HS Football: Trio of Spartans earn PFW Class 3A All-State honors
Gavin Mentzer became a household name across the Schuylkill County football scene the past four seasons with his booming kicks and precision punts.
“Let it ride,” was a common refrain from his father Greg in the stands as the North Schuylkill kicker/punter often sailed kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
Friday, the Spartans’ senior standout received the state’s biggest honor for the first time, as he was one of three North Schuylkill players named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ Class 3A All-State team.
Mentzer, who is listed as the Class 3A specialist, is joined by North Schuylkill junior offensive lineman Aiden Zilker and junior athlete Luke Miller on the 43-player squad chosen through nominations and voting done by sports writers from various forms of media across the state, including T102SportsNow.com.
Nativity’s Noah Dolbin and Marian’s Michael Gelatko were named to the Class A All-State team earlier Friday. The All-State teams for Class 2A, 4A and 6A will be released Saturday.
“It’s an awesome feeling. I’ve really worked hard,” Mentzer said Friday. “I want to thank my team and my coaches for giving me the opportunities to make this possible.
“I’m surprised. I’m really shocked. It’s an awesome feeling to have.”
Mentzer has been the Spartans’ kicker for four seasons, making 198-of-214 extra points, 21 field goals and booming 114 touchbacks.
This season he converted 35-of-36 extra points and 10-of-14 field goals, scoring 65 points. Two of his made field goals were from 49 and 51 yards.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder had 45 touchbacks out of 67 kickoffs in 13 games. Also the Spartans’ punter, he averaged 39.5 yards on 34 punts, putting 17 inside the 20-yard line with a long of 65 yards.
He was twice honored nationally by Kohl’s Kicking and is ranked as the No. 5 punter in the country by Nation’s Elite. Mentzer was selected to the WNEP Dream Team and is the school’s football scholar-athlete.
“I take a lot of pride in everything I do, especially punting,” Mentzer said. “I think my punting is better than my kicking and I put a lot of work into that.”
Mentzer said his recruiting is still open, with visits scheduled for IUP and Shippensburg. He has been accepted at IUP, Shippensburg, Western Michigan and Buffalo.
North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall said Mentzer was a weapon that helped the Spartans on both sides of the ball. The Spartans finished 8-4, falling to eventual PIAA Class 3A state champion Northwestern Lehigh in the District 11 title game.
“When you start to categorize players like Gavin, he’s a kicker and a punter so he’s a true specialist,” Hall said. “He always flipped the field for us. Kicking off, the chances were very, very high that the opponent was going to be starting at the 20-yard line.
“As a punter he was just as great. He can pro-style punt and can also punt rugby style which is versatile especially in this day and age. He’s a high-value individual coming out of high school.”
Miller was a breakout surprise for the Spartans, as the 5-11, 160-pound junior emerged as the team’s No. 1 tailback and excelled at both running with the ball and catching it out of the backfield.
Miller rushed 202 times for 1,283 yards and 20 touchdowns while hauling in 31 passes for 441 yards and four TDs despite suffering season-ending injury in Week 10 win over Pottsville. He finished with a single-season school-record 25 TDs and was second in the area in scoring with 150 points.
Miller also played defensive back on defense, collecting 41 tackles and four interceptions, one of which was returned for touchdown. He was named the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association Big School Offensive Player of the Year.
“He had a phenomenal year,” Hall said of Miller. “Statistically, you see the offensive production he did as a running back and a receiver. We knew coming in that Luke was an athletic and very gifted individual. We’re fortunate to have him another year.”
Zilker, a 6-5, 300-pound tackle, helped the Spartans average 214.5 yards rushing per game. The Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association Big School Offensive Lineman of Year, Zilker was often lined up at wingback and put in motion to clear a path for the running backs.
“Aiden as an offensive lineman was very versatile,” Hall said. “We were able to put at multiple locations on the offensive line. We flip-flopped him, we used him in unbalanced sets and we even had him in the backfield.
