The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media 2020 All-Area Football Team
While it has been a year pretty much everyone would like to forget, there were still plenty to remember about the 2020 football season in The Reporter, Times Herald and Montgomery Media area.
COVID-19 threw a massive wrench into the working of the area gridiron scene. Norristown and defending District 1-5A champ Cheltenham didn’t play. Archdiocese of Philadelphia schools weren’t going to compete in the fall until a reversal had them take the field.
Limited crowds and “locker rooms” behind end zones became the norm. But through it all, the games – albeit with some cancellations – were played.
Souderton and Pennridge met in the District 1-6A final with the Indians coming away with their first-ever district crown before falling to state power St. Joseph’s Prep in the semifinals.
Upper Dublin won its second District 1-5A crown in three seasons but its run ended when COVID concerns forced the Cardinals to forfeit their state semifinal matchup with Cathedral Prep.
In Class 2A, Bishop McDevitt advanced to the PIAA semis for the first time but the Royal Lancers loss to Southern Columbia was likely the program’s final game – the Archdiocese having announced the school’s closure at the end of the academic year.
Upper Moreland (4A) and Archbishop Carroll (3A) both made their respective state tournaments. Pope John Paul II got in just three games but won them all. La Salle played with heavy hearts after the death of senior offensive lineman Isaiah Turner on Sept. 4. The Explorers ended the year 5-1, their lone loss to St. Joe’s Prep.
And with the games came stellar performances from players to earn their place on our 2020 All-Area Teams.
Heading the defense is Player of the Year Shane Hartzell, the Pennridge senior and Villanova commit part of a first team linebacker corps that includes Archbishop Wood senior Shane Collier and La Salle junior Abdul Carter.
In front of that trio is the defensive line of Wood senior Robert Jackson, La Salle senior Paul Jennings and Pennridge seniors Jack Ferguson and Jake Tarburton.
The first team secondary features a senior foursome of Upper Dublin’s Micah Bootman, Abington’s Oreck Frazier, Bishop McDevitt’s Joachim McElroy and Jalen Hanton of La Salle.
On offense, Germantown Academy’s Jordan Longino is heading to Villanova for basketball, but showcased his football talents one last time to earn first-team quarterback honors.
North Penn’s Khalani Eaton was electric, the junior rushing for 1,038 yards in just five games – an average of 207.6 per game. Archbishop Wood’s Kaelin Costello paced Philadelphia Catholic League teams on the ground, the Vikings junior collecting 703 yards per Ed “Huck” Palmer’s stats on easternpafootball.com.
Seniors Jerry Griffen-Batchler of Germantown Academy and Pope John Paul II’s Justin Kormos proved again to be top playmakers at receiver while Plymouth Whitemarsh senior Dylan Duran earned league first team honors for a second straight year.
The first team offensive line includes five seniors – Ryan Wills of La Salle, North Penn’s Cam McQueen, Souderton’s Ben Murawski, GA’s Jeff Decker and Billy Everitt of Abington.
GA senior Nick Niemynski was select first-team kicker with Upper Dublin junior Owen Carl at punter.
2020 The Reporter/Times Herald Montgomery Media All-Area Football Team
FIRST TEAM
Offense
QB: Jordan Longino, Sr., Germantown Academy
RB: Khalani Eaton, Jr., North Penn
RB: Kaelin Costello, Sr., Archbishop Wood
WR: Jerry Griffen-Batchler, Sr., Germantown Academy
WR: Justin Kormos, Sr., Pope John Paul II
OL: Ryan Wills, Sr., La Salle
OL: Cam McQueen, Sr., North Penn
OL: Ben Murawski Sr., Souderton
OL: Jeff Decker, Sr., Germantown Academy
OL: Billy Everitt, Sr., Abington
TE: Dylan Duran, Sr., Plymouth Whitemarsh
K: Nick Niemynski, Sr., Germantown Academy
Defense
DL: Jack Ferguson, Sr., Pennridge
DL: Paul Jennings, Sr., La Salle
DL: Jake Tarburton, Sr., Pennridge
DL: Robert Jackson, Sr., Archbishop Wood
LB: Shane Hartzell, Sr., Pennridge
LB: Abdul Carter, Jr., La Salle
LB: Shane Collier, Sr., Archbishop Wood
DB: Micah Bootman, Sr., Upper Dublin
DB: Oreck Frazier, Sr., Abington
DB: Jalen Hanton, Sr., La Salle
DB: Joachim McElroy, Bishop McDevitt
P: Owen Carl, Jr., Upper Dublin
SECOND TEAM
Offense
QB: Ryan Zeltt, So., North Penn
RB: Jalen White, Sr., Souderton
RB: Cameryn Jackson, Jr., Upper Moreland
WR: Caleb Baker, Sr., Abington
WR: Jahaire Johnson, Sr., Upper Moreland
OL: Darren Miller, Jr, North Penn
OL: Ryan Schernecke, Sr., Upper Moreland
OL: Owen Coyle Sr., Archbishop Wood
OL: Justin Fisher, Sr., Upper Merion
OL: Michael Fath, Sr., Wissahickon
TE: Matthew Bowes, Sr., La Salle
K: Nick Haynes, Sr., Souderton
Defense
DL: Aonghas Evanick, Sr., Souderton
DL: Darryl Simpson Jr., Sr., Archbishop Carroll
DL: Eric Gardner, So., Bishop McDevitt
DL: Ambrose Colliluori, Sr., Pope John Paul II
LB: Jacob Horton, Sr., Souderton
LB: John Pergine, Sr., Bishop McDevitt
LB: Chris Thompson, Sr., La Salle
DB: Ryan Woertz, Sr., Archbishop Wood
DB: Kelvin Zoomie, Bishop McDevitt
DB: Shaun Purvy, So., Souderton
DB: Timmy Yencha, Sr., Pennridge
P: Santi Sturla, Jr., La Salle
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense
Quarterback: Gavin Daly, Sr., La Salle; Rocco DiRico, Sr., Pope John Paul II; Byron Hopkins, Jr., Upper Moreland; Evan Kutzler, Sr., Souderton; Nick Lamey, Sr., Archbishop Carroll; Nick Santo, Sr., Bishop McDevitt.
Running Back: Jalen Alexander, Fr., Upper Merion; James Bermudez, So, Bishop McDevitt; Eli Boehm, So., Central Bucks West; Sam Brown, Jr., La Salle; Justin Carfrey, Sr., Methacton; Fernando Delgado, Sr., William Tennent; Shane Hartzell, Sr., Pennridge; Brayden Porter, Jr., Souderton.
Wide Receiver: Kyle Bob, Jr., Souderton; Levi Carroll, Jr., North Penn; Billy Coppock, Sr., Archbishop Carroll; Malachi Hansen, Sr., Archbishop Carroll; Justin Machita, Sr., La Salle; Joachim McElroy, Sr., Bishop McDevitt; Cardel Pigford, Sr., Archbishop Wood; Emmanuel Sia, Bishop McDevitt; Ryan Woertz, Sr., Archbishop Wood.
Tight End: Dave Armstrong, Sr., Archbishop Wood; Owen Clark, Jr., William Tennent; Mike Darcy, Sr., North Penn; Jacob Horton, Sr., Souderton.
Offensive Line: Ryan Carr, La Salle College OL; Mario D’Adessi, Sr., Methacton; Jack Hildebrand, Sr., Plymouth Whitemarsh; Danny Fish Jr, Pennridge; Jacob Foley, Sr., Pope John Paul II; Eli Kantor, Sr., Pennridge; Stefano Nikolaou, Sr., Upper Merion; CJ Quesada Rivera, Jr., Bishop McDevitt; DeAndre Townes-Blue, Sr., Abington; Tom Smid, Jr., Upper Dublin.
Kicker: Nate DeVincent, Jr., Wissahickon; Brandon Shire, Sr., Pennridge; Tyler Ready, So., Methacton.
Defense
Defensive Line: Tim Barrett, Sr., La Salle; Dylan Duran, Sr., Plymouth Whitemarsh; John Derkits, Sr., North Penn; Gabe Epps, Jr., Souderton; Ben Helsinger, Sr., Upper Moreland; Jack Hildebrand, Sr., Plymouth Whitemarsh; Shane Lynch, Sr., Wissahickon; Jackson Spradlin, Sr., Central Bucks West; Travis Washington, Sr., Pennridge
Linebacker: Semaj Bridgman, So., Bishop McDevitt; Ben Cooney, Jr., Springfield-Montco; Derrik Cosenza, Sr., William Tennent; Steele DePetrillo, Jr., Pope John Paul II; Phil Picciotti, So., Pennridge; Luke Pollock, Jr., Souderton; Jamie Rivera, So., Abington; Jake Rossman, Sr., Upper Dublin; Luke Shragher, Sr., Lansdale Catholic.
Defensive Back: Matt Blakemore, Jr., Methacton; Eric DeJesus, Sr., William Tennent; Jalen Edwards, So., North Penn; Brandon Gilliard, Sr., Wissahickon; Jahaire Johnson, Sr., Upper Moreland; Nick Lamey, Sr., Archbishop Carroll; Andrew McHugh, Jr., Archbishop Wood; Ryan Moore, Jr., La Salle; Brennan Robinson, Sr., Archbishop Carroll.
Punter: Bobby Haasz, Sr., Wissahickon; Nick Lamey, Sr., Archbishop Carroll; Joachim McElroy, Sr., Bishop McDevitt.
