One of the most anticipated games in Class 6A lived up to the hype.
Nazareth defeated Wilson 30-20 Friday night at West Lawn in a non-league matchup.
Auburn quarterback commit Peyton Falzone put on a show for the second season in a row against the Bulldogs.
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The senior accounted for four touchdowns, with one coming on the ground from one yard out.
“I put in about 15 hours (of film) on these guys this week,” Falzone said. “I had a good feeling about what they were going to do. I read the paper and saw Coach Dahms. He said they were going to try to run the ball to keep it out of our offense’s hands and try to throw some different looks at their offense.
“Credit to them. They did a good job of causing pressure. I’m proud of everybody adapting to secure the win.”
The Bulldogs racked up 10 penalties, which killed drives to put them behind the sticks and even erased a touchdown.
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Nazareth quarterback Peyton Falzone fires a pass against Wilson West Lawn on Friday during their non-league football game on Friday, Sept. 5, 2020. (Bill Uhrich/Reading Eagle)
“We told them we can’t make the mistakes we made,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “Every time we did something, it was a holding penalty, or a busted coverage, or a blown assignment blocking. You can’t do that.”
The Bulldogs stopped the Blue Eagles’ offense on the first two series; after that, they were about to push the ball down the field without much resistance.
Wilson’s Mason Young connected with Monty Greer on a wheel route, bringing the team into the Nazareth red zone. But after a holding penalty, they were backed up to face a third-and-21.
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But that wasn’t any problem for Young, the senior threw it to Correll Akings in the endzone as Akings jumped up over Marque Wimberly for six points.
On their next four possessions, the Blue Eagles (3-0) ended drives with points.
On their first touchdown, Falzone launched a pass off his back foot to Luke Depietro, who got a step on his defender and hauled it in for the score.
With 5:47 left in the half, Falzone capped an 11-play drive by sprinting to the left pylon on a designed keeper, giving Nazareth the lead.
With just 45 seconds left in the half, the Blue Eagles executed a perfectly timed series to set up a 37-yard field goal by Owen Hall, extending their lead to 17-7 at halftime.
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In the first half, Falzone went 13-of-21 for 188 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball to five different receivers. Wimberly led the ground game with 77 rushing yards.
For Wilson, Young completed 7-of-12 passes for 88 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Akings contributed with 52 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards, and a touchdown.
But Nazareth picked up right where they left off.
Falzone found a wide-open Tanner Zelachowski for an 18-yard touchdown after the Bulldogs’ defense broke down.
After the score, Falzone locked eyes with the Bulldogs’ student section, who had been chanting “overrated” before the touchdown.
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“It’s all in good fun, it’s exciting, and I expected it,” Falzone said. “It provides a little more energy in the game, and it’s all good fun.”
At 11:33 in the fourth quarter, on a 13-play, nearly seven-minute drive, Akings scored his second touchdown, an 11-yard run where he broke tackles on the way to the end zone.
Nazareth added one more score late in the game. Falzone rolled right on what looked like a designed sweep keeper, but instead threw over the Bulldogs’ defenders who had committed to the run. A wide-open Matt Leluga caught the pass and walked into the end zone, extending the lead to 30-13.
In the final minute, Young connected with Carpenter on a 46-yard go route for a touchdown—a perfect redemption after Carpenter’s earlier interception.
