Jersey Shore’s Elijah Jordan named Express Player of the Year
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In the District 4 Class AAAA semifinals against Selinsgrove, Jersey Shore quarterback Elijah Jordan took off to his right near the sideline. The Bulldog had room to run, and looked like he was going to keep the ball. Then suddenly, Jordan stopped for a brief moment, took a step and threw a pass in the opposite direction to a wide open Luke Thompson in the back of the endzone.
That single play was a microcosm of how Jordan plays.
He can air it out with the best quarterbacks in District 4. He can run around and pick up yardage with his feet. And he can extend a play just enough time to find an open receiver down field.
Jordan was an intricate piece of Jersey Shore's team this year and was a huge reason the Bulldogs reached the District 4 Class AAAA championship game, falling to Shamokin in overtime in a heartbreaker.
Jordan's outstanding season earned him The Express Most Valuable Player honor for football this year.
Jordan ended his season with 2,388 passing yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. On the ground, he ran around for nearly 800 yards and found the endzone eight times. Whenever the Bulldogs needed Jordan to do something, he did.
"You know sometimes people are like 'hey where's he at? How am I supposed to block?' They might get him sometimes, but he's going to extend plays and make plays like he did," Jersey Shore coach Tom Gravish said after beating Selinsgrove in the district semifinals. "Sometimes guys might say 'he didn't run where he was supposed to go,' but hey he still got yardage."
That's the way Jordan played all season long.
Jordan threw for 200 or more yards in six games this year and the only team to hold the Bulldog below 100 passing yards was state-ranked Scranton Prep late in the year (88). Jordan had a quarterback rating of 105.5 this year and a completion percentage of 57% as he went 167 for 293.
Whenever Jersey Shore needed a big play or a key drive, it turned to Jordan at quarterback to deliver.
And just about every time the Bulldogs needed him, Jordan came through with a key play.
EXPRESS OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL ALL-STARS
Carson Nagle,
Bald Eagle Area, QB
Nagle put together a superb senior year with Bald Eagle Area and showed area fans why Lock Haven got a standout quarterback. Nagle led Bald Eagle Area to 5-5 record as he threw for 2,332 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while he also ran for 346 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Nagle often put the Eagles on his back in games to win games, and if Bald Eagle Area didn't win,
Nagle had some ridiculous games this year. He went 28 for 40 with an impressive 448 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 49-7 rout over Penns Valley, threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-14 win over Central Cambria and also threw for 338 with four touchdowns in a 33-14 win against Philipsburg-Osceola. Nagle was named first-team LHAC quarterback this year.
Bo Sechrist,
Jersey Shore, RB
Jersey Shore had a dual threat quarterback in Elijah Jordan who could throw and run, but Bo Sechrist was a weapon in the backfield as a running back. The junior had 603 rushing yards this year, averaging 5.6 per carry, and had an impressive 13 rushing touchdowns. He proved to be a valuable running back throughout the year.
Cooper Bottorf,
Central Mountain, FB
Bottorf did well as a blocking full back. He had just 160 rushing yards this year, but helped pave the way for teammates Jake Weaver, Kole Corman and others. Bottorf earned second-team HAC-I all-star honors as a fullback/halfback.
Evan Snyder,
Jersey Shore, WR
Snyder was a receiver that few defensive backs had an answer for. The Bulldog had a team-high 64 receptions and had 1,093 receiving yards this year, averaging nearly 100 yards per game. Snyder averaged 17.1 yards per catch and scored an impressive 15 touchdowns in 12 games played.
Beau Taylor,
Bald Eagle Area, WR
Carson Nagle had a ton of weapons to throw to, and elevated all of his receiving threats. Taylor was among them. The junior caught a team-high 54 passes for a team-high 707 yards this past fall. He averaged 13.1 yards per catch and scored four touchdowns.
Paul Hale,
Jersey Shore, WR
If teammate Snyder wasn't reeling in receptions, there's a solid chance Elijah Jordan was throwing the ball to Hale. The Bulldog, also a senior like Snyder, caught 58 passes for 799 receiving yards. Hale proved elusive against cornerbacks and safeties and also scored six touchdowns, second on the team behind only Snyder's 15.
Wyatt Spackman,
Bald Eagle Area, TE
Whether he was blocking or going out for passes, Spackman was a key piece of Bald Eagle Area's offense. The senior tight end caught 27 passes for 279 yards, averaging 10.3 yards per catch and, more importantly, proved to be a huge redzone weapon. Spackman led Bald Eagle Area's with a team-high seven TDs and was named LHAC East third-team tight end.
Jersey Shore, offensive line
Jersey Shore's five offensive lineman were outstanding from start to finish and were an enormous reason the Bulldogs had the success they did. Week in and week out, the Bulldogs had to play tough competition, including teams like Dallas, Delaware Valley, Shamokin (twice), Hollidaysburg and state-ranked Scranton Prep. The Bulldogs' offensive line may have been the most battle tested in the state with the quality of defensive players they had to block against to allow Elijah Jordan time to throw and the back field time to run.
Brodie Herr,
Jersey Shore, kicker
Herr was an outstanding kicker for the Bulldogs. From a scoring perspective, he kicked 28 extra points and was money after touchdowns.
As the team's kickoff specialist, he had 42 kickoffs and averaged 40.8 yards per kick with three touchbacks.
Brody Pentz,
Bucktail, athlete
The senior quarterback made big plays with his arms and with his feet to routinely keep the Bucks in any game they played in. Bucktail often had to rely on Pentz, and he did everything he possibly could. Pentz ended the season with 594 passing yards and eight touchdowns and ran for 1,116 yards and another six touchdowns. He ended his career with 3,082 rushing yards, 1,811 passing and 5,117 total yards and 54 touchdowns.
OFFENSIVE HONORABLE MENTION
Logan Rarrick, Bellefonte (tackle); Ashton Howell, Bellefonte (wide receiver); Grady Fisher, Bald Eagle Area (punter); Andy Gerasenko, Bellefonte (kicker); Gage Gardner, Bald Eagle Area (tackle); Logan Rarrick, Bellefonte (end), Braydon Dubbs, Bald Eagle Area (end), Luke Thompson, Jersey Shore (running back/tight end); Owen Hoffman, Central Mountain (offensive lineman); Carson watkins, Jersey Shore (Wide receiver); Trent Severino, Jersey Shore (wide receiver); Isaiah Maldonado, Central Mountain (athlete); Mason Larson, Alex Coakley, Central Mountain (offensive lineman); Mycah Carson, Central Mountain (kicker).
EXPRESS DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL ALL-STARS
Gavin Heverly,
Central Mountain, DL
Central Mountain didn't secure a win this past fall, but that doesn't mean the Wildcats didn't have playmakers all over the field. Heverly, a sophomore, had 42 total tackles and averaged 4.7 per game, while recording 27 solo tackles.
Logan Rarrick,
Bellefonte, DL
Rarrick was a standout on Bellefonte's defensive line and was a big part of the success the defense saw this past fall. Rarrick was named a first-team LHAC defensive end and was one of just three Raiders to earn LHAC honors this year.
Slate Sechrist,
Jersey Shore, DL
Sechrist was a player that opposing offenses hated seeing line up each play because more times than not, he was in the backfield as a defender. Sechrist led the Bulldogs with 26 tackles for loss and averaged 6.7 tackles per game. He earned first-team HAC-I honors as a defensive tackle.
Zeke Sechrist,
Jersey Shore, DL
Another outstanding Sechrist for Jersey Shore was Zeke. The Bulldog was a first-team defensive end all-star honors in the HAC-I. The sophomore recorded 60 total tackles and had 15 tackles for loss, second-most on the team. he also averaged 5.5 tackles per game.
Bo Sechrist,
Jersey Shore, LB
Sechrist had a great season defensively for the Bulldogs and was a key part of why Jersey Shore was a tough team to run or pass against. The junior Bulldog led the team in total tackles (123), solo tackles (76), assisted tackles (47) and averaged 10.3 tackles per game. He also recorded six tackles for loss.
Kole Corman,
Central Mountain, LB
Corman was only a sophomore this year, but he made a huge impact on the defensive end of the ball. The Wildcat led Central Mountain with 105 total tackles this year, recording 52 solo tackles (team high) and 53 assisted (team high). He also averaged 10.5 tackles per game and had 6.5 tackles for loss. Corman was named a first-team HAC-I linebacker.
Wyatt Spackman,
Bald Eagle Area, LB
Spackman played his final year with the Eagles and was a talented linebacker with Bald Eagle Area in his senior year. Offensively, he was a talented quarterback, but defensively, he led the team all around. Spackman had a team-high 106 tackles for the Eagles and led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 10.6 tackles per game. He had 74 solo tackles. Spackman's abilities on defense didn't go unnoticed as he was named first-team LHAC linebacker.
Khye Kissell,
Central Mountain, LB
Kissell was another Central Mountain player who earned HAC-I all-star honors this year. Kissell was a second-team outside linebacker selection and helped make plays to keep Central Mountain in games. Kissell had 40 tackles this year and averaged 5.7 per game.
Ethan Shirk,
Bald Eagle Area, DB
Shirk was a key part of Bald Eagle's defense this past year. The Eagle had an interception and had the second-most tackles on the team with 54. He recorded four tackles for loss and also had a fumble recovery.
Elijah Jordan,
Jersey Shore, DB
While he was an outstanding quarterback and dual-threat weapon offensively, Jordan was just as good on the defensive end. Jordan was a HAC-I first-team defensive back this year, but he could make an impact all over the field.
Dalton McDermott,
Central Mountain, DB
McDermott made plays for the Wildcats in the secondary throughout the year. He led the Wildcats with two interceptions and had 63 tackles, second most for Central Mountain this past year. He had 22 solo tackles and also recorded a tackle for loss.
Evan Snyder,
Jersey Shore, DB
Snyder earned first-team defensive back honors this year for the HAC-I and his stats paint a great portrait of why. Snyder had a team-high two interceptions for the Bulldogs' defense, recorded a fumble recovery, had 32 tackles and recorded 24 solo tackles.
Brodie Herr,
Jersey Shore, punter
Did you know in addition to being an outstanding kicker, Herr was a pretty good punter as well? The Bulldog senior totaled 27 punts this year for 952 yards, averaging 35.3 yards per punt. He also had three punts downed inside the 20 and his longest punt of the year was for an impressive 62 yards.
DEFENSIVE HONORABLE MENTION
Noah Weaver, Bellefonte (linebacker), Kolin Cunningham, Bald Eagle Area (defensive back); Aiden Howell, Bellefonte (defensive back); Owen Vandruff, Jersey Shore (defensive tackle); Kai Fravel, Central Mountain (defensive end); Brandon Rhea, Jersey Shore (defensive tackle); Brodie Herr, Jersey Shore (LB).