Wilson’s D.J. Lenehan and Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor stood above the competition throughout the Pennsylvania high school football season on their way to a head-to-head meeting in the PIAA Class AA championship game.
After playing in one of the most competitive AA title games since the playoffs began in 1988, it’s no surprise that Lenehan and Pryor lead The Associated Press Class AA all-state team.
Lenehan is the first-team quarterback and the player of the year after leading his team to the state championship. Pryor, who did a bit of everything, made the first team as a specialist and was runner-up to Lenehan for player of the year.
Also, Wilson’s Bret Comp is the AA coach of the year. The team was selected through a statewide ballot of sports writers and broadcasters.
A first-team offensive specialist when he guided the Warriors to the PIAA final as a junior in 2005, Lenehan came back even better as a senior. He completed 183 of 340 passes for 3,057 yards, 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions as Wilson went 16-0.
Lenehan finished a four-year varsity career with 71 touchdown passes and 7,765 yards, the second-best yardage total in state history to Downingtown East’s Pat Devlin (8,162 yards).
Losing the 2005 championship game “became our driving force for this season, and we put in a lot of hard work to get back there and win,” Lenehan said. “I just wanted to improve my turnover ratio. Last year, I think I threw 14 interceptions. This year, I wanted to cut it in half.”
Lenehan brought the Warriors back from two-touchdown deficits in the second half three times this season, including twice in the playoffs. One of those came in the last 10 1/2 minutes of Wilson’s 29-28 victory over Jeannette in the PIAA title game, when he threw for 329 yards and rushed for 100.
“You’ve got a guy with all those intangibles,” Comp said of Lenehan. “He never wavered in his commitment. He could have easily gotten lazy, but he never did. Watching a player as tough as he is is like watching a linebacker playing quarterback.”
Pryor, a junior, could follow the same path Lenehan did to become the AA player of the year next year. The 6-foot-6 Pryor, who already has major Division I college scholarship offers for both football and basketball, totaled 3,400 yards rushing and passing and accounted for 44 touchdowns as Jeannette finished 14-2.
Pryor moves up from the all-state second team, where he was a defensive specialist as a sophomore.
With 16 starters back from the team that lost to South Park in the 2005 AA championship game, Wilson was expected to be very good and was.
“I never spoke openly about it,” Comp said. “We put so much focus on ourselves and getting better at the little things. I didn’t think we’d ever be perfect, but it was fun to chase. I was happy to be made into a liar.”
Lenehan isn’t the only repeat first-team selection. Nick Sukay of WPIAL (District 7) runner-up Greensburg Central Catholic is making his third appearance in the defensive secondary. Temple recruit Matt Balasavage of Lancaster Catholic is back for his second year at tight end, while Tyrone’s 325-pound Tyler Hoover returns on the defensive line.
Adam Thomas, Lenehan’s No. 1 target, joins his quarterback on the first-team offense. The unit also includes 2,000-yard rushers Max Suter of Greensburg Central Catholic and Tyler Wagner of Mifflinburg.
Seton-La Salle’s Gino Gradkowski, who has committed to West Virginia, is part of a first-team offensive line that includes four players weighing at least 255 pounds, with the 240-pound Balasavage at tight end.
Sukay, a Penn State recruit, heads up the first-team defense. Aliquippa, a Pittsburgh-area power that lost only once in 11 games, placed Pitt recruit Brandon Lindsey at linebacker and Antonio Reddic at defensive back on the first team.
A pair of Big Ten-bound players highlights the second team. Valley wide receiver Toney Clemons is on his way to Michigan. Center offensive lineman Evan Blankenship plans to play at Ohio State.
