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H.S. Football: Spartans to tangle with state power Cathedral Prep

Jersey Shore&rsquo;s offensive philosophy is simple. The more plays run, the better a chance that something good happens.
				The District 4 champion will bring that plan into Friday&rsquo;s PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal game at Crestwood. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
				Jersey Shore (8-0) is ranked first in the state in Class 4A by PA Football News. District 2 champ Crestwood (8-0) is ranked seventh. The teams received their lofty status in different ways.
				Jersey Shore runs a no-huddle offense, with the idea of cramming so many plays and formations into a short time span in order to catch the opposition off guard. It&rsquo;s worked so far as the Bulldogs, under the guidance of former Williamsport coach Tom Gravish, have scored over 50 points three times and are averaging 40.1 points.
				Jersey Shore quarterback Branden Wheary, a first-year starter, has thrown for 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns with one interception. But the Bulldogs just don&rsquo;t sling the ball on every play. They run it about 65% of the time, with Cam Allison the main ball carrier. He has rushed for 833 yards and six of the team&rsquo;s 26 rushing TDs.
				&ldquo;Our scout team learned their offense over the weekend like we do every single week,&rdquo; Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. &ldquo;We have two plays going at a time to try to uptempo our defense.&rdquo;
				Arcangeli said what Jersey Shore does with its formations is similar to what Tunkhannock does. Tunkhannock is a good comparison in that the Tigers ran 63 plays in a 33-21 loss to Crestwood on Sept. 18. Jersey Shore&rsquo;s offense averages 61 snaps a game.
				&ldquo;The pace matches what Tunkhannock has done,&rdquo; Arcangeli said. &ldquo;That was early in the year, but at least we got a look at that spread pace before. Tunkhannock was a really good look for us.&rdquo;
				A bit obscured in Jersey Shore&rsquo;s fast-paced offense is a darn good defense. The Bulldogs have shut out four opponents and held the other four to a lone touchdown. That&rsquo;s a sharp contrast to the Jersey Shore team which lost 56-28 to Dallas in last season&rsquo;s Class 4A state semifinal. That group surrendered 34 or more points six times in finishing 7-6.
				The Crestwood offense has also put up some impressive numbers, but under different circumstances. The Comets like to control the pace, not accelerate it. They do so mainly with the power running of Jimmy Hawley, who is more of a chain-mover than a breakaway back, and dual-threat quarterback Ryan Petrosky.
				Hawley has rushed for 425 yards and seven touchdowns. Petrosky missed two games with an injury and played a third as receiver, yet has thrown for 764 yards. He is coming off his best rushing game of the season, a 129-yard performance in a 34-14 victory over Dallas in the District 2 title game.
				&ldquo;Defensively, (they use) that Bear front, that 50 front, which we had a lot of work with the last couple weeks,&rdquo; Arcangeli said. &ldquo;They fly to the ball. Oh, do they fly to the ball. So we&rsquo;re going to get a lot of guys in the box, a lot of blitzing and hopefully we can handle it.&rdquo;
				Jersey Shore has also sacked the quarterback 26 times, led by Quincy Myers and Dalton Dungan with 6.5 sacks each. Cayden Hess has five of the team&rsquo;s 10 interceptions.
				Crestwood&rsquo;s defense has been impressive throughout, posting two shutouts and keeping Lake-Lehman&rsquo;s high-powered offense in check in a 20-17 overtime victory.
				Three seniors &mdash; Hawley, Logan Arnold and Ryan Harding &mdash; are among the leading tacklers. Harding also has a team-high five sacks. Sophomore linebacker Cole Kakalecik has turned in a strong season as well. Marcus Vieney leads the Comets with three interceptions.
				WEEK 10 AT A GLANCE
				Jersey Shore (8-0) at Crestwood (8-0)
				PIAA 4A Quarterfinals
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Jersey Shore&rsquo;s Tom Gravish (132-110, 9th year at Jersey Shore, 21st overall); Crestwood&rsquo;s Ryan Arcangeli (15-5, 2nd year)
				Last Meeting: never played
				First Meeting: never played
				All-Time Series: never played
				Scouting Jersey Shore: Gravish coached five years at Williamsport before moving to Jersey Shore. The Bulldogs won just three games in the previous three seasons before Gravish came aboard. Success wasn&rsquo;t immediate with a 0-10 mark in 2012, but since 2014 the Bulldogs have posted winning records. Jersey Shore has played WVC teams only twice, losing 44-13 to Tunkhannock in 1998 and losing 56-28 to Dallas in the 4A state semifinals last season. While the Bulldogs have played Williamsport 28 times and Berwick on five occasions, those games came before either was a WVC member.
				Scouting Crestwood: The Comets are in the state playoffs for only the second time. Like the 2014 season, they enter undefeated. Crestwood, though, will be seeking as better result as the 2014 season ended with a 42-28 loss to Bethlehem Catholic in the Class 3A first round. After finishing 12-1 in 2014, Crestwood had four consecutive losing seasons before bouncing back with a 7-5 record in 2019. Take away WVC member Williamsport and the last time the Comets played a District 4 team was in 2007 when they lost 20-17 to Loyalsock.
				What&rsquo;s Next: The winner plays next weekend in the semifinals against the District 3 champion, either Lampeter-Strasburg (8-0) or ELCO (7-0). Those teams play Friday.
				What To Expect: A very tight game that could go either way.
				Wyoming Valley West (2-3) vs. Cathedral Prep (5-2)
				PIAA 6A Quarterfinals
				7 p.m. Friday at Brockway HS
				The Coaches:WVW&rsquo;s Jack Baranski (5-11, 2nd year); Prep&rsquo;s Mike Mischler (217-63, 19th at Prep, 22nd overall)
				Last Meeting: never played
				First Meeting: never played
				All-Time Series: never played
				Scouting Valley West: The Spartans are in the state playoffs for the first time since 2017, but this time it&rsquo;s by default. The other D2-5A team, Abington Heights, decided not to have a season because of COVID-19 concerns. The four D11 teams in the subregional bailed as District 11 decided not to participate in the state playoffs and instead just hold district playoffs. When the Spartans step on the field, it will be almost a month since their last game.
				Scouting Cathedral Prep: Mischler is in his second stint at Prep. He coached the Ramblers from 1998-2004 before stepping down, spent three years at Iroquois and then returned in 2009. Prep has won five state championship, all under Mischler. It&rsquo;s also finished as the state runner-up three times. The Ramblers have won at least 11 games every year since 2012. The program&rsquo;s last losing record was a 4-6 finish in 2002.
				What&rsquo;s Next: The winner plays next weekend in the semifinals against the District 1 champion, either Upper Dublin (5-1) or West Chester Rustin (4-1). Those teams play Friday.
				What To Expect: Prep to move on.
				Honesdale (2-4) at Tunkhannock (3-5)
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Honesdale&rsquo;s Paul Russick (2-4, 1st year); Tunkhannock&rsquo;s Mike Marabell (11-18, 3rd year)
				Last Meeting: Tunkhannock 35-26 in 2019
				First Meeting: Tunkhannock 30-13 in 2000
				All-Time Series: Tunkhannock 7-0
				Scouting Honesdale: Russick played at Pittston Area and took over a program which was 9-42 over the previous five years. Things didn&rsquo;t start well as the Hornets were routed in three of their first four games. They&rsquo;ve bounced back with wins of 42-20 vs. West Scranton and 21-14 vs. Mid Valley. The main cogs are RBs Connor Schmitt and Jacob Orrick.
				Scouting Tunkhannock: The Tigers&rsquo; chance at a winning season for the first time since 1998 ended with a 35-28 loss to Wilkes-Barre Area.QB Jack Chilson threw for 288 yards and two TDs, with Nathan Lord and Ben Chilson recording 100-yard receiving nights. However, the defense was burned for three long touchdown passes. That shouldn&rsquo;t happen tonight as Honesdale&rsquo;s offense is ground based.
				What&rsquo;s Next: This is the final game for both teams.
				What To Expect: Tunkhannock&rsquo;s offense to control the action.

H.S. Football: Crestwood to battle fast-paced Jersey Shore in Class 4A quarterfinals