EAST STROUDSBURG – Before the game, East Stroudsburg South Head Coach Matt Walters talked about how important it is playing 48 minutes. The Cavaliers did that last night excelling on all three phases, special teams, defense and offense.
East Stroudsburg South made a statement on the very first play of the game. Xzavier Pusateri picked off a Talon Dogmantis’ pass and took it 56 yards for the score. The Cavaliers never looked back in a convincing 38-7 win against Whitehall Thursday night at Ed Christian Jr. Alumni Memorial Stadium.
“What a way to start the football game,” said Walters. “What can you say about Xzavier. He has a knack at finding the football and attacking with a purpose.”
Midway through the first quarter, the Zephyrs tied the game up at seven. Dogmanits zig-zagged his way through the Cavalier defense for an eight-yard touchdown run with eight minutes to go in the quarter.
South took the lead on a 42-yard field goal from Harrison Aillet with 6:41 remaining in the first half.
“He is a sophomore, number one, and he just ran a 40-yard vertical before that kick,” said Walters. “He just ran a play all the way to the end zone and sprinted back and came in and drilled that kick. Hey, East Stroudsburg South has a kicker and I think we weren’t able to say that in a long time.”
One of the biggest drives of the game came right before halftime. Charles Capers capped a late drive with a two-yard touchdown run to put East Stroudsburg South up by ten with eight seconds left in the half.
The Cavaliers went into halftime leading 17-7. “It brings me back to the District Championship in 2021 when we played Whitehall that year,” said Walters. “We deferred and were down 21 points right before halftime and we were able to punch one in late in the half. We came out in the second half and scored again to make it a game.”
The only score of the third quarter came with 5:39 left in the quarter. On 4th-and-5, Ivan Laubach hit Pusateri on a slant pass for a touchdown. South increased their lead to 24-7. “You want to put the ball in the hands of your top guys on moments like that,” said Walters. “They made a big play for us tonight.”
Walters opened his bag of tricks early in the fourth quarter. Laubach threw a screen pass to Capers, who then threw a pass to a wide open Pusateri for a 67-yard touchdown pass.
“We worked on that play all week,” said Walters. “Whitehall’s defense is so good and they held Nazareth to 13 in the first half last week. It’s tough to move the ball on them and sometimes you have to take a shot at some point.”
The Cavaliers weren’t done yet. Whitehall was driving deep into Cavalier territory when Gianni Gonnella stepped in front of a Whitehall receiver, intercepted the ball, and took it 94 yards for the touchdown.
“Gianni made a big play on defense,” said Walters. “He is one of our fastest kids on the team. What a play by him. He read the quarterback’s eyes and made the play.”
With only four teams in District 11 Class 5A, this year there is a good chance that these teams will meet again in the postseason.
“But we know that team is going to be different in November and we need to be ready for that”, said Walters.
| Thursday, September 5, 2024 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Whitehall | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| East Stroudsburg South | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
Scoring Summary
1st quarter
ESS – Xzavier Pusateri 56-yard interception return 11:45
WH – Talon Dogmanits 8-yard touchdown run. 8:00
2nd quarter
ESS – Harrison Aillet 42-yard field goal good 6:41
ESS – Charles Capers 2-yard touchdown run 8.8 seconds
3rd quarter
ESS – Xzavier Pusateri 5-yard pass from Ivan Laubach 5:39
4th quarter
ESS Xzavier Pusateri 67-yard pass from Charles Capers 11:46
ESS – Gianni Gonnella 94-yard interception return 18.3
