HS FOOTBALL: Nativity looks to grow back into playoff team

Aug. 19—POTTSVILLE — Nativity head coach Pat Mason doesn't mince words.

"Our theme is, 'Grow up,' " Mason said Aug. 2 at Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association Media Day. "On the first day of summer camp, I looked at all of them and said, 'Hey men, we've got to grow up. We need to become men. We need to grow up.' Last year we had so many younger guys. This year we need to mature real fast, step up and be leaders and be football players."

Entering his seventh season atop Lawton's Hill, Mason has made the Green Wave competitive in most seasons. From 2019-2021, for example, Nativity went 16-15 and made the District 11 Class A playoffs all three seasons.

Last season proved more difficult. A combination of youth, inexperience and injuries led to a 3-8 season that ended with six losses in the final seven games.

Again, Mason didn't sugar-coat the situation.

"Last year was tough," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you. It was hard for me and it was hard for our kids because I think we established something at Nativity, and last year wasn't what we've fought for. Last year wasn't what we want to brand ourselves as.

"We're better than that. I know we're better than that. ... We're going to show that this year. I'm super-confident in these kids, and I think come Week 1, we're going to turn it on."

Mason's optimism comes from a look at a preseason depth chart that includes returning starters all over the field — and on both sides of the ball.

The best thing about playing a bunch of inexperienced freshmen and sophomores last year is that they come back as experienced sophomores and juniors — most of them taller, bigger and stronger than they were a year ago.

"We're young, but it's time to step up," Mason said. "These kids all played a ton of football last year. These kids worked hard all year long. There are really no excuses anymore. We've been through a lot last year, a lot of injuries last year. When you have injuries, you have a chance for kids to step up and play and get a lot of opportunity there.

"The nice part now is we have a whole lot of position battles going on," he added. "We'll see what happens."

Junior Ben Kreitzer returns at quarterback after completing 71-of-158 passes for 1,237 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Sophomore Colt Mason (16-of-24, 202 yards, 1 TD) also saw action under center. Junior Mike Stank is in the mix at quarterback, too.

Junior Samuel Spolski (130-691, 6 TDs), senior John Borrell (52-233, 2 TDs), senior Devon Smith (28-109) and senior Nolan Ferhat will get the majority of the carries at running back. Borrell also had 19 catches for 178 yards and two TDs out of the backfield.

Junior wide receiver Noah Dolbin led the Green Wave with 44 receptions for 856 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Junior Sam Walborn (11-134, 1 TD) and Stank could see time at wide receiver, with junior Drew Seaman at tight end.

"We need to find somebody who's going to make big plays," Mason said. "We need to find somebody who's going to take the ball in their hands and take it to the house."

Up front, Nativity returns four starters, with senior tackle Will Mongrain leading the way. Junior Mark Kimmel and senior Jacob Rosenberger are the guards, with sophomore George Shimko at the other tackle. Junior Jasir Jones and junior Andrew Verchick are competing at center.

"No. 1 it's leadership. We have a lot of young kids," Ferhat said. "I want to show them what Coach wants, what he expects out of us. I think myself and the other four captains do a great job with that. ... That's the most important part, doing what he wants to do, and we're going to win games.

"I've talked to the other seniors about it," Ferhat added. "We want to make it the best year possible, have a memorable senior year."

Nativity returns a lot of second-year starters on defense as well.

Shimko, Jones and Kimmel man the defensive line, with junior Gavin Frie, Smith, Spolski, junior Barry Jenkins and Borrell at linebacker in Nativity's 3-5 base set.

Dolbin (three interceptions) is back at safety, with Ferhat (two interceptions), Stank and Walborn at the corners.

Another trait Mason is looking to bring out of this group is clutch play. Who's going to step up when things go wrong? Who's going to make the key block or get the tough yard on fourth-and-1? Who's going to get the key sack or make the interception late in the fourth quarter that clinches a victory?

"Our numbers are up," Mason said of his 47-player roster. "Our attitude is great. I think we have great leaders this year. ... I think we can be competitive with every team we play, but again, are we going to show up and play the way we need to play to win a football game?"

That question will begin to be answered when Nativity straps it up Week 1 at Wyalusing, a game originally scheduled for Friday but moved to Saturday night.

"I'm super-blessed. I've got hard workers. I've got great kids," Mason said. "I have kids that love to be coached. I have kids that love to work out. I can't ask for anything more.

"It's all there. They've done everything they needed to do; they do everything I ask them to do. At this point, we've got to perform. Last year we didn't perform. It's that simple. We didn't play well enough to win games. This year we've got to tackle better, we've got to block better, we've got to do the basics better."

Contact the writer: blipsky@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6012; @boblipskyRH on Twitter