Parkland could clean up messy situation vs. Emmaus
Several games in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Colonial League have been moved around so that they’re not played in the rainy weather expected throughout the day on Friday.
But the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South Division showdown between Emmaus and Parkland won’t be among those moved.
The Green Hornets and Trojans will tee it up as scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday on the grass at Orefield Middle School.
Considering the forecast and that Parkland has the last remaining grass field in EPC South, it’s bound to be muddy and messy.
That’s just fine with Trojans coach Tim Moncman, an old-school coach who believes football should be played in the elements.
“People have asked me all week and I said as long there’s no lightning, we’re playing,” Moncman said. “That’s what football is all about and I don’t want to push this game to Saturday.”
The game has great significance to the EPC and District 11.
If Parkland wins in the rain, a mess might be avoided. The Trojans would be the EPC South champs and the No. 1 seed for the upcoming District 11 6A tournament.
If Emmaus wins, and Nazareth beats
Easton, the Green Hornets would be EPC South champs because Emmaus, Freedom, and Parkland would have two losses and Emmaus will have the edge — since it would have beaten both the Trojans and Patriots.
However, if Emmaus wins and Easton wins, the district power rankings would be required to determine the South champ, and also, possibly, the No. 1 seed in 6A as well and that might not be resolved until the Freedom-Liberty game is decided late
Saturday afternoon.
“It would be nice to win the EPC South because we haven’t won the division title in a couple of years [2017] and we could get the No. 1 in districts which gives you the opportunity to play two more home games,” Moncman said. “So, our kids know what’s at stake and at the same time we know that after losing to Easton last week Emmaus will come here all fired up and
gunning for us as always. So, we’ll see and the weather will dictate a few of the things that we do.”
Parkland was limited in what it could do offensively as it was down to its third quarterback due to an injury to sophomore Luke Spang, who had settled into the starting role. Spang took over in the team’s second game of the season after veteran starter Ty Tremba went down with an injury.
Nakhi Bullock, a junior wide receiver, played quarterback against Liberty last week. Bullock attempted just two passes, completing both for 10 yards.
The lion’s share of the offense was provided by senior running back Dahlir Adams, who carried 31 times for 143 yards and two scores. Bullock and Trey Tremba combined for 12 carries and 30 yards in a 22-10 win.
As of the completion of Wednesday night’s practice, Moncman wasn’t sure of Spang’s status and said he had to be cleared by his doctor.
If he can go, the battle of Cedar Crest Boulevard will be a matchup of defensive-oriented teams and sophomore quarterbacks who didn’t expect to be in this role when official practice began in August.
“We were down several guys against Liberty and we’ve had guys down all season,” Moncman said. “But we have the next man up mentality and the kids have responded. This should be a good game. They’re a great football team and we’re a good football team. They can pound it. We can run it. They’ve got the best defense in the league [in terms of points allowed]. So we have to pick things up the best we can and try to control the line of scrimmage. If it’s a wet track, it’s a wet track. It might come down to ball control and who does the best job of that.”
Emmaus has two of the best defenders in the EPC South in Aidan Garrett and Jared Groller, who have combined for 129 stops.
But the Trojans, who allow just 81 yards rushing per game, also feature all-area and all-state defensive candidates in Nico Medlar, Brock Boyer, and Noah Rode. They have combined for 132 tackles with 13 sacks and 22 tackles for loss overall.
“We’ve been practicing hard and that’s the key to every single game,” Boyer said. “The game is easier when you practice hard and bring the intensity every day. We made some changes and adjustments to our defense and we have trusted in that and we know we have to follow our assignments and be where we have to be.” Medlar has been everywhere. In addition to his team-best 59 tackles, he has two of the team’s 10 interceptions.
“We graduated a lot of good players from last years, but at Parkland it’s always the next man up,” Medar said. “Every day, we clunk heads and try to get better.”
With the loss of Ty Tremba, every player had to raise their level of play to help compensate for the loss of one of the best QBs in the Lehigh Valley.
“All of the seniors knew we had to rally around our sophomore quarterback and play better football and get everybody going,” Medlar said.
Last year, the chance to win a District 11 6A championship was taken away from Parkland by COVID-19. This year, the Trojans don’t want to allow that opportunity to be stripped away again without stepping on the field.
“We have to be very smart at what we do and how we handle stuff,” Boyer said. “Covid is still here. We know what we want. We don’t want to lose out again. We want that No. 1 seed and we need to beat Emmaus to get it.”
Moncman recently celebrated his 50th win at Parkland. This is his sixth year with the Trojans after he went 88-36 in 10 seasons at Liberty, a stretch that included three state-title game appearances in four years and the 2008 PIAA 4A crown.
“I still enjoy doing what I do and if I didn’t, I’d stop doing it,” Moncman said. “The kids at Liberty and here aren’t all that different. Football players are still football players. I’m proud of this group because while we may have had more talented rosters, these kids just come out and play. They love to play the game. We’ve had all kinds of injuries, but other guys have stepped in and it’s like ‘here we go.’ So, we’re looking forward to another game on Emmaus and we’ll give it our best shot.”