Nativity gives Mason 100th career win with rout of Cardinals
Nativity honors head coach Pat Mason for his 100th career win after Friday's 53-7 victory over Pine Grove at Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
SAINT CLAIR — Nativity coach Pat Mason said he feels a special bond with this year’s Green Wave squad.
Friday, his Green Wave helped him achieve a special milestone.
Nativity dominated Pine Grove from start to finish, cruising to a 53-7 victory in a Schuylkill/Colonial Blue Division game at Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The win is the 100th of Mason’s coaching career, which is in his eighth season at Nativity after coaching 13 years at Minersville from 2003-15.
“I always say it takes three things to stick around for a long time in this business,” said Mason, who is 100-106 in his career. “One is a great family, two is great assistant coaches and three is great kids to be around. I’m lucky enough to have every one of them.
“I’ve had a lot of great assistant coaches over my career and a lot of great players over my career and I love every one of them. My family is special because they let me do what I do for as long as I’ve done it.”
Mason’s 100th career victory was a thing of beauty from a coaching perspective.
The Green Wave clicked in every facet of the game in the first half, scoring eight touchdowns en route to a 53-0 halftime lead.
Offensively, Nativity compiled 321 yards and 13 first downs on just 23 plays in the first two quarters, scoring on all six possessions.
Defensively, the Green Wave held Pine Grove to 36 total yards and one first down and scored two touchdowns on pick-6 interception returns of 52 yards by Nick Wagner and 50 yards by Noah Dolbin.
“Our defensive staff is top notch,” Mason said. “They have these guys dialed in. If you can get a group of kids to believe in your system and believe in what you’re doing, you can do great things. These guys are believing in what we’re doing right now and they’re doing great things. Everybody is contributing.”
Nativity (2-0, 1-0 Blue) took the opening kickoff and went 56 yards in seven plays, with Mike Stank scoring on a 12-yard run. The Green Wave made it 12-0 one series later when Sam Spolski plunged in from 4 yards out.
After a quick three-and-out by the Pine Grove offense, Nativity scored on its next offensive play when Ben Kreitzer hit Dolbin on a slant for a 54-yard touchdown.
Kreitzer finished 8-for-9 for 209 yards, while Dolbin hauled in five passes for 115 yards and the touchdown.
“Coach Mason realized that they were playing with no safety and that they were stacking the box,” Dolbin said. “He said, ‘Why not? Let’s chuck it up.’ So I ran a post.
“I did a little move, drove him like 12 yards and it was wide open.”
Nativity upped its lead to 27-0 on a 39-yard run by Sam Walborn after the Green Wave defense stuffed Pine Grove quarterback Wyatt Dixon on a fourth-and-2 play from the Cardinals’ 38. Two plays later, Wagner stepped in front of a Dixon pass toward the slot and went 52 yards to paydirt to make it 33-0.
After another three-and-out by the Cardinals’ offense, Nativity went 50 yards in three plays, with Kreitzer hitting Stank on a 26-yard TD pass. A 3-yard run by Walborn with 2:16 left in the half made it 47-0 before Dolbin picked off a Dixon pass at midfield and went 50 yards to the end zone for a 53-0 halftime cushion.
“I’ve been looking for a pick-6 for a while,” Dolbin said. “It was exciting that me and (Wagner) both got one. It’s one of the most exciting plays in football, getting a pick-6.”
In two games, Nativity has outscored Holy Redeemer and Pine Grove by a combined 105-7 and racked up 836 yards of total offense.
Kreitzer, a senior in his third year as Nativity’s starting quarterback, is 10-for-11 for 308 yards and four touchdowns so far.
“We were firing on all cylinders today,” Kreitzer said. “We rep plays until our hands fall off. That’s what it takes to have a good offense. The chemistry that we gained this year is insane.”
Pine Grove ended Nativity’s shutout bid in the third quarter when Brody Ibarra capped a 10-play, 53-yard drive against the Green Wave JV defense with a 2-yard run.
After the Nativity players rushed to the stadium entrance to ring the victory bell, they gathered around Mason for photos amid two posters and balloons presented to him by the Nativity cheerleaders. Mason stood next to his two sons, Coy and Colt, hugging both during the ceremony.
