Parkland uses big 2nd half to beat Freedom
In pretty much every sport, the best defense is often a good offense.
It certainly is the case in high school football.
You can’t score if you don’t have the ball and Parkland played a masterful game of keep away in the second half of a key 21-13 win over Freedom Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
Tied at 7 at halftime, Parkland ran 32 plays to Freedom’s 14 in the second half and outgained the Patriots 189-76 over the final 24 minutes before a couple of late kneel downs took away a few yards.
The Trojans scored on a sprint and they scored on a marathon in two very different second-half scoring drives in bouncing back from last week’s disappointing 28-10 loss to Nazareth.
They were able to do it while having practice limited due to school being canceled two days in a row as a result of a threat being phoned into the district’s Orefield Middle School.
“Today we didn’t know we were playing until 12:45 and [Thursday] we just were allowed a captain’s practice and we were at
North Parkland’s midget football field in sneakers,” Parkland coach Tim Moncman said. “Sometimes when you take high school kids out of a routine, it gets difficult. But I am happy with the way we responded and the fact so many different kids stepped up.”
Trey Tremba, one of the most dynamic offensive players in local football, went out with a shoulder injury and didn’t play in the second half.
On this night, it didn’t matter as Parkland got production from freshman Marquez Wimberly in the running game and junior James Scott in the passing attack. Wimberly had 58 yards on 18 carries, 17 of them coming in the second half. Scott had two catches for 20 yards, both gaining first downs.
They both contributed enough to support junior quarterback Luke Spang, who was 7-for-8 passing for 137 yards in the second half.
The tone was set before many returned to their seats from their restroom and refreshment stand visits at halftime.
Nakhi Bullock bolted past the Freedom defense for a 71-yard score after snagging Spang’s screen pass in the right flat to give Parkland the lead 11 seconds into the second half.
“Coach [Chris] Kinane came up with that one,” Moncman said. “He said let’s go there. We had an overset with two guys out there on the right side blocking for Nakhi. He just came back for the ball, hit the seam with it, and went.”
Freedom went three-and-out on its only third-quarter possession and then the Trojans converted five times on third down attempts on a drive that lasted 18 plays, covered 68 yards, and consumed 10 minutes and 51 seconds to go up 21-7 early in the final period. Spang got the score in from 5 yards out.
The Patriots got back in it with a quick touchdown, but Parkland went on another lengthy march to run out the clock, converting third downs into first downs three different times.
“We challenged our kids to be physical,” Moncman said. “I thought in the first half we didn’t tackle well and we didn’t pursue well. But the defense stepped up big in the second half and made plays when they had to and I thought our offensive line took
over the game.”
Spang, who finished 12-for-15 passing for 167 yards passing overall and also ran for 36, took a shot on one of his completions, but didn’t mind wincing with a win.
“The line played great and Marquez Wimberly coming in and taking over for Tremba was big,” Spang said. “We have a ‘next man up’ mentality here. It doesn’t matter; there should be no dropoff with whoever comes in.”
Spang said Parkland missed a couple of plays that could have made a difference at Nazareth.
“But this week, we executed,” he said.
Meanwhile, execution has been elusive for defending district champ Freedom in its losses to Emmaus and Parkland.
“We’re a couple of plays away in terms of execution from being able to win these games,” Patriots coach Jason Roeder said. “There are too many self-inflicted errors right now that we have to fix. That first play of the second half was a quick hitter by them and then they were able to lean on us.”
Freedom’s defense had its moments, but couldn’t keep Parkland from moving the sticks.
“I dread seeing the third-down conversion rate for them,” Roeder said. “You have to get them off the field on third down. There’s a fine line in this league between winning and losing and you have to execute consistently. You can’t give stuff away on certain things.”
First half standoff
Both teams began well on offense with matching 12-play scoring drives.
Freedom went 80 yards and scored on a 2-yard run by quarterback Ethan Neidig. Parkland answered with a 75-yard possession capped by Tremba’s 21-yard run in which he was hit by several Patriots defenders but refused to go down until he reached the end zone.
Freedom had two drives deep into Trojans’ territory that ended on downs. A holding call negated what looked like a 26-yard TD run by Jalen Fletcher.
Fletcher would later score, but it came with 7:41 left after Parkland had scored twice to take a 21-7 lead.
The series
Freedom and Parkland met for the 41st time with Parkland now holding a 27-14 lead in a series that began in 1978. The Patriots won six of the first eight meetings, but the Trojans have won 23 of the last 29 meetings dating back to 1994.
What’s next
Parkland will host Allentown Central Catholic on a night that the 2002 state championship Trojans will be honored. Rob Melosky, who is now a Vikings assistant coach, was the head coach at Parkland in 2002. Freedom will be in action Saturday, hosting Nazareth in a 7 p.m. game at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.