EPC South football all-stars: Nazareth’s Sonny Sasso and Freedom’s Owen Johnson are selected players of the year
Owen #Owen
If anyone didn’t know how much Sonny Sasso meant to the Nazareth football team this year both at quarterback and safety, Friday night’s 42-14 loss to Parkland in the District 11 6A quarterfinals offered a pretty good clue.
The Blue Eagles missed Sasso on both sides of the ball due to a major hand injury that would have kept him for the rest of the season even had Nazareth advanced.
Sasso had surgery on the hand and watched on the sideline as Parkland officially ended his football career.
But Sasso clearly made an impression on the coaches in the EPC South as he was voted the division’s offensive player of the year and was also selected as a first-team safety.
Freedom’s Harvard-bound Owen Johnson was selected as the South’s defensive player of the year.
Sasso, who is headed to Virginia Tech on a wrestling scholarship, completed 132 of 197 passes for 1,972 yards and 21 touchdowns and had just two interceptions. He also ran for 266 yards on 67 carries. On defense, he made 74 tackles and had one sack.
Johnson, who was also selected as a first-team outside linebacker, has made 60 sacks and had three sacks for the Patriots who beat Hazleton en route to the district semis.
Emmaus, the top seed in the district tournament with a 9-1 record has the most first-team selections with eight, including Dylan Darville and Mario Landino, who were honored on both sides of the ball.
Here’s a look at the entire EPC South all-star team:
EPC South
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Tight End
Ethan Hosak, Jr., Allentown Central Catholic
Wide Receiver
Dylan Darville, Sr., Emmaus
Julian Fears, Sr., Easton
Mason Kuehner, Jr., Nazareth
Tackle
Sean Kinney, Jr., Nazareth
Mario Landino, Jr., Emmaus
Sean Wilson, Sr., Easton
Guard
Mekhi George, Sr., Bethlehem Catholic
Ben Mercado, Jr., Emmaus
Russell Clark, Jr., Parkland
Center
Ryan Hoffman, Sr., Freedom
Quarterback
Sonny Sasso, Sr., Nazareth
Running Back
Jalen Fletcher, Sr., Freedom
Nigel Linton, Sr., Whitehall
Trey Tremba, Jr., Parkland
Offensive Athlete
Jake Fotta, Sr., Emmaus
Placekicker
Gryffin Mitstifer, Parkland 95 12 1
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Defensive ends
Sean Kinney, Jr., Nazareth
Mario Landino, Jr., Emmaus
Defensive Linemen
EJ Boney, Sr., Emmaus
Sean Wilson, Sr., Easton
Inside Linebacker
Aidan Garrett, Sr., Emmaus
Ethan Hosak Allentown Central Catholic, Sr.,
Kyle Johnson, Sr., Freedom
Outside Linebacker
Owen Johnson, Sr., Freedom
Griffin Patridge, Sr., Allentown Central Catholic
Cornerback
Nakhi Bullock, Sr., Parkland
Dylan Darville, Sr., Emmaus
Safety
Alexie Sangster, Sr., Freedom
Sonny Sasso, Sr., Nazareth
Defensive Athlete
Nate Kemmerer, Sr., Parkland
Punter
Gryffin Mitstifer, Sr., Parkland
Special Teams Player
Mason Kuehner, Jr., Nazareth
Offensive MVP
Sonny Sasso, Sr., Nazareth
Defensive MVP
Owen Johnson, Sr., Freedom
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Tight End
Ryan DeJohn, Sr., Emmaus
Wide Receiver
Karim Brice, Sr., Liberty
Jareel Calhoun, So. Allentown Central Catholic,
Jack Harrison, Sr., Parkland
Nolan Lobb, Sr., Nazareth
Guard
Russell Clark, Jr. Parkland
Rayshawn Nicholas, Sr., Freedom
Jaden Skumpija, Sr., Emmaus
Center
Jordan Bartholomew, Sr., Liberty
Quarterback
Jake Fotta, Emmaus, Sr. Emmaus
Running Back
Aidan Hutchison, Sr., Easton
Placekicker
Chris Bugbee, Sr., Nazareth
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Defensive ends
Javon Frutchey, Sr., Easton
Nate Kemmerer, Sr. Parkland
Defensive Linemen
Braheem Battles, So., Allentown Central Catholic
Ryan Ellis, So., Freedom
Inside Linebacker
Andrew Young, Sr., Nazareth
Outside Linebacker
Carter Troxell, So., Whitehall
John Wassel, Jr., Emmaus
Andrew Wells, Sr., Nazareth
Cornerback
Karim Brice, Sr., Liberty
Mason Kuehner, Jr., Nazareth
Safety
Ryan DeJohn, Sr., Emmaus
Troy Miller, Sr., Bethlehem Catholic
Defensive Athlete
Ryan DeJohn, Sr., Emmaus
Punter
Jake Fotta, Sr., Emmaus
Special Team Player
Tylik Jarvis, Sr., Emmaus
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