 turnovers," Morgans said. "These kids have been playing since they've been nine years old. They're not going to give up. They won't quit. Give credit to Nazareth. They're well-coached and have some really dynamic kids."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-parkland-naz-1022-20101022,0,7304266.story