Slowing Wilmington’s running game key for Beaver Falls in PIAA 2A semifinal

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 11:29 PM

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Studying film of Wilmington’s offensive line made Beaver Falls coach Nick Nardone think back to a Week 2 matchup with Laurel.

The two opponents run a somewhat similar scheme up front, he said, since both use wing-T elements in their offenses.

But there’s a key difference.

“Laurel had two really good big dudes,” Nardone said. “These guys have four really good big dudes.”

WPIAL champion Beaver Falls (9-0) hosts District 10 champion Wilmington (9-0) in a PIAA Class 2A semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Geneva College. Handling that oversized offensive line will be a key for the Tigers, who want to reach Hershey for the first time since 2016.

All five of Wilmington’s starting linemen stand at least 6-foot-2 and average 280 pounds. Four of the five are seniors. The group includes tackles Connor Vass-Gal (6-2, 340 pounds) and Jake Chimiak (6-2, 310), guards Weston Phanco (6-2, 275) and Morgan Whiting (6-4, 215) and center Brayden Penwell (6-2, 262), who’s a junior.

In last week’s state quarterfinal, Wilmington rushed for more than 600 yards on 55 carries and defeated Chestnut Ridge, 56-29.

“We’ve got to tackle,” Nardone said. “They’ve got backs that follow their blockers well and you’re forced to tackle in one-on-one situations because everybody else is occupying blockers. And most importantly, we’ve got to read and trust our keys and keep our eyes out of the backfield.”

Running back Ethan Susen accounted for more than half of Wilmington’s rushing yards. The 5-10 senior carried 30 times for a school-record 316 yards and scored six times. His touchdown runs covered 10, 26, 45, 2, 4 and 35 yards.

The Greyhounds passed for only 30 yards.

“You’ve got to be disciplined,” Nardone said. “It’s the wing-T, so they run a lot of misdirection, a lot of eye candy. They try to get you to make false reads.”

Wilmington’s line is big, but Beaver Falls appears to have the size to match. The Tigers’ four-man front includes defensive tackles Nate Harris (6-3, 240) and Kamari Mathews (6-3, 270), and ends Josh Hough (6-3, 230) and Mitchell Myers (6-2, 230).

The Tigers forced the mercy rule in their WPIAL championship win over Sto-Rox.

“We match up well,” Nardone said. “We’re active. We’ve got some kids that are stout and can set the edge. I think it will be a good matchup for sure.”

Nardone also considered it fortunate that his defense already is familiar with the wing-T from its Sept. 18 matchup with Laurel. Beaver Falls won 29-14.

The two opponents — Wilmington and Laurel — run different plays and use different formations, Nardone said, but the motion and the approach are similar.

“The kids have seen it,” he said. “I just wish we would have played Laurel a little later in the season because it’s been so long. But our kids know how to make the reads because we’ve put them through it.”

Beaver Falls last reached the finals in 2016, when the Tigers won the PIAA Class 3A title with Nardone as an assistant coach. Wilmington is trying to reach the finals for the third time in four years. The Greyhounds were the Class 2A runners-up to Southern Columbia in 2018 and ’17.

Nardone wasn’t surprised to see the Greyhounds waiting in the state semifinals.

“We knew they were going to come out of (District 10),” he said. “I heard Farrell gave them a couple of good games, but Wilmington is the team to beat out west.”

Beaver Falls has one indisputable advantage: home field. The PIAA changed its policy this season in response to the covid-19 pandemic and allowed the team listed higher on the bracket to host.

“I definitely think there’s an advantage to playing at home,” Nardone said. “I’d be upset if I was playing at someone else’s home field in the state semifinal game.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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