In most cases, a 4-7 record would seem to be little cause for celebration, but not so for Nativity’s 2013 football season.
The Green Wave got to extend their campaign by one game by accepting a bid into the Eastern Conference Class A semifinals after District 4’s Sayre declined the invitation.
Though Nativity fell 42-0 to Mahanoy Area in the game, head coach Tony Klazas said the experience can only help a program that is rebuilding this fall.
“Anytime you make a playoff, it’s great for your team, your morale, your school, just to get our name out there,” said Klazas, a Nativity graduate beginning his 11th season at the helm. “We lost a couple of games last year that we shouldn’t have lost. ... They earned it. It wasn’t like it was a gift.”
Perhaps the Green Wave will already feel they’re earning their eventual reward in 2014. Nativity’s roster has dropped from 30 at the outset of 2013 to 22 players, but this year’s group has put in extra conditioning work to prepare for the grind of the regular season. During the summer, the team gathered for such tasks as flipping tires, pushing weighted bags the length of a football field and running both sprints and distance.
“Then we’d go up and lift right after that. It’ll pay off in the end, I think,” Nativity lineman Aaron Davidson said. “We have to be in shape. That’s our goal, to be in shape to go both ways, defense and offense throughout the game.”
Klazas said Nativity’s success will hinge not just upon conditioning and the perennial need of a small team to avoid injuries. The Green Wave graduated 11 seniors, lost three other players to transfer, injury and ineligibility, and returns just three offensive starters and four on defense.
“We have three lineman (starters) right now,” Klazas said. “One’s a freshman (Luciano Yourey) and he’s going to end up being our center, so the other two — guard and tackle spots (must be filled).”
The candidates are many, though Davidson is a two-year starter and fellow senior Chris Wollyung returns. Other contenders include senior Justin Yanek, juniors Joshua Cromyak, Justin Steele and Dakota Tray and sophomore Anthony Lutchkus.
“It’s no different from year to year because of the size of the school we have,” Klazas said. “It’s been Nativity’s mantra since back when I played. We always had great skill guys. I was blessed to have a couple of years when we had really good lines. You’ve got to get them to gel right away and once that happens, we should be OK.”
The skill positions also face a challenge. Quarterback Danny Lozada, who threw for 990 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2013 and who led the team in rushing, has transferred to Schuylkill Haven. Klazas said his replacement, senior Dominic Piccioni, should fit nicely into the Green Wave’s multiple attack.
“Nothing really changes,” Klazas said. “(Piccioni) played junior high, broke his arm and didn’t play until this year as a senior.”
The most experienced running back returning is sophomore Tristan Shellhammer, who carried only five times last season for 20 yards. Freshman Ryan McDonald is also expected to contribute.
Nativity also lost the bulk of its receiving corps, but Klazas is buoyed by the return of seniors Gino DiNicola at wideout and Tyler Rossi at tight end. The Green Wave got a boost with the addition of standout basketball and baseball player Jeff Yordy at a wide receiver spot.
“What we’ve preached from Day 1 is that we’re a family,” Rossi said. “Yeah, we have a sense of competition (for spots), but the point of the summer practices is to gel and come together as a team.”
That team will retain the 4-3 defensive set that carried Nativity to a 2-2 All-American Football Conference record last season.
“Our secondary will be sound. Our linebackers will be sound,” Klazas said, noting the return of Davidson and Shellhammer at the latter spots. He indicated the maturation of the line will be a key to success in an odd schedule that includes two meetings with Bucktail — one a Tuesday night matchup Sept. 23 in Renovo.
“As long as we fly to the football and be tough, we’ll be OK,” Klazas said. “That was our offseason motto. Be tough. We kind of got away from that a little bit. … I didn’t say it a thousand times a day. Now I do. I wrote it on the wall in our locker room. You can win games if you’re not as talented as somebody if you’re tougher.”
Michael Barbato 12 5-9 190 OL-DL
Aaron Davidson 12 5-11 215 OL-LB
Gino DiNicola 12 6-2 190 WR-DB
Christopher Moser 12 6-0 190 WR-DE
Cullen Hoppel 12 6-0 170 K
Dominic Piccioni 12 5-9 160 QB-DB
Tyler Rossi 12 5-9 150 TE-DE
Chris Wollyung 12 6-1 270 OL-DL
Justin Yanek 12 5-8 170 OL-DE
Jeff Yordy 12 6-1 180 WR-DB
Joshua Cromyak 11 5-6 215 OL-DL
Greg Kroh 11 6-0 180 TE-DE
Sandeep Matharu 11 5-6 150 WR-DB
Chris Oplosky 11 5-6 140 WR-DB
Marcus Renninger 11 5-8 175 QB-LB
Travis Steele 11 6-0 190 OL-DE
Dakota Tray 11 5-6 190 WR-DB
Dustin Tray 11 5-9 200 OL-DL
Anthony Lutchkus 10 5-7 165 OL-DL
Tristan Shellhammer 10 5-11 160 RB-DB
Ryan McDonald 9 5-6 155 RB-LB
Luciano Yourey 9 5-10 200 OL-DL
2013 results
All-American Conference
4-7, 2-2 AAFC
New Hope-Solebury L, 0-35
Mahanoy Area L, 6-52
Mt. Carmel, Md. W, 15-14
John Paul Great L, 0-55
Perkiomen School W, 26-6
Col-Mon Vo-Tech W, 19-6
Carson Long W, 33-13
Pius X L, 21-55
Bucktail L, 30-32
Hancock, Md. L, 15-51
EC Class A semifinal
Mahanoy Area L, 0-42
Green Wave at a glance
Head coach: Tony Klazas (11th season)
Assistant coaches: Bud Becker, John Houseknecht, Joe Brennan, Josh Muldowney, Joe Oplosky, Tony Foster, Tony Klazas Sr., Fran Foster, Scott Price, Gino Yourey, Ryan Searle
Last year: 4-7, 2-2 All-American Conference. Eastern Conference Class A semifinalist
Coach’s record: 45-60 (.429)
Mascot: Green Wave
Stadium: Veterans Stadium, Saint Clair
District/Classification: 11 A
Eastern Conference Classification: Class A South
Starters returning: 3 offense, 4 defense
KEY RETURNEES (7): Aaron Davidson (sr., OL-LB), Tyler Rossi (sr., TE-DE), Chris Wollyung (sr., OL-DL), Joshua Cromyak (jr., OL-DL), Chris Oplosky (jr., WR-DB), Travis Steele (jr., OL-DE), Tristan Shellhammer (soph., RB-DB)
KEY NEWCOMERS (11): Michael Barbato (sr., OL-DL), Christopher Moser (sr., WR-DE), Dominic Piccioni (sr., QB-DB), Justin Yanek (sr., OL-DE), Jeff Yordy (sr., WR-DB), Greg Kroh (jr., TE-DE), Dakota Tray (jr., WR-DB), Dustin Tray (jr., OL-DL), Anthony Lutchkus (soph., OL-DL), Ryan McDonald (fr., RB-LB), Luciano Yourey (fr., OL-DL)
SEASON OUTLOOK: Despite allowing 32.8 points per game, Nativity competed in the Eastern Conference Class A playoffs. Another such season is possible this fall, as most of the roster has been overhauled for a variety of reasons, starting with the graduation of 11 seniors. They have been replaced by a group of fast skill position players and a rebuilt line whose progress will probably determine the Green Wave’s success. Nativity also must adjust to an odd schedule that includes a Tuesday night game at Bucktail.