Montoursville's Marshalek headed to Lafayette

As a freshman at Montoursville, Jason Marshalek played on the JV team. As a sophomore, he saw some varsity time. As a junior and senior, he earned Conference Defensive Player of the Year and all-state honors.

Marshalek's efforts and work ethic have earned him a Division-I scholarship, as he will sign a letter of intent to continue his education and athletic career at Lafayette.

"He's worked hard to get where he's at," said Montoursville football coach Jim Bergen. "He didn't come on the scene and start. We brought him up as a freshman, played JV as a freshman, got some time as a sophomore, and went from there. He got better and better because he worked at it. It's a testament to his work ethic. That will certainly help him as he goes to college because he knows how to work for something. It's not going to be given to him."

Marshalek will bring an impressive resume to Lafayette.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior earned second team all-state honors at defensive line after leading the team in sacks and averaging nearly 10 tackles a game. His efforts helped the Warrior defense shut out two opponents and allow foes an average of just 14 points a contest.

In addition to earning all-state honors, Marshalek also made the Pennsylvania Football News (PFN) second-team all-state and was a Heartland Conference Academic All-Star.

Marshalek was named the Central Susquehanna Conference, Division I Lineman of the Year and was a PFN all-state honorable mention defensive tackle.

Marshalek will be playing defense for a Leopard team that went 7-4, including a 3-0 start. Lafayette won the Patriot League from 2004-06 and finished 3-3 in conference play, behind Colgate, Holy Cross and Lehigh.

Defensive lineman Jason Mills led the Leopards with 5 and 1/2 sacks in 2008 as Lafayette's defense allowed an average of 17 points per game.

When Marshalek reports to Lafayette, he will see some familiar faces. A pair #of Loyalsock players are sophomores, quarterback Pat Carey and defensive lineman Mike Eck, while current Danville quarterback Andrew Shoup will enter there in the fall.

"I got a chance to meet with them when I was there for my visit," said Marshalek. "Shoop and I were there together. I got a chance to connect with them. It got to feel more like home."

Marshalek will major in environmental/civil engineering.

"It's a great fit for him academically," Bergen said. "He has a 4.0 grade point average and is interested in engineering. It's going to give him a chance to compete at that level, which he's excited about. It's a great opportunity to get a great education."