Wood Football Heads to State Champs

The Vikings punched their ticket to Hershey next week while also extracting some revenge in the process with a convincing 70-14 win over the Vikings of Allentown Central Catholic. Wood, who lost to Allentown in last year’s PIAA Class AAA State Semifinal, struck early and often en route to a win in this year’s rematch at Northeast High’s Charles Martin Memorial Stadium Friday night.

With the win, the Wood Vikings earned a date with District III Champion Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg, alma mater of Eagles running backs past and present LeSean McCoy and Ricky Watters, next Friday night at 7:00 at Hershey Park Stadium. McDevitt clinched its title berth with a 41-32 victory over District VII’s Montour Friday night.

As they’ve done all season, Wood relied on an unstoppable run game as the Peoples cousins Desmon and Brandon, who combined for five touchdowns, ran wild behind Wood’s offensive line that was dominate all night.

Despite the final score, it wasn’t just an offensive show as Wood excelled in all three phases of the game. Their defense virtually shut down Allentown’s high-scoring passing attack led by South Carolina-bound quarterback Brendan Nosovitch. On special teams, wide receiver/safety Nate Smith ran one punt 63 yards to the house and constantly gave Wood great field position with his punt returns.

Wood Head Coach Steve Devlin and running back Desmon Peoples both said the win was especially satisfying for the team because of the bad taste left in their mouths by the loss to Allentown last year. “The guys have worked hard,” Devlin said. “They remembered the feeling coming out of that locker room against these guys last year. It was 51 weeks coming.”

Desmon Peoples, who missed last year’s game against Allentown due to injury, said he was fortunate to have a second chance to help his teammates earn a state title berth after helplessly watching them fall last season.

“It feels so good [to get the win],” he said. “I remember that feeling standing on the sideline on my crutches [at last year’s game]. I never got it out of me. It was the worst feeling I ever felt in my life.”

The Wood Vikings got the scoring started quickly, as a Desmon Peoples 39 yard romp on the game’s third play gave Wood a first and goal at the seven. On the very next play, Brandon Peoples pushed his way up the middle for a 7-yard TD.

On Allentown’s first possession, Smith knocked down a Nosovitch pass to force a three and out for the Allentown Vikings. A bad punt gave Wood the ball back at Allentown’s 30. Two plays later, Desmon Peoples appeared to have a 20-yard touchdown, but it was called back because of a hold. That barely fazed the Vikings, as the Peoples cousins each alternated runs to put Wood in position to score, and Brandon once again ran up the middle for a seven yard score.

A 52-yard punt return by Smith gave the Wood offense a first and goal on the Allentown two. After a false start pushed the Wood Vikings back five yards, it was Desmon Peoples’ turn to score as he ran the ball two straight times up the middle, the second for a two-yard TD that gave Wood a 21-0 lead with 4:20 left in the first.

Brandon Peoples once again made sure the Wood Vikings wouldn’t let up, finding the end zone on Wood’s next offensive play. He made a nice cutback and simply outran the Allentown defense for a 70-yard score to give Wood a 28-0 lead.

The only thing that prevented Wood from taking a 35-0 lead in the first quarter was the game clock. On Wood’s next offensive possession, Desmon Peoples took a short pass on the left and raced and pushed his way toward the end zone as the first quarter clock hit zero. He was ruled out of bounds at the one. Wood quarterback Joe Monaghan didn’t get a chance to score on a 1-yard keeper until the second quarter commenced.

The Allentown Vikings finally got on the scoreboard on their next possession, as Nosovitch found receiver Kevin Guylas in the right corner of the end zone for an eight-yard TD.

Wood responded to that score as well on a 77-yard sprint to the left by Desmon Peoples for a 41-7 lead that asserted Wood’s dominance. The Wood Vikings padded their advantage in the second half on Smith’s punt return, as well as two touchdown runs by Ryan McMullin and one 82-yard run by John Messina.

Most of the second half was a thirty-minute long celebration for the Wood fans in attendance as the crowd tossed Hershey kisses and candy bars to the Wood starters who had given way to their backups. The players exchanged hugs and high fives, coaches got soaked in the traditional water jug dumps, and Desmon and Brandon Peoples were seen sporting a Viking helmet.

While the offensive performance was certainly outstanding, what stood out was Wood’s defensive performance against Nosovitch’s fast-paced passing attack, the likes of which Wood doesn’t face often. Devlin credited the Wood Vikings’ preparation for that success.

“Our scout team did a great job this week,” he said. “We ran a no-huddle offense all this week with the scout guys. We really practiced the right way this week, and [the defense’s success] was the outcome.”

Desmon Peoples, who also plays on defense as a defensive back, said stopping Nosovitch was Wood’s number one priority especially after they were unsuccessful in doing so during last year’s game.

“We knew out of the gate that we had to shut [Nosovitch] down and then we had to get his great receivers shut down,” he said. “That’s what we worked on all week. We worked on it so long; it wasn’t even just this week. It was 51 weeks, as [Devlin] was saying.”

While the Wood Vikings certainly had a lot to celebrate tonight, they are still one step away from achieving their goal. They will work towards making that final step when their focus in practice this week shifts to Bishop McDevitt with a state championship ring closer than ever.