Peyton Falzone sizzles, Bulldogs fizzle
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
It was the kind of play that often will spark a team to victory.
Following an interception, Wilson wide receiver Jaiden Carpenter hustled 70 yards down the field and caught Nazareth’s Lance Zuercher a step before the goal line.
| Final | |
| Nazareth | 30 |
| Wilson | 20 |
As Zuercher raised the ball to celebrate a score, Carpenter slapped it away, then recovered it in the end zone, saving a touchdown and keeping his team in the game.
“That was a phenomenal play,” Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms said of Carpenter’s spirited effort. “We should’ve been sky-high (at that point). That was our opportunity to get back into this game.”
The Bulldogs responded with a long touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, pulling within 10 points, but the missed the ensuing two-point coversion try and the spark Dahms was waiting for never turned into a flame.
Nazareth’s Peyton Falzone made sure of that. The Auburn recruit answered that score with his third touchdown pass a few minutes later, all but clinching the Blue Eagles’ 30-20 non-league win Friday at Gurski Stadium.
Carpenter eventually got a touchdown of his own, racing 56 yards with a reception, but his score with 24 seconds left amounted to merely window dressing.
The outcome had been decided earlier, by the Bulldogs’ inability to stop the top senior quarterback prospect in the state and by their miscues on offense, which prevented them from keeping up with Falzone’s production.
The loss stung a Bulldogs team that had been riding high and that was looking to even the score with Falzone, who threw four TDs and ran for a fifth in a 35-31 against them last season.
Dahms was distraught by his team’s “soft” defensive approach against Falzone and by the mistakes his team made: 10 penalties, four sacks allowed, and two interceptions.
“I don’t question our effort,” he said. “I’m very disappointed in our overall play. We’ve just gotta toughen up.”
The Bulldogs (2-1) tried to pressure the 6-5, 208-pound Falzone with blitzes in the first half, and forced him to throw away a couple balls, but he seemed ahead of the game, more often picking up his hot receivers to beat pressures and keep drives going.
“I put in about 15 hours (of watching film) on these guys,” Falzone said, “so I had a good feeling of what they were going to do. Credit to them, they did a good job coming with pressure. I’m just happy how everybody (on our team) adapted and we were able to come out here and secure the win.”
Falzone threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth. He beat the Bulldogs last season with his feet, scoring the only touchdown of the second half on a 50-yard run. This time his running threat finished off the Bulldogs with seven minutes to go. He rolled out of the pocket to his right and took two steps toward the line of scrimmage, then fired on the run to open wide receiver Matt Leluga, who pulled in a 40-yard strike for a 30-13 lead with 6:58 remaining.
“I can run (there) it if we have the numbers,” Falzone explained. “Matt did a great job running that route and getting open; I’m super proud of him. Up front they did the job, too, so I’m just proud of the whole team effort.”
Falzone clicked on 16-of-27 passes without an interception. He ran only a couple of times but he often bought time moving around the pocket and found open receivers, as he did on an 18-yard scoring pass to Tanner Zelachowski for a 23-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
“He’s honestly a great athlete,” said Carpenter, a defensive back. “Even if the play’s broken he still somehow makes a play. And he knows how to throw the ball.”
Wilson went up 7-0 early in the second quarter when running back Correll Akings made a nice adjustment in the end zone and came back to grab Mason Young’s 23-yard throw.
Falzone found the end zone on Nazareth’s next two possessions before the Bulldogs put together an impressive drive that saw them move from their 12 to the Blue Eagles’ 11. On a third-and-6 from there Young found All-State tight end Michael Glover for a touchdown pass but the score was nullified by a holding call.
That turned out to be a pivotal play when the Bulldogs turned it over on downs with 45 seconds remaining in the half and Falzone drove his team down the field for a field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-7.
“We moved the ball, then we’d get a holding penalty,” Dahms lamented. “How many holding calls did we have? Six? Seven? You can’t win football games like that.”
Young actually piled up more passing yards than Falzone; he completed 22-of-35 for 270 yards and a pair of TDs. An early interception proved costly as it led to a touchdown that put Nazareth ahead for good.
The win pushed Nazareth’s record to 3-0 heading into East Penn Conference play next week. The magnitude of the victory was not lost on Falzone.
“It’s a big win for us,” he said. “Wilson, they’re a stable team, they’re gonna go far in states; they did last year. Coach Dahms has established a fantastic tradition here. Being able to come here, compete against them, it was a lot of fun and I’m proud of how our guys played.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Nazareth | 0 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 30 |
| Wilson | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Wilson | Akings, 23 pass from Young (Oxenreider kick) | 11:40 |
| 2 | Nazareth | Depietro, 36 pass from Falzone (Hall kick) | 9:47 |
| 2 | Nazareth | Falzone, 1 run (Hall kick) | 5:47 |
| 2 | Nazareth | Hall, 37 FG | :04 |
| 3 | Nazreth | Zelachowski, 18 pass from Falzone (kick failed) | 6:40 |
| 4 | Wilson | Akings, 11 run (pass failed) | 11:33 |
| 4 | Nazareth | Leluga, 40 pass from Falzone (Hall kick) | 6:58 |
| 4 | Wilson | Carpenter, 56 pass from Young (Oxenreider kick) | :24 |
Team statistics
| NAZARETH | WILSON | |
| First downs | 21 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 32-134 | 32-135 |
| Passing yards | 258 | 270 |
| Total yards | 392 | 405 |
| Passes | 16-27-0 | 22-35-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-26.0 | 3-21.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 1-10 | 10-98 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Nazareth: Wimberly 15-99, Bacolo 12-22, Zelachowski 1-8, Falzone 3-6, Team 1-(-1).
Wilson: Akings 15-68, Harding 3-29, Young 10-22, D. Greer 1-8, Glover 1-5, M. Greer 2-3.
PASSING
Nazareth: Falzone 16-27-0–258.
Wilson: Young 22-35-2–270.
RECEIVING
Nazareth: Zelachowski 6-76, Depietro 5-101, Marinelli 2-14, Beluga 1-40, Zuercher 1-15, Quach 1-12.
Wilson: Carpenter 7-127, Glover 6-50, Akings 5-45, Dean 3-25, M. Greer 1-23.
INTERCEPTIONS
Nazareth: Zuercher, Buscemi.
