District 11 Football: Williams Valley’s defense stifles Haven’s high-powered attack
Williams Valley defenders Evan Achenbach (11), Evan Kandybowski (34), Trevon Bair (24) and Eli Weiss (56) swarm around and tackle Schuylkill Haven running back Niko Castillo during Friday night's District 11 Class AA title game at Blue Mountain's Eagles Nest. (Photo by Charlie Roth)
ORWIGSBURG — Williams Valley made the sports cliche “Defense wins championships” its motto heading into Friday’s District 11 Class AA championship game against Schuylkill Haven.
The Vikings were confident they could contain the Hurricanes’ high-powered rushing attack, one that averaged 418.8 yards per game.
Williams Valley not only contained it, the Vikings shut it down.
With linebackers Trevon Bair and Skylor Green leading the way, the Vikings controlled the line of scrimmage and stifled Schuylkill Haven’s offense en route to a 28-13 victory at Blue Mountain High School’s Eagles’ Nest.
Williams Valley (12-1) held Schuylkill Haven to just six first downs and 112 yards rushing to claim its second straight District 11 AA crown and seventh district title in the past nine years. The Vikings advance to the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals where they will face District 2 champion Riverside, a 17-7 winner over District 12 champion Lansdale Catholic.
“The first game, they ran all over our defense,” said Bair, a sophomore. “It wasn’t as strong as it was tonight. Tonight we really showed that defense wins games, defense wins championships.”
Schuylkill Haven (11-2) rushed for 383 yards in the first meeting between the schools, a 38-30 Haven win Sept. 27 at Rotary Field. The area’s leading rusher, Niko Carestia, rumbled 41 times for 333 yards in that contest, spearheading a game-clinching, 19-play drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock.
Williams Valley’s defense never let Schuylkill Haven put together any type of drive in Friday’s rematch.
The Hurricanes had just one first down and 15 yards in the first quarter, punting twice. For the game, Schuylkill Haven punted six times. The Hurricanes had only punted 10 times all season prior to Friday’s game.
“The first quarter is where we really gained all of our momentum,” Bair said. “We stopped them more than we stopped any team all season. They were the most powerhouse team we played all season.”
So how did the Vikes do it?
First, the Vikings controlled the line of scrimmage, with defensive ends Bryce Zilinski and Brayden Crisswell and defensive tackles Camron Green, Shawn Romberger and Eli Weiss taking on blocks and filling gaps, not allowing Haven’s tailbacks space to run.
“We shot holes and gaps a lot better than what we did (in the first game),” junior defensive tackle Camron Green said. “We didn’t hesitate. We were more aggressive. We were slanting a lot better instead of standing straight up. We were playing low, being aggressive.
“We like to think that if we don’t play good the team is going to lose. We just try to out-physical everyone. We had to get a good push and stay low, blow them off the ball and get to the running backs.”
A key to the line’s tough play, defensive coordinator Mike Sedesse said, was the Vikings’ movement up front pre-snap. Williams Valley shifted its linemen just before Haven snapped the ball, which created some confusion on Haven’s side when it came to blocking assignments and positioning.
Williams Valley’s linebackers then shot gaps to get to the ballcarrier.
“We wanted to shift on them late because they run all that motion so they try to see where you’re shifting,” Mike Sedesse said. “It worked the whole game. We have tough kids.
“We didn’t blitz one time. We did our assignments. We were ready for their counters, everything. Our offense and defense lines don’t get enough credit. We have some big boys there and they came to play.”
The play of the defensive line allowed Bair and Skylor Green the ability to get to the ballcarrier. The Vikings also tackled well and didn’t allow the big play.
Schuylkill Haven had only three runs of more than 10 yards — a 12-yard scamper by Niko Castillo, a 14-yard run by Carestia on the final play of the first half and Carestia’s 35-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
All total, Haven ran the ball 23 times for 112 yards. Carestia, who entered the game with 2,637 yards and 37 rushing touchdowns, was held to 65 yards on 15 carries.
