Where do teams stack up?
With all 18 EPC squads now playing, it’s time to rank ’em
It took until mid-October, but finally all 18 teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference have played a game.
Here’s a look at how all 18 stack up as the final two games of the regular season approach, and District 11 playoffs for 13 of them:
East Stroudsburg North
Record: 0-3
Next game: At Pleasant Valley on Friday.
Comment: The Timberwolves showed some offensive promise behind junior quarterback Noah Fathy against Stroudsburg in its opener, but have scored just seven points over the last two weeks. Rick Altreche, who previously coached at Stroudsburg, is North’s fourth coach in five seasons and hopes to
give the program stability.
Pleasant Valley
Record: 0-1
Next game: Host East Stroudsburg
North on Friday.
Comment: After the longest wait of any area team due to a positive case of COVID-19 at the high school, the Bears finally got on the field Friday night and competed well in a 21-7 loss to Pocono Mountain West. PV has its best chance at getting secondyear coach Blaec Saeger his first win Friday night against North.
Dieruff
Record: 0-3
Next game: At Central Catholic at 1 p.m. Saturday
Comment: The realignment of the EPC for this abbreviated season has been a detriment for the Huskies, who have had success since moving to the Mountain Valley Conference in 2012 and the EPC North in 2014. Dieruff has been outscored 121-7 by Whitehall, Emma us and Parkland.
Allen
Record: 0-3
Next game: Host Parkland on Friday night.
Comment: Much like Dieruff, the Lehigh County-only schedule has been tough for the Canaries after they found a competitive level in the EPC North. Whitehall coach Matt Senneca praised Allen’s effort in the Zephyrs’ 37-0 win. The Canaries are still looking for their first points of the season.
Pocono Mountain East
Record: 1-1
Next game: At East Stroudsburg South on Friday.
Comment: New coach Dan Burns got his first win in impressive fashion Friday night as his team shut out East Stroudsburg North 34-0. It was a nice turnaround from a 31-0 loss in the Cardinals’ opener against Stroudsburg. However, ES South is next and the only thing South and North have in common this year is that both are in the East Stroudsburg school district.
Pocono Mountain West
Record: 2-1
Next game: Host Stroudsburg on Friday night.
Comment: The Panthers bounced back from a 69-0 loss to East Stroudsburg South on opening night with a pair of wins. The team now has lights on its home field and they’ll get a chance to shine against Stroudsburg this week.
Liberty
Record: 0-3
Next game: Host Nazareth on Friday night.
Comment: After a scoreless first half against Easton on opening night, it has been downhill for the Hurricanes who are struggling for consistency on both sides of the ball. Turnovers have been an especially big problem.
Stroudsburg
Record: 2-1
Next game: At Pocono Mountain West
Comment: After impressive wins over East Stroudsburg North and Pocono Mountain East, the Mounties had no answers on defense against the explosive East Stroudsburg Cavaliers in the battle for the Little Brown Jug. The 69 points by South was the most scored by any team in the 76-game series and the 62-point spread was also a record.
Whitehall
Record: 2
Next game: at Emmaus on
Friday
Comment: While lopsided wins over Dieruff and Allen were nice for a program coming off a winless season, the Zephyrs aren’t fooled. They know they are truly making progress if they can beat one of the EPC’s elite. They’ll get that chance this week at Emmaus.
Easton Northampton
Record: 1-2
Next game:
Friday night
Comment: The Konkrete Kids probably earned a berth in the District 11 6A tournament with a win over Liberty, but they want more. They felt they could have and perhaps should have beaten Easton in last year’s district tournament and they’ll get a rematch Friday night with the scuffling Red Rovers.
Host Easton on
Central Catholic
Record: 2-2
Next game: Host Dieruff at 1 p.m. Saturday
Comment: The Vikings have struggled for consistency on offense. They moved the ball at times against Emmaus, but couldn’t finish drives, and three turnovers were too many to overcome. Still, CCHS has a chance to get things in sync with a possibility of two games against Bethlehem Catholic over a span of four weeks looming. Record: 1-2
Next game: At Northampton on Friday night
Comment: The Red Rovers have inexplicably failed to score in their last six quarters. They move the ball well between the 20s but have trouble finding the end zone. With Nahjee Adams running the ball, Easton should eventually get the offense in gear. But at the moment, frustration is building and a much-anticipated season of success seems to be slipping away.
Bethlehem Catholic
Record: 2-1
Next game: Play Freedom at 3 p.m. Saturday
Comment: The Golden Hawks extended their streak of success over Easton, but now would like to snap a similar losing skid against Freedom. Becahi’s defense has been impressive all season, including its 21-0 loss to Nazareth. The Golden Hawks would like to find more consistency on offense entering the District 11 playoffs.
Freedom
Record: 2-1
Next game: Play Bethlehem Catholic at 3 p.m. Saturday
Comment: Regardless of who plays quarter back, the Patriots will need to tighten up a defense that gave up too many big plays against Nazareth. With more preparation, expect sophomore Q BE than Neidig to play better against Be ca hi, but the Golden Hawks are playing with a lot of confidence after shutting out Easton and will likely focus on stopping Patriots running backs Matt Russin and Deante Crawford.
East Stroudsburg South
Record: 2-0
Next game: Host Pocono Mountain East on Friday.
Comment: Can anyone stop this offense? The Cavaliers scored 69 points in both of their wins and are like men against boys in the EPC’s Mountain Division. No wonder this team was disappointed when the divisional alignment kept them from playing against many of the EPC’s elite. They’ll likely have to settle for an unbeaten mark in the division and a chance at 5A district gold, probably against Whitehall.
Emmaus
Record: 3-0
Nextgame: Host Whitehall on Friday night
Comment: The Green Hornets swept the three Allentown schools and seem ready for more difficult tests ahead, especially Oct. 30 at Parkland. This is a wellrounded team with a lot of speed. Some might be concerned about a letdown against Whitehall ahead of Parkland, but coach Harold Fairclough insists his team will remain focused.
Parkland
Record: 2-0
Nextgame: At Allen on Friday night
Comment: We still don’t have a true measure of how good these Trojans are and probably won’t get it until they play Emmaus on Oct. 30. The best thing they can do against Allen is to execute early, put the mercy rule in effect for the entire second half and get the starters off the field healthy.
Nazareth Record: 4-0 Next game: At Liberty on
Friday night
Comment: The Blue Eagles are the story of the year so far in local football. After losing so many key players from last year’s district title team, everybody — but evidently Nazareth — expected a drop-off. So far, that hasn’t happened. Not even close.