Tyler Trumbauer

EASTON, Pa. – Easton fell behind 7-0 early but rallied for 30 consecutive points to beat Central Catholic 30-7 on Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. With the win, the Rovers improved to 2-2 while the loss dropped the Vikings to 3-1 this fall.

Central Catholic scored on the opening drive of the game to take the early lead in what was a low-scoring first half. That 7-0 lead held for the visitors until late in the second quarter when Easton finally broke through offensively and found paydirt. The scoring play was an explosive 50-yard rushing touchdown by Marcus Williams. The Vikings found the end zone with a two-yard run by Caiden Schaffer in the first quarter.

Easton’s offense rolled in the final two-quarters of play as it tallied 23 more points to cruise to the home win. The Rovers benefitted from explosive plays from their offensive unit. In the second half, Easton scored on plays of 62 yards, 74 yards, and 86 yards.

Williams led the way with 171 rushing yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns. In the air, Easton wideout JuJu Fears hauled in four catches totaling 111 yards.

Central Catholic’s Armonie Torres recorded six catches for 104 yards.

Easton is set to visit Whitehall on Friday while Central Catholic is scheduled to visit undefeated Parkland this upcoming week.

POTTSVILLE, Pa. – Pottsville jumped out to a 21-0 lead and rolled to a 35-7 victory over Saucon Valley on Friday night at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium. The win moved the Tide to 2-1 while the loss dropped the Panthers to 1-2.

The hosts cruised down the field on their opening possession that lasted six plays and was capped off by a five-yard rushing score by Amari Dunn. Later in the first quarter, the Tide took it in for a touchdown on the ground again, but this time with a 55-yard scamper by Travontai Davis.

Pottsville took that 14-0 lead into the locker room after a scoreless second quarter. In the third period of play, the Tide went back to work offensively, but this time through the passing game. Jazce Carabello Snowell found Raeff Dicello for a 19-yard touchdown on fourth down to extend the advantage to 21-0.

Saucon Valley’s offense had a response on its next possession with a lengthy drive that finished with a two-yard quarterback sneak by Dante Mahaffey. That was the lone score of the game for the Panthers as the Tide scored two more times in the closing period to seal the home win.

In total Pottsville finished with 422 yards of total offense with 287 yards of that in the running game. Davis led the way with 190 rushing yards on 14 carries and one touchdown. Dicello recorded 87 receiving yards on five catches with one touchdown as well.

Friday’s game was the third consecutive home contest for Pottsville to start the 2021 season.

Pottsville is set to visit Blue Mountain on Friday night while Saucon Valley is scheduled to visit Wilson on Saturday afternoon.

NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. – Lehighton struck first, but Northwestern had the last laugh in a 54-19 win in a District 11 4A playoff opener on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. The Indians jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Tigers, but Northwestern outscored the visitors 54-13 the rest of the way to advance to the semifinals.

Justin Holmes led the way for Northwestern in his first postseason start as a quarterback of the team, as he converted from the receiver in previous campaigns. He totaled five touchdowns and 399 yards of offense to pilot Northwestern to victory on their home turf.

Many of those touchdowns were explosive, big-yard plays, starting with their first score when Holmes hit Taylor Wikert on a 60-yard touchdown pass. That duo connected later in the game for a 66-yard touchdown catch as well. Those were the first two touchdown catches of his career.

The Tigers grabbed a 13-6 lead late in the first quarter via a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Cade Cristopher. They never looked back from there.

In addition to Friday’s scores being explosive, they also were memorable. In addition to Wikert scoring his first career touchdown, so did two other Tigers in their triumph. Cody Hallock, on what was his first career catch as well, caught a tipped pass and ran it 54 yards for a score, which pushed Northwestern’s lead to 40-13 in the third quarter.

Later in the second half, with 8:04 left in the contest, Dalton Clymer scampered 77 yards for a rushing touchdown, the first of his career.

There was history made in the contest by Lehighton as well. Zack Hunsicker set a new school record for career receptions in Friday’s game. He caught his 112^th pass, which broke the previous best set by Jacen Nalesnik.

Hunsicker finished with four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown in the playoff loss. His receiving touchdown, for eleven yards, cut the deficit to 26-13 at halftime. The Tigers took off in the final two quarters and pulled away from Lehighton for the win.

Northwestern will remain home and host Wilson in the next round. The Warriors upset Pottsville on Friday night. The season is not over for Lehighton as the Indians will face Pocono Mountain West in a contingency game on Thursday night. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.

WHITEHALL, Pa. – Whitehall led for only 20 seconds in the contest, but that was all the Zephyrs needed as Whitehall recorded a game-winning two-point conversion in the game’s final minute to defeat rival Northampton 36-35 on Friday night. The Zephyrs hoisted the Cement Bowl trophy to cap off the 2020 regular season.

In an offensive explosion in Friday’s game that included 827 combined yards between both squads, it was the final few for Whitehall that was the most important. Following a short touchdown run by Quinn Wentling to cut the deficit to 35-34, the Zephyrs decided to go for the two-point conversion and the victory. Wentling hit Bryce Bashore on a short pass in the end zone that pushed Whitehall into its first lead of the night, 36-35.

The Konkrete Kids did have 20 seconds left on the clock and three timeouts as they tried to get into field goal range to attempt a game-winner, however, the Zephyrs intercepted a Konkrete Kids’ pass on that ensuing drive to secure the home victory on a chilly October night.

Wentling piloted Whitehall’s offense in the win. The quarterback amassed 414 total yards of offense and was a part of all five of the Zephyrs’ touchdowns in addition to the winning two-point conversion attempt. Thomas Buskirk was Whitehall’s leading receiver in the game, which featured a balanced attack by the Zephyrs. Buskirk caught all nine of his targets for 116 yards.

Northampton’s offense shined in the one-point setback as well, particularly in the rushing attack. The Konkrete Kids totaled 313 yards on the ground, led by 124 yards by Michael Cruz, who also had two rushing touchdowns. K-Kid quarterback Joe Kerbacher had 65 rushing yards and two scores as well.

Kerbacher attempted nine passes in the game, completed three of them, one of which for a touchdown.

The game was a back-and-forth affair all night that went down to the final minute, but the offenses were slow to get started. Northampton struck first and led 7-0 after the first quarter of play. The teams combined to score 64 points over the next 36 minutes of the game.

Whitehall’s first score came in the second quarter when Wentling connected with Ryan Kovalchik for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Northampton had a response, however, with Kerbacher’s second quarterback sneak of the night. Before halftime, though the Zephyrs were able to tie it up when Wentling went to the air again and hit Bashore on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Wentling also did some damage on the ground as well. In the third quarter, down 21-14 to Northampton, the Whitehall quarterback called his own number and ran 84 yards for a touchdown in the game’s longest play from scrimmage.

Northampton led 28-21 entering the final quarter of play, but the seesaw continued between the two EPC squads down to the final minute. Northampton had a seven-point lead with a few minutes left, but couldn’t get a first down, was forced to punt the ball back to Whitehall and that is when Wentling and company went to work on the final, game-winning drive.

Both teams now await to release of the District 11 playoff brackets. The Zephyrs are in the 5A tournament and wait to see if they secured a home playoff opener. The Konkrete Kids needed a win to make certain they’d be in the tournament but now wait to see if they grabbed one of the final spots after all of the weekend’s action is over.

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NORTHAMPTON, Pa. – For the second straight week Northampton allowed their opponent to score first, but this time the Konkrete Kids couldn’t pull off the win in the end. Easton and Northampton battled, but the Rovers prevailed with a 21-14 win at Al Erdosy Stadium on Friday night in an EPC football game.

With the win, Easton improved to 2-2 and snapped a two-game losing streak. The loss dropped Northampton to 1-3 this fall.

The opening score of the contest came with just over five minutes left in the first quarter when Nahjee Adams broke a few tacklers and found the endzone on an 11-yard rushing touchdown. That score snapped a stretch of six quarters of play without any points for the Rovers.

Adams was the key to Easton’s road win. The running back totaled 294 all-purpose yards and one touchdown.

With less than one minute left in the opening frame, Northampton tied the game. Isaiah Harris capped off 10-play, 67-yard drive with a 3-yard rushing score.

With just a few seconds left in the first half, the game was still tied at seven. The Konkrete Kids attempted a 38-yard field goal, but it was blocked by the Rovers. Easton appeared to have recovered and returned it for a touchdown. However, the officials whistled the play dead. Further discussions between the officials did not change the call and the scored remained tied at the half.

The lone score in the third quarter came via the passing game for Easton. Cole Transue connected with Kyle Evancho on a 13-yard pass, which provided the Rovers their first lead of the contest.

With five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the special teams unit for Easton came up big again. Marcus Williams received a Northampton punt, spun out of a tackle, and raced down the sideline for an 81-yard touchdown. Easton now held a 21-7 advantage.

Northampton tried to stage a comeback, however, Joe Kerbacher led the Konkrete Kids down the field on their next drive and tossed it up to Cooper King in the endzone for a 15-yard passing touchdown, which cut it to 21-14 with 2:48 left.

Easton’s rushing attack, which piloted the offense all night, helped seal the win. The Rovers ran out the clock and earned the road victory. As a team, Easton amassed 327 yards on the ground.

Northampton’s Kerbacher finished 19-37 with 193 passing yards and one touchdown. The Konkrete Kids ran 20 more offensive plays than the Rovers in the loss.

“I think the guys performed much better than we did last week,” Easton head coach Jeff Braido said. “We got some things going on offense. We still made a few mistakes on offense that we can fix, but we drove the ball. Our defense once again was outstanding, and our special teams were outstanding. You are going to need all phases of the game when we play next week.”

The Rovers are set to visit Nazareth on Friday for their regular-season finale while the K-Kids are scheduled to meet Whitehall for their final contest of the 2020 regular season.

NORTHAMPTON, Pa. – Northampton started slow, but then began to roll in a 38-10 win over Liberty in an EPC football game on Friday night at Al Erdosy Stadium. The victory was the first for the Konkrete Kids this season as they improved to 1-2. The Hurricanes dropped to 0-3 with the loss.

Liberty took the opening drive of the game down the field for a touchdown to grab an early 7-0 lead, but Northampton responded in a big way. The Konkrete Kids came back with a touchdown of their own on their first drive but outscored their opponent 38-3 the rest of the game following that opening score by the Hurricanes.

The opening sequence by Liberty took just three plays as Jaiden Canada’s nice cutback run for 47 yards gave the Hurricanes a quick score and early boost. That did not last long, however, as Northampton’s Michael Cruz found the end zone with a 10-yard rushing score for the hosts to tie the game at seven.

From there Northampton’s run game found a rhythm and was instrumental in the win. Michael Cruz led the way with 110 rushing yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns. As a team, the Konkrete Kids amassed 324 yards on the ground. Owen Baker complimented Cruz’s carries with 12 touches of his own for 97 yards.

Following Cruz’s game-tying touchdown in the opening period, Northampton grabbed the lead later that frame when quarterback Joe Kerbacher scampered 48 yards on a keeper to paydirt. The K-Kids led 13-7 after a missed two-point conversion.

Another Cruz touchdown started the scoring in the second period, which grew the hosts’ lead to 21-7. Liberty scored right before half for their final points of the evening. Penn State commit Sander Sahaydak connected on a 46-yard field goal, which made it 21-10 at half time.

Sahaydak missed a 50-yard field goal attempt later in the game.

Northampton joined the special teams scoring as well. In the second half, Aiden Reinhard converted a 43-yard field goal, which grew the team’s lead to 24-10 in the third quarter.

The final scoring play of the game came via Northampton’s defense. Baker intercepted a Liberty pass attempt and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

The K-Kids’ defense limited Liberty’s offense in the contest. The Hurricanes threw two interceptions, had 152 rushing yards, and just 92 yards passing. Canada totaled 100 rushing yards for Liberty on 10 carries, most of which came on that aforementioned 47-yard touchdown run.

Northampton remains home to host Easton on Friday while Liberty hosts Nazareth at BASD Stadium. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.

PALMERTON, Pa. – Following a back-and-forth first half, Northwestern took off in the second half and cruised to a 57-28 win over Palmerton in a Colonial League football game on Friday night at Bomber Stadium. The win improved the Tigers to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in league play while the loss dropped the Blue Bombers to 1-2 this season.

The hosts jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter, but Northwestern responded a few minutes later to tie it at 7. Northwestern grabbed the 14-7 lead before the end of the opening quarter and never gave it back. Palmerton cut the deficit to 36-21 midway through the third quarter, but Northwestern outscored the Bombers 21-7 the rest of the way to secure the victory.

The Tigers’ offensive attack was led by quarterback Justin Holmes who finished with 400 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns. He recorded four scores on the ground and three through the passing game.

Holmes spread the wealth to the plethora of weapons Northwestern’s offense features this season. Justin Rodda compiled 149 receiving yards on five catches. He finished with one receiving touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

Sophomore wide receiver Cade Christopher had two catches for 89 yards, both of which went for touchdowns, which has been the norm for the underclassmen this fall. He has six receptions this season and all have been touchdowns.

Christopher went in to play quarterback in the final stages of the game as well to help tack on more yards for the Northwestern offense, which finished with 530 total yards in the road victory.

The Blue Bombers were led by Cole Serfass, who amassed 156 rushing yards on 27 carries. Additionally, he had two rushing scores. He also threw for 61 yards as well.

Palmerton’s final score of the game came via a 63-yard breakaway run from Matthew Machalik. Lucas Heydt also had a physical eight-yard rushing touchdown in the contest.

The biggest swing in the game came in the second quarter. After the Bombers cut the deficit to 22-14 midway through the second period, the Tigers responded by scoring before halftime via a two-yard rushing touchdown by Holmes. Northwestern received the opening kick of the second half and cashed in with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Holmes to Rodda. Northwestern went on to score two more touchdowns in the third quarter.

Northwestern hits the road again to face Salisbury on Friday while Palmerton travels to battle Saucon Valley. Both games are set for 7 p.m. starts.

Northwestern 57, Palmerton 28
Northwestern 14 15 21 7 – 57
Palmerton 7 7 7 7 – 28

1st quarter
P – Serfass 7 run (Perloni kick)
NW – Rodda 40 run (Garrido kick)
NW – Holmes 8 run (Garrido kick)

2nd quarter
NW – Holmes 36 run (Henry run)
P – Serfass 3 run (Perloni kick)
NW – Holmes 2 run (Garrido kick)

3rd quarter
NW Rodda 75 pass from Holmes (Garrido kick)
P – Heydt 8 run (Perloni kick)
NW – Christopher 13 pass from Holmes (Garrido kick)
NW – Christopher 76 pass from Holmes (Garrido kick)

4th quarter
NW – Holmes 38 run (Garido kick)
P – Machalik 63 run (Perloni kick)

STATISTICS
NW P
First Downs 21 15
Rushing yds. 36-258 37-321
Passing yds 272 61
Total Offense 530 382
Passing 10-15-0 5-16-0
Punts 2-29 3-30
Fumbles (lost) 0-0 3-0
Penalties (yards) 4-40 3-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Northwestern: Holmes 16-127, Clymer 7-43, Rodda 3-33, Schaffhouser 2-25, Henry 4-22, Miller 2-7, Hildebrand 1-6, Sosnovik 1-(-5). Palmerton: Serfass 27-156, Heydt 8-89, Machali 1-63, Recker 1-13.
Passing: Northwestern – Holmes 6-15-0-272. Serfass 5-16-0-61.
Receiving: Northwestern – Rodda 5-149,Christopher 2-89, Wikert 2-24, Rader 1-10. Palmerton 3-57, Bartholomew 1-3, DeRossi 1-1.

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SLATINGTON, Pa. – Southern Lehigh held on for a 21-14 win over Northern Lehigh in a Colonial League football game at Bulldog Stadium on Friday night. The Spartans emerged victorious in their first contest of the 2020 campaign while the setback dropped NL to 0-2 this fall.

The duo of Jake Fauzio and Logan Shorb helped pilot the Spartans to victory in their first game of the season. Fauzio finished with 111 rushing yards on 20 carries. On defense, he also recorded two interceptions, including one in the final minutes to seal the win. Shorb notched 86 yards and one touchdown on the ground on 13 carries.

Additionally, Syncere Jackson tallied 44 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries.

Despite that robust rushing attack by the Spartans, their first score came via the passing game. Quarterback JC Rizzuto rolled out and connected with Tyler Houser on a five-yard touchdown. The Spartans led 7-0 after the first quarter.

Jackson’s rushing touchdown came just a few minutes into the action-packed second quarter, which put the visitors up 14-0. The Northern Lehigh offense had a response, however, as on the Bulldogs’ next drive Trevor Amorim on a reverse went 30 yards for the touchdown. After a missed extra point, the Spartans’ lead was cut to 14-6 with 9:09 left in the half.

Next Spartans’ possession, Shorb scored on as 12-yard carry to extend the lead to 21-6. Again, Northern Lehigh had an answer, just a few minutes later, less than two minutes before half the Bulldogs found the end zone. Dylan Smoyer hit Ethan Karpowich on an 11-yard passing touchdown. Mike Repsher ran in a successful two-point conversion, which made it 21-14 at the half.

Following a scoreless third quarter, the Bulldogs were driving in Southern Lehigh territory, looking for the game-tying score with 1:03 left in the game, but NL’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Fauzio. The turnover halted Northern Lehigh’s drive on SL’s 38-yard line and secure the win for the Spartans.

The Bulldogs finished with four turnovers in the loss.

NL will visit Wilson on Oct. 10 as they look for their first win of 2020. The Spartans are set to host Saucon Valley on Friday night.

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PALMERTON, Pa. – After building a 14-0 lead and seeing it slip away in the first half, Palmerton rallied for 42 unanswered points to win 56-14 over Catasauqua in a Colonial League football game at Blue Bomber Stadium on Friday night to open their 2020 campaign. It was also the first contest of the season for the Rough Riders.

The Blue Bombers stormed out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and looked to take control of the home contest. The Rough Riders had an answer though in the form of a 14-0 scoring burst of their own, which knotted the game with 11:15 left in the second quarter. From there it was all Palmerton as the hosts rattled off six straight touchdowns to cruise to the victory.

Sophomore quarterback Cole Serfass piloted the Bombers in the season-opening victory. Serfass, who also is a contributor on defense, finished with 204 rushing yards on 20 carries, 20 passing yards, and five total touchdowns. He also recovered a fumble on defense in the second quarter, which led to one of his own rushing touchdowns a few plays later.

The Palmerton defense held Catty to 220 yards of offense, most of which came on one big scoring play for the Rough Riders. On the first play of the second quarter Catty’s Anthonie Hunsicker broke through the line and went 89-yards for the rushing touchdown. He scored both touchdowns for them on Friday night, as he also recorded a 35-yard rushing score late in the opening quarter. He finished with 141 rushing yards on eight carries.

Hunsicker also is a linebacker on defense and intercepted a Palmerton pass with 7:32 left in the second quarter when the Rough Riders trailed just 21-14. However, two plays later on offense Catty dropped the snap which led to the aforementioned fumble recovery by Palmerton’s Serfass.

The Rough Riders had four fumbles in Friday’s setback and lost two of them.

Palmerton’s senior kicker Jon Perloni went 8-8 on extra point attempts as the Blue Bombers offense kept him busy in their first outing of the shortened 2020 season. Palmerton punted only one time in the win.

Catasauqua will be on the road again next week to visit Pen Argyl on Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. Palmerton will travel for the first time this fall and visit Notre Dame Green Pond on Friday night at 7 p.m.

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TAMAQUA, Pa. – Both Lehighton and Tamaqua entered Saturday’s game with 1-0 records, when it was over the Blue Raiders left as the only team still undefeated. Tamaqua prevailed 20-14 over the Indians in a Schuylkill League showdown at Tamaqua Stadium on a seasonably cool Saturday afternoon.

Both teams battled in the opening quarter, but remained in a scoreless tie into the second period. The Blue Raiders struck first when senior quarterback Nate Wickersham ran for an 18-yard touchdown with 7:56 left in the half. The extra point attempt was blocked to make it 6-0.

Lehighton responded with a lengthy drive, but failed to get on the scoreboard when the Indians missed a 33-yard field goal with three minutes remaining in the period. That wouldn’t end their first-half scoring chances, however, as on the next Tamaqua possession Lehighton’s Brandon Kocher intercepted a Wickersham pass deep in Blue Raider territory.

The Lehighton offense capitalized on that short field and a few plays latter J.J. McDowell punched in a score from two yards out. Lehighton grabbed a 7-6 halftime lead.

In the second half, Nate Curvey began to take control for Tamaqua. The senior tailback had an 18-yard rushing touchdown with 7:23 left in the third quarter. A successful two-point conversion gave the hosts a 14-7 advantage midway through the period.

The quick-strike offense of Lehighton had an answer, however. A minute later Richard Fronheiser connected with Zachary Hunsicker for a 77-yard touchdown reception. The game was tied up with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

The Indians later in that quarter drove down the field with one minute left in the third period and attempted a 37-yard field goal to take the lead, but it was blocked. The score remained locked at 14 heading into the final quarter of play.

In the fourth quarter Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner switched up the offensive philosophy and used Curvey as a lead blocker and gave Logan Hess the running back responsibilities. It worked wonders for the Blue Raiders as they matched down the field near the goal line. The drive stalled there and following a timeout, Tamaqua went to the passing game on a bootleg where Wickersham found Nate Gregoire for an eight-yard receiving touchdown. Tamaqua grabbed a 20-14 lead after a failed two-point conversion to earn the victory.

Tamaqua will face Riverside on Friday night for their next contest. Lehighton is scheduled to host Pottsville on Saturday at 6 p.m. for the Indians’ 2020 home opener.

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LEESPORT, Pa. – On a chilly season-opening September night, it took a quarter for Octorara to warm up, but once the Braves did, they were off and running. Octorara built a 14-3 half-time lead and rolled to a 40-10 victory over Schuylkill Valley on Friday night in the first contest of the 2020 campaign for both schools.

Both teams were held scoreless in a speedy first quarter. The lone scoring opportunity was a missed 30-yard field goal attempt.

The momentum began for the Braves on special teams. Under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter and Octorara punted, but the ball bounced off Schuylkill Valley and was recovered by Weston Stoltzfus of Octorara to give them new life. Octorara capitalized later that ensuing possession with a one-yard rush by Mike Trainor to make it 6-0 after a failed two-point conversion.

The Braves worked their way down the field on their next drive as well and finished with a five-yard pass from Stoltzfus to Caleb Rising for a touchdown. Following a two-point conversion, it was 14-3 in favor of the visiting Braves.

The Panthers got on the scoreboard before halftime. Following a deep pass and catch from Schuylkill Valley’s Drew Campbell to Nate Schaeffer, Brian Heffner connected on a 38-yard field goal to make it 14-3 at the half.

Octorara began to run away in the second half, as the Braves tallied 26 unanswered points over the final two periods of play. Among those second half scoring plays was a 55-yard scamper by Stoltzfus for a score and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Paul Murray.

The Panthers brought that streak to a halt late in the fourth quarter when they found the endzone for the lone time on Friday night. Chanz Stevens recorded the rushing touchdown.

The win was a welcomed start for Octorara, who went 2-8 a year ago.

Next week, Schuylkill Valley travels to take on Kutztown. Octorara returns home to host Northern Lebanon.

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LANSFORD, Pa. – After a few-week delay to start the 2020 high school football season, the Lehighton offense was ready to go. The Indians jumped out to a 34-0 lead in the first half and cruised to a 40-12 victory over Panther Valley in the season opener for both Schuylkill League teams at Panther Valley Football Stadium on Friday night.

Senior quarterback Richard Fronheiser piloted the Lehighton offensive unit in the first two quarters, which was just his second varsity start. He tossed five touchdowns and threw for 340 yards. His tremendous start allowed him the opportunity to rest in the second half of the contest.

Fronheiser spread the ball around as well. Zack Hunsicker finished with nine catches for 98 yards and one score while Hunter Crum recorded six receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Ian Rarick, and Ethan Buchert also notched receiving touchdowns in the victory.

The team’s lone second half score came via the run game as JJ McDowell had a five-yard rushing touchdown with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter to make it 40-6.

Panther Valley’s best drive, and the first one which resulted in points, came right before halftime. Louis Clouser set up the Panthers well with a 60-yard kick-off return. Then Panthers’ quarterback Michael Pascoe, in his first varsity start, ran the ball most of the ensuing drive and capped it off with a two-yard rush into the endzone with 97 seconds remaining in the opening half.

Pascoe took the bulk of the carries on that drive, but Clouser had those duties for a majority of the game. The senior running back finished with 124 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

The Indians led 34-6 at intermission and the reserves played most of the second half. Panther Valley followed suit in the fourth quarter as well, swapping their starters with the second-string unit.

Friday’s contest was the start of an eight-game, league-only schedule for Schuylkill League teams this fall. The league is split into two divisions, based on school enrollment size. The Schuylkill League was set to start a scheduling co-op with the Colonial League this fall, but officials from both leagues decided to postpone that until 2021 due to the uncertainties with this season stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panther Valley will remain home to host Marian Catholic next week, who lost to Jim Thorpe 43-0 on Friday night in their opening contest. Lehighton will stay on the road and visit Tamaqua, who beat Shenandoah Valley 49-7 on Friday night, on September 19 at 1:10 p.m.

NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. – Lehighton took a 7-0 lead over Northwestern, but the Tigers responded in a big way en route to a 54-14 win over the Indians in a District 11 4A football quarterfinal game at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. The big win in the playoff opener propelled the Tigers, the top seed in the bracket, to the semifinals next Saturday.

Lehighton received the opening kick-off an ate up most of the first quarter of play. The Indians methodically drove down the field and punched it in with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Ben Schatz with 3:40 left in the opening period. That was the best drive of the night for Lehighton, however, as they were held scoreless for the remainder of the first half.

The Northwestern offense responded with a quick scoring drive to tie the game up at seven at the end of the first quarter, with a Nick Henry 14-yard scamper to paydirt. Then the Tigers erupted for 19 points in the second quarter and then 21 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, and begin the mercy clock.

The Tigers were led by quarterback Deven Bollinger, who recorded five total touchdowns in Saturday’s triumph. Bollinger was 10-12 for 255 passing yards and had three passing touchdowns to go along with his two rushing scores. He finished with 81 rushing yards.

His favorite target was Justin Holmes, whom he connected with on several long touchdown passes. He hit Holmes for scores of 28, 52, and 63 yards, the last coming as the lone score for either team in the fourth quarter. The sophomore receiver finished with five catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns.

After Northwestern’s response to that opening scoring drive by Lehighton, the Tigers did not let up. The hosts scored seven straight touchdowns, spanning from the first to the third quarters, before the visitors stopped that stretch with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Lucas Sangiuliano to Hunter Crum.

Among that seven-straight touchdown stretch for Northwestern was a defensive score as well. Conner Snyder picked off a Lehighton pass and took it 41 yards for a touchdown with 3:03 left in the third quarter.

The Indians were also plagued by penalties in the playoff loss. Lehighton was flagged eight time totaling 60 yards.

Northwestern will play on their home turf again next week with a spot in the district final on the line. The Tigers will host fourth seed Central Catholic on Nov. 9. Kick-off is set for 7:10 p.m. The Vikings topped Saucon Valley 42-18 in their quarterfinal match-up on Friday night.

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Panthers found themselves down 13-0 at the half, but Quakertown battled back to score 14 unanswered points in the second half to secure the 14-13 win over Upper Dublin at Alumni Field on Friday night in a Suburban One League football game. The difference was a missed extra point by the Cardinals after their first touchdown of the game, back in the second quarter.

That missed PAT attempt loomed large and haunted Upper Dublin (3-3, 1-2 SOL) who couldn’t muster any points in the game’s final two periods. The unit was without starting quarterback Tristan Cairnes, who exited the game after playing just one snap in the third quarter. He did not return due to an injury. Nick Rodriguez took the spot under center for the Cardinals for the remainder of the contest.

Neither team found paydirt in the first quarter as turnovers were common in the first few series. Both teams coughed up the ball in the opening period. Upper Dublin got the scoring started with 9:18 left in the first half when Jacob Rossman punched in a six-yard rushing touchdown, but the aforementioned missed extra point attempt left it with a 6-0 lead.

The Cardinals tacked on to that lead before they headed to the warmer locker room on what was the coldest evening of the 2019 high school football season so far. Rossman ran in another score, this one from three-yards out with 2:53 left in the second quarter.

That 13-0 lead did not last very long. Quakertown (3-4, 3-1) took the first drive of the second half and went right down the field. The Panthers found the endzone with a 27-yard strike from Will Steich to Ben Kave after a fake hand-off. That score cut the lead to 13-7 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

The biggest play of the game came on the final snap of the third quarter. Quakertown’s Steich rolled to his left and hit Tyler Merwarth. Merwarth, after the catch, raced down the field, made several defenders miss, as he got down to Upper Dublin’s three-yard line. That effort set up the eventual game-winning touchdown.

A few plays later Steitch snuck into the endzone with a designed quarterback sneak. The extra point was successful, which gave the Panthers their first lead of the game with 11:20 to go and their defense held the Cardinals the rest of the day.

Upper Dublin had two more possessions in the fourth quarter and got as far as Quakertown’s 29 yard line in the final few minutes, but could not get any points to try and stave off the comeback.

The Panthers overcame having four first-half turnovers to earn the home victory.

Next week Quakertown will visit Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin will face Wissahickon on the road on Friday night.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Despite a low-scoring beginning to the contest, Parkland’s special teams helped the Trojans pull-off a 35-7 convincing win over Liberty on Friday night in an EPC football game at BASD Stadium. Parkland led just 7-0 after the first quarter, but blocked two punts and converted them into touchdowns to help secure the road victory.

In addition to the special teams unit shining, Parkland’s defense also shared some of the spotlight on Friday night. Not only did the team hold the Hurricanes to just seven points, but the defense also snagged a fumble recovery and intercepted a Liberty pass, just in the first quarter, to stop two Liberty drives.

Then the third phase of the game got the scoring started late in the opening quarter. To cap off a drive, Parkland’s Isiah Rico punched it in through a pile of players from two yards out. The Trojans took the 7-0 lead with 1:39 left.

That lead did not last long, however, as the Hurricanes responded with 9:23 left in the first half with a two-yard rushing score of their own. John Vazquez took the rock to the endzone for Liberty.

Parkland’s passing game netted the next score for the Trojans with just 1:55 remaining in the second period. Ty Tremba hit John Siggins for a 10-yard pass in traffic. That gave Parkland the 14-7 advantage at the half, and started the stretch of 28 unanswered points for Parkland for the rest of the game.

Rico found paydirt again in the second half to start the scoring for the Trojans in the third quarter, this one a 15-yard scamper for the score, which made it 21-7 midway through the third quarter.

Then in the final three minutes of the third quarter, Parkland blocked back-to-back Liberty punts deep in their own territory and returned them for touchdowns. The first, which rolled into the endzone, was picked up by Parkland’s Sean Cox to make it 28-7.

Following the win, Parkland hosts Nazareth next week and Liberty visits Emmaus looking to bounce back.

Two first-half touchdown passes and then a late defensive stand helped Bangor beat Northern Lehigh 28-21 in a Colonial League contest on Friday night at a chilly and wet Bangor Memorial Park Stadium. The loss is the first for the Bulldogs this season.

The two teams nearly went through the first quarter scoreless until Bangor (2-1) struck for a score. Joe Genteel heaved up a 37-yard pass to Nick Davanzo, who managed to stay in bounds and scamper a few yards for the game’s first touchdown. The Slaters led 7-0 after a quick first quarter of play.

In the second quarter, Bangor broke through again with the same connection in the same fashion. Genteel tossed up a 52-yard pass to Davanzo, who beat a defender and strolled in for the score. Bangor led 14-0 with 10:03 left in the first half.

Then the Bulldogs’ defense decided to take matters into their own hands. Zach Moyer intercepted a Bangor pass and ran it back 15 yards to the end zone to get Northern Lehigh on the scoreboard. Moyer followed that up by running in a touchdown a few minutes later to tie the game at 14 at the half.

Then in the third quarter, the rain began to fall in the Slate Belt and persisted for the remainder of the game. As the teams battled Mother Nature, Genteel broke through the Bulldog defense line in the third quarter to break the tie and give the hosts a 21-14 advantage.

That lead did not last long, however, as the Bulldogs answered. Moyer rolled out a tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chase Misera in the end zone to tie the game once again, this time at 21.

With the game knotted up heading into the fourth quarter and the rain falling harder, neither team could move the football with ease. Then with just 64 seconds left on the clock, Kael Godshalk pushed through at the goal line to put Bangor up 28-21.

On the ensuing kick-off, Northern Lehigh ran a reverse to perfection and pushed deep into Bangor territory. Then a dead-ball penalty on the Slaters pushed the ball into the red zone. The Bulldogs advanced as far as the seven-yard line, where they had a third down, but took a sack. Then on fourth down, Moyer was hit hard and the ball jostled loose, which sealed the victory for the Slaters.

The team of Genteel and Davanzo helped pilot Bangor to the win. Genteel went 9-10 passing for 186 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Davanzo hauled in seven passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Next week Bangor hosts the league-leading Southern Lehigh squad on Friday night. Northern Lehigh visits Pen Argyl on Saturday.

Although Southern Lehigh was forced to play Friday night’s game on the road due to unplayable field conditions at their place, the Spartans felt right at home at Bomber Stadium. Southern Lehigh battled with Palmerton early, but pulled away late in the Colonial League contest to win 27-12.

Southern Lehigh took a 7-0 lead before their offense even stepped out onto the field. On the first drive of the game Asher Smith intercepted a Palmerton pass and weaved through traffic on his way to returning it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Smith delivered quite the performance for the Spartan faithful that filled the visitor bleachers. He scored all four of Southern Lehigh’s touchdowns, amassed 217 rushing yards, 10 receiving yards, and the aforementioned interception.

Despite Smith’s stellar performance, the Blue Bombers held their own in the battle of 1-0 teams. Following the pick-six in the opening period, Palmerton drove down the field and found the end zone with a 15-yard pass from Jordan Nelson to Ethan Recker. The pass was tipped and bobbled, but Recker was able to haul it in.

Smith scampered 47 yards for a touchdown to close out the first quarter. Then in the second period, Palmerton’s defense delivered. The Bombers forced a Southern Lehigh fumble and then recovered the loose ball in the end zone for the touchdown. Palmerton tried a two-point conversion, but failed, which was the difference in the game after their extra point attempt earlier was blocked.

Both squads managed long drives in the third quarter, but none were able to produce points. After a scoreless third quarter and first half of the fourth, the Spartans began to pull away. Smith punched in a five-yard rushing score to cap off a long, methodical drive that ate up most of the fourth-quarter clock. Then Solehi added some insurance in the closing minutes with another Smith score.

Nelson led Palmerton in their rushing attack with 78 yards on seven carries.

Next up for Southern Lehigh is a pivotal showdown against Notre Dame Green Pond as both teams are undefeated. The Spartans will have to be the road warriors once again as that game will be played at Quakertown High School. For Palmerton, they will host Saucon Valley next week.

Southern Lehigh 14 0 0 13 – 27
Palmerton 6 6 0 0 – 12
SL – Smith 37 interception (Colasurdo kick)
P – Recker 15 pass from Nelson (kick failed)
SL – Smith 47 run (Colasurdo kick)
P – Sabo recovers fumble in end zone (run failed)
SL – Smith 5 run (Colasurdo kick)
SL – Smith 5 run (pass failed)
STATISTICS
SL P
First Downs 19 14
Rushing yards 37-229 25-174
Passing yards 109 129
Total Offense 338 303
Passing 8-10-0 12-24-3
Punts 1-34 1-27
Fumbles (Lost) 2-1 2-0
Penalties (yds.) 3-35 3-16
Passing: So. Lehigh: Vogeler 8-9-0-109, Smith 0-1-0-0. Palmerton: Nelson 7-15-2-96, Serfass 3-4-0-20, Heydt 2-5-1-13.
Receiving: So. Lehigh: Shorb 1-42, Fisher 3-37, Bodner 4-28, Smith 1-10. Palmerton: Recker 5-48, Heydt 1-40, Denicola 3-26, Dailey 1-5, Nelson 1-5, Bartholomew 1-5.