Week 3 glance: Wilson needs to tackle one of state’s top QBs to reach 3-0
2024 Berks football coverage
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A lot of focus has been placed on Wilson’s new quarterback, Madyx Gruber, who has led the Bulldogs to a pair of victories after converting from wide receiver for his senior season.
Come Friday Wilson’s focus shifts to the quarterback taking snaps for the other team, and he’s a good one.
“He’s the real deal,” said Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms of Nazareth junior Peyton Falzone, a Virginia Tech recruit. “He’s very fast and he’s very physical and he’s got a really strong arm. He’s probably the best quarterback in the state . . . I don’t know who’s better.”
Some might argue that Bishop McDevitt’s Stone Saunders, Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023, who’s committed to Kentucky, and Spring-Ford’s Matt Zollers, a University of Missouri recruit, are at the head of the class.
They’re both seniors and at this point no threat to the Bulldogs. Falzone is. He has sprinter’s speed – he earned District 11 track medals this spring in the 100 and 300 hurdles – doesn’t shy away from contact and has plenty of weapons around him.
“He’s so big and fast, he’s gonna be tough to contain,” Dahms said. “Everything (they do) revolves around the quarterback.”
The Bulldogs (2-0) defense has done an excellent job against the run game so far; they have allowed a total of 108 rushing yards in two games. If they want to take a 3-0 record into league play for just the second time in 10 years they’ll have to tighten up their pass defense.
Wilson vs. Nazareth is one of several intriguing match-ups in Week 3, the last before Lancaster-Lebanon League play kicks off. Berks Catholic travels to Bethlehem Catholic Thursday; all other games at this point are scheduled for Friday.
At this point Hamburg doesn’t have a game schedule after Fairfield opted out Tuesday. School officials are scrambling to find a replacement.
Among the other games of note this week:
- Former Section 1 rivals Gov. Mifflin (1-1) and Hempfield (1-1) meet for the first time in 13 years, and for the first time in regular season play since the Mustangs last were members of Section 1 in 2003. Mifflin had its way against a young Pleasant Valley team in Week 1 but struggled to move the ball last week against a better Perkiomen Valley team. This game will serve as a good barometer for each side heading into league play.
- Longtime I-C rivals Daniel Boone and Muhlenberg meet in Laureldale. The Muhls (1-1) are smarting after a loss to rival Reading High. Now first-year Muhlenberg coach Rob Flowers get a crack at another of his former teams. The Blazers (0-2) showed a lot of fight – and some offensive punch – last week in a 31-27 loss to Schuylkill Valley.
- Schuylkill Valley (1-1) and Fleetwood (1-1) meet for the first time in three seasons. Each side is looking for some consistency. The Panthers bounced back from a first-week shocker against Muhlenberg to beat Daniel Boone but their defense needs to tighten up. Same goes for the Tigers, who gave up 212 rushing yards last week.
Nazareth is coming off a pair of impressive victories, outscoring Hazleton and Whitehall by a combined 76-13. The Blue Eagles have done it without a pair of senior captains, linebackers Luke Schmidt and Keller Rupper, who were injured. All the more impressive.
Still, Blue Eagles coach Tom Falzone – the quarterback’s father – has been making it sound like he’s overseeing a building team.
“(We’re) trying to get these new linemen acclimated with what they’re doing,” he told LehighValley.com. “It’s a tough test every week, because we don’t have the size up front.
“It’s easy for everyone to say, ‘They’ve got three scholarship guys. They’re the team.’ But this isn’t like basketball where one or two guys can carry a squad. This is football where all 11 have to do the right thing at the right time. It’s completely different. We’re a different squad, a 100 percent different squad than we were last year.”’
It’s true that Nazareth graduated 31 seniors from a team that went 12-2 and won the District 11 Class 6A championship.
It’s also true that some of the best players on that team were underclassmen, such as wide receiver Caleb Wilson, a Lafayette recruit, and running back Marquez Wimberly, who has offers from Syracuse and West Virginia.
Wilson vs. Nazareth preview capsule
The Bulldogs don’t have anyone with a Division I offer. What they’ve shown so far, in wins over Cheltenham and Plymouth-Whitemarsh, is the ability to play as a unit on defense and the knack for getting the ball into the hands of their play-makers.
None have been more important than Gruber, who has completed 63 percent of his passes for 212 yards and run for 109 yards. He also had a Pick-Six last week.
“He’s making our offense go right now, with his ability to run the ball and (with) his decision-making,” Dahms said.
Giving the 5-10, 161-pound Gruber the protection to pass and run remains a concern for Dahms, whose offensive line includes just one return starter, guard Derek Reiniger.
“I’m still a little worried about our inexperience (up front),” Dahms said. “(Nazareth) runs a lot of press man and brings the house. They keep seven in the box and bring ’em from all areas. We have to do a better job on picking up their stunts.”
