H.S. FOOTBALL: Six Schuylkill League talents named to Class AA All-State team
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The Pennsylvania Football Writers released their Class AA All-State selections on Wednesday, which included six Schuylkill League talents.
A pair of local quarterbacks were among the selections. Minersville star quarterback Dante Carr, a University of Central Florida signee earned his second-straight selection, joining him is Williams Valley’s Brady Shomper, also earning his second-straight All-State selection.
Carr, this season for Minersville, threw for 1,822 yards and 29 touchdowns, a Minersville school record, while also rushing for 1,396 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground. The Battlin’ Miners behind Carr’s play were 9-3 this season, their only losses during the season coming to Schuylkill Haven and twice to Williams Valley. For his high school career, Carr threw for 5,891 yards and 79 touchdowns while also totaling 3,535 yards and 56 touchdowns on the ground.
Shomper, a dual-threat quarterback in his own right, threw for 2,080 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for 954 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading Williams Valley to a third straight District XI Class AA championship, defeating an undefeated Schuylkill Haven team in the District XI Class AA championship game. The Williams Valley standout finished his high school career with 5,057 passing yards and 74 passing touchdowns while also rushing for 2,322 yards and 39 touchdowns.
At running back, Colton Reber was one of six running backs selected. The Hurricanes’ star started the season as the team’s second-string running back behind Niko Carestia, but after an early-season injury ended Carestia’s season prematurely, Reber broke out as one of the state’s top running backs.
Reber ran for 2,875 yards and 38 touchdowns across Schuylkill Haven’s 13 games. He also had 14 receptions for 364 yards and seven additional touchdowns. The junior tailback had an all-time performance against Marian in early October, rushing for 326 yards and seven touchdowns while also tacking on a pick-six on the defensive side of the ball.
At wide receiver, Minersville’s Paiten LaPoint was one of three wide receivers named across the state. The senior receiver totaled 47 receptions for 733 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Battlin’ Miners while totaling 1,167 all-purpose yards and 16 total touchdowns on the season.
On the offensive line, Schuylkill Haven’s Chase Williams was one of five selections. The senior linemen were an integral part of Schuylkill Haven’s stellar rushing attack this season, acting as a road grader, opening up lanes for Carestia, Reber, and Niko Castillo. Thanks in part to Williams’ blocking, the Hurricanes ran for over 5,000 yards and 70 rushing touchdowns this season while averaging 11.4 yards per carry and 386.3 yards per game as a team.
The final selection is Schuylkill Haven standout and University of Minnesota commitment Niko Castillo. While Castillo will be a running back for the Golden Gophers starting next fall, he was named an All-State linebacker. Castillo totaled 67 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks this season for the Hurricanes on defense, while also totaling 865 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns plus 17 receptions for 423 yards and nine touchdowns offensively.
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