Pennsylvania Offseason Outlook: Williams Valley

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2022 Recap</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Williams Valley Vikings are coming off their first conference title since 2017 and their first under the Colonial-Schuylkill banner in 2022, after going 8-3 overall but 6-1 in conference play. Under the tutelage of head coach Tim Savage, the Vikings got off to a 3-0 start on their season which included comfortable wins over Pine Grove and Schuylkill Haven. They'd hit a bit of a road block in the former of Minersville and Loyalsock Township but would bounce back to win their last five regular season games to take home the conference title. In the playoffs, they would fall narrowly to Executive Education Academy Charter School 22-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, they were led by quarterback Isaac Whiteash who completed 70-of-147 passing attempts for 1,1416-yards, and 21 touchdowns. Junior tailback [player_tooltip player_id='91638' first='Alex' last='Achenbach'] who returns also had a major season with 1,744 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground and additional 300 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver. Wide receiver Brady Evans was the leading receiver with 35 carries for 896 yards and 12 touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the trio of Logan Williard, Bryant Hoover, and Isaac Whiteash led the Vikings in tackles and will all have to be replaced this upcoming season. Two way linemen Ezi Hilte and Aiden Miller led the team in tackles for a loss with 15 and 12 respectively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Key Losses:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12621077">OT Ezi Hilte<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13915863">WR Brady Evans<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13216226">DT [player_tooltip player_id='93033' first='Cruz' last='Banda']<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15075436">QB Isaac Whiteash<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15075660">ATH Logan Williard<br></a>OL/LB Bryant Hoover<br><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15083230">ATH Gage Miller</a><br>OL Aiden Miller</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Key Returnees:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15075926">RB [player_tooltip player_id='91638' first='Alex' last='Achenbach']<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16515994">WR Kian Krzyzanowski<br></a>ATH Zach Stella<br><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16515944">ATH Skylor Green<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/18552111">ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1591039' first='Brady' last='Shomper']<br></a><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16515916">ATH Braydon Crisswell</a><br>OL Jesse Koons</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2023 Outlook:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Under head coach Tim Savage - Williams Valley has always been a strong team, since 2015, they haven't lost more than three games in a season and have recorded five seasons of nine wins or more. We expect to be that to be the case once again in 2023. Yes, it will be hard to replace players such as Isaac Whiteash and wide receiver Brady Evans but running back [player_tooltip player_id='91638' first='Alex' last='Achenbach'] is a tremendous talent and should be one of the better running backs in the conference. Rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1591039' first='Brady' last='Shomper'] looks to be the likely starting quarterback next fall, how will he be able to transition into being the starter? That will be key. As a strong defensive team, the Vikings will also have to replace their top three tacklers from last season, Shomper is their leading returning tackler, a jack of all trades to say the last. It will be intriguing to see how they they do on that side of things especially early in the season with a lot of production lost this offseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->