Monaco comes back strong from leg injury
Pocono Mountain West’s Kaleb Monaco entered the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference North Division football season as one of the top players to watch.
Monaco was one of the top rushers in District 11 in 2018 when he carried the ball 232 times for 1,754 yards and 23 touchdowns.
But Monaco suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 and missed the majority of the next four games.
However, the senior made a big comeback against Dieruff last week with 129 yards on 19 carries and a 40-yard TD run in a 19-6 win.
Here’s a look at other top Week 7 performances and the latest EPC North leaders:
Rushing Leaders
East Stroudsburg North beat Pleasant Valley 28-21 to end a 29-game losing streak, and Rahsaan Jacobs led the way for the Timberwolves with 204 yards on 27 carries and scored all four North touchdowns.
Joining Monaco with a big rushing day for West was Preston Green with 108 yards on eight carries, including an 18yard TD run.
Stroudsburg fell to Northampton, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort by Dimitri Rojas. He ran 30 times for 195 yards and had the team’s lone touchdown. Rojas enters Week 8 as your EPC North rushing leader.
Passing Leaders
Northampton’s Joe Kerbacher emerged on the local football scene with a solid effort late in the Konkrete Kids’ loss to Stroudsburg in 2018.
One year later, Kerbacher again performed well against the Mounties and this time it was in a win. He completed nine of 16 passes for 176 yards and three TDs and added 26 yards rushing in a 35-7 victory over Stroudsburg.
Receiving Leaders
Northampton’s Jared Russell had just three catches against Stroudsburg, but they went for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
Wayne Hamilton had five receptions for 73 yards in his team’s loss to the K-Kids.
East Stroudsburg South’s Christian Sapp had six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in a 35-14 loss to Bethlehem Catholic. Sapp is your leader in receiving yards with 435, but he trails teammate Evan Roche in receptions by three.
Scoring Leaders
It wasn’t enough to give his team a win or put his name among the league leaders, but Allen’s Nyjier Reed had one of the most exciting scores of Week 7 when he scooped up a botched snap in the Pocono Mountain East backfield and ran for a 64-yard touchdown in a 19-12 loss.