Emmaus, Whitehall, Solehi notch big wins
Here is a roundup of the top Lehigh Valley high school Friday night football games in Week 2.
Emmaus 12, Allentown Central Catholic 7: Emmaus struck first and, at the end of the first quarter, led 6-0. Central Catholic answered in the second, taking a 7-6 lead after Caiden Shaffer scored a touchdown. Sadly for Central Catholic, those were the last points they scored all night. Emmaus took the lead in the second quarter after Jake Fotta found Rafael Terrero for a 42-yard score. Both teams’ defenses played well the rest of the game, and Emmaus walked away with a big win on Friday night.
Whitehall 33, Liberty 22: Liberty started the game off with a touchdown but failed on the extra point. However, after a great punt that was downed at the two-yard line, Liberty tackled Whitehall’s ball carrier for a safety, putting them up 8-0. Whitehall’s Nigel Linton scored from one yard out, but the Zephyrs failed to get the two-point conversion and trailed 8-6. In the second half, Liberty’s Jayden Rosado scored two times in a row, but Whitehall answered, putting the score at 22-14 at the end of the third quarter. Linton scored again for Whitehall, but another failed two-point attempt had Whitehall trailing 22-20. Whitehall’s failed two-point conversions could have been an issue, but they scored back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter, taking a 33-22 lead.
Freedom 33, Easton 20: The nightmare season for Easton continued, as they were unable to hold their own against Freedom. Easton scored its first touchdown of the season in the second quarter but struggled to get any other offense going. Freedom’s Justin Peluso caught a 72-yard touchdown and then Ethan Neidig, Jalen Fletcher, and Kyle Johnson all added rushing touchdowns. Easton added another score in the fourth quarter to make things interesting, but Freedom answered quickly, giving the team a 33-13 lead late in the fourth. Easton scored one more late touchdown, but it was not enough.
Palisades 31, Wilson 6: Palisades led 10-0 at halftime after a field goal and a score from John Haubert. Steven Lilly added a pair of touchdowns in the second half for Palisades, and Wilson had no answer the entire night. This was Bobby Smith’s first win as head coach of Palisades.
Southern Lehigh 29, Notre Dame-Green Pond 28: Notre Dame started the game with a nine-yard touchdown run from Danny Darno. Darno then hit James Wisecarver for a 69-yard touchdown to give Notre Dame a 14-0 lead. Southern Lehigh’s Avery Koser found Andrew Olesh for a 10-yard touchdown, and then Cade Sawyer tied the game at 14 with an 11-yard touchdown run. A 3-yard run from Josh Ludlow put Notre Dame up 21-14, but Koser found Sawyer to tie the game at 21. Notre Dame scored again, but Southern Lehigh answered. Southern Lehigh went for two, got it, and held onto their first lead of the game to secure the win in a thriller.
Northampton 41, Stroudsburg 4: This game was a funky one after the game started with two safeties, putting Stroudsburg up 4-0. Northampton got on the board and took a 7-4 lead into halftime. Then, in the second half, Northampton dominated. After giving up the two safeties, Northampton scored 41 unanswered points, moving them to 2-0 on the year.
Tamaqua 32, Lehighton 29: The game started slowly, with both teams scoring touchdowns in the first quarter. However, the rest of the game was filled with action. Luke Kane and Conner Dillon hooked up for two touchdowns to give Tamaqua a 20-7 lead. The teams traded two more scores before halftime, with Tamaqua leading 26-14. Dillon scored again for Tamaqua, but Lehighton answered with two more scores. Tamaqua held on late and ran the clock out to preserve a great win for their football program.
East Stroudsburg North 20, Pocono Mountain East 14: Pocono Mountain East scored first, but East Stroudsburg North answered on their very first offensive play of the game when quarterback Romeo Carmen-King ran for a 42-yard touchdown. The first quarter ended with only those two scores, but East Stroudsburg North struck again in the second quarter. Carmen-King scored his second touchdown of the game, which gave North a 14-6 lead. Pocono Mountain East came ready to play in the third quarter, and after a big run from Rasu Wearing-Poindexter, DJ Kelly scored, and East got the two-point conversion tying the game. On the game’s final drive, North took the lead with 18.9 seconds left when Carmen-King found Michael Watts Jr. for the game-winning touchdown. This was East Stroudsburg North’s first victory since Oct. 4, 2019.
Mahanoy 20, Pen Argyl 14: Ben Manley put Mahanoy Area on the board with a nineyard touchdown run in the first quarter. Colm McGroarty extended the Mahanoy Area lead to 14-0 in the second quarter. Pen Argyl did get on the board before halftime and then tied the game at 14 in the third, but McGroarty scampered in from 10 yards out to put the Golden Bears back on top. Pen Argyl was unable to match and lost a hardfought game.
Saucon Valley 27, Salisbury 7: Neither team was able to get anything going in the first quarter, but Salisbury scored the first points of the game with a touchdown in the second quarter. Saucon Valley matched Salisbury, tying the game 7-7 at halftime. This game had a weird turn of events in the third quarter. With 7:23 left in the third quarter, the game was stopped because someone was flying a drone over the field. The teams returned to the field, and Saucon Valley’s Tyler Pfizenmayer punched a run in from three yards out, giving Saucon a 14-7 lead at the end of the third. Saucon Valley was in control the rest of the game and cruised to an easy victory.