Wyomissing’s Aiden Mack earns an ‘A’ for peformance in Big 33 victory

HARRISBURG — Dave Hahn, the offensive line coach for Pennsylvania’s Big 33 team, admits he had some concern about his tight end heading into Sunday’s game against Maryland. He wasn’t sure Aiden Mack could seal off the edge effectively enough for the Keystoners to run their sweeps.

Wyomissing’s All-State tight end had no such worries. He’s grown up an offensive lineman and earned a scholarship to play at Richmond because of his excellent blocking ability.

He wasted little time putting it on display Sunday, with a beautiful seal block on Pennsylvania’s third play that opened the way for Landon Alexander to run for 13 yards and a first down to the 5.

The 6-4 220-pound Mack continued to make similar plays throughout the stifling afternoon as Pennsylvania once again had its way with Maryland, winning the 65th annual Big 33 Classic 28-7 at Bishop McDevitt’s Rocco Ortenzio Stadium.

“He did fantastic,” said Hahn, who gave Mack an ‘A’ blocking grade. “I was very happy with him. He came off the field at one point and said: ‘I may not do it in practice, but I told you I was gonna do it today,’ and he did.”

Mack was going against 280- and 290-pound defensive linemen and often controlled them, both on running plays and in pass-blocking — something he didn’t do a whole lot of in the Spartans’ Wing-T.

“I was really using this as an eye-opener, for what college is going to be like,” said Mack, who heads to Richmond in late June to begin summer classes.

“We’ve got Power Five guys here . . . FCS guys, so it’s a good (indication) of what the talent’s going to be like a the next level.

“I weighed myself against the competition to prepare myself for this summer,” he said. “I think I did pretty well.”

A lot of Pennsylvania players did well.

Wide receiver Eli Heidenreich of Mount Lebanon, who will play at the Naval Academy, had four catches for 96 yards, including a 10-yard TD that capped PA’s first drive.

Quarterback Ethan Kohler of Perkiomen Valley completed 5-of-8 throws and ran 9 yards out of the pocket for a TD late in the second quarter to make it 14-0.

Mount Lebanon’s Alex Tecza, another Navy recruit, was the workhorse in the backfield, running 18 times for 94 yards. His 10-yard TD run made it 21-0 late in the third quarter.

Mostly, it was Pennsylvania’s defensive front that shined.

Imhotep Charter defensive end Keon Wylie collapsed the pocket several times; Maryland quarterbacks Jayden Suaray and Josh Ehrlich were constantly under pressure, forced to throw the ball early, or throw it away. They combined to throw for only 83 yards on 19 attempts; the Maryland running game netted just 49 yards.

Wylie, one of five Penn State recruits on the Pennsylvania roster, was named his team’s MVP.

The Pennsylvania roster wasn’t as strong as it could have been because a number of top players, such as Gov. Mifflin’s Nick Singleton, have enrolled early at Penn State, making them ineligible for this game.

Sauray did hit on a big play, connecting with Dadrian Carter-Williams on a 46-yard strike late in the third quarter that snapped a Maryland scoreless streak that stretched back to 2018. Pennsylvania won by shutout last year and in 2019; there was no game in 2020 because of COVID.

Mack has tacked on 20 pounds since the end of his senior season. Preparing for the Big 33 will have him ready when practice starts at Richmond in August.

“This game motivated me to go the extra (yard) and work harder, because I don’t want to come out here and embarrass myself,” he said. “I want to come out here and put on for PA.”

In addition to tight end Mack was utilized on the kick return team and on PATs. He wasn’t, however, used as a receiver.

“I didn’t run a single pattern today — just like Wyomissing,” he joked.

Even though he was a dominating defensive end as a senior he didn’t see any time on defense, either

“Our D-line is loaded,” he said. “We’ve got guys going to Penn State, UConn, so I just figured I would stay in my lane, do tight end and do that well.”
Which he did.

Last summer Steve O’Neil, Wyomissing’s line coach, predicted Mack would “be the most physical and devastating blocking tight end in the state.”

O’Neil was, of course, right. Mack was a key figure on a Spartans team that averaged nearly 42 points and 310 rushing yards per game. Wyomissing won its third straight district title — with Mack at tight end for each of them — and made its second straight trip to the PIAA Class 3A championship game.

Wyomissing lost both title games to Central Valley, in large because of Alexander. It was interesting to see Mack springing holes for him Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a little weird, considering we’ve got a little history there,” Mack said of Alexander, “but he’s a great player. He made my job pretty easy because he’s elusive and he’s out there making people miss.”

As it turns out, Mack and Alexander hit it off during practices and became friends. That’s always been one of the hidden treasures of games such as this and why players enjoy taking part so much.

“It goes without saying, there’s never been a Super Bowl without a Big 33 alumni,” Mack said, “so it’s a great honor to be in the game. It’s been a great week and I’ve made a lot of new friends.

“It’s awesome to be out here and play in the Big 33. That’s every PA player’s dream, to come out here and perform.”