Brian Ptashinski

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter.

SLATiNGTON- Archbishop Wood coach Steve Devlin heard all week about his team not matching up to the offensive line of District 2 5A champion Wyoming Valley West. He challenged his kids all week in techniques and being fundamentally sound.

His team seemed to take that strategy to heart. They executed it perfectly Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh Bulldog Stadium in a convincing 41-14 victory, to advance to 5A stare semifinal against Unionville next weekend at a site and time TBD.

The Spartans received the opening kickoff and took possession on their 26. Three plays resulted in a punt to the Wood 25. On the first play, Jack Colyer’s pass was picked off at the Spartan 45 by Darrien Tyson. The Vikings managed to return the favor as Valley West’s Rob Dwyer intercepted a pass at the Wood 37.

Five plays later Nasir Peoples took it in from 16 yards out with 6:43 left in the quarter.

Valley West was able to start at their 49 yard line on their next possession and drove to the Wood 21, however, a 39 yard field goal attempt was blocked and Wood took over at their 20. On the first play of the second quarter Adrian Lambert took it in from 20 yards out to make the score 14-0.

Wood made it 21-0 with 22 seconds left before half after recovering a fumble at midfield. Colyer connected with Kyle Pitts from 37 yards. Wood had 198 yards of total offense in first half. Peoples had 119 yards. Wood also had 43 yards in penalties compared to the Spartans 83 yards, 3 first downs, and 50 penalty yards.

Peoples pushed the lead to 28-0 with a 49-yard dash with about ten minutes to play in the third quarter. Lambert put the game into mercy rule at 6:43 mark on a 30-yard run.

With Wood resting their starters, backup quarterback Tom Cattolico sneaked a one-yard run in with 11:06 left in the contest.

Valley West avoided the shutout by adding two late scores. Rob Dwyer had a 22-yard run with 5:16 left. Jake Blaski was on the receiving end of a 47-yard pass with 46 seconds left.

“We practiced hard all week. We knew they had the size advantage. We came up with a scheme to neutralize that advantage. Our kids did a great job today,” Coach Devlin stated.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

SLATINGTON- There is no substitute for speed. A gallant Valley View Cougar football team found this out first hand Friday night at Northern Lehigh”s Bulldog Stadium in their matchup with District 12 Imhotep Charter.

When the final whistle blew, Valley View saw themselves on the short-end of a 41-0 score in the PIIAA State 4A quarterfinal. Imhotep advances to face Bethlehem Catholic next week at a site and time TBD.

Imhotep racked up 560 yards in total offense, 471 of those came via the ground game. The Panthers averaged 15 yards per carry.

The game began inauspiciously for Valley View as Imhotep’s Isheem Young took the opening kickoff from his 19 and returned it 35 yards. A face mask penalty on Valley View setup the Panthers on the Cougar’s 31. It took the Panthers just two plays and 25 seconds to score on a Jalen Suttob-Christian 15-yard run and a 6-0 lead after the missed PAT.

On the initial Valley View drive, they went three and out. On the punt, the snap sailed high and rolled into the end zone. The Cougars’ Kyle Kwalinski recovered, but was tackled for a safety making the score 8-0.

Just barely a minute into the second quarter, Imhotep made it 15-0. Tykee Smith went in from two yards out, capping an 87-yard, six-play drive.

The Panthers struck again as Khadarius Sampson ripped off a 69-yard run to make it 22-0. Then with just 2.4 seconds before halftime, Young was on the receiving end of a Christian screen pass that covered 59 yards making the score 28-0.

“They were impressive. Their speed is something else. We were tackling ghosts all night. We seem to get there and the next second they were by us,” Valley View coach George Howanitz stated.

The second half would find the Cougars facing the mercy rule as Sampson found the end zone from six yards out and then Young capped off the scoring with a 63-yard scoring play in the fourth quarter.

WHITEHALL TWP.-  Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert was concerned about the size of Friday night’s opponent. District 2 Champion Wyoming Valley West and their offensive line. In dominating fashion, that line established a punishing ground attack that accumulated 298 yards as the Spartans ended the Zephyrs season with a 32-21 win.

With the win, Wyoming Valley West will either face defending state champions Archbishop Wood or Simon Gratz, who play Saturday afternoon.

Valley West scored on three of four first half possessions to take a 17-7 lead at intermission.

The Spartans scored on their opening drive going 80 yards, capped off with a 18-yard pass from Jake Shusta to Rob Dwyer on a 4th and 13. Valley West added a 33-yard field goal by Ake Guras with 10:29 left in the half.

Whitehall got on the board with an Ethan Parvel 43-yard blast up the middle. But Dwyer answered with a  five-yard run with 3:25 left on the clock. Valley West had an opportunity to take a 20-7 lead, but a 45-yard field goal attempt came up short at the horn.

“We respect the type of football down here in the Lehigh Valley. Up and down the line it’s a tough league. But we wanted to prove we belong,” said victorious coach, Pat Keating.

Whitehall started the second with great field position after a return by Allan Negrete and a penalty placed the ball at the Spartan 21. The drive ended with Valley West picking off a Parvel pass in the end zone.

WVW picks off pass for touchback. 9:53 left 3rd quarter. @EPAFootball @CVSteveBennett #lvvarsity @BadgleyBruce @HSPNSports @scorestream @NazarethNo1Fan pic.twitter.com/o3vf2A07QB

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) November 18, 2017

The Spartans caught another break on the ensuing drive as Whitehall forced a three and out, but the Zephyrs fumbled the punt return, giving possession back to the Spartans at their 48.

Dwyer scored from two yards out extending the lead to 24-7 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. The Zephyrs scored on a 63-yard pass from Parvel to Braxton Marrero to make the score 24-13, as the extra point was wide left. Just like all night, the Spartans answered with a four-yard run by Sean Mikovitch to make the score 32-13 with 10:01 left in the contest.

Whitehall got a meaningless score with six seconds left on a nine-yard pass from Parvel to Negrete and completed the two point conversion.

“They moved the ball at will against us tonight. We turned it over four times. You can’t give a team like that extra chances.” said dejected Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert. “I feel for our seniors who put so much time and effort to this season. It just wasn’t our night.”

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

LEHIGHTON- In the much-anticipated matchup between the Route 209 rivals Jim Thorpe and Lehighton certainly lived up to the hype,  as both teams came into Friday night’s game with identical 9-0 records. When the dust cleared, it was Lehighton coming out on top 43-27 before an overflow crowd on Senior night.

The Indians jumped out to a 18 point lead to start the contest. The home team took the opening drive 74 yards in 12 plays as QB Cody Scherer connected with Zach Crum for a 17 yard score.

Taquon Bradley-Chambers made it 12-0 with an explosuve 56 yard run. Scherer hooked up with Crum again for a 23 yard score with 10:09 left before half.

Scherer completed 11-17 passes for 215 yards. He also gained another 214 yards rushing. Bradley-Chambers added 202 yards on 22 carries. The Indians amassed 643 total yards against a vaunted Olympian Red Storm defense, who pitched six shutouts on the season and only allowed 51 points all season.

‘We have some guys who can break open games for us,” Lehighton coach Tom McCarroll stated. ‘We tested their secondary tonight, but we also ran the ball extremely well tonight. I am so proud of our kids effort tonight,” he concluded.

Jim Thorpe got on the board with Justin St. Hill scoring from 13 yards out with 2:18 before half. But Lehighton added a 28-yard field goal by Nate Petit-Clair to take a 21-7 lead at the intermission.

The Olympians cut the lead to seven after QB Nick Rosahac scored from five yards out with 2:09 left in the third quarter. Scherer took over with his legs going for an electrifying 81 yard jaunt two plays after the Jim Thorpe score.

With St. Hill sitting out much of the second half due to an injury. Dominic Madeira and C.J Selby needed to step up and make some plays.

Madera did his part to make it a one score game 29-21 at the 8:35 mark of the fourth quarter with a one-yard run. It was Scherer answering back with a 74-yard run at the 8:00 mark making the score 36-21.

Lehighton got a third scoring pass from Scherer to Crum this time from 28 yards out and a 43-21 lead.

Selby closed out the scoring with a two-yard run for Jim Thorpe with 2:31 left to play.

Both teams qualify for District XI playoffs beginning next weekend at site and times and opponents to be determined.

By Brian Ptashinski    @BPtashinski on Twitter

BERWICK-  You can throw the records out the window when it comes to the showdown between rivals Berwick and Wyoming Valley West. Valley West has won eight of the last nine meetings between the two perennial Wyoming Valley Conference football teams. The Senior Class of this years’ Bulldog squad has yet to taste victory against the Spartans. Friday night at Crispin Field in front of a large homecoming night crowd, the Dawgs accomplished just that by a score of 44-22.

Behind the outstanding play of Damon Beckhorn, ho late in the contest broke things open, the Dawgs sealed the deal. Beckhorn was on the receiving end of a 28-yard pass from Jared Marshman, on a fourth and nine with 2:59 left in the contest. He then returned a Spartan fumble 16 yards at the 2:35 mark to give Berwick the final margin of victory.

Berwick got on the board first with an 18-yard run by Evan Klinger, after a Valley West field goal attempt failed to set the home team up at their own 20. The Spartans then blocked a Berwick punt near the Bulldogs goal line with 11:41 left in the second quarter. The ball was recovered by Berwick in the end zone resulting in a safety for the Spartans. On their ensuing drive after the free kick, the Spartans took the lead as QB Rob Dwyer connected with Darrian Tyson for 14 yards and an 8-7 lead. That lead would not last long as Klinger took the kickoff from his own seven and returned it 93 yards giving the home team a 14-8 lead.

The Bulldogs scored twice more before halftime, first on a 21-yard jaunt by Owen Shoemaker and the Ken Marshman connected on a 32 yard field goal making the score 24-8 at intermission.

The home team extended that lead to 30-8 on a one-yard run by Jarod Marshman with 6:21 left in the third quarter.  Valley West maintained their composure and was able to cut the lead to 30-22 with scores by Zack Davies, first on a four-yard run, followed by a 2-yard fumble recovery with 11:51 left in the contest. They did this before Beckhorn took over to seal the deal for the ‘Dawgs.

“That is a very good football team in Valley West. Their record does not signify how good they really are. They always give 100 percent,” Berwick coach Frank Sheptock said after the contest.

Berwick, now 7-1 on the season will be home again this Friday against Lake-Lehman, who comes into the contest at 6-2 a 35-7 winner over Holy Redeemer. Valley West is now 2-6 and will be at 5-3 Crestwood Friday night. The Comets are on a three game win streak after knocking off Hanover Area 42-7 Friday night.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter.

JIM THORPE- The Olympians, behind the stellar play of Justin St Hill, at both running back and as a QB from Wildcat formation, dominated the visitors from North Schuylkill Friday night. At Jim Thorpe Memorial Stadium, the Olympians dominated to a 42-18 win in a Schuylkill League I matchup, before a near capacity homecoming crowd in the borough.

St. Hill rushed for 180 yards and also was featured in the passing game for another 92 yards. He threw for two scores, while reaching the end zone himself on two occasions in the contest. For good measure he picked off a pass in the final quarter.

Jim Thorpe scored the first 21 points of the game as St. Hill scored from two yards out. Then while playing QB, St. Hill connected with CJ Selby on a swing pass for a 50 yard score. He then hooked up with Shawn O’Toole in the corner of the end zone for a nine-yard score.

North Schuylkill managed to get on the board with about 2 minutes left before halftime as Tyler Elsdon scored from nine yards out but the PAT was missed leaving the score at 21-6 at intermission.

The Spartans used an onside kick to open up the second half and recovered the ball. They were unable to sustain a drive and was forced to punt the ball back to the Olympians.

A few plays later O’Toole scored from nine yards out for the home team making the score 28-6.

North Schuylkill scored later in the third quarter on Mason Geary’s 12-yard scoring pass from Doug Weist. Weist also had a ten-yard pass to Brandon Rockwell to cut the lead to 28-18 with about ten minutes left in the game.

With just under five minutes left to play, St. Hill stepped in front of a Weist pass and returned it to the Spartan one. From there St. Hill took it in to make the score 35-18. O’Toole then scored his third touchdown of the night, ripping off a 31-yard jaunt to close out the scoring.

“He’s such a great athlete (St. Hill). He’s a dual threat, who has transformed into a quarterback as well,” Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger stated about his all-around player.

“North Schuylkill is a good football team, and well-coached. We knew we were going to have a hard time stopping them all night,” Rosenberger concluded.

The Olympians now (7-0) will travel to Tamaqua (5-2). Tamaqua lost 41-35 to unbeaten Lehighton Friday night. The Spartans will host 2-5 Blue Mountain, who upset Pottsville Friday night 20-6.

By Brian Ptashinski  @BPtashinski on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE-  The Coughlin Crusaders football team came into their highly-anticipated game with the Berwick Bulldogs Friday night, as one of the hottest teams          in the Wyoming Valley Conference having won three games in a row. In those three wins, backfield mates Jake Cole and Vincent Todd were dominant as Coles rushed for over 200 yards in two of those wins and Todd gained nearly 190 yards last week against Honesdale.

The stout Berwick defense had different plans for the dynamic duo. Coles managed a meager 49 yards on 17 touches, while Todd could only muster 11 yards on 9 carries. When the dust settled, the scoreboard read Berwick 24 Coughlin 6 at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

“Our plan was to make Coles run wide and Todd to cut back when he tried to get outside. Our pursuit was good at making that happen all night,” stated Berwick coach Frank Sheptock after the game.

The Bulldogs held just a 3-0 lead at intermission thanks to a Ken Marshman 29-yard field goal with 6:13 left in the opening quarter.

Berwick’s defense set the tone early in the second half, as the Crusaders fumbled and Damon Beckhorn recovered for the ‘Dawgs at the Coughlin 24.  Beckhorn scored from nine yards out, from the wildcat formation capping a three play drive with 10:16 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard again with 8:41 left in the game. The ‘Dawgs faced a fourth down situation at the Crusaders 17, needing ten yards to move the chains.  Coach Sheptock gambled and instead of a Marshman field goal attempt in the wind, Berwick went for it. That decision would pay off as QB Alex Force connected with Jared Watts in the back of the end zone to extend the lead to 17-0 after Marshman added the PAT.

23yd pass for Berwick score
17-0 8:41 left in game. @BadgleyBruce @EPAFootball @HSPNSports @NazarethNo1Fan @END2008 pic.twitter.com/r4rbDVIWTa

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) September 30, 2017

“We felt Alex was throwing the ball well at that point and his confidence was there as well. With the wind and rain coming off the edge we felt it would be best to just go for it,” Sheptock concluded.

Berwick’s defense once again stepped up against the Crusaders ensuing drive as LB Eric Montes recovered a fumble at the Coughlin 35. Keeping the ball with the ground attack was the best option as the wind-swept rain fell upon the stadium. RB Joe Lynn carried three straight times, the last one covering four yards to make the score 24-0 with 7:23 remaining.

Coughlin avoided being shutout as Evan Sovan took it in from six yards out with 2:05 left on the clock.

Next week Berwick (5-1) will travel to face Pittston Area (2-3). Pittston will at Abington Heights Saturday afternoon. Coughlin (3-3) will face cross-town rival Meyers (4-1) next Friday. Meyers is facing Dallas Saturday night at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

LEHIGHTON- Thursday night at Lehighton Indian Stadium was the fifth annual Bo Tkach Memorial Foundation football game. When the night ended, the Lehighton Indians found themselves holding the award after a convincing 43-16 thrashing of Panther Valley.

The game started off positive for the visiting Panthers as they took the opening kickoff and journeyed 67 yards in ten plays, that culminated in Hunter Kennedy going in from a yard out. Rene Figueroa ran in the two-point conversion to take a 8-0 lead at the 7:14 mark of the quarter.

That score seemed to awaken the Indians, as they answered with a 66 yard nine-play drive. QB Cody Scherer connected with Zack Crum for 22 yards. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 8-6 with 5:09 left.

The key moment of the contest occurred on the Panthers next possession. As they had a fourth and six from their own 45. Kennedy’s pass out in the flat fell short of its’ mark and the Indians took possession. Scherer hit RB TaQuon Bradley-Chambers on a swing pass for a score. Scherer converted the two-points this time giving the home team the lead for good at 14-8.

Panther Valley started their next drive inside the five-yard line following a penalty. Scherer, playing LB on defense, came through the line and forced RB Jon Hafer to fumble the ball and Indians recovered. Scherer then took it in the end zone from a yard out making the score 22-8.

“We’ve been hitting on all cylinders all season. We are doing some fantastic things up to this point. I like where we are as a team,” said Indian coach Tom McCarroll afterwards.

Scherer completed 7 of 11 passes for 154 yards a two TD’s. He also rushed for 47 yards and three scores. Bradley-Chambers gained 101 yards on the ground on just 12 tallies.

Lehighton scored all of its 43 points in the first half. In the second quarter, Bradley-Chambers had a ten-yard run. Scherer scored twice more from three and four yards out to give his team a 43-8 lead at intermission.

The second half started under the mercy rule. Lehighton received the kickoff and Bradley-Chambers returned it 87 yards for an apparent score, but a block in the back call at the Panthers ten nullified that score.

Panther Valley did manage to find the end zone one more time as backup QB Ethan Reis connected with Tristen Blasko on a fade route from ten yards out capped off the night.

Lehighton, now 5-0 on the season gets into the heart of their schedule as they travel to Ashland next Friday to face unbeaten North Schuylkill. North Schuylkill will be hosting 3-1 Mount Carmel tonight. Panther Valley, who is now 2-3 and on three game skid, will be at Marion Catholic next week.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

LEHIGHTON – The Lehighton Indians, playing in their home opener, seized momentum early and cruised to a 53-21 win over an overmatched, but game, Schuylkill Valley Friday night in Lehighton in a non-league game. Both teams came into the contest at 2-0. Both teams had a common opponent in Fleetwood, which Lehighton defeated 43-6 and Schuylkill Valley did the same by a score of 42-20.

The Indians stormed out of the gate by scoring on their first seven possessions of the night taking a 46-14 lead into intermission. The home team took advantage of great field position most of the first half as six of the seven scores started with drives in Panther territory. After SV took the opening kickoff at their 29, in three plays they netted minus 13 yards. A shanked punt went out of bounds at the 28 of the visitors. Taquon Bradley-Chambers completed the drive with a seven-yard run with two minutes gone.

After another Panther punt gave the Indians the ball at midfield, QB Cody Scherer connected with Colin Trowell for 27 yards. The two-point conversion was good making the score 14-0 with about seven minutes left in the quarter. The Panthers attempted a fake punt deep in their territory but failed and a unsportsmanlike penalty gave the Indians the ball at the 12-yard line. Scherer hit Zach Crum for a seven-yard score and a 22-0 lead. The next drive for Lehighton began on the visitors 43. Scherer again hooked up with Crum from 21 yards out extending the lead to 29-0 at the close of the opening quarter.

Lehighton had the ball at the Panther two to start the second quarter. Cameron Christman capped the 33 yard drive with a score on their first play making the score 36-0. The Panthers were able to force the Indians to start a drive in their own territory, after a punt sailed to the home team’s 38. It only took one play for Bradley-Chambers to take off 62 yards on an electrifying run dodging several would-be tacklers near the goal line. Lehighton added a 33-yard field goal with 6:42 left in the half making the score 46-0.

“We came out to play tonight, on both sides of the ball they did a great job. We got a little complacent there by giving up a couple of scores before half, but overall I think we made a statement tonight against a pretty good football team,” said Coach Tom McCarroll.

With Lehighton substituting their starters, Schuylkill Valley did manage to get on the scoreboard as QB Anikin Sky Glassmire connected with Joe Jardine at the 6:21 mark. RB Jackson Brown scooted in from 16 yards out to make the score 46-14 with 1:59 on the clock. They avoided having the second half beginning with mercy rule.

That would not last long as the Indians took the second half kickoff and drove the ball to the Panther seven. From there Scherer connected with Tyler Steigerwalt for seven yards and a 53-14 lead with 9:50 to play in the quarter. Tyler Worrell closed out the scoring as he scored from a yard out with under a minute left in the contest.

Cody Scherer completed 4 of 12 passes for just 62 yards, but all four went for scores. Bradley-Chambers led the rushing attack that amassed 298 yards on 44 tallies. He finished the night with 185 yards on just 13 carries and 2 scores. Glassmire led the Panthers by completing 9 of 16 passes for 156 yards and one TD.

Next Friday Lehighton (3-0) will be home with Marian Catholic (1-2) who lost to North Schuylkill 35-0 Friday night. Schuylkill Valley will try to get back on track at home against Pope John Paul II (3-0) who defeated Chichester Friday by a score of 21-20.

By Brian Ptashinski BPtashinski on Twitter.

WILSON- It wasn’t exactly how Palisades wanted to start on the road Saturday afternoon at Warrior Stadium in their game with host Wilson. On the second play from scrimmage Pirate QB Ethan Brader fumbled and gave the ball to Wilson at the Palisades 37. Wilson lost seven yards on next three plays and that would set the tone for the rest of the contest as the Warriors amassed just a mere 35 yards and did not cross midfield for the rest of the contest.

“Our defense set the tone right out of the gate. We are fast along the line. Our expectations are to be physical but also quick off and to the ball,” Pirate coach Kevin Ronalds stated.

That speed and physical play kept Warrior RB Job Goodman, who ran for over 160 yards last week against Pen Argyl, to 27 yards on 12 carries. The defense also recorded five sacks and forced six Warrior punts in the contest.

The Pirate defense stopped Wilson on the visitors 39 yard line on fourth down following the fumble. From there Palisades drove the field culminating in a four-yard run by RB Jared Colletti at the 8:09 mark. Palisades TJ Rakowsky scored from 33 yards out on the last play of the opening quarter on a sweep to the left side.

Colletti scored again with 6:10 to go before half on a 31-yard gallop. The Pirates put another score on the board when Brader connected with WR Matt McGrath, who made a juggling catch in the back of the end zone leaving the score at 28-0 at intermission.

Brader finished the game with 65 yards passing on 4 of 8 completions and the scoring pass. Colletti and Rakowsky led the running attack with 69 and 76 yards respectively.

Colletti just didn’t do it from the running back position, but also on special teams. He took a punt from his 47, starting to his left, he then cut it back to the opposite side and down the visitors sideline for a nifty 53-yard return to put the game in mercy-rule with 10:26 left in the third quarter. Backup RB Aiden Blakie rounded out the scoring with a one-yard run at the 4:26 mark of the final period.

The Tom Poynton 110 Percent Passion Award went to Colletti after the game. Wilson’s Nick Gara also received the award. Poynton who passed away was a coach and teacher at both schools.

Palisades(2-0) will be home next week with Northwestern Lehigh. Wilson will be at Salisbury.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP- Behind the strong running of RB Braxton Marrero and QB Ethan Parvel’s arm and legs, the Whitehall Zephyrs managed to hold on for a 42-35 thrilling shootout at Zephyr Stadium in Whitehall Township Friday night in an early season EPC South Showdown.

Marrero scored from 18 yards out with little time left in the contest. The score came after Marrero fumbled the ball away with about 5 minutes left in the game. That led to a three-yard run by Sone Ntoh with 3:44 remaining. The win avenged last year’s loss to Emmaus 38-14 at EPSD Stadium.

Parvel got the scoring spree started on the second play of the game, on a read-option burst for a 69-yard run and a 7-0 lead. The lead did not last long as Blake Reed flipped a shovel pass to Noah Bredinger for a five-yard score. The Zephyrs scored on the ensuing drive as Parvel hooked up with Dez Boykin for a 19-yard scoring play giving the Zephyrs a 14-7 lead still in the opening quarter. Emmaus managed another score late in the quarter when Reed connected with Izaiah McPherson for ten yards evening the score at 14.

Boykin got his second touchdown on a nine-yard reception with about ten minutes left in the half. McPhereson got the Hornets even once again this time on a nifty spinning 27-yard jaunt with 3:48 left on the clock. As the half came to a close the score was tied at 21.

Emmaus found themselves with great field position to start the third quarter, as Whitehall kicked three consecutive times out of bounds. This put the ball at the Hornets 45, but they could not take advantage and were forced to punt. Whitehall could not move the ball either and kicked it back to the Hornets. Reed threw his third touchdown pass, when he hit Deonte Castro on a 29-yard screen pass to give the visitors their first lead. Marrero made sure that lead did not last long as on first play from scrimmage, he busted a 62-yard run and we were tied again at 28 with 7:26 left in the quarter. Parvel gave the Zephs the lead back with a 25 yard pass again to Boykin for 35-28 lead with 7:46 lead in the 4th quarter.

The Hornets turned the ball over for the first time inside the Whitehall 20 with 6:15 on the clock, but a few plays later Marrero returned the favor which led to Ntoh going in from three yards out making the score 35-35. The Zephys got the ball at their own 24 with just under three minutes left that setup the game-winner.

“This game should give us a big boost going forward. That is a good football team we faced tonight. We are excited for next week and rest of the season,” Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert stated after the game.

Parvel completed 11 of 17 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 20 times for 118 yards and a score. Boykin, who was on receiving end of all three scores caught eight passes for 109 yards. Marrero finished the night with 19 tallies for 192 yards. Whitehall totaled 468 yards in the contest.

Emmaus was down a key player as RB Lubens Meyers was out most of the game with a lower body injury.

“I just wanted a chance to make up for that mistake of fumbling the football. I just came out and really wanted to have a chance to win the game,” Marrero added.

Whitehall (2-0, 1-0 EPC South) go on the road to face Nazareth, who suffered a 30-6 loss at Parkland. Emmaus(1-1, 0-1 EPC South) will be at home with Bethlehem Catholic, a 48-0 winner against Northampton.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

ALLENTOWN- Defending EPC North Champion, Allentown Central Catholic, was the last team standing in the way of the EPC South from completing an opening week sweep. After a strong second half by the visiting Patriots of Freedom, opening up a 7-3 lead to a convincing 27-3 win at J. Birney Crum Stadium. Once again the South dominated the North over the weekend and none of the contests were even competitive.

Central Catholic’s placekicker, Rustin Seyle, opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal, completing a 10-play, 44-yard drive. The lead did not last long as Patriot Sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins found Kryee Marshbur for a 20-yard completion for a score to take a 7-3 lead with 2:19 left in the opening quarter.

“The parity among the teams in EPC South happens again this year. You’re going to have to play your best football each and every week. Central Catholic is a good team under a first year head coach, ” Freedom’s coach Jason Roeder said afterwards.

The second half opened up with the Patriots going to the air as Jenkins connected with Alec Huertas with a 24-yard scoring pass on just one play, after a short punt. Central Catholic could not muster even a first down in the third quarter, leaving the score 13-3.

Freedom only needed three plays to score their next two touchdowns as Abdul Beasley ripped off a 61-yard jaunt after receiving a punt from the Vikings. On the ensuing drive, Freedom intercepted a pass and one play later, Joseph Stofanak was on receiving end of a Jenkins pass covering 28 yards.

Central Catholic lost starting quarterback Connor Nejad to an injury early in the first quarter.

Next week Freedom will host William Allen on Friday night while Central Catholic will travel to Pleasant Valley.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Pen Argyl – October 2, 2015 was the last time that the Wilson Warriors last won a football game, a 21-20 win over Catasauqua. It’s been 15 games of futility, but that is over now thanks to an impressive and eye-opening victory at one of the toughest places for the opposition to win at, Pen Argyl. The Warriors made a statement with a convincing 43-8 win “Up On The Hill”.

Behind the running of standout Job Goodman, along with the play of his teammate Cameron Clark at quarterback and the defense playing lights out, they shut down one of the Colonial League’s top RB in Logan Sterner. Wilson hopes this win turns the corner and they become contenders for a title in the near future.

Goodman accounted for five touchdowns in the contest, three rushing and two on the receiving end of Clark’s passes. Clark scored a touchdown and threw for 149 yards. Goodman rushed for 169 yards and also had 118 yards via the passing game. Clark finished the afternoon 127 yard rushing and 140 passing in the victory.

Wilson scored on their opening drive with Clark, keeping on a read option, dashed in from 52 yards out on just the third play from scrimmage capping a 63 yard drive just a 1:10 into the contest. Kelly Snyder added to the lead in the second quarter connecting on a 36-yard field goal with 9:58 till half.

“We knew coming in that we had some good athletes coming into the season. It was great seeing Job and Cameron having such a great game,” Second year coach Chris Labatch stated.

Goodman hit pay dirt again as on a fourth and one from the Wilson 47 as he took a handoff left and broke free down the sidelines to give the Warriors a 17-0 lead. After a Pen Argyl punt, the Warriors took over on their own 34, on second down. Clark managed to escape several would be tacklers and lofted the ball down the middle. Goodman adjusted his route and made a catch outracing the defenders to the end zone extending the lead to 23-0 with 4:17 before halftime.

The Green Knights did manage to get inside the Warrior 20 on their ensuing drive, however a Clark interception return set his team up near midfield. One play later Clark connected with Goodman down the sidelines for another score and a 29-0 lead at the half.

Pen Argyl managed to get on the board on the opening drive of the third quarter completing a nine-play, 71 yard drive with Anderson Dear going in from three yards out and a 2 point conversion pass from Dear hit Conner Kupres.

“We have to work on our preparation. We made too many mistakes today. Our intensity level just wasn’t there,” Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi stated.

Goodman closed out the scoring in the third quarter with runs of 47 and 20 yards and the mercy rule kicked in with 3:53 left in the the third quarter.

Pen Argyl will try to get on track as they travel to play Saucon Valley Friday night. Wilson will host Palisades on Saturday afternoon.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

JIM THORPE- Facing the defending Schuylkill League Division 2 and District 11 2A champion Schuylkill Haven Friday night, Jim Thorpe’s coach Mark Rosenberger knew the outcome of the game would fall on his Olympians to control the ball and to take advantage of any Hurricane mistakes. His team did just that leading to a 19-7 win in front of 1,000 fans Friday night.

Olympian RB Justin St. Hill carried the ball 24 times for 108 yards and two scores. His teammate, C.J. Selby, had five carries for 96 yards and a score as the defense came up big on a goal line stand to end the half.  “We wanted to control the ball with our running game. This is in sharp contrast to where we were a year ago,” Rosenberger stated.

Jim Thorpe managed to stop the Hurricanes on their opening possession, when a third down sack led to a 4th and 21 situation, and a short punt set had the Olympians up near midfield. St. Hill scored from nine yards out, capping a seven-play drive, in which he carried the ball five times. The two-point conversion failed, giving the home team a 6-0 lead with 5:43 to go in the opening quarter.

Schuylkill Haven managed to take the lead with 6:36 left in the half as Josh Kaylon hooked up Brandon Koch for 81 yards on just one play after forcing a Jim Thorpe punt. The PAT was good making the score 7-6.

Haven had a chance to add to the lead right at the end of the half with a 1st-and-goal at the Olympian eight, but three straight running plays gained nothing. A  23-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

A 21-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter set the Olympians up at the Hurricane 40. St. Hill took a sweep right and cruised down the sideline to give the home team a 12-7 lead as again the conversion failed.

Roberto Santiago picked off an errant Kaylon pass at the JT 8. A 92-yard drive ensued taking just eight plays capped by a 38-yard dash up the middle for Selby. This time the PAT was converted giving Jim Thorpe the final margin of victory.

“We believed our line could do the job in controlling that Schuylkill Haven offense. They got that one big play in the second quarter, but other than that they did not dominate us like they do in most games,” Rosenberger said.

Jim Thorpe tries to start 2-0 as they travel to Hometown to face Marion Catholic next week, while Haven will be home with Lehighton Friday night.

SLATINGTON- Interim football coach Kyle Haas preached to his football team all week about playing for each other and playing Bethlehem Catholic football. He wanted them prepared for their opponent Imhotep Charter out of Philadelphia Friday night at Bulldog Stadium on the Northern Lehigh High School campus. When the dust settled Imhotep managed to survive a gutsy and outstanding Golden Hawk challenge by a 24-13 margin to advance to next week’s 4A state championship in  Hershey. The Panthers (13-0) will face Erie Cathedral Prep (13-0) in a rematch of last years’ state 3A title game, won by Imhotep by a 40-3 score.

“We thought if we could get them into the fourth quarter, we may tire them (Imhotep) out being they are not used to having the starters in in second half of their games,” Haas said afterwards.

The Golden Hawk defense was challenged early in the contest, as two drives by the Panthers were snuffed out by the swarming Becca defense inside the red zone in the first half. Imhotep broke through the stalemate with just 58 seconds gone in the second quarter as Chris Wells scored from eight yards out.  Imhotep does not use a placekicker so they went for two, came up empty, but led 6-0.

Bethlehem Catholic had an answer on the ensuing drive, when running back Damien Diaz cashed in from two yards out. Anthony SaSilva connected on the point after, giving the Hawks a 7-6 lead with 7:14 left before half.

A wild sequence of events occurred to close out the half. Imhotep went on a 64-yard drive on their next possession with Isheem Young finishing it with an eight-yard score. The two-point conversion failed again leaving the score at 12-7. On the Golden Hawks possession, they were forced to punt. The ball took a bounce near midfield, where returner Young tried scooping the ball up. He batted it forward where it was recovered by Becahi at the Imhotep 48. Quarterback Javon Clements connected with Karim Powell as the the wind held the ball up. Powell adjusted better then his defender and outran his pursuers into the end zone. The point after clanked off the upright leaving the score at 13-12, led for the Hawks. Imhotep took advantage of a big kickoff return by Aamir Brown to set his team up on the 45 of Bethlehem Catholic. Two plays later Nasir Boykins found Brown in the end zone from 35 yards out with just 32 seconds on the clock, giving the Panthers a 18-13 lead at intermission.

“That score before half, was a turning point. We could have had the lead at 13-12. It changed the momentum,” Haas mentioned. Both defenses settled back in the second half, as The Hawks forced a Imhotep punt and they made another stop of the potent Panther offense, turning them over inside the Hawk 20. Imhotep also stepped up to the challenge by stopping a Bethlehem Catholic drive to the Panthers 20.

With just under five minutes left in the contest, the Golden Hawks caught a break when Brandon Kelly picked off an errant Boykins pass and retuned it to the Panthers 38. From there the drive went sour, in their bid for the monumental upset as a penalty and a sack pushed Becahi backward. Then a bad snap on punt gave possession to the Panthers on the Hawks 38. Imhotep was facing a third and eight. Boykins, running a perfectly setup bootleg play, slipped by the would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. The Panthers failed on their fourth conversion leaving the score 24-13.

Desperation set in for Bethlehem Catholic team trailing by two scores with about two minutes to play. Knowing they would be passing on every down, Imhotep rushed Clements on every play, forcing him to throw a game clinching interception.

Imhotep coach Mark Schmidt stated, “We were tested tonight, like no other time all season. I didn’t know how we would respond, but we stepped up and made plays when we had too. Credit to that team(Bethlehem Catholic). They did a heck of a job,” he concluded.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

NORTHAMPTON- The spotlight shone brightly under the lights at Al Erdosy Stadium at Northampton Area High School Friday night as the District 12 5A champion Archbishop Wood Vikings took to the field boasting several top-notch legitimate Division I type recruits in their contest with District 11 Champion the Whitehall Zephyrs. When the final whistle sounded, the Zephyrs season ended in a 56-13 resounding loss to the Philadelphia Catholic League school.

“We knew coming in what kind of athletes Wood had,” Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert said. “That is an all-star team no question. Dez Boykin is about the only player on our roster who could compete with their talent. The problem was they have six or seven on those kind of athletes. It’s tough to matchup,” he concluded.

It didn’t take long for Wood to showcase all that talent, size and speed. On just the fourth play from scrimmage, running back Shaun Thompson ripped through a gap at the line of scrimmage and dashed his way to the end zone to open up the scoring. Thompson rushed for 279 yards on the evening on just 13 tallies. The Vikings in total amassed over 500 yards on the ground for the contest.

16yd run for Wood or 95yd drive. AW 35 @ZephyrsFootball 7 @EPAFootball @BadgleyBruce #lvvarsity @69SportsBT @D1FootballFan pic.twitter.com/4PD4sXPxXH

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) November 26, 2016

The Vikings scored on their next four possessions giving them a 35-7 lead by intermission. After the Zephyrs punted on their first possession, it took Wood just one play to cover the 71 yards as quarterback Jack Colyar lofted a perfectly thrown ball to Georgia Bulldog commit Mark Webb. He sped down the sidelines for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Thompson’s backfield mate and Temple University recruit Raheem Blackshear took over from there, as he ended up with three scores on the night and added 134 yards in total.

Whitehall managed to get on the board with 5:31 left in the opening frame, as quarterback Zach Gilbert connected with Boykin on a 25-yard score on a fourth and seven play, to cut the lead to 14-7. That momentum would not last long as Wood answered with a 70-yard drive, culminating in Blackshear capping the drive with a 14-yard dash and a 21-7 lead. Blackshear would extend the lead to 28-7 on a six-yard score capping off a 66 yard drive with 10:18 left in the half.

The Zephyrs had a chance to cut the lead in half as they drove down to the Vikings one, but couldn’t capitalize. They turned the ball over on downs at the five. The Vikings needed four plays, all via the ground to cover the 95 yards. Blackshear took it in from 14 yards out and the lead swelled to 35-7.

“We told our kids at halftime, play like Zephyrs in the second half. Hold your head high,” Gilbert said to his dejected team. “We came back strong during the season after the loss to Nazareth and we finished strong. We need to build on this going forward,” he concluded.

In the second half, Wood put the game into mercy rule mode as Thompson ripped off a 69-yard jaunt with 5:34 to play in the third stanza. With most of their starters on the bench later in the half, the Vikings still managed to find paydirt two more times when Adrian Lambert cashed in from 15 yards out with under a minute left in the third quarter. Chris Blackstone scored on a three-yard run at the 4:40 mark of the fourth quarter capping off a 74-yard drive.

Whitehall did get into the end zone on the final play of the contest as Gilbert fought his way, carrying several tacklers along the way from nine yards out. The PAT was not attempted.

Archbishop Wood (9-2) will now advance to next week’s PIAA 5A State Semifinal against Academy Park (13-1), who defeated Springfield-Delco 24-18 Friday night, at a site and time TBD. Whitehall finishes their season at 9-5.

By Brian Ptashisnki @BPtashinski on Twitter

SLATINGTON- The chant of “coal region football” rang out Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh High School, as the Hurricanes of Schuylkill Haven took the field against the speed and athleticism of West Catholic in a PIAA 2A state playoff game. When all was said and done, the Hurricanes prevailed in dominating fashion to the tune of a 41-12 victory. Schuylkill Haven (12-1) advances to face defending state champion Southern Columbia (13-0) at a site to be determined.

Schuylkill Haven wasted little time getting on the board after holding the Burrs on four downs deep in their own end of the field to start the game. The Hurricanes forced a punt a took over at the West Catholic 40. A few plays later quarterback Danny Lozada, dashed through the defense on his way to a 29-yard score to give his team a 7-0 lead at the 8:37 mark.

The Hurricanes would drive down to the Burrs 22 late in the opening quarter, but Lozada’s pass was picked off in the back of the end zone, giving West Catholic the ball at the 20. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Da’vion Kidd-Jackson connected with Ahmad Kent on a screen pass. Eighty yards later the Burrs were within a PAT of tying the game. However with no place-kicker, they tried for two and were stopped short leaving the score at 7-6

That score would hold up for nearly the rest of the half. West Catholic was setting up in punt formation when a bad snap forced the Burrs to make a run for the first down, but was stopped shy of the markers. Schuylkill Haven took over with under a minute to play at the West Catholic 44. Faced with a third-and 7 at the 41 with 14 ticks on the clock, the Burrs took a timeout. That gave Haven coach Mike Farr time to second guess just running out the clock and they went into the locker room with a one point lead. Instead, he decided to go for broke, and call for a pass play. Preston Gehring, came across in motion, snuck out in the flat and Lozada hit him in stride down the sideline, stunning the Burrs defense. He waltzed in for a score with just 4.7 left on the clock and taking a 14-6 lead at intermission.

“It was huge momentum swing. We call that play in practice all the time and it always works. So when they took the timeout, it gave me the chance to pull it out at the perfect time,” said Coach Farr. “The kids all got excited when I called it and Danny did a great job in executing it. Preston did his job catching it.”

Haven received the second half kickoff and returned it to their own 49. From there they drove it to the Burrs three where the drive stalled. Dawson Evitts came in and connected on a 20-yard field goal extending the lead to 17-6 using up nearly half the quarter on the drive.

On the ensuing kickoff, West Catholic fumbled and Haven took over at the 13. Lozada took it from a yard out on a sneak and extended the lead to 25-6. After a Burrs penalty on the conversion, Haven went for two with Mike Kalyan bulling his way into the end zone.

Evitts connected on a 33-yard field goal midway through the fourth, after taking over on downs at the West Catholic 44. This chewed up the yards via the ground and pound attack throughout the second half.

West Catholic managed to cut the lead to 28-12, as backup quarterback Anthony Mirabile completed a 43-yard scoring pass to Amadou Barry with 5:31 left in the contest. But then freshman sensation Kobe Brish, took over from there for the Hurricanes as he had two scores from 15 and 10 yards out closing the deal.

Kobe Brish 15 yard run 4:41 on the clock. SH 34 WC 12 @EPAFootball @BlackDiamondSN @BadgleyBruce #lvvarsity pic.twitter.com/AHitwl2gDu

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) November 19, 2016

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

POTTSVILLE- Schuylkill Haven blew open a close game at halftime with 35 second half points and cruised to their first District 11 title since 2013. This is the eighth overall district championship with a 42-7 throttling of Palmerton Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The win advances the Hurricanes to next week’s matchup with District 12 champion West Catholic out of Philadelphia Saturday at Northern Lehigh. West Catholic defeated Valley Forge Military Academy 58-6 Saturday night.

Schuylkill Haven caught a break early in the contest, as Palmerton fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff. Josh Kalyan pounced on the ball at Blue Bomber 20. It only took one play for the Hurricanes to capitalize on the miscue. Mike Kalyan flashed into the end zone just 13 seconds into the contest.

Defense was the name of the game the rest of the half, as neither team could muster another point as the game went to half with Schuylkill haven leading 7-0.

Palmerton came into the contest with a vaunted passing attack led by quarterback Garrett Pershey, who threw for over 1,700 yards on the season. He was held in check all night as he was sacked six times and threw two interceptions on a night he thew the ball 39 times for 200 yards.
Haven, on the other hand, came in with a strong rushing attack behind Mike Kalyan and QB Danny Lozada, but were limited to 80 yards on the ground in the first half.

The second half was a different story as Lozada, on the second play of the half sprinted in from 73 yards out and extended the lead to 14-0. The Hurricanes also got a huge contribution from freshman RB Kobe Brish, who rushed for 138 yards in the contest. With 1:54 left in the third quarter, Brish busted through the center of the Blue Bomber line on his way to a 34-yard score.

Palmerton(6-6) got their only score of the evening on a 13-yard pass from Pershey to Jordan Nelson to cut the lead to 14-7 at the 7:55 minute mark of the third quarter.

Schuylkill Haven rushed for nearly 320 yards after intermission. With the score at 21-7 heading into the final quarter, the ground game continued to heat up for the Hurricanes as they got scores from Lozada from 61 yards out on the first play of the quarter to open the lead at 28-7. On the Bombers’ first play of the ensuing possession, Pershey’s pass was picked off at the Bomber 30. Preston Gehring scored from 16 yards out to make the score 35-7 with 7:20 left in the game.

Palmerton triedto get on the board again late in the contest but was stymied at the Hurricanes 26. Brish took a handoff, ran around the left side for a 73-yard jaunt, and completed the scoring on the night with 3:38 remaining on the clock.

“We made some adjustments. When we got to the locker room we talked about why we couldn’t get things going in the first half,” said Haven coach Mike Farr. “Once we drew some things up and figured out what was wrong, we got it straightened out and the rest is history.”

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

BETHLEHEM TWP.- A track meet was on display Saturday afternoon on the football field at Notre Dame High School. The Crusaders held a 35-21 lead at halftime and cruised to a 49-28 victory over North Schuylkill to advance to District XI 3A Championship against Pen Argyl, who defeated Palisades 28-7. The match up is next Saturday at BASD Stadium in Bethlehem at 1pm.

Notre Dame wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking the initial drive of the game 70 yards, capped by a 26 yard screen pass from quarterback Cole DeFranco to Tim Constantino with just 1:35 gone off the clock. Alex Garrido connected on his first of seven PAT’s giving his team a 7-0 lead. The defense got in on the action on North Schuylkill’s opening drive. Mitch Daniel picked off a Doug Weist pass and returned it 30 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead with 9:35 left in opening quarter.

The Spartans settled down and went on an 80-yard march, capped off with a one-yard run by Major Jordan to cut the lead in half with still about four minutes on the clock. The Crusaders were not deterred as they scored again when DeFranco connected with Austin Kaulius from 11 yards out , making the score 21-7 heading into the second stanza.

North Schuylkill cut the lead back to seven after Keith Stavinski hauled in a 17-yard pass from Weist with 9:25 before the half to complete an 84-yard drive. Every time they were threatened, the Crusaders had an answer. Each time Mitch Daniel scored from a yard out and then after an exchange of turnovers and a Spartan punt, DeFranco connected with Constantino from 21 yards out with a 1:02 on the clock. North Schuylkill, however, quickly drove the ball 83 yards. Stavinski was on the receiving end of a 16-yard pass with just three ticks left making the score 35-21 at the half.

“The goal is getting the kids to understand the simple concept of getting the ball in the end zone and preventing the other team from doing so,” Notre Dame coach Phil Stambaugh stated. “It doesn’t matter how. It’s not always easy to get them to relate to that, but if we can get them to execute that, we’ll be ok as we go deeper in the playoffs.”

The second half was more subdued as neither team could put any points on the board in the third quarter. But the Spartans ended the quarter with the ball on the Crusader one-yard line as the fourth quarter began. Jake Green plowed his way into the end zone and his team trailed by a score of 35-28.

When you thought the visitors would grab some momentum, Notre Dame answered right back as DeFranco and Daniel hooked up for a 42-yard scoring play near the ten-minute mark. The Crusaders recovered a fumble on the Spartans 37 leading to a DeFranco five-yard run to complete the scoring with 8:40 left to play.

Cole DiFranco 5yd run. NDGP extends lead 49-28.@EPAFootball @BadgleyBruce #lvvarsity @HSPNSports @scorestream @HSFBamerica pic.twitter.com/ty7G23MhDJ

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) November 12, 2016

DeFranco finished the game with 317 yards passing on 22 completions and four touchdowns.

Pen Argyl (9-3)gave Notre Dame (10-2)one of their two losses on October 15th by a score of 35-14 at Pen Argyl. North Schuylkill finishes their season at 6-6.

Whitehall Wins Inaugural District 5A Championship
By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

BETHLEHEM- It had been since 1997 that the Whitehall Zephyr football team won a district title. Friday night at BASD Stadium, the drought finally ended, as the Zephyrs defeated a very talented Southern Lehigh Spartans team by a score of 35-14. The win advances Whitehall to the next round of the subregional playoffs against District 2 Champion Abington Heights, who defeated favored Wyoming Valley West 24-7 in Kingston Friday night.

The win did not come easy as the Spartans jumped out to an early lead. They went on a 65-yard drive to start the game, culminating in a ten-yard score by Luke Straus near the seven minute mark.

65yd drive @SolehiSpartans 10yd run. 7:11 left 1st Q. 7-0 #lvvarsity #cvgameface @EPAFootball @CVSteveBennett @HSPNSports pic.twitter.com/iDgKb1K1LU

— Brian Ptashinski (@BPtashinski) November 12, 2016

Whitehall’s opening drive looked promising as on the first play from their 26, quarterback Zach Gilbert hooked up with Dez Boykin on a pass play taking the ball to the Spartan 26, but from there the drive stalled and the ball was turned over on downs at the 17.

Southern Lehigh was forced to punt the ball back to Whitehall from near their own end zone on the ensuing drive, and Whitehall took over on the 39. It only took Gilbert one play as he hit Kasai Harrison over the middle for the tying score with about three minutes left in the quarter. The Zephyrs took the lead for good nearing six minutes to play in the first half as Braxton Marrero capped a 68 yard drive, with a 36 yard dash to paydirt, putting his team ahead 14-7 as the game entered intermission.

The start of the second half began with Whitehall taking the kickoff. They only needed three plays to score, as Harrison took a handoff and weaved his way through the defenders for a 54-yard score, increasing the Zephyr lead to 21-7.

There was no quit in the Spartans however, as they went on a 68-yard drive, capped by a 23-yard run by Strauss to cut the lead to 21-14 with 6:55 left in the third quarter.  The drive was aided by a fourth down pass interference call. But that was as close as the Spartans would get the rest of the contest.

The Zephyrs only needed three plays to put points back up on the scoreboard as Gilbert lofted a tight spiral to Boykins for a 70-yard scoring play to increase the lead to 28-14 with 5:56 left in the quarter.

Gilbert connected with Boykin for a 31-yard pass play, after taking possession from Southern Lehigh. The defense stopped the Spartans on downs at the Zephyr 40, when quarterback Logan Edmond was thrown for a loss, and left the game with apparent injury.

“Their misdirection, their speed, their scheme is tough to defend. You don’t see it week to week. It was tough to get a handle on. Our guys figured it out better in the second half,” said Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert.

Southern Lehigh, committed five false start penalties, which seemed to bog down several potential positive drives in the first half.

“I thought we were in the game throughout. We moved the ball on them. We just didn’t do enough and had too many mistakes. That was the difference in the game,” A dejected coach John Toman said.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter.

WILKES-BARRE – Thursday night at a well attended high school football game at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium, it was the Northwest special teams that came through in the clutch. With just 6.3 seconds remaining in a 14-13 game, Tyler Stevens made the play of the season for the Rangers as he blocked a potential game winning 41-yard attempt by Ken Macko at the end of regulation, giving the Rangers a 14-13 win.
After a scoreless first quarter, Northwest got out to a 7-0 lead after Brandon Hardiman picked off Meyers’ pass in the end zone giving his team possesion at the 20. The drive concluded with a nine-yard pass from QB David Piestrak to Ezra Judge, who made a diving catch for the score with under a minute to go in the half.

Back-to back fumbles by the Mohawks gave Northwest great field position to start the second half, but the Rangers could not capitalize. Meyers caught a break after the second fumble as DB Je’Vondra McClair scooped up a Northwest fumble and scampered in from 44 yards out tieing the score at seven with 5:55 left in the third quarter.

Macko connected on a 35-yard PAT after an unsportsman-like conduct call went against the Mohawks. On the ensuing drive Northwest again turned the ball over after an interception set Meyers up at their 46. Reese Patronick capped off the drive with a nine-yard run. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score at 13-7 with 46 seconds left in the quarter.

The Rangers, got the ball back after an exchange of punts with about eight minutes left in the contest at their own eight-yard line. Piestrak went back to what worked in the first half score, a slant pass to Judge. This time he caught it in stride at the goalline, giving the rangers a 14-13 lead with 2:57 to play.

Meyers then went into hurry-up mode with backup QB Willy Wallace in the game and having the ball at his own 22. Wallace connected on two third down conversions in the drive that stalled on the Ranger 21 with 6.3 ticks left on the clock. Meyers sent Macko out to attempt the field goal but he was denied by Stevens.
“I saw they had a weakness on their first attempt at a field goal. I just couldn’t get there, but Judge did and made the block. I knew I had to make it this time to keep us unbeaten in the conference. I had to get this for my team,” Stevens said.

Coach Lon Hazlet said of his team, “It was a great play by our quarterback on that fourth down situation. We were trying to leave little if no time on the clock for them(Meyers) to come back. It didn’t quite work out but a great throw did. I am so proud of my team.”
Northwest(6-3) clinched a spot in the District 2 Class A championship game against Lackawanna Trail(6-2), as three-time defending champion Old Forge was eliminated with the Northwest win. Tunkhannock will be up next for the Rangers next Friday night, which will conclude the regualr season.

By Brian Ptashinski BPtashinski on Twitter

The Freedom Patriots jumped out to a 34-7 lead and then had to sustain a furious Nazareth fourth quarter rally to hold on for a 34-27 win at BASD Stadium in Bethlehem Saturday night.

Freedom began the scoring spree facing a fourth and one from the Blue Eagle 43. Running back Dashaun Peterson ripped off a 57-yard run around the end with 5:59 left in the first quarter. Peterson, who rushed for 163 yards on the night added a one-yard score later in first half. The Patriots then scored on a halfback pass from Alec Huertas to Nizayah Speaks for a 31-yard touchdown with 3:34 left in the half, giving his team a 20-0 lead at intermission.

After returning a Nazareth punt to the Blue Eagle 40, quarterback Joe Young wasted little time taking advantage of the field position as he placed a perfectly thrown ball to Huertas streaking down field. He made a great catch in the end zone giving the Patriots a 27-0 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Peterson scored his third touchdown on a four yard run with under a minute left in the quarter. That score was an answer to the Blue Eagles score as Zac Kiefer was on the receiving end of a Travis Stefanik 17-yard strike, leaving the score at 34-7 heading into the final quarter.

Stefanik took over, throwing the ball on nearly every down as he led a scoring rally on three straight drives. He connected with Julian Liaci with a 15-yard pass at the 11:01 mark. He used his legs after being chased out of the pocket and bobbed and weaved his way through the Patriot defense on his way to a 25-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 34-19 with 7:02 left on the clock. Nazareth managed another score as A.J Vlasaty took it in from five yards out with 2:41 to go. Stefanik, who threw for 303 yards in the contest on 18 competitions, had one last chance to try to tie the game on fourth down. The pass was incomplete, as Freedom sent in Young to play DB. He knocked down the desperation pass to seal the deal. The win ends a three game losing streak for the Patriots(4-4 overall 3-4 EPC South) as they will face inter-city rivals Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty the last two weeks of the season, with postseason aspirations still in play.

“Our kids and coaches held it together tonight. Losing three in a row late in the season is not where you want to be thinking about playoff scenarios. We just needed to stay positive and keep working,” said Freedom coach Jason Roeder afterward. “This was a huge victory for our psyche going forward.”

Though this was a tough loss for Nazareth, they did hit one milestone as Travis Stefanik became the school’s all-time career leader for passing touchdowns at 53 with the score to Keifer. Nazareth (4-4 overall, 4-3 EPC South) will be at home Friday night as they face Liberty, who lost a disappointing 31-20 game to Emmaus Friday night.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium, the Pen Argyl football team sent a shockwave through the Colonial League. The Green Knights stunned previously undefeated Notre Dame 35-14 before a raucous crowd “Up on the Hill”, behind the determined running of Logan Sterner, who accumulated 273 yards and had four touchdowns in the win.

Pen Argyl jumped out to a 28-0 lead behind Sterner as he opened the scoring with a three-yard run around the end with 3:07 left in the first quarter. The Knights got on the board again with 59 seconds played in the second quarter, after Notre Dame punted the ball to the eight-yard line, it took Sterner one play to go 92 yards up the middle for a 14-0 lead.

The score swelled to 21-0, with the help of a fourth down fake punt as Logan Rupert flipped the ball to Austin Heisler, who broke several would-be tacklers on his way for a 44-yard score with 6:10 left till half. Sterner got back in the scoring column late in the third quarter with a 53-yard sprint to pay dirt.

Notre Dame managed to get the goose egg off their side of the scoreboard when quarterback Cole DeFranco connected with Jalen Simpson for a nine-yard score. A muffed punt by Pen Argyl, gave the Crusaders the ball at the PA 20. Two plays later, Mitch Daniel took it in from a yard out and cut the lead to 28-14 with about nine minutes to go in the contest.

Any thoughts of a Notre Dame comeback was thwarted at the 3:58 mark. After the Knights took over on downs, Sterner got his final score of the contest with a 30-yard scamper completing the scoring for the game.

“We came out ready to play today. We knew this team is on top of the league. We were all on the same page. We were executing, working hard and just playing football,” Heisler stated after the game.

This loss was the first for Notre Dame in conference since losing to Saucon Valley last October.

“They were ranked second in the state in class 3A coming in. We were not intimidated, we just wanted to play our game plan and just execute that,” said Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi.

Next week Notre Dame (7-1) will host Saucon Valley (7-1) Friday night. Pen Argy (6-2) winner of four straight games will face Palisades (6-2) also on Friday night.

By Brian Ptashinski BPtashinski on Twitter

With starting quarterback Javon Clements standing on the sidelines on crutches, backup signal-caller Liam Nixon didn’t miss a beat Friday night as his Bethlehem Catholic team defeated Whitehall 40-20 before a large Senior Night crowd at Zephyr Stadium.

The Golden Hawk defense assisted in the win by scoring 23 points in the contest. It was the defense that created the first points on the scoreboard. With Whitehall in punt formation at their own 22-yard line a bad snap went over Zach Gilbert’s head. Becahi’s Brandon Kelly scooped up the loose ball on the one and crossed the goal line with 3:14 left in the opening quarter and giving his team a 7-0 lead. Whitehall did manage to answer that score with the ensuing drive, culminating with a nine-yard burst by Tavion George with just 34 seconds remaining in the corner. From there, the Golden hawk defense took over. Nick Petros placed a perfect punt that landed dead at the Zephyr one, after a holding on Whitehall moved the ball back half the distance. On the first play, Ralf  Lozada, broke through the line and laid a devastating hit on running back George for a two point safety and a 9-7 lead with 8:11 left till half.

Bethlehem Catholic’s offense did mange to find their way in the quarter as well, as Petros, lined up at wide receiver hauled in a 60 yard over-the-shoulder pass from Nixon and took it to the house giving his team a 16-7 lead with 4:12 left in the quarter. The Hawks defense again stepped up to a Zephyr challenge as Whitehall drove the ball inside the Beca five with under a minute to play. Four plays came up empty and Whitehall wasted an opportunity heading to the locker room.

Whitehall received the second half kickoff, but on the second play of the drive from their own 18, Gilbert’s pass in the flat was picked off by Daizhun Rhodes, who returned it 30 yards for a score and a 23-7 lead for the visitors. Petros got back in the action as he out wrestled a Zephyr defender on a 25-yard lob pass from Nixon in the back of the end zone making the score 30-7 with 3:12 left in the third quarter. Whitehall again drove the ball deep in Hawk territory late in the quarter, but Gilbert’s pass was errant. Karim Powell made the interception and returned it 98 yards with a minute left and a 37-7 lead.

“It took us awhile to get going tonight with Nixon under center. We jumped a few times early, not used to the cadence, but once the guys adapted we were off and running on all cylinders,” stated Hawks coach Kyle Haas after the game. “We had all the confidence in Liam’s ability. He competed all off season. We trust him to lead us while Javon is out.”

Nixon finished the night completing five of nine passes for 148 yards. The Hawks leading rusher, Randy Terry, carried the ball 25 times for 156 yards on the night. Antonio Tavares closed out the scoring for the victors with a 28-yard field goal with 6:12 left.

Whitehall managed to score two late scores. Dabriel Ayala scored from six yards out and Devin Castro hauled in back-up quarterback Ethan Parvel’s 26 yard pass with 18 seconds left in the contest.

Bethlehem Catholic (7-1, 6-1 EPC South) will face cross-town rival Freedom next Friday night. Whitehall (4-4, 3-4 EPC South) will travel to play Stroudsburg (6-2) who lost 45-21 to Allentown Central Catholic Friday night.

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JIM THORPE- Friday night’s matchup in Schuylkill 1 League certainly lived up to all expectations. This was a closely contested, hard fought game produced by both teams. Blue Mountain capped off a late fourth quarter drive to pull out a 17-14 victory over host Jim Thorpe on a soggy evening in Carbon County.

The Blue Eagles managed to get on the scoreboard first, after holding the Olympians to a three and out on the opening possession. Blue Mountain took over near midfield and drove the ball to the JT nine, where drive stalled. A 26-yard field goal by Jonathon Benner gave his team a 3-0 lead. Jim Thorpe struggled to gain any momentum, as they didn’t earn a first down till early in the second quarter.

The visitors extended their lead to 10-0 with about four minutes left until half. They capped a 57-yard, nine-play drive with an eight-yard run off the left side by Ben Kramer. Jim Thorpe did manage to sustain a drive after taking over at their own 40. The drive ended in disappointment as it reached the 18. Jack Mickivigan picked off a pass at the goal-line to end the half.

Blue  Mountain took the second half kickoff and drove it to the JT 15, but a fourth down pass went incomplete and the Olympians took over. An 18-play drive would ensue for the home team, but again the Blue Eagle defense stepped up and a bad snap on a fourth and one at the Eagles 15 ended the threat.

On the first play for BM, a tipped pass was intercepted setting up JT deep in Eagles territory. Justin St Hill scored on the first play of the fourth quarter with a three-yard burst to cut the lead to 10-7. JT would benefit from another miscue, as on the first play of the ensuing drive, the Blue Eagles fumbled and the Olympians were set up again in great field possession. St. Hill again got the call from a yard out giving his team their first lead at 14-10 with ten minutes left to play.

After back-to-back punts by each team, Blue Mountain took possession at JT 44 with about five minutes remaining in the contest. Kramer again got the call from three yards out with 2:44 left on the clock. The key play was a fourth and 12 completion at the JT 20. The Olympians’ subsequent drive starting at their 32 ended in disappointment as an errant pass in the flat was intercepted by Blue Mountain at their 33, sealing the deal for the visitors.

“We found a way to win,” said ecstatic Blue Mountain coach Cory Mabry. “Things got a little sloppy for us at the beginning of the second half and their offensive sets threw us off somewhat. That is a very good team over there(Jim Thorpe). Our resilience won it for us tonight.”

Blue Mountain (5-1) travels to Pottsville (5-1). Pottsville was a 19-7 winner over Tamaqua Friday. Jim Thorpe (4-2) will be at North Schuylkill (4-2) who had a tough fought 7-0 upset over Lehighton.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

SHICKSHINNY- Games are usually won by those who dominate in the trenches. On Friday night before a packed house at Lewis and Miller Memorial Stadium the battle was won by the Northwest Area Rangers as they bullied their way to a dominating 35-16 win over the visiting Trojans of Nanticoke in a WVC showdown.

Nanticoke held a 8-7 lead at intermission as Northwest opened the scoring on a Jake Anderson four-yard run with 8:33 left in the first quarter. Nanticoke answered back late in the quarter when Trojan quarterback Darren Boseman hooked up with Matt Wrubel for a 43-yard pass play. Dawson Hughes scored on the two point conversion to give the visitors the lead.

A 30-minute weather delay, due to lightning in the area with 3:48 left in the half, stalled the momentum. The teams finally came back to the field with Northwest in possession on their side of the field. QB Dave Piestrak threw an interception and setup Nanticoke with great field position, however the Ranger defense stepped up and stopped the Trojans with a goal line stand inside the one at the horn.

That stop seemed to have an effect on the Ranger offense in the second half as they outscored Nanticoke 28-8, including 22 straight to start the half. Piestrak, making up for that interception, hit paydirt with a three-yard scamper capping the opening drive. Brandon Hardiman connected with Connor Hazlet for the conversion and a 15-8 lead at 9:21 mark. Jake Anderson got his second score of the evening on a 52-yard jaunt, breaking several would-be tackles on his way to the end zone giving the home team a 22-8 advantage at the six minute mark.

“Nanticoke was taking it to us in that first half,” said an exhausted Ranger coach Lon Hazlet. “That stand on the goal line was huge for our momentum coming out in the second half. They(Nanticoke) are a good football team, very well coached, but  we made some adjustments at half and put a few things together to get things rolling. Our coaches did a great job and our kids, though young, executed brilliantly,” he concluded.

Anderson hit the trifecta with his third score on a 15-yard sweep with 6:30 left in the contest. Anderson was the workhorse as he collected 221 yards on 16 carries. That score came after another goal lline stand by the Ranger defense at the four-yard line. Nanticoke managed to stop the bleeding with four-yard pass again from Boseman to Wrubel to cut the lead to 29-16 with 5:26 to play. The Rangers capped the night with a 54-yard run by Ezra Judge at the four minute mark.

Both team records stand at 2-3. Next week Nanticoke will host Crestwood, still clinging to playoff hopes. The Rangers will try to stay on the winning ways with a trip to Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium and a matchup with Holy Redeemer(1-4), who lost 50-6 to Meyers on Thursday night.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Orefield- The classic “bend but don’t break” symbolism was on display Friday night thanks to the defensive performance of the Liberty Hurricanes against a vaunted Parkland offense. Parkland reached the red zone on three occasions, but could only muster two field goals for their efforts in 14-6 loss to Liberty on front of a near-capacity crowd at Parkland.

The Trojans got off to a good start, by taking the opening kickoff and drove to the ‘Canes seven-yard line using nearly half the quarter, but could only show a 23-yard field goal and 3-0 lead. Liberty would answer on their first possession.

Liberty went 63 yards keyed by two big third down conversions as quarterback Todd Erney completed a 32-yard pass to Darian Street and a 16-yard pass to Gunner Anglo Vichy on the drive. RB Nasir Legree capped off the drive with a nine yard burst and a 7-3 lead with 3:58 left.

Parkland would then give Liberty a gift in the second quarter as the Trojans muffed a punt giving the Hurricanes possession at the Trojan 18. Erney then connected on a 12-yard scoring pass to Jayden Figueroa on a fourth and four, and a 14-3 lead. Parkland added a 33-yard field goal with 2:31 left in the half and both teams went into the locker room with what would be the final score of the night.

“Our kids didn’t quite produce all night. We were put in some tough spots all night.  We just kept fighting. They were resilient. They really stepped up big,” Liberty coach John Truly said of his team.

Parkland had their chances in the second half, but the Hurricane defense stepped up at every opportunity even having WR Darian Street picking off a pass in the win. The Trojans amassed nearly 280 yards and 15 first downs in the contest but only six points.

“This is not last year, this is a new season. It’s a battle each and every week. We know what they did to us last year. That has no bearing this season. We need to do a better job coaching and practicing. Just get back at going forward,” said a disappointed coach Tim Moncman after the contest.

Parkland (2-1, 1-1 EPC South) will host Easton, who defeated Freedom 27-20 Friday. Liberty(3-0, 2-0 EPC South) will host Whitehall, coming off a 37-33 loss to Nazareth.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

SLATING TON – Speed kills. Then when you add size to that speed it makes a strong weapon. Dunmore found that out the hard way on Saturday afternoon at Northern Lehigh High School, as the Bucks were defeated in a PIAA 2A quarterfinal game by District 12 champion West Catholic by a score of 28-10.

West Catholic forced three Dunmore turnovers in the first half, two on consecutive drives to start the game. The second was a high snap on a Bucks punt to give the Burrs the ball on the Dunmore two yard line led to a Calil Wortham touchdown and a 6-0 lead after a missed two-point conversion.

Dunmore was able to get on the board midway through the second quarter after a punt pinned the Burrs on their own three. The Bucks defense forced a three and out and Dunmore took possession on the West Catholic 43. The drive stalled on the 14, and Pat Orr delivered on a 31-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3.

West Catholic’s quarterback Joshua Evans, who had 77 yards rushing in the contest, scored on a 15-yard run, avoiding several would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. The two-point conversion again failed but gave his team a 12-3 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

“This team was the most athletic we faced all year. We did some things that were out of character for us, to try to negate their advantage.” Dunmore coach Jack Henzes said, “We are proud of our kids and what they accomplished this season. They won 26 games over the past two seasons and that is a tremendous job.”

West Catholic received the second half kickoff and proceeded to drive to the Bucks 22. From there. Evans, who also completed on 8 of12 passes for 98 yards in the game, connected with Amir Postley on a corner route for a touchdown giving his team a 20-3 advantage.

“I thought our scout team did a really good job in giving us a look at what they do both on offense and defense this week,” said an elated Evans afterwards. “We were well prepared for them {Dunmore) over there today.”

Dunmore would not go down without a struggle though. After forcing a Burrs’ fumble on the Bucks eight-yard line, they marched down the field and scored on a four-yard run by Garrett Murray to cap the drive and cut the lead to 20-10 with about two minutes left in the game.

The Burrs recovered the ensuing onside kick at their own 47 yard line. Two plays later Calil Wortham sealed the deal with a 48 yard touchdown run. West Catholic converted the two-point conversion to complete the scoring.

West Catholic {10-4} advances to state semifinals next week against District 4 champion Southern Columbia at a site to be determined. Dunmore finishes their season at 12-2.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

BROADHEADSVILLE – Old Forge advances in their quest to win a  PIAA state championship by dismantling Bishop McDevitt-Wyncote 51-7 Friday night at Pleasant Valley High School.

The Blue Devils amassed 435 total yards in the contest, led by RB Cooper Califano, who rushed for 261 yards and six touchdowns. His backfield mate Brendon Mozeleski picked up an additional 105 yards via the ground attack and scored twice as well in the convincing win.

Defensively, Old Forge only gave up 78 yards of offense to the Lancers as they sacked the quarterback ten times in just over 30 plays from scrimmage. Mike Cantarella led the way with three of those sacks on the night. The defense also did not allow a single first down in the second half.

Old Forge wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Califano took the opening handoff 65 yards to the end zone to give his team a quick 7-0 lead. He then added a 22-yard burst to paydirt in the opening quarter for a 13-0 lead.

McDevitt got their only score of the night on a 42 yard pass from Max Bryson to Jaron Macon to cut the lead to 13-7 with 4:12 remaining in the quarter. Califano added two more scores in the second quarter on runs of 23 and 51 yards to extend the lead to 26-7 at intermission.

“Our offensive line really opened up some holes for us tonight,” Mozeleski stated after the game. “I am the blocker on most of the occasions for Cooper, so you know when I get a few carries it’s a bonus for our offense.”

The second half opened up with Jaret Horn picking off a pass for the Blue Devils in Lancer territory, which setup another Califano score, this time from 26 yards. A mishandled ensuing kickoff by McDevitt setup Old Forge with great field position. Mozeleski scored from 49 yards out to give his team a 38-7 lead.

“That interception was a key factor. We wanted to come and get a stop to keep the momentum going and put the game away early,” Horn said. “Making a play like that hurt their confidence the rest of the game.”

McDevitt again had a problem fielding the kickoff after Mozeleski’s score and again Old Forge was in terrific field position, but they turned it back over. They did, however, use up nearly seven minutes on the clock.

With under two minutes left in the third quarter, and after a personal foul and ejection of a Lancer player, Mozeleski got his second touchdown on the night from 19 yards out, pushing the lead to 45-7 and invoking the Mercy Rule for the rest of the ball game.
,
The victors completed the scoring for the contest when Ian Hook recovered a Lancer fumble and two plays later. Califano capped his night with a 33 yard run with 11:49 left in the game.

The night wasn’t all pleasant though for Old Forge, as starting quarterback and defensive back Joey Gutowski went down with an apparent knee injury in the second quarter. His status for next week’s game is uncertain.

“We had to step it up after Joey went down,” Califano stated afterwards. “He is one of the reasons we got this far. He has worked so hard getting us here, we had to pick it up tonight.”

With the win, Old Forge (13-1) will face defending state champions Bishop Guilfoyle (14-0), a 38-3 winner over Camp Hill Friday night, next week in state semifinals at a site to be determined. Bishop McDevitt ends it’s season at 7-7.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Kingston- The Wyoming Valley West Spartan football team came into their contest Friday night at home against the District 11 champions Parkland Trojans with some confidence after defeating both Nazareth and Liberty in consecutive weeks.

However, after the final whistle blew at Spartan Stadium, the Spartans ended up on the short end of a 63-21 dismantling by the Trojans, much to the surprise of the standing room only crowd.

The Spartans, who only gave up a total of 78 points to its opposition during the regular season, saw Parkland score 49 consecutive points in putting the game away. Devonte Cross completed six of eight passes for 137 yards with three touchdowns. He rushed for 171 yards and two scores. Erik DiGirolamo added 111 yards in the victory.

“They are a very talented team. I’d be surprised if they don’t make a deep run into these playoffs,” said a disappointed Spartan coach Pat Keating after the contest.

Valley West hung in there with the Trojans into the second quarter matching a one-yard run by DiGirolamo with a 19 yard run by Devon Weidman. Cross then hooked up Nolan Ridgeway on a 48 yard bomb. Then Sean Judge electrified the crowd with a 100-yard interception return to tie the game at 14 with about eight minutes left before halftime.

That score seemed to ignite the Trojans as well. Cross led his team on a 78 yard drive culminating in the quarterback running it in from 15 yards and a 21-14 lead.

After forcing Valley West to punt on their next possession, Cross wasted little time as he ran down the home sideline 77 yards to extend the lead to 28-14.

On the first play of the ensuing drive for the Spartans, Aaron Austin’s pass was

picked off by Noel Blouse and returned 25 yards for a Trojan score. On that play Austin was knocked out of the game and replaced by Judge for the remainder of the contest.

Parkland recovered the ensuing kickoff, when the ball took an odd bounce near the sideline and stayed in play. Cross then hooked up with Kenny Yeboah on a 23-yard fade pass with about two minutes to go in the quarter.

Parkland got the ball back one more time before halftime near midfield and with four seconds left on the clock, Cross threw a high fade to Yeboah at the 12, Yeboah as he was being brought down flipped the ball to teammate Zach Bross, who dove over the pylon for the score and a 49-14 lead at intermission.

The beginning of the second half was unkind to the host team, as on the first play from scrimmage Valley West fumbled. Jahan Worth scooped up the ball and scored from 28 yards. This extended the lead to 56-14.

Both teams managed to score another time, Parkland on 38 yard run by Nick Suriel and Valley West on a 44-yard pass from Judge to Weidman to close out the scoring.

Parkland (12-1) will advance to play the winner of the LaSalle College/Simon Gratz game next week at a site to be determined. Wyoming Valley West ends its season at 12-1, the best record for that program since 1997.

“We’ve been in this situation four times now. This year we want to finish the journey,” Cross stated afterwards.

by Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter.

KINGSTON – The Liberty high school football team had lots to ponder on their long drive back to Bethlehem Friday night. Most of what will stick in their minds was the play of Wyoming Valley West’s number ten Sean Judge.

Judge ran for 124 yard on 21 carries and four touchdowns. He caught six passes and 135 yards and had a crucial interception to stop a Liberty drive in the first half. All this in his teams’ biggest game to date en route to a convincing 55-35 win in the District 2/4/11 semifinal game played at Spartan Stadium.

Though the play of the Junior RB Judge was impressive, Liberty did little to help its cause on the evening by turning the ball over six times. They had ten penalties for nearly 110 yards. That was just too much to overcome and was a key factor in the loss for the Hurricanes.

“We never stopped competing. We were down a few scores but we kept battling throughout. We got it to one score, but the penalties and turnovers were too much for us to come back from,”  said a dejected Liberty coach John Truby after the game.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns early on and a 14-14 tie. After a interception set the Hurricanes up in great field possession but those who take it, also give it away, as Liberty fumbled the ball back to the Spartans.

Valley West scored off that turnover to take a seven point lead. Liberty’s next drive was moving until QB Doug Erney threw an interception to Judge, who returned it to the ten-yard line. Devon Weidman scored from four yards out. There was a 28-14 lead for the home team.

Gunner Anglovich, for Liberty, got himself in the end zone from 38 yards after the Spartans mishandled a punt to cut the lead to 28-21. But again Valley West had an answer.

Bill Davison leaped over the goal line from a yard out. After the Hurricanes fumbled the ensuing kickoff, a 47 yard TD pass from Aaron Austin to Weidman made it 42-21 at intermission.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight all night long. Our guys did not quit,” said Valley West coach Pat Keating. “We knew we had to make more plays than them tonight. The turnovers were key to the game.”

Liberty scored three plays into the second half as Anglovich scored from four yards out after he took a handoff 58 yards on the first play of the half. But again the Spartans responded when Austin connected with LJ Wesneski for a 15 yard score and a 49-28 lead with about eight minutes left in the quarter.

Erney then hit Justin Haynes in the end zone from 15 yards to cut the lead to 49-35. Liberty forced a Spartan punt and took over at their own seven, but another interception by the Valley West defense at the Liberty 40 led to the last tally of the night, a 29 yard jaunt by Judge sealed the deal.

Wyoming Valley West (12-0) will now face their next Lehigh Valley opponent in the Trojans of Parkland (11-1), who shutout rival Easton 37-0. That game will be a Spartan Stadium next Friday at 7pm for the District Championship.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Bethlehem- The game plan was simple, shut down one of the most potent offenses in the EPC Conference and do enough on offense to carry the team to a win. Saucon Valley’s coach Matt Evancho laid it out all week and his team carried out the mission on Saturday afternoon at BASD Stadium en route to a 14-6 win for the Panthers over the Golden Hawks in a District 11 3A playoff.

“We kept them from utilizing their big play capabilities for most of the game. We didn’t give them what they like to do offensively. It goes to show what our kids can accomplish,” Coach Evancho said after his team’s win.

RB Evan Culver led the way offensively gaining 159 yards and scoring on a terrific 68 yard scoring run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. QB Zach Thatcher connected on a nine-yard scoring pass with six seconds left till half to extend Saucon Valley’s lead to the final margin of 14-6.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t get the ball in the end zone today. We had our chances to score several times and we came out with no points,” said a dejected Becahi coach Joe Henrich.

Several times during the contest the Hawks penetrated deep inside Panthers’ territory only to be turned away on each occasion. QB Julian Spigner struggled throughout the game running and throwing only completing seven passes for 112 yards and rushed for minus two yards in the game.

Saucon Valley (11-0) advances to face the winner of Blue Mountain and Lehighton.

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Orefield- Since their loss to Liberty a couple of weeks ago, Parkland’s defense challenged themselves not to have that kind of performance again. Last week they only gave up three points to an explosive Easton team. This week they continued to be stingy with the points surrendering only seven and the offense behind Devonte Cross and Erik DiGirolamo led the way to a convincing 38-7 victory over previously unbeaten Freedom in a EPC South showdown in front of a large homecoming night crowd at Parkland Stadium.

Parkland got on the board early in the first quarter after a blocked punt by Palmer Kerch put the Trojans in business at the Patriot 12 yard line. Freedom’s defense held the Trojans to a 27 yard field goal by Donovan Berger which gave them a 3-0 lead.

Freedom’s special teams issues continued again in the second quarter when punter Steven Rold mishandled the snap. Kerch was there to take him down for a loss and give his team the ball at the Patriots 33 yard line, which led to a one-yard run by Cross and a 10-0 Trojan lead.

“We were embarrassed by how we played in the Liberty game. We told our kids they are better than that. Our guys stepped it up the last two weeks. They are doing a great job,” Parkland coach Jim Morgans said after the win.

Freedom played without their starting quarterback Joe Young. The Patriots went with Jonah Gundrum as their signal caller. Gundrum was sacked seven times by the tenacious Parkland defense and they could only muster 137 total yards in the contest. A flanker pass from Alec Huertas to Brennan Reinert that covered 67 yards would be the only points put on the board for Freedom in the second quarter.

Erik DiGirolamo rushed for 94 yards and three scores for Parkland. Two from short yardage and then a bull-dozing 14 yard scamper, breaking several tackles on his way to paydirt to solidify the total team performance on the evening. Devonte Cross continued to impress as well, throwing for nearly 190 yards on 12 of 15 passing and rushing for another 103 yards on 11 carries.

After a Freedom’s punt gave the Trojans the ball on their own 42, Cross sealed the deal with a spectacular 52 yard run cutting through the Freedom defense and taking it down the visitors sideline for a score to make the lead 31-7 midway through the third quarter,

“We got down a couple of scores and we couldn’t get ourselves out of it. We needed to keep up with them especially in the third quarter and we couldn’t get it done. Parkland played a heck of a game. Give them the credit. They got us tonight,” stated a dejected coach Jason Roeder.

Freedom (7-1, 5-1 EPC South) does not have time to dwell on this loss as they get ready for a trip to Cottingham Stadium next Friday to face Easton, who pummeled Liberty 49-14 Friday. Parkland (7-1, 5-1) will face Nazareth, who lost to Whitehall 38-20 Friday.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on Twitter

Easton- Last week’s loss to Liberty left a bad taste in the mouths of the Parkland football team. They went back to work this week making sure that a consecutive loss was not part of the equation. The Trojans put together a solid performance on both sides of ball en route to a 21-3 statement win over the Red Rovers at historic Cottingham Stadium.

Parkland’s suffocating defense forced five turnovers, three of those coming in the fourth quarter alone to help preserve the win. Kenny Yeboah led the way with two key interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Trojans.

“We gave up too many yards and big plays to Liberty last week. We needed to come out and set the tone early that we were not going have same performance happen again,” Yeboah stated.

Parkland got on the scoreboard first on a 18 play 98 yard drive, following a Easton turnover on the Trojan two yard line. The drive, which began midway in the opening quarter carried over into the second quarter and was capped by a 14 yard pass from Devonte Cross to Zach Bross.

Easton had their chances to get points on the board, but penalties killed any hopes of getting the ball in the end zone. Twice, drives that led the Rovers to the brink of scoring were thwarted by costly errors.They could only muster a 25 yard field goal by Diego Santiago late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 7-3.

Parkland extended it’s lead to 14-3 as Cross connected with Yeboah for a 33 yard scoring strike with 10:46 left in the contest. The Cross to Yeboah combination hooked up again on a five yard fade route to complete the scoring for the night.

Cross, who committed to Boston College earlier in the day via twitter finished the night with 147 passing yards and 96 yards via the ground game.

“Our defensive play was the focus of our practices this week,” Parkland coach Jim Morgans said. “Our coaches knew this is what those kids are capable of doing. They had to go and show it tonight,” he concluded.

With this win Parkland improves to 6-1 on the season 4-1 in EPC South. They will be at home next Friday night with undefeated Freedom, who earned a tough win over stubborn Whitehall 29-6. Easton(5-2, 3-2 EPC South) will try to keep their postseason district hopes alive on the road at Liberty, who defeated Northampton 28-18.

BETHLEHEM: Arguably most teams would say the measuring stick for success in Lehigh Valley football is how you fare against the Parkland Trojans. This year there is no exception, as Parkland came into Friday night’s contest against Liberty at Frank Banko Field unbeaten at 5-0 and ranked third in the state per Pennlive.com. Liberty marched in at 4-1 and looked to show that they are a legitimate contender in EPC South. When the dust settled after a wild finish, Liberty came out on top 41-34.

Liberty quarterback Doug Erney out dueled Parkland’s Devonte Cross by accumulating 288 yards of offense and tossing four touchdowns in the win. But it was the ground game that was most impressive for the Hurricanes as they ran 52 times for 319 yards and no turnovers in the contest.

“We had some big wins this season beating the likes of Beca and Whitehall, but this by far is the biggest win in my career. This is the greatest
team I played against and to get the win after having many disappointments against them. It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said a jubilant Erney after the game.

After an early rushing touchdown by Parkland put them up 7-0 in the first quarter, Liberty answered with five scoring drives, all via the end zone
to take a 41-13 midway through the third quarter.

Erney connected with Darien Street for a 46 yard pass and another 10 yarder for scores. He also hooked up with Nasir Legree for a 38 yard touchdown and his last scoring pass of the contest was to Sean West for 47 yards.

“Our offensive line did a tremendous job tonight. They gave Doug time to look down field and make some big plays in the passing game and they did a nice job of opening some holes for our run game to develop. I can’t say enough about our play from tonight,” Liberty coach John Truby stated.

Parkland was down and almost out, but still had some fight left in them. Devonte Cross, who struggled in first half, managed to throw for two
scores and ran for another, a one-yarder to cut the lead to 41-34 with just under two minutes left in the contest.

A failed onside kick gave Liberty the ball near midfield, however Liberty could not manage a first down and was forced to punt the ball back to the Trojans on their own 20. Cross got sacked twice, including on a fourth and 20 at his own seven, which sealed the game for the Hurricanes.

“I don’t know what to say. We knew the gravity of this game. We understood what was at stake. We just didn’t play up to our expectations. We prepared in practice. It was a good week and we were excited about this opportunity. It’s disappointing,” stated a dejected coach Jim Morgans.

Next week Liberty(5-1 overall 4-1 EPC South} takes to the road to face Northampton, who lost to Emmaus 56-21 Friday night. For Parkland{5-1
overall, 4-1 EPC South} it does not get any easier as they face Easton, also 5-1 at Historic Cottingham Stadium. The Rovers demolished Whitehall 45-0.

By Brian Ptashinski @BPtashinski on twitter.

Bethlehem- On a cold and rainy night at BASD Stadium and in front of a sparse homecoming crowd, the Freedom Patriots used a solid defensive effort and a balanced attack on offense to overcome a shaky start to defeat the Vikings 35-14 Friday night.

Central Catholic wasted little time getting on the board first as Darnell Ferrell took the opening kickoff 95 yards right up the middle to open the scoring at 7-0 just 13 seconds into the contest.

“I have got to give our kids credit, to start the game off like that and then to have the resolve and discipline to put it behind them and just go out and play Patriot football the rest of the game,” Freedom coach Jason Roeder stated after the game. “We made some plays up front against a very good team tonight.  We did all the little things well like up front blocking and tackling. I am very proud of these kids,” he concluded.

Freedom was led by Andres Santos, who was replacing the injured Roberto Diaz at running back. Santos had two scores on offense on runs of four and 26 yards to give his team a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. He finished the night with 21 carries for 119 yards. He also had a 22 yard fumble recovery for a score on defense.

“I am out here to show everyone that I am playing for my teammate (Diaz) right now.” He is my friend as well,” Santos stated. “It felt good doing this against a very good team like we played tonight,” he finished.

Special teams also played a key role in the victory, after a blocked punt gave the Pats the ball at the Viking 25, quarterback Joe Young hit Jonah Gundrum in the end zone, with Gundrum making a leaping catch over the defender, to give his team a 21-7 lead at intermission.

“The play of our young guys on special teams really set us up with great field position throughout the game,” Roeder added. “We work on this during the week. It is a point of reference,” he added. “It sets us up in positive situations. The kids really enjoy the fake punts and punt blocks. It’s a momentum changer, “ he concluded.

Central Catholic, who may have had the upset of the season last week against Easton, could only manage one score via the offense, that came late in the fourth quarter on a two yard run by Tom Murphy after the game had pretty much been decided.

Bethlehem Liberty quarterback Doug Erney was able to exorcise some demons he had faced in his last three meetings with Whitehall. Friday night in front of a packed homecoming crowd at BASD Stadium, Erney and the Hurricanes dismantled the Zephyrs 42-7.

“I’ve had some tough games against these guys the past few years, it was nice to be on the positive side for a change,” a relieved Erney said after his teams’ performance.

Liberty took advantage of three interceptions of Whitehall quarterback Gianni Sinatore, in the opening quarter in route to 21 points. The first coming off a fourth down play, when DB Justin Haynes took an errant pass 90 yards down the sideline for the first score of the game.

On Whitehall’s next possession, again on a fourth down play, Liberty’s Victor Santiago made a diving pick at the Hurricanes 20, which led to a 45 yard scoring pass from Erney to Santiago and a 14-0 lead.

On the Zephys first play of the next possession Sinatore was snake-bit by Joey Curzi on the visitors 24 yard line. Jayden Figueroa hauled in a 15 yard pass from Erney with under a minute left in the quarter.

“Those kids made some great plays tonight. They played hard and left nothing to chance,” stated Liberty coach John Truby after the convincing win. “We didn’t want any question afterwards of how good this team is.”

Sinatore got his team on the board with a 11 yard pass to Ryan Klaugh to cut the lead to 21-7 with about five minutes until half. He finished the night 13-28 for 187 yards.

“We shot ourselves in the foot right from the start. We’ve got to figure it out and correct our mistakes,” said a dejected coach Brian Gilbert. “We’ve got to do better job coaching. This isn’t all on Gianni. We all have to work harder and get better going forward,” Gilbert added.

Erney, who finished the night 10-13 for 159 yards, had a nine-yard run for a score and threw another scoring pass to Santiago for 28 yards in the third quarter.

Liberty (3-1 overall 1-1 EPC South) will now travel to face Emmaus, next Friday, who lost to Nazareth 49-36. Whitehall 2-2 overall, 0-2 EPC South, goes to Orefield next week to face rival Parkland, who is ranked third in the state. The Trojans destroyed Pocono Mtn West 63-20.

Brian Ptashinski @bptashinski on Twitter.

Orefield- It wasn’t as crisp as Parkland’s coach Jim Morgans would have liked but his team managed to take a 21 point lead, then hold on down the stretch for a 28-14 victory in a battle of unbeaten teams in the EPC South.

Parkland quarterback Devonte Cross scored twice on 12-yard scoring runs. He rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries. He also threw for 156 yards on 12 completions.

“We got tested tonight, by a real good football team,” Coach Morgans stated. “We came out with the win, but that is one heck of a team we faced tonight.”

Erik DiGirolamo, had a hard workload on both sides of the ball rushing for nearly 80 yards and making numerous tackles on defense. Jahan Worth also chipped in with 70 yards via the ground game.

“It was tough out there, fun, but tough. DiGirolamo said afterwards, ”They were as physical as anything.” “It was great getting a win against a team like that. It will set us up going forward against stiff completion.”

Parkland led 21-0 at the half, but were outscored 14-7 in the second half by the Vikings who were led by former Trojan quarterback Ethan Persa. Persa who was harassed all night by the tough Trojan defense finally got his team on the board with a perfectly placed 42 yard pass to Dallas Kassis. Persa then did it with his legs late in the game with a 42 yard run to the Parkland 12 yard line leading to their second score.

Central Catholic coach John Cupples said of his signal caller, “He is a tough kid, he took some shots tonight, but he kept right on fighting all night. He will keep working and he will keep getting better as the season goes along.”

Parkland now 3-0 will travel to face Pocono Mountain West next Friday, while the Vikings at 2-1 will host unbeaten Easton at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

Brian Ptashinski @bptashinski on Twitter

In what was the marquise showdown in the EPC South tonight at EPSD Stadium in Emmaus, the Rovers came out firing on all cylinders early in route to a convincing 48-7 win over the Hornets before a nearly sell out crowd in Emmaus.

Within the first three minutes of the contest Easton had two scores, the first on a 77 yard punt return by Greg Albertson and then Coach Steve Shiffert reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out a 31 yard scoring  double pass from Trey Durrah to Ben Nimeh to Tre Bailey and the Rovers were off and running.

“We thought we could catch them early on this opportunity with the field position we had,” stated an elated Coach Shiffert. “We had the momentum from that point on,” he added.

Then it was on the legs of Nysir Minney-Gratz. who took over the game with two long touchdown run of 80 and 83 yards and then a seven yard score in the third quarter to put the game into a mercy rule situation.

“It was amazing, I just wanted to have fun tonight. It was crazy out there,” Minney-Gratz said after the contest.

Gratz finished with 10 rushes for over 200 yards and three scores. Easton got into the end zone via the defense as well when David Simmons had  a 45 yard fumble scoop and score. The final tally of the night for the Rovers came on a 60 yard scamper.

“There speed was incredible. We watched film, but that doesn’t do them justice on the field.” Emmaus Coach Randy Cuthbert stated.” “We have so many things we need to correct going forward. It’s not going get any easier, so we need to fix these things quickly.” He concluded.

They indeed don’t have much time to get the ship back on track as the Hornets will face undefeated Bethlehem Freedom, while Easton will host Northampton Friday night.