BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — By the end of one of the best nights of Brayden Fox’s high school football career at Brockway, the sophomore didn’t feel like he had even played a down.
(Above, Brockway quarterback Brayden Fox)
That’s because he was rarely hit.
Fox was able to stand in the pocket and do what he does best: deliver the football to his array of weapons.
He did just that.
And often.
Fox threw for 370 yards and six touchdowns as Brockway rolled up 70 points in a 70-16 win over Coudersport.
The 70 points were the most scored by the Rovers in a game since 2016.
“Yeah, I didn’t touch the ground one time (Friday night),” Fox said. “That was really nice. They’re the best offensive line, I think, in D9. They’re really what fuels this offense. Hopefully we do that more times this year. I mean, that was that was such a fun game. And Brockway hasn’t scored that many points in a few years. That means a lot for us.”
The offensive line of tackles Reese Yahner and Aiden Grieneisen, guards Seth Stewart and Tanner Guaglianone and center John Varischetti have surrendered just two sacks in three games.
“John Varischetti has really stepped up for us at center,” said Brockway coach Jake Heigel. “He’s been the unsung hero at center right now. We’re just clicking up front where in years past we hadn’t put it together yet. We have it together a little earlier upfront than we have the last few years. I think that’s a lot of the success that we’ve had.”
So, too, is the wealth of weapons on offense.
Fox has a lot of targets.
Alex Carlson caught 12 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns against Coudy to lead a receiving corps that is without last year’s leader, Blake Pisarcik, who is out with an injury.
“When you lose a player like Blake, it’s tough,” said Brockway coach Jake Heigel. “There’s nobody that’ll be like Blake. What we really told our guys who going to step into that spot was you have to be your own player. We do think we’re deep at the skill positions. You know, those guys are not just a slot or receiver. I mean, these guys are athletes.”
Fox has become the conductor of orchestra that is hitting all the right notes.
Fox has completed 62 of 100 for 882 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s yet to throw an interception.
Now in his second season of the famed Frank Varischetti offense, Fox is already familiar with all the nuisances and wrinkles of the attack.
“What’s amazing about him is as a freshman, his his biggest tool was his brain. He really, really is a cerebral player,” Heigel said. “This year, he took another step forward physically and we are able to use him in the run game a little bit more.
“Honestly, as you get older, the game slows down, too,” Heigel added. “I think it’s starting to slow down for him a little bit where he can really go through his reads. He’ll just continue to get better and better. And I think that it helps that the work ethic that he has, he understands that there’s no secret formula, it’s just it’s hard work.”
Fox put in a lot of time in the offseason getting stronger and studying the offense.
A member of DuBois Central Catholic’s PIAA Class A championship baseball team in the spring, he’s no stranger to winning.
He wants to keep winning on the football field.
Brockway is one tackle by DuBois at the 1-yard-line away from being 3-0.
“Going into the (Coudersport) game, we had a lot of fuel from the DuBois game,” Fox said. “After that DuBois game, that really gave us a good boost for our team that helped us out so much.”
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