North Schuylkill head coach Wally Hall talks with his players after the Spartans were defeated 36-7 by Northwestern Lehigh in Friday's District 11 Class 3A championship game at Lehighton (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

It was one of the lasting images of the 2024 season.

With the game on the line, a packed house going crazy and a trip to the championship game at stake, Caden Mengel galloped up the middle into the end zone to give North Schuylkill a walk-off overtime playoff win at Notre Dame-Green Pond, setting off a wild celebration in the corner of the field.

The Spartans hope to be doing some celebrating again in 2025, with several key pieces of that 2024 club returning.

Offensive standouts Mengel and Luke Miller and three mammoth offensive linemen lay a solid foundation for Wally Hall’s squad, which finished 8-4 a year ago and lost to eventual state champion Northwestern Lehigh in the District 11 Class 3A championship game.

Mengel returns after throwing for 1,382 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushing for 555 yards and seven scores. Miller rushed for 1,283 yards and 20 touchdowns while hauling 31 passes for 441 yards and four TDs. Senior split end Landen Smith had 16 catches for 385 yards and four TDs.

And up front, 6-foot-5, 300-pound Temple commit Aiden Zilker anchors a line that also returns 300-pound seniors Gavin Wall (6-4, 315) and Kaiden Knox (6-5, 305).

“You build off what you have returning,” Hall said during the preseason. “We’re fortunate that Caden Mengel is a three-year starter at quarterback. Luke Miller as an athlete, he’s a running back and is also going to play receiver. We have find different ways to get him the ball.

“The person that’s not talked about, our third-most productive person offensively, is Landen Smith. Every time that he had the football in his hands, something very productive happened. We have to find him ways to get him the ball.

“Overall, with the experience, starting with those linemen and the skilled guys returning … Certainly, it’s a great place to start.”

North Schuylkill at a Glance

Head coach: Wally Hall (13th at North Schuylkill, 107-34; 19th season overall, 144-64)

2024 Record: 8-4, District 11 Class 3A runner-up

Conference: Schuylkill-Colonial Red Division

3 Key Players to Watch

Luke Miller, senior WR/DB

Caden Mengel, senior QB/DB

Aiden Zilker, senior OT/DT

3 Key Newcomers to Watch

Chase Slotcavage, sophomore WR/DB

Seth Hubler, junior RB/LB

William Wysoski, sophomore C/DL

3 Key Graduation Losses

Gavin Mentzer, K/P

Sander Stokes, OL/DL

Michael Mogish, WR/DB

Key Position Battles in Camp

Kicker, punter

Building offensive depth

For most of last season, whether it was due to injuries or inexperience, North Schuylkill always seems one offensive weapon short.

Hall hopes that’s not the case this season.

The return of sophomore running back Bryce Kile, who suffered a fractured hip in the Spartans’ scrimmage last year, and the emergence of junior running back Angel Ortiz late in the season created some depth in the backfield to go with Mengel and Miller.

Add 6-7 sophomore receiver Xavier McNally and versatile senior Julian Nelson to the mix with Smith on the outside and Hall feels the Spartans will be able to spread the ball around enough offensively to keep opposing defenses at bay.

“We’re in a good way with our depth along our whole offense,” Hall said. “Our depth is really good at the running back position and now we have that flexibility to put a lot of guys at those positions at wideout. We’ll have more than enough players to throw the football to, in many different ways.”

Biggest loss … kicker?

Not too many coaches say their biggest graduation loss was their kicker, but that’s the case at North Schuylkill.

Four-year starter and All-State selection Gavin Mentzer took his talents to Indiana (Pa.), leaving a gaping hole at both kicker and punter.

Mentzer often changed the field with his booming punts (39.5 avg), set up the Spartans’ defense with touchback kickoffs (43) and was a force offensively, making 10-of-14 field goals and 35-of-36 extra points.

“It made our special teams easy, especially on our coverage teams,” Hall said of Mentzer. “He always outkicked the opponent, so that made it easy for our guys to make coverage. Kickoffs, they were all touchbacks. Punts, he punted the ball deeper, gave our plenty of time to get down and cover. Offensively, he was scoring points for us.

“It’s a huge loss. You have to go back to the drawing board. You have to build your special teams around the kickers you have.”

So who will fill those roles? Hall wasn’t saying.

“That’s going to be a surprise,” he said with a chuckle. “We’re going to keep that a little bit secret. We have some guys that are able of kicking off and we’ll do it different ways. We’re going to be a little different in how we do our punts this year.”

Defensive depth

The Spartans won’t have a stud defensive leader like they did in the Major Jordan and Tyler Elsdon days. Instead, North Schuylkill will have a deep, veteran defense that will work on flying to the ball as a group.

The Spartans did lose several key defensive contributors — Sander Stokes, Brayden Lauta, Kolton Joyce, Cooper Carl, Michael Mogish, Jaden Meyer — but there’s plenty of experience returning.

David Martinez, Nelson Berger and Zilker are back up front, with Cadyn McGraw and Seth Hubler back in the middle and Smith, Miller, Nelson and Chase Slotcavage on the back end.

Hall likes what he sees, not only about his defense, but his team in general. He knows it’s a long road to get back to where the Spartans were celebrating last November.

“The important thing, there are obviously things that have to go right for teams to get to that end point,” said Hall, entering his 13th season in Fountain Springs. “We have to control the things we can control. That’s the biggest thing, and not get ahead of ourselves and look too far ahead.

“A lot of people say it’s one game at a time and it literally is. We have to take it one week at a time, focus on ourselves. That’s what we’ve been doing for years and it’s been successful.”

North Schuylkill’s Schedule

(All games start at 7 p.m.)

Friday, Aug. 22 — at Mount Carmel

Friday, Aug. 29 — Tamaqua*

Friday, Sept. 5 — at Notre Dame-Green Pond*

Friday, Sept. 12 — Southern Lehigh*

Friday, Sept. 19 — Jim Thorpe*

Friday, Sept. 26 — at Northwestern Lehigh*

Friday, Oct. 3 — Bangor*

Thursday, Oct. 9 — Blue Mountain*

Friday, Oct. 17 — at Lehighton*

Friday, Oct. 24 — at Pottsville*

* Schuylkill-Colonial league game

North Schuylkill’s Roster