Four Susquehannock football players and head coach Joseph Sorice were selected to participate in the inaugural York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (YAIAA) Senior Bowl.
Seniors from the YAIAA were divided into the North and South teams. Wide receiver Joe Fuller, offensive lineman Allan Jones, defensive lineman Dawson Zorbaugh and quarterback Josh Pecunes were slected to play for the South team. Coach Joe Sorice served as the offensive coordinator for the South team.
Fuller, Jones and Zorbaugh helped lead the South team to a 15-13 win. Fuller was named a co-MVP after hauling in 13 catches for more than 130 yards. He saw this as a great way to end his high school career.
“It means a lot to me that I won MVP in the all-star game because I did not feel like I proved myself in the regular season,” Fuller said. “But it felt really nice to show my talent and show everybody what I can do.”
Pecunes ultimately didn’t play due to an injury, but still saw this as a huge honor.
“It feels pretty good,” Pecunes said. “It’s mainly first team players, so it’s a lot of competition, which I like.”
Pecunes appreciates being nominated for the experience as it provided one more opportunity to create memories within the football environment.
“It means a lot to me because I get one more chance to play with a lot of players that I grew up playing against,” Pecunes said.
Senior Dawson Zorbaugh was also selected for the senior bowl and agreed with Pecunes on this aspect.
“It was different because it was the first time I’ve ever done an event like this one,” Zorbaugh said. “[It was fun] playing with my friends one more time, and the coaches and the environment we were in. It was fun.”
Sorice was a standout YAIAA football player during his days as a student at Delone Catholic and never got the chance to play in a game like this. He’s happy he got to see his players get the opportunity.
“I love that an all-star game returned to the YAIAA,” Sorice said. “The coaches association has been discussing and planning this since the start of the 2020 season, but COVID-19 derailed all of that. It’s an excellent opportunity for the athletes to play one more game, get some exposure, and play with guys they’ve never played with before. It’s a great event, and I look forward to its continuation.”
Sorice sees the years of planning and preparation as worth it.
“I [was] one of the three coaches on the ‘Senior Bowl Committee,’ along with Coach Warner from New Oxford and Coach Livelsberger from [Bermudian Springs],” Sorice said. “We’ve been working together for the last 3 years behind the scenes to make this happen. My staff will be coaching the South team next season, and because West York was unable to coach, per our by-laws, it was up to me to coach this year’s game, which I gladly accepted. It was a phenomenal opportunity to coach our guys one last time and to be able to work with some of the most talented kids in the league. It was something that I whole-heartedly enjoyed, and I look forward to doing it again next season.”
