Nazareth wins EPC South and Pleasant Valley claims close win
Here is a roundup of the top Lehigh Valley high school football games Friday night in Week 10.
Nazareth 35, Easton 28: The game started out with both teams trading punts, but Nazareth’s superstar, Sonny Sasso, got the Blue Eagles on the board with a threeyard run. The first quarter ended with the game at 7-0, but early in the second, Easton’s JuJu Fears scored from 12 yards out to tie it up. Easton then took a 13-7 lead after Joseph Martinez found Jordan Alston for a 51-yard touchdown. The Red Rovers added to their lead after Aidan Hutchinson took a direct snap and scored a 25-yard touchdown making it 20-7 Easton with 1:05 left in the half. However, with five seconds left in the second quarter, Sasso found Nolan Lobb for a 14-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 20-14. The second half started with the defenses making plays, but Nazareth’s defense made the biggest one as Mason Kuehner picked off a pass and had a nice return to set up Nazareth’s offense. The Blue Eagles capitalized, and Collin Wells scored from five yards out to give Nazareth a 21-20 lead to end the third. Easton scored to retake the lead, but a block in the back penalty negated the points. They had to settle for a field goal, but Nazareth got a hand on it to keep the 21-20 lead. That lead got bigger after Chris Bugbee threw a short pass to Lobb, who went 59 yards for a TD, and after the PAT, Nazareth led 28-20. The Red Rovers came right back, as Hutchinson scored his second of the game, and Fears added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 28. Bugbee found Kuehner for a 31-yard score, and Nazareth led 35-28 with 2:24 remaining. Nazareth’s defense would make the play on fourth and six at the end of the game, and the Blue Eagles claimed the EPC South championship.
Pleasant Valley 14, Stroudsburg 13:
Both teams played great defense to start the game, and the score remained 0-0 after one quarter. Pleasant Valley got on the board first in the second quarter, but Stroudsburg’s Jordan Wilcox answered with a touchdown of his own to tie the score at 7. The Bears once again took the lead, but Stroudsburg went back to their guy as Wilcox scored his second touchdown of the night. However, Stroudsburg did not make their extra point, and the Mounties trailed 14-13. Both defenses played strong to end the game, and the missed extra point was the difference.
Lehighton 27, Jim Thorpe 14:
Lehighton struck first with an Ethan Buchert 58-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. Lehighton remained in the lead at the end of the first quarter, but on the first play of the second quarter, Jim Thorpe’s Cole Lazorick took it 27 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7. Early in the third quarter, Jim Thorpe took the lead after Brett Balliet scored an eight-yard touchdown. Buchert’s big kick return gave Lehighton great field position, and they capitalized on it after quarterback Brady O’Donnell ran for an 11-yard score. The extra point was blocked, and Jim Thorpe led 14-13. Buchert made another play, this time a one-yard touchdown run, but he gave Lehighton the lead again with 8:42 remaining. Buchert was the man all night, and a big interception on defense set up his third touchdown of the night. This time Buchert scored from eight yards out, and Lehighton led 27-14. After another interception, this time from Dylan Moyer, Lehighton went on to win the game and punched its ticket to the District 11 3A playoffs.
Northern Lehigh 49, Palmerton 28:
Both teams traded punts to start the game, but Palmerton broke a run to take the lead 8-0 with 4:24 left in the first. After converting a fourth down, Northern Lehigh got on the board and, after the extra point, trailed 8-7. After a big run from Northern Lehigh, the Bulldogs punched it in again and took a 14-8 lead with 5:14 left in the half. The Bulldogs got tricky and recovered an onside kick, and then broke a long run to take a 21-8 lead. The run game was working all night, and Northern Lehigh broke off another long run that led to a short touchdown and extended the lead to 28-8. Both teams traded scores, and Northern Lehigh led 35-16. However, the Bulldogs’ run game was too much for Palmerton, as Northern Lehigh added two more scores and ran away with the game.
Palisades 14, Saucon Valley 7:
Like many of the games on Friday, the first quarter was a defensive battle. With the score 0-0 after one, Palisades struck first, taking a 7-0 lead with 5:16 left in the second quarter. Saucon Valley quarterback Luke Shimko threw a touchdown to receiver Jack Robertson, and the game was tied at 7. With 3:06 left in the third quarter, Palisades retook the lead and led 14-7. Palisades’ defense made plays the rest of the night, and Saucon Valley was unable to get back on the board to tie the game