Fun Opener Announcement for 2024
- Thread starter RoverNation05
- Start date
Glutton for punishment? It's a worthy opponent for both and should be a great opener. Good for Easton 'getting out of town so to speak!
I must have missed the EPC eliminating the mandatory double crossover. That opens the schedule up nicely and allows for more of this stuff in the future. I don’t know if Easton and Northeast have played since the classic in 1939, which I wrote up in my “best games at Cottingham” post when they closed the original stadium.
Hopefully Easton is in a much better place going into 2024.
#6 Easton 7 Northeast Philadelphia 6 (October 14th, 1939)
Before Bob Rute was a legendary Easton head coach from 1947-1967 (he is the namesake of the field house at Cottingham), he made the first AP all state team for the mythical state champs in 1939. His biggest performance was in a match up against the Philadelphia City Champions. Easton struggled in the first half to contain the Northeast running game, and they trailed 6-0 at the break (the first points they gave up on the year and six of the 18 they would yield all season) and did not have a first down on offense. Easton still trailed when they took over at their own 20 with seven minutes to play after stuffing Northeast in the red zone. Rute took over on the drive, either passing or running on every play, including a 20 yard completion to set Easton up with first and goal from the five. On third down with just over a minute to play, Rute took a handoff from his left halfback spot, evaded three tackles in the backfield, then dove to the goal line in what the Morning Call described as “a seemingly impossible score” to tie the game, then he kicked the extra point to give the Rovers a 7-6 lead. The win catapulted Easton to a 9-0 season and a spot as the #1 team in Pennsylvania in 1939.
Hopefully Easton is in a much better place going into 2024.
#6 Easton 7 Northeast Philadelphia 6 (October 14th, 1939)
Before Bob Rute was a legendary Easton head coach from 1947-1967 (he is the namesake of the field house at Cottingham), he made the first AP all state team for the mythical state champs in 1939. His biggest performance was in a match up against the Philadelphia City Champions. Easton struggled in the first half to contain the Northeast running game, and they trailed 6-0 at the break (the first points they gave up on the year and six of the 18 they would yield all season) and did not have a first down on offense. Easton still trailed when they took over at their own 20 with seven minutes to play after stuffing Northeast in the red zone. Rute took over on the drive, either passing or running on every play, including a 20 yard completion to set Easton up with first and goal from the five. On third down with just over a minute to play, Rute took a handoff from his left halfback spot, evaded three tackles in the backfield, then dove to the goal line in what the Morning Call described as “a seemingly impossible score” to tie the game, then he kicked the extra point to give the Rovers a 7-6 lead. The win catapulted Easton to a 9-0 season and a spot as the #1 team in Pennsylvania in 1939.