Parkland crushes Easton
Nazareth and Bangor cruise; Bethlehem Catholic dominates Whitehall
Here is a roundup of the top Lehigh Valley high school football games Friday night in Week 1 of the 2022 season.
Parkland 42, Easton 0: Easton won the coin toss, and it was all downhill after that.
Parkland scored on its first drive when Nakhi Bullock took a jet sweep 28 yards to the house. Parkland’s Trey Tremba made it 14-0 with a 9-yard touchdown run and then 21-0 after his second rushing touchdown, this time on a 2-yard run.
Parkland freshman Marquez Wimberly made it 28-0 with a 3-yard touchdown, and his night to remember continued with a 64-yard touchdown run to make it 35-0 before halftime.
Luke Spang threw a touchdown pass to Jendel Sanchez to make it 42-0 early in the third quarter. The mercy rule made the game go quickly, and Parkland started the year with a statement win over Easton.
Bethlehem Catholic 35, Whitehall 7: The Golden Hawks got on the board first with a 3-yard touchdown by Mel Terry late in the first quarter. Bethlehem Catholic struck again with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left in the second quarter when Jaiden Ellis-Lahey caught a 21-yard pass from Luke Thomas, but it missed the extra point to make the score 13-0 heading into halftime.
Bethlehem Catholic extended its lead in the second half after Jacob Sutton scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Thomas’ two-point conversion made it 21-0. Terry extended Bethlehem Catholic’s lead to 27-0 after his second 3-yard run of the night.
Terry then made a big play on defense, picking off a pass and returning it 45 yards, putting the game into a mercy rule at 35-0. Whitehall got on the board late, taking away Bethlehem Catholic’s shutout on a 14-yard pass from Trey Dogmanits to Braden Bashore. Even though they could not preserve the shutout, the Golden Hawks defense was the difference-maker in this one.
Nazareth 48, Dieruff 6: The Nazareth Blue Eagles got off to a fast start behind their quarterback Sonny Sasso. Sasso scored on a 5-yard rush to make it 7-0.
Mason Kuehner then caught 17-yard and 72-yard touchdown passes from Sasso to make it 21-0. Collin Wells had a 28-yard touchdown run to make it 27-0, then Sasso threw a 13-yard touchdown to Nolan Lobb to make it 34-0. Jed Bendekovits scored on a 3-yard run before halftime as Nazareth went ahead 41-0.
Dieruff did get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, getting rid of its goose egg and putting the score at 41-6. Nazareth extended its lead to 48-6 after Nathan Baker scored from 3 yards out.
Nazareth’s starters had a short night but looked the part. The Blue Eagles will hope that Sasso and the offense can carry them throughout the season.
Notre Dame-Green Pond vs. Saucon Valley
Final score: Notre Dame-Green Pond 41, Saucon Valley 34
Recap/Highlights: Notre Dame got on the board first with a 2-yard run by Dan Darno, but Saucon Valley answered on a 24-yard touchdown run by Landon Beckowski.
Notre Dame scored on two more rushing touchdowns, a 7-yarder by Dainn Vassallo and 20-yarder by Josh Ludlow to make it 19-7. Ludlow scored again, but this time on the receiving end of a 65-yard pass from Darno to make it 27-7 at halftime.
In the second half Saucon Valley cut Notre Dame’s lead to 27-14 after Travis Riefenstahl threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Alex Magnotta on fourth-and-goal. Saucon scored again in the fourth quarter with another touchdown pass from Riefenstahl to Magnotta.
With 8:34 left in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame took control of the game after another Ludlow touchdown run, giving the Crusaders a 34-20 lead. Notre Dame continued to pull away, putting the score at 41-27 after Darno scored from 3 yards out.
Saucon Valley did not give up, scoring again with 1:18 left, but Notre Dame recovered the onside kick up 41-34.
Bangor vs. Palisades
Final score: Bangor 27, Palisades 7
Recap/Highlights: Bangor started the night with a 33-yard touchdown run by Noah Hillis to make it 6-0 in the first quarter. Eric Striba scored from 21-yards out, and after a two-point conversion Bangor was up 14-0.
Palisades scored to make it 14-7 at halftime. Striba found Greg Campbell well beyond the defense for a 33-yard touchdown to make it 21-7.
Hillis scored another touchdown, but Bangor missed the extra point, putting it up 27-7. Bangor held on to this lead for the rest of the game and started the year with a convincing victory.
Lehighton vs. Palmerton
Final score: Palmerton 42, Lehighton 29
Recap/Highlights: Palmerton scored the only touchdown of the first quarter, but Lehighton answered with a field goal to make it 7-3. However, Palmerton quickly pulled away as Kendall Robinson had three quick receiving touchdowns to make it 28-3 at halftime.
Lehighton scored the only points in the third quarter, when an Ethan Buchert 10-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 28-10. Lehighton wasn’t done yet, cutting the score to 28-17 after Brady O’Donnell scored from 12 yards out in the fourth. Palmerton answered with a 13-yard touchdown from Matt Machalik, putting the score to 35-17.
Lehighton did not back down. O’Donnell cut the lead to 35-23 with a 29-yard score. However, Palmerton’s offense was too much. Machalik scored another touchdown, putting the game out of reach.
Lehighton did have one more push with 1:40 left, but it was not enough, even though it showed great heart the entire game.
Salisbury vs. Panther Valley
Final score: Panther Valley 20, Salisbury 13
Recap/Highlights: Josh Brooks got the night started for Salisbury, scoring on a 53-yard run to make it 6-0. Panther Valley answered, making it 7-6 after Michael Pascoe scored from 35 yards out.
Salisbury’s Lucas Graver made an impact play on defense, picking off a pass and returning it 57 yards for a score, giving Salisbury a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Panther Valley started hot in the second half, taking a 14-13 lead after Pascoe’s second touchdown , this time a 7-yard run. Pascoe gave Panther Valley a 20-13 lead after his third rushing touchdown of the game with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter.
The Panther Valley defense didn’t allow Salisbury to score and helped secure its first win of the season.
Pocono Mountain East vs. Stroudsburg
Final score: Stroudsburg 35, Pocono Mountain East 0
Recap/Highlights: Stroudsburg scored on its second drive of the game and did not look back. It scored another rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and then a touchdown pass from Aiden Herman made it 21-0 at halftime.
The Stroudsburg defense controlled the Pocono Mountain East offense, not allowing it to see the end zone. Stroudsburg scored two more late rushing touchdowns and shut out the Cardinals in Week 1.
Tamaqua vs. Northwestern Lehigh
Final score: Northwestern 49, Tamaqua 22
Recap/Highlights: On Northwestern’s second play from scrimmage, Cade Christopher took the ball 67 yards to make it 7-0. Later in the first quarter, Christopher scored his second touchdown, this time on a 2-yard run to make it 14-0.
Christopher’s impressive first half continued when he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Sam Mauro to make it 21-0. Tamaqua finally got on the board with a 6-yard touchdown run from Isaac Curvey, and after a two-point conversion the score was 21-8. Tamaqua’s comeback continued before halftime when Luke Kane found Warren Stewart for a 37-yard touchdown, and after another two-point conversion Tamaqua trailed 21-16.
Christopher started off the third quarter with a 42-yard run, extending the lead to 28-16 for Northwestern. Christopher wasn’t done yet and gave Northwestern a 35-16 lead with a 57-yard touchdown run. A fumble recovery for a touchdown by Landen Matson gave Northwestern a 42-16 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Northwestern continued its dominance, making the game a 49-16 blowout after a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Eli Zimmerman. Tamaqua scored late in the fourth quarter when Connor Dillon caught a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Pleasant Valley vs. East Stroudsburg North Final score: Pleasant Valley 62, East Stroudsburg North 0
Recap/Highlights: Pleasant Valley’s move down a division looked like the right one.
It started hot, with three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. Fela Olaniyan scored his second rushing touchdown of the night, making it 27-0. Then Jarod Moore recorded his second rushing touchdown, giving Pleasant Valley a 34-0 lead. The Bears scored two more touchdowns before halftime to build an enormous 48-0 halftime lead.
Moore scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, putting the Bears up 55-0, and another late score ended this one at 62-0.