NTL FOOTBALL: SAYRE'S GORMAN HAS SIGHTS SET ON RETURN TRIP TO DISTRICT 4 PLAYOFFS (2019-08-24)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportSAYRE - In his first year on the Sayre sidelines, Kevin Gorman surprised a lot of pundits by leading the Redskins, who were 1-9 in 2017, to a 6-4 record and a trip to the District 4 playoffs. In 2019, Gorman has sets his sights on a return trip to the postseason.
"We've talked about it as a team, and I've told the kids we need to get back to the district playoffs," said Gorman. "If you get to the playoffs, anything can happen.
"The NTL Small School title would be nice, but last year the Small School champs (Montgomery) didn't make districts," said Gorman. "We can win our division, but if we don't get back to Districts it's kind of all for nothing.
"I felt, and some of our older guys felt, that the playoff game against Muncy was our worst game in the six-game stretch to end the season," added Gorman. "I think a lot of our guys are motivated to get back there and get another shot at it."
Sophomore Cayden Firestine will anchor the offense line at center, with senior Jared Giggee, and sophomore Nik Polzella starting at guards, and junior Zach Belles and senior Jordan Goodrich at the tackle spots.
"Firestine really surprised us this camp," said Gorman. "He's taken a big step forward and really taken hold of the center position.
"And, if we're going to throw the ball as much as we want to, we need two big presences at tackle," added Gorman. "Those two are the biggest kids we have, and they're doing a nice job."
Sophomores Donovan Wynn and Ethan Ray, and senior Kenny Vanderpool will vie time on the offensive line as well.
At quarterback, Gorman said he'll make a game-time decision between sophomore Brayden Horton, who won the starting job midway through last season, and freshman Lucas Horton.
"I think it would be a week-to-week thing, they are both very good at what they do," said Gorman.
"You can tell Lucas is still a freshman," he noted. "He just needs to get use to the speed of the game. He's still learning, but I think by Week 2 he'll have a good handle on it, since he'll be starting at safety on defense.
"Brayden is very calm, there are no highs and lows on the field. You can see he has played five games for us.
"Both will be playing regardless, they are too good of athletes to keep off the field," added Gorman. "They could see time at wide receiver, and I think both could get the job done in the backfield."
Senior Isaiah Firestine will start at running back, with sophomores David Northrop and Jake Bennett, and freshmen Zack Garrity and Glen Romberger behind him on the depth chart.
"I think (Firestine) is going to have a great year," said Gorman. "You can tell he's seeing the field a lot better this year."
Seniors Corbin Brown and Zach Watkins will start at slot backs.
"They are both quick, with great hands," said Gorman. "If they get in space, there's always the chance they can make someone miss and go all the way."
Seniors Ethan Miller and Pat Casterline will start at wideout.
"Ethan is a big-time wide receiver. He's is 6-4, understands the offense, and has good hands," said Gorman. "We like Pat Casterline on the outside as well. He has good hands, and can turn up field and get that extra yardage."
First-year senior Cam Wheeler, and sophomores Dom Fabbri and Josh Arnold will also see time at wideout, with Arnold also likely to see time in the slot.
"I like our offense, the reason being this is year two in it," said Gorman. "We lost some impact players and it's tough to re-load, but our sophomores on the line and at wide receiver have grown up quick.
"We have nine seniors, some of whom have played a lot of football, but we're still relatively young," the noted. "Getting kids like the Zack Garrity, Glen Romberger and Lucas Horton's of the world to play for us for four years is nice.
"I'm excited to see what our offense will do, with a lot of kids in place who understand the offense," added Gorman.
The second-year Sayre mentor said the strength of his offense is its athletes.
"Having Isaiah (Firestine) back in the backfield, and Corbin (Brown), Ethan (Miller), Zach (Watkins), and Pat (Casterline) at receiver is nice," he said. "They are all seniors who understand the offense, can go up and get the football, and are dangerous in the open field.
"They can all take it all the way at any time," he noted. "My favorite thing is when you see a kid get the ball in his hands, and if he can make a kid miss, he's gone. And, we have several guys capable of that.
"Even at quarterback, we have two kids who can run and throw the ball, and that makes defenses take notice," added Gorman. "Game-planning for a quarterback who can run and pass is difficult."
Gorman does have at least one concern about his offense.
"I'd say the depth on our offensive line is my biggest concern," he said. "I think that's probably the same for most teams, I don't think many teams that have a stable of offensive linemen.
"We have some good younger kids we like on the depth chart, but they haven't seen much, if any, varsity time.
"We have good depth in the backfield, and at wide receiver, and even at quarterback," added Gorman. "We just need to stay healthy up front."
Defensively, Belles will anchor the defense at nose tackle, with Goodrich and Giggee earning the starting nod at defensive end. Polzella will see some time at nose tackle, while Wynn, Vanderpool and Ray will all see time at defensive end.
"We're still young on the defensive line, but I think once they play this weekend, they'll get it," said Gorman.
Miller is moving from safety to outside linebacker this fall, and Firestine, the only returning starter from last year's linebacking corps, will man the other outside linebacker spot.
Northrup and Bennett will start at inside linebacker, with junior Elmer Stevens, Romberger and Garrity behind them on the depth chart.
"We have a couple smaller kids in the middle (linebackers), so that worries me a little, but they are good athletes and are smart," said Gorman.
Zach Watkins and Brown will start at cornerback, with Wheeler and juniors Bobby Benjamin and Jake Burgess also vying for time.
Casterline will start at free safety, and Lucas Horton will man the strong safety spot.
"The secondary is one of our strengths with three seniors returning, but behind them we're kind of young with kids who haven't seen much action on varsity," said Gorman.
"Casterline is a great free safety for us," he noted. "He's great in the run game, good in the pass game, and he's the leader of the back half (of the defense).
"Lucas Horton has played 7-on-7 with us for two years, so he gets the defense," added Gorman.
Sophomores Dom Fabbri, Dylan Watkins and Arnold could also see time at safety, while junior Tavone McClenny could see time at safety or corner.
Gorman's main concern with the defense is the linebacking corps.
"We have three kids at linebacker who have never taken a snap on varsity," he said. "I don't want that to be a revolving door ... my biggest concern is definitely the three newbie linebackers."
Gorman is hoping the defensive line takes some pressure off the young linebackers.
"I think our biggest strength is our defensive line," said Gorman. "It's nice to have a secondary with experience, but our defensive line is pretty good.
"Belles, Giggee, and Goodrich are pretty athletic, which is exciting to see," he noted. "We have big, athletic guys who can move around, instead of just sitting in the middle.
"I think they're going to be exciting to watch. I think we'll probably go as they go," added Gorman.
SPECIAL TEAMSJunior Nic Bentley will handle the kicking chores, while Lucas Horton will do the punting.
Casterline will be the long-snapper, while Romberger will handle the short snaps.
Brown, Northrup, sophomore Matt Lane, and Bennett will handle the kickoff return chores, while Brown and Northrup will field the punts.
GORMAN ON THE NTL SMALL SCHOOL DIVISION"Montgomery is always well-coached, but they lost a lot of very good pieces, and that's always tough, especially for a small school," said Gorman.
"Muncy lost some kids, but they have quite a bit back from their District 4 championship team. I think they'll be our biggest obstacle.
"CV has a new coach, who is bringing some excitement there," he noted. "You never know what you're going to get from CMVT. And, I think Bucktail is solid, they are just small in numbers.
"I think we'll make some noise in the Small School race as well," he added.
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IN PHOTO: Sayre senior Isaiah Firestine.
