The 2011 Express-Times Football All-Area first team is highlighted by record breakers

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

This story could be summed up by taking a glance at The Express-Times final football leaders chart on Page C-5.


Teams and players in the region put up some pretty gaudy numbers on offense as football appears to be shifting away from the smash-mouth, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust mentality.

Players are stronger and faster, which means the teams play at a higher tempo.

Case in point: Nazareth Area High School.

The Blue Eagles ran the no-huddle spread offense and put up impressive statistics en route to their first-ever Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 Class AAAA titles.

Senior quarterback Dan Harding, the 2011 Express-Times Player of the Year, threw for a school-record 3,749 yards with 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Senior twin receivers Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth were one of two area pairs of wideouts to eclipse 1,000 yards apiece, joining Central Catholic's Kevin Gulyas -- who actually wound up with 2,037 -- and Jalen Snyder-Scipio.

Nazareth running back Jordan Gray (267 carries, 1,663 yards, 20 TDs) established a new District 11 freshman rushing record.

"It was a great year in the league," Freedom coach Jason Roeder said. "Going into it, everyone knew how competitive it was going to be. Week in and week out, games went down to the final play or final drive."

In fact, the Blue Eagles epitomized that trend, rallying for five fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories.

In the Colonial League, Pen Argyl was equally as impressive. The Green Knights rattled off 13-straight wins -- playing countless games under the mercy rule -- while clinching the league and District 11 Class AA crowns.

Senior running back/defensive back Dylan Evans set a school record with 31 total TDs (29 rushing, one receiving, one interception return) and ran for an area-high 2,064 yards on 309 carries, a Slate Belt record.

Pen Argyl was well-represented on the first team as senior center/defensive tackle Kirby Mutton, junior defensive end Scott Beltz and senior tight end/linebacker Zach Miller joined Evans.

"These guys are three-sport athletes and they had to sacrifice a lot to get in the weight room," coach Paul Reduzzi said. "We were able to shuffle some schedules around so they could lift and play baseball in the summer. Football's a sport you're not going to get better at just because you get older."

Age certainly doesn't mean anything as some younger athletes qualified for the first team.

Pius X sophomore quarterback AJ Long threw for 3,700 yards with 46 touchdowns and ran for 931 yards and another 17 scores as the Royals won the District 11 Class A title after falling short the past two years. His favorite target was junior wideout Boise Ross, who had 49 catches for 1,177 yards and a school-record 19 TDs.

"AJ's abilities are high and his growth will only be that much more next year," coach Phil Stambaugh said. "I know how dedicated he is to get after a state title."

This fall also saw countless tailbacks set new records, seemingly outdoing each other on a weekly basis.

Bangor senior Josh Wing (261 carries, 1,840 yards, 20 touchdowns) rushed for 337 yards against Catasauqua, setting a new league single-game record, but was outdone on the last week of the regular season as Wilson junior Trey Robinson (130 carries, 1,096 yards, 12 touchdowns) exploded for 405 yards and five TDs against Notre Dame.

Freedom senior Okezie Alozie stepped up on offense as Eddie Elliott, the team's leading rusher in 2010, missed a significant portion of the season with an injury. Alozie ran for 1,167 yards and 18 TDs as the Patriots finished 8-3, with a thrilling win over rival Liberty in Week 10.

Certainly as offense highlighted the season, there were still many defensive performances to be recognized.

The Easton junior duo of tackle Tyler Greene and end Matt Mowad plagued quarterbacks while racking up a combined 15 sacks.

At Liberty, senior Ahmad McFarland had eight sacks while senior safety Anthony Orlando added five interceptions and a team-high 83 tackles.

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