Nazareth Area High School football team has opportunity to make program history

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

From a distance, everything looked like business as usual this week for the Nazareth Area High School football team.

Tonight's opponent, however, coupled with last week's unfortunate turn of events made for a noticeably different vibe around the Blue Eagles practice facility.

Not only is Nazareth dealing with its first loss of the season, the Whitehall Zephyrs are coming to town with first place in the Lehigh Valley Conference on the line.

"We tried to let the wounds heal over the weekend and now we moved on to Whitehall," Nazareth coach Rob Melosky said. "I think if you ask any coach in the LVC, they'll tell you it's not common to go unscathed like Central Catholic did last year. Our kids recognize that and they're responding."

The Blue Eagles, ranked No. 3 in The Express-Times region, dropped a surprisingly lopsided 47-21 decision at Parkland last Friday after starting the season with seven wins in a row.

"It was tough, but we have to answer the bell," Nazareth free safety Kyle East said. "We have to put last week behind us and come out (tonight) and play our type of game. It's huge to be in this position with a chance to do something special."

Nazareth and Whitehall, which have never won LVC titles, both come in at 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the conference with two games left in the regular season. So, it's win-out and make school history.

"Last week got our attention," Whitehall coach Tony Trisciani said. "(Parkland beating Nazareth) opened the door for us. We had this game circled on the schedule for weeks. Now, it's all amplified. Both teams have the same opportunities in front of them."

The Blue Eagles were sitting pretty before getting ambushed by a physical Parkland running attack that churned out 425 yards and kept the football away from the dynamic Nazareth offense. The Trojans held a nearly 3-1 edge in time of possession.

"It was a tough weekend," Blue Eagles wide receiver/linebacker Dan Shepherd said. "When the team met on Sunday, we put last week behind us. I think the loss kicked us into gear."

Top-ranked Whitehall comes in with a similar make-up as Parkland.

The difference is the Zephyrs throw the football better with junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky (50 of 93 for 758 yards, 11 touchdowns) to complement a potent run game featuring senior Andrew Harris (121 carries for 957 yards, 15 TDs).

"We got outmuscled last week in the second half," East said. "The defense got tired and Parkland wore us out. We can't let that happen this week."

The Zephyrs did just that last season when they beat Nazareth 21-6 in the Districts 2-4-11 Class AAAA sub-regional semifinals three weeks after the Blue Eagles won the regular-season meeting 42-35.

The Nazareth offense possessed the ball for just over six minutes in the district semis as Whitehall controlled the clock and the game.

Trisciani's offense will try to do the same tonight.

That's where East, Shepherd and the rest of the Nazareth defense - including linemen Aaron Bradley, Nick Tuerk, Blaize Boell and Dan Wilke, linebackers Frank Sharo and Devan Gordon and defensive backs Alex Tonnies, Ben Schmitt, Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth - come in.

"We put a couple of wrinkles in scheme-wise from what we saw on tape," said Melosky, who coached with Trisciani for one season as a defensive assistant at Lehigh University.

The Zephyrs, No. 7 in The Patriot-News Class AAAA state rankings, have arguably the best defense in the conference, allowing just 212 yards per game.

Nazareth averages 430 per contest behind senior quarterback Dan Harding (2,332 pass yards, 20 TDs), wide receivers Adam Bridgeforth (56-846-6) and Andrew Bridgeforth (32-579-6) and freshman running Jordan Gray (104-684-7).

"This is an opportunity for our kids to show they can bounce back after adversity," Melosky said. "We've been able to do it within games. Now, we have to show we can do it after a loss."

"We know Whitehall is going to come after us full force," Shepherd said. "There's a championship on the line. This is going to be big."

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/10/nazareth_area_high_school_foot_8.html