'13 PA ATH Alex Anzalone (Florida Early Enrollee)

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Bogtrotter07

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NYMIKE6 said:
I thought Deeb would audition for WILL and Anzalone would be positioned at MIKE?
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I understand where you are coming from, but AA is so good in coverage. And typically . . . Of course this year . . .

(It all may just be semantics.)
 
TheChosen1

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Alex Anzalone‏@AlexAnzalone_24
Coach Alford is coming tomorrow for an in-home visit #GoIrish
 
Polish Leppy 22

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I went to the game. Imhotep had size (big and sloppy, couldn't move) but Wyomissing was more disciplined, better coached, and methodical in what they did. And they had #24.

It's real: Spartans win
Wyomissing beats Imhotep. Next stop: PIAA title game against Aliquippa.
Jason Guarente
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Reading Eagle: Harold Hoch
Wyomissing's Alex Anzalone runs over Imhotep Charter's Armon Piedra for some of his 156 yards rushing during the Spartans' win in their PIAA Class AA semifinal game Saturday in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA - They've dreamed about it for so long and worked so hard to get there it almost doesn't seem real to Wyomissing's football players.

They're headed to the state championship game.

Using a newfound, big-play passing attack and a tough, disciplined defense, Wyomissing knocked off Imhotep Charter 35-13 in the PIAA Class AA semifinals at Benjamin L. Johnston Stadium Saturday.

The Spartans advanced to face Aliquippa in the final next Saturday at noon at Hersheypark Stadium.

"I'm awestruck," tackle Wyatt Metzger said. "I felt like I was in a daze all game long. I couldn't believe we were actually here."

For the first time during this playoff quest, Wyomissing collided with an opponent that looked just as talented on paper. The District 3 champs proved to be better on the field.

Fullback Alex Anzalone carried 18 times for 156 yards and was one of four Wyomissing backs with a rushing touchdown.

Quarterback Corey Unger, making his second appearance of the season after being ineligible for 13 games following his transfer from Fleetwood, completed 5-of-7 passes for 119 yards and a score.

Imhotep (14-1) hadn't allowed more than 12 points in a game before it finally encountered an offense it couldn't stop.

Most of Wyomissing's 256 rushing yards came between the tackles with the Spartans winning the battle at the line of scrimmage and Anzalone powering for extra yardage.

"They outsized us but I'd say we had a bigger heart," Metzger said. "They had guys bigger and stronger than us but we beat them up front good. We were running dive all day long."

Wyomissing took the lead in the second quarter when Unger connected on two long throws in the final five minutes.

Unger hit Gerald Burns on a 46-yard touchdown on his first series of the game. The senior connected with Joe Cacchione on a 50-yard strike to set up Anzalone's 3-yard TD run just before half.

That sent Wyomissing into intermission with a 21-7 lead.

Imhotep's high-powered offense, led by Division I recruit David Williams, generated only two huge gains.

Williams finished with 142 yards rushing, including a 50-yard TD in the first half. DeAndre Scott had a 44-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-11 that made it 21-13 in the third quarter.

Wyomissing held Imhotep to its lowest point total of the season. The Panthers were averaging 45 points per game.

"When we came out that first drive I just knew," Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said. "We weren't going to get manhandled. That was for sure. We were going to be in the game. Then it became a question of whether we could contain their back."

Justin Causa and Scott McAvoy each had an 11-yard touchdown run in the second half to help Wyomissing pull away. Brandon Gonzalez delivered the Spartans' other rushing score.

Imhotep managed only two first downs on its final three possessions.

"Sometimes you've got to have some pain, some hurt, so you can appreciate the joys," Panthers coach Albie Crosby said. "Wyomissing played really well. I'm rooting for those guys like crazy."

When addressing his team during the week, Crosby said Wyomissing was "intimidated" by Imhotep and the Panthers were four touchdowns better.

The comments were published in an online story and served as an added dose of motivation for the Spartans.

They let their play do the talking.

"I think they underestimated us," Cacchione said. "We didn't underestimate them. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We went out there and played like it."

Wyomissing (15-0) became the first Berks team to win 15 games and is the highest-scoring team in county history with 612 points.

Those accomplishments are secondary to the ultimate goal: a state championship.

"It's pretty surreal," Anzalone said, "but we're not satisfied. We've got one more game."
 
GowerND11

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Aliquippa. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't they an A school that actually plays up to AA? I am from eastern PA, so I don't know much about them, but I saw some of a game of theirs on TV a couple weeks ago at Heinz Field (WPIAL Championship game I believe). They looked very well coached, but maybe a little small? Anyone in western PA want to fill me in?
 
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GowND11 said:
Aliquippa. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but aren't they an A school that actually plays up to AA? I am from eastern PA, so I don't know much about them, but I saw some of a game of theirs on TV a couple weeks ago at Heinz Field (WPIAL Championship game I believe). They looked very well coached, but maybe a little small? Anyone in western PA want to fill me in?
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I was wondering the same. I live in eastern pa (Hershey) but moved here 4 years ago from Ohio so I'm still getting used to the whole Pennsylvania football lol.
 
Polish Leppy 22

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Crimson streak said:
I was wondering the same. I live in eastern pa (Hershey) but moved here 4 years ago from Ohio so I'm still getting used to the whole Pennsylvania football lol.
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Aliquippa is a legit AA school. They've been a AA football contender for the past decade. May not be huge but they have speed on top of speed.

Haven't done any homework yet on the Quips, but my hunch is that Wyomissing will want to run a lot (as they always do in Wing T) and play clock control to limit Aliquippa on offense.

Wyo's O line and D line were HEAVILY outsized yesterday but the other guys were big and sloppy and out of shape. Wyo's guys aren't all monsters but they play tough and are in good shape.

I'll be at Hershey next week. Go Irish
 
GowerND11

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
Aliquippa is a legit AA school. They've been a AA football contender for the past decade. May not be huge but they have speed on top of speed.

Haven't done any homework yet on the Quips, but my hunch is that Wyomissing will want to run a lot (as they always do in Wing T) and play clock control to limit Aliquippa on offense.

Wyo's O line and D line were HEAVILY outsized yesterday but the other guys were big and sloppy and out of shape. Wyo's guys aren't all monsters but they play tough and are in good shape.

I'll be at Hershey next week. Go Irish
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Actually according to the PIAA, PIAA - Schools - Directory - Aliquippa Senior High School , Aliquippa is A enrollment, but they do play up to AA.
 
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mgriff

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Aliquippa is a legit program in PIAA football. Ditka went there man!
 
Polish Leppy 22

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Really good article about the history and tradition of Aliquippa, who Anzalone and Wyo play on Saturday in Hershey.


Few programs can match Quips' rich tradition

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Mike Drago
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Tom Cruise didn't play football for Aliquippa, but he might have.

His character, Stefan Djordevic, played defensive back for fictional Ampipe High School in the 1983 movie "All The Right Moves."

It's a story about an economically depressed Western Pennsylvania steel town and the importance of football in the community.

It just as well could be Aliquippa's story; in fact, it might be. Former Mighty Quips coach Don Yannessa was a technical adviser for the film and appeared in the movie as the coach of the fictional Maple Heights.

(The movie was filmed primarily in Johnstown.)

Aliquippa, located along the Ohio River 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, was once a booming steel town. When the steel industry in America declined in the 1980s the town did, too.

But not the quality of football.

The Mighty Quips have one of the most storied programs in Pennsylvania history and are at the top of their game these days, having won 29 of their last 30 games and 41 games the past three seasons.

They take a perfect record into Saturday's PIAA Class AA championship game against Wyomissing, which is also unbeaten.

Wyomissing has its own great football tradition but the Spartans have never played for a state title.

This will be the Quips' fifth shot at gold: They won titles in 1991 and 2003 and lost in the championship game in 1988 and 2000.

Their 80 postseason victories are the most in state history and their 648 wins rank among the top 15 in the state.

Just as impressive - even more so - is the fact that Aliquippa has won more WPIAL titles (15) and played in more WPIAL championship games (22) than any other school. In fact, the Quips have played at Heinz Field for the District 7-AA championship five straight seasons.

"Everybody knows the name Aliquippa," said Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum. "That's neat that we're gonna get a chance to play against a team with all that history."

History, the Quips have. Just check out the some of their alumni.

The most well-known is Mike Ditka, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who coached the Chicago Bears to a Super victory.

Defensive back Ty Law won three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots and was named to the Pro Bowl five times.

Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets is one of the NFL's best defensive backs.

Sean Gilbert was the third overall pick of the 1992 NFL draft, by the Los Angeles Rams.

Jonathan Baldwin is a wide receiver with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tommie Campbell plays defensive back for the Titans.

(Tony Dorsett grew up in Aliquippa but attended Hopewell High School.)

The town can also lay claim to Press Maravich, the former LSU basketball coach and father of "Pistol" Pete Maravich.

The Quips went 36-4 during Revis' three seasons, winning a state title his senior year, in 2003.

He scored five touchdowns in that game, returning a kickoff and a field goal attempt - which he blocked.

Two days after winning the championship Revis, with no more than a walk-through practice to prepare for basketball season, took the floor and scored 35 points against Beaver Falls.

Except for the success of their football teams the Aliquippa and Wyomissing communities could not be more different.

"It's a tough town," Revis once said of his decaying hometown. "It makes you grow up fast. There's a lot of negativity there."

Mike Zmijanac was raised in Aliquippa. He has been the Quips head football coach since 1997 and taught at the school for 39 years.

"Aliquippa was the greatest place in the world to grow up," Zmijanac told the Ellwood City Ledger earlier this season. "Everyone's family worked in the mill; everyone made the same money; everyone was equal.

"Aliquippa was truly a melting pot of different cultures back then. I learned to swear in seven different languages by the time I was 15."

 
dublinirish

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AA tweeted that Devin Butler is going to watch him play in the PA state championship game at the weekend..thats pretty cool stuff
 
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