Defense steps up for Blue Eagles
Corey Hartranft. Jacob Levey. Jack McKenna. Jake Wilson.
They’re seniors and they all play key roles on the defensive side of the football.
They’re the Nazareth Blue Eagles who sometimes go unnoticed, playing in the shadows of headliners Anthony Harris and Nathan Stefanik.
In Friday night’s 27-13 win over Bethlehem Catholic at Andrew S. Leh Stadium, Hartranft, Levey, McKenna and Wilson hardly went unnoticed. In fact, they dominated on defense — and heard their names called often by Bryan Wolf over Nazareth’s PA system.
Defense was the key to the Blue Eagles’ fifth straight win.
Coach Tom Falzone’s team is 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division.
“We felt like we had a good defense going into the season,” said Wilson, a defensive end, “but with this seniority on the team, we’re just really coming together and making plays.
“It’s satisfying. We’re riding the energy. We’ve been able to tough out games. As long as we get the win, it’s all good.”
Of course, Harris and Stefanik did their thing as well. They hooked up for nine times for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Harris, the senior quarterback, passed for 188 yards and rushed for 101 yards. Stefanik, a senior wideout and defensive back, picked off two passes, upping his single season record to nine (through five games) and his career record total to 12.
Harris set a program record for career passing yardage. He’s now at 6,149 overall to overtake Ryan Fry, who had 6,120.
Junior kicker Matt Bugbee kicked three extra points to set a career record at 92.
“A win’s a win, in the end and you move forward,” Falzone said. “Heck, we’re 5-0 and that’s unchartered here for awhile. We feel good but our motto’s been 1-0 and we did it again this week. You try not to get too high or too low.”
Eagles take flight: Bethlehem Catholic scored first on Malik Thomas’ 2-yard TD run with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
The Blue Eagles respondedas senior running back Logan Grom burst through a hole for a 30-yard scoring sprint. They added another TD late in the opening quarter when Harris hit Stefanik on a 19-yard pass play for a 14-6 lead.
Both defenses dominated in the middle quarters as neither team scored.
The Blue Eagles limited Bethlehem Catholic’s rushing attack to 91 yards. Tavion Banks finished with 47 yards on 19 carries. Thomas totaled 40 yards on 13 attempts. They entered averaging a combined 220 yards per game.
“Everyone doing their jobs and keeping gap integrity. Everyone made the plays when they were there,” Wilson said.
“Hat’s off to the defensive guys again,” Falzone said. “When our offense sputters this year the defense has been able to step it up. They did that again tonight for us.”
The Blue Eagles scored the first two touchdowns of the fourth quarter, Harris keeping for an 11-yard score and sophomore Tyler Rohn reaching the end zone on a 2-yard run.
Thomas’ second TD of the night for the Golden Hawks was an 8-yard run.
Harris and Grom fronted Nazareth’s 214-yard effort on the ground. Grom, a 5-7, 148pounder, finished with 13 carries for 68 yards.
Defense, though, was the name of the game for the Blue Eagles.
“The defense really bailed us out,” Falzone said. “Because the offense was a complete circus, we were all over the place, especially in the first half. Penalties. Mistakes. You name it, we were doing it wrong. We got just enough at the end to get us through.”
Up next:Nazareth travels to Orefield on Friday to play Parkland (3-2, 2-2). Bethlehem Catholic welcomes Whitehall (0-5, 0-4) to BASD Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28. Both games begin at 7 p.m.