PENNSYLVANIA Wilkes-Barre senior surpasses Ismail's mark

Josh Mason has scored 36 touchdowns this season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Josh Mason, a senior at Wilkes-Barre Meyers, has accomplished something not many people have done in football. He caught and passed Rocket Ismail.
Mason scored six touchdowns in Meyers' 62-6 victory against Bishop Hafey last weekend, giving him 36 touchdowns this season. That broke Ismail's school record of 35 touchdowns set 16 years ago.
"The similarities between the two of them are striking," said Meyers coach Mike Namey, an assistant when Ismail was playing. "Josh has the same personality as Rocket. He's also about the same size, he just weighs a little more."
The difference, of course, is the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Mason has excellent speed; Ismail had exceptional speed.
Last week, Mason got his six touchdowns on runs of 62, 28, 93 and 10 yards, a 28-yard punt return and a 4-yard reception. He finished with 242 yards on 10 carries and has rushed for 1,372 yards on 95 attempts, a 14.44 yards per carry average. The state record is 14.52.
"He kind of toys with people," Namey said. "He'll be going along and you think he's going to be caught, then he puts on that ungodly acceleration. The other thing he does is plays off his blockers well. He knows how to use guys and then has that burst."
PIAA district record
The PIAA District 2 single-season touchdown record is 47 set by Bishop O'Reilly's Bryan Bellas in 1997. The state record of 53 was set by Parkland's Austin Scott last year.
With at least two games remaining, Mason has a shot at the District 2 record. Meyers (9-0) plays rival Wilkes-Barre GAR (8-1) this week and has qualified for the area playoffs.
But while Division I colleges showered Ismail with offers his senior year -- he eventually signed with Notre Dame -- very few big-time schools have inquired about Mason. Namey said Mason's size is an issue.
"He's bigger than Rocket was and that tells you something about how the college game has changed," Namey said. "Boston College was interested, but their recruiting coordinator said Josh isn't as tall as they want their players. He said Josh would be going against guys who are just as fast and four or five inches taller.
"I think he can play at that level and BC said they might check back. He'll probably end up at a I-AA school, which isn't all that bad."
Prudent with passes
Penn Hills quarterback Anthony Morelli was one of the nation's most recruited high school players. He gave Pitt a verbal commitment several months ago.
But for someone who is supposed to have an exceptional passing arm, he's not doing much throwing.
Morelli averages only 15 passes a game, and threw only 20 times in the past two games, a 28-13 loss to Pittsburgh Central Catholic and a 24-6 victory over Woodland Hills.
Morelli has completed 75 of 136 passes for 1,310 yards, but is only 10 of 20 for 92 yards the past two games.
While many college recruiters were enamored with Morelli's strong throwing arm, he has not piled up record-setting statistics in high school. He passed for 1,770 yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 games last season.
Moving up
Malvern Prep senior quarterback Dan Onorato has passed for 1,305 yards, moving him past Mike Ryan as the school's single-season leader. Ryan threw for 1,270 yards in 1998. Malvern Prep is 6-2 with one game remaining.