Williams Valley's Brady Shomper drops back to pass during the Vikings' win over Mahanoy Area (Photo by Charlie Roth)

Williams Valley entered the 2023 season with a young roster led by one superstar, Alex Achenbach.

A three-time All-State running back, Achenbach had a season for the ages, leading the area in rushing yards, interceptions and scoring en route to running the Vikings to the District 11 Class AA championship and a trip to the PIAA Class AA playoffs.

Along the way, all those sophomores and juniors who played complimentary roles to Achenbach in Stephen Sedesse’s offensive and defensive schemes got valuable playing experience.

A year later, that experience is paying off big-time.

The Vikings have opened the 2024 season right where they left off, taking a 3-0 mark into Friday’s Schuylkill/Colonial Blue Division battle of unbeatens against Minersville between the pines at Gerry Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium in Williamstown.

Williams Valley has racked up victories over Upper Dauphin, Mahanoy Area and Nativity, with new names grabbing the headlines.

“We had a good leader in Alex,” Sedesse said. “This year, we have a bunch of kids with a lot of experience. It seems like the game has slowed down for them a lot this year. We’re able to spread them out and play our passing game.”

Leading that charge is junior quarterback Brady Shomper, who has already thrown for more yards this season (450) than he did in 13 games last season (414).

The T102SportsNow.com Fanelli, Evans & Patel Athlete of the Week, Shomper came up clutch in Friday’s 34-31 win over Nativity, throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more, including a game-winning 6-yard scamper with 20 seconds left.

Take a look at Brady Shomper’s interview as the Fanelli, Evans & Patel Athlete of the Week here

“It’s a lot of growth and it compliments his work ethic from last year,” Sedesse said of Shomper’s play. “People thought we were a run-first team and that all we were doing in practice is trying to hammer the ball. We were spreading out in practice last year and running all the plays we’ve been running this year.

“We just felt we had a lot of confidence going into this year. We don’t have Alex in the backfield … but it’s a lot easier to spread it out and get (Kian) Krzyzanowski, Blazer Lords and (Evan) Achenbach involved on the outside.”

The newcomer to the group is freshman running back Fletcher Thompson, who has taken over Achenbach’s role as the Vikings’ workhorse back.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder has rushed for 298 yards and a pair of scores in three games on 46 carries, getting big holes to run through from the Vikings’ veteran offensive line of tackle Cam Green (jr., 6-1, 280), guard Jesse Koons (sr., 6-1, 215), center Robbie Hoffman (jr., 5-11, 210), guards Killian Kocher (sr., 5-9, 230) and Tyler Koppenhaver (sr., 6-0, 250), tackle Bryce Zilinski (jr., 6-3, 210) and tight end Brayden Crisswell (sr., 6-5, 210).

“He’s been everything you can ask for out of a freshman,” Sedesse said of Thompson. “He puts in the time, he puts in the work … he’s one of those kids that you don’t have to tell him something twice. You can tell him something and he understands it, he can fix it, he can correct it mid-game. He’s really impressive as a freshman.”

Sedesse said his team’s improvement on defense has been a big key to the Vikings’ early-season success, giving props to sophomore middle linebacker Trevon Bair, who leads the team with 21 tackles.

The Schuylkill/Colonial schedule-makers weren’t kind to Williams Valley, lumping the other four Blue Division contenders together in the middle of the Vikes’ schedule.

Williams Valley faced Nativity last week, hosts Minersville on Friday and Tri-Valley on Friday, Sept. 20, before traveling to Schuylkill Haven on Friday, Sept. 27. Those four teams have a combined record of 10-2 so far.

Like most coaches, Sedesse said the Vikings are taking it one game at a time. Next up is the Miners and talented dual-threat quarterback Dante Carr.

“It’s obvious, the speed they have (is impressive),” Sedesse said of Minersville. “Same thing as Nativity, bunch of track guys. A quarterback who is 6-5 and can throw and run is always dangerous. Going into this game, we have to limit what Carr does … I think that’s everybody’s game plan. How well can you do it? That’s going to be the question.”

Stat leaders

Marian’s Rory Dixon remains the area’s top rusher with 459 yards and four touchdowns through three games. Schuylkill Haven’s Niko Carestia (35-446, 5 TDs) and North Schuylkill’s Luke Miller (68-441, 6 TDs) follow in second and third.

Passing wise, Blue Mountain’s Brady Strause has continued his hot start, leading the way with 556 yards. He’s followed by Minersville’s Dante Carr (493, 8 TDs) and Nativity’s Ben Kreitzer (473, 5 TDs).

Williams Valley’s Kian Krzyzanowski (17-312, 5 TDs) leads all area receivers in catches, receiving yards and receiving TDs, just ahead of Pottsville’s Tsirell Curry (7-296, 2 TDs) and Nativity’s Noah Dolbin (10-292, 3 TDs).

Tamaqua’s Victor Schlosser has an area-best four interceptions. Carr, Krzyzanowski and Luke Miller are tied for the area lead in scoring, each scoring seven touchdowns for 42 points so far.

For a complete look at this week’s statistical leaders, visit: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/09/12/area-football-statistical-leaders-after-week-3/

Tradition returns

Good programs have good traditions. Whether they’re weeknight supper club meetings, helping with certain community fundraisers or wearing specific helmet stickers or uniforms for games, those traditions build team chemistry among the players and increase the pride in the program.

At Pottsville, new coach Mike Brennan brought back an old tradition this season that harkens back to the days of Bill Flynn and Kevin Keating.

Brennan took his squad to mass Friday before the Tide’s game against Tamaqua, with roughly 50 team members attending the service at St. John the Baptist Church in the city. Attending mass on Friday mornings before games was a staple under Flynn and Keating, and personally it’s a great thing to see it brought back.

The move has received some criticism on social media. I’ll try not to cross the line here as to not offend any particular group, but let’s just say that our youth and our country as a whole could use a lot more old-fashioned traditions like this one right now.

Odds and Ends

Schuylkill Haven graduate Dawson Evitts, a standout kicker at Kutztown University and with the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, is conducting individual lessons for players looking to enhance their kicking skills. For more information, see his post on his Facebook page.

** Four local teams are listed in this week’s WNEP-TV Super 16 poll.

Minersville is at No. 5, with Williams Valley at No. 6, Blue Mountain at No. 7 and Tamaqua at No. 12. Troy, Danville and Jersey Shore are 1-2-3, with area teams Mount Carmel (No. 8), Southern Columbia (No. 9) and Shamokin (No. 13) also in the poll.

** In the latest Pennsylvania Football News state rankings, Tamaqua (No. 9) and North Schuylkill (HM) are listed in the Class 3A poll, Minersville (No. 5), Williams Valley (No. 7) and Schuylkill Haven (No. 10) are in the Class AA rankings, and Nativity (HM) earned votes in Class A.