Take a look at the total offensive stats that Wolcott football put together in last week’s 46-14 win over Woodland Regional.
The Eagles had 197 pass yards. They also had 196 rushing yards.
Great balance, but nothing new for Wolcott. This is what the Eagles do on offense.
Wolcott does average nearly 80 yards more on the ground than through the air, but the ability to throw allows the Eagles some running room.
Wolcott averages 233.2 yards rushing and 154.2 passing. What’s made the Eagles difficult to stop is their efficiency. Both lead running back Ray Iorio (6.8) and quarterback Mike Polzella (6.9) average just under seven yards per rush.
When Polzella completes a pass, which he does 67.7 percent of the time, it goes for an average of nearly 15 yards (14.7). Wolcott can hit you with a quick strike, or it can put together four-minute or more drives. The Eagles had long drives in an upset win over Seymour, then hit the Hawks with big plays in last week’s victory.
If you look over the past four seasons, Wolcott has shown the ability to run and throw:
2015
Rushing avg. / total for season: 219.2 per game; 2,192 yards
- Leading rusher: Nate Filippone with 1,110 yards (15 TD)
Passing avg. / total for season: 166.7 per game; 1,667 yards
- Leading passer: Rocky Griffin with 1,621 yards (61.2 completion pct.)
- Leading receiver: Justin Fernandes with 20 catches for 377 yards (Steve Urbanski had the most TDs with six)
2014
Rushing avg. / total for season: 234.8 per game; 2,817 yards
- Leading rusher: Mike Audibert with 1,411 yards (26 TD)
Passing avg. / total for season: 192.8 per game; 2,314 yards
- Leading passer: Vinny Gambino with 2,305 yards (28 TD, 66.8 completion pct.)
- Leading receiver: Phil Lebel with 53 catches for 747 yards and 13 TD
2013
Rushing avg. / total for season: 212.8 per game; 2,341 yards
- Joe Lynch with 1,362 yards and 17 TD
Passing avg. / total for season: 250.5 per game; 2,756 yards
- Leading passer: Gambino with 2,756 yards (35 TD, 61.4 completion pct.)
- Leading receiver: Adam Santopietro with 56 catches for 972 yards and 13 TD
2012
Rushing avg. / total for season: 216.7 per game; 2,384 yards
- Leading rusher: Mike Nicol with 1,271 yards (20 TD)
Passing avg. / total for season: 145.5 per game; 1,601 yards
- Leading passer: Nicol with 1,535 yards (19 TD, 52.7 completion pct.)
- Leading receiver: Jake Pelletier with 29 catches for 438 yards (Matt Cyr had the most TDS with eight)
How has Wolcott been able to maintain such good offense?
- Need linemen that can run and pass block. Wolcott has had several good linemen, including but definitely not limited to Tom Longo, Dan Catania, Cole Phelps, Justin Nadeau and Bobby Stoeckert.
- Good play-calling. The coaching staff has been solid, led by head coach Jason Pace
- Adjust to different personnel. Mike Nicol could run and throw, so he was a two-way threat. In 2013, Gambino was a good passer and Lynch was a powerful runner.
- Everyone does their job. You don’t put up numbers like this without everyone doing their jobs. That’s what Wolcott does, every year.
Complete season stats on MaxPreps go back to and include the 2012 season. All stats from MaxPreps.com
