Big School Top 5
1. Freedom Patriots (7-0)
Freedom beat up Bethlehem Catholic 24-3 last night to get a jump start on the weekend and be the first D11 team to get to 7-0. This is one of the best teams in the state, would love to see what would do against the best from D1, D3, and D7. Well potentially see what they can do against the biggest and baddest kids on the block in November.
2. Parkland Trojans (5-1)
Trojans are on their tour of Allentown, with a win over Allen last week, Dieruff coming to town tonight, then meeting former coach Rob Melosky and Allentown Central Catholic tomorrow. Rooting for some Northampton County chaos to see if they can snag the 1 seed and Homefield advantage.
3. Liberty Hurricanes (6-0)
We’ll find out if the Canes are for real, starting tonight with Nazareth. They’ve done everything they’ve been asked to do - blowing out ESN, Pennridge, Stroudsburg, and Dieruff, and surviving Allentown Central Catholic and Northampton in big EPC South contests. Now they get three real contenders in the final three weeks of the season. The defensive line and running game have been stellar, getting a little more out of Antonio Fontanez is the passing game and in QB run is a must in this stretch.
4. Easton Red Rovers (5-1)
A win tonight gives the Rovers as many wins as the prior two seasons combined. They’re playing really well since the opening loss to CB West, and have had different kids step up on offense. In the opener, it was JC Wilson, against Spring-Ford it was the running back duo, Jasir Frutchey caught four touchdowns against Northeast, and last week it was quarterback Cole Ordway, who threw for 220 and ran for 90 in a rout. Stroudsburg sold out to stop the run, and he made them pay in the RPO game, pulling the ball and hitting wide open receivers down the seam. He’s turned into a nice decision maker. Junior DE/TE Kurtis Crossman (6’3 225) also took issue with me leaving him off my all midseason defense, with 9 tackles, 5 TFL, and three sacks. He’s been awesome on both sides of the ball, and playing his way into FCS offers - kid may have his choice between Division I baseball, football, or wrestling.
5. Nazareth Blue Eagles (4-2)
A 60 spot against winless Pleasant Valley was just what the doctor ordered after a two game losing streak to Freedom and Parkland. Nazareth needs to get healthy on the offensive line, you see it in how relatively limited their FBS running back Marquez Wimberly has been through six games. They’re tiny up front (Jacob Cozze is 6’1 240 and they have multiple linemen under 200 pounds) so they need to use speed in space as much as possible.
HM: Northampton Konkrete Kids (5-1), East Stroudsburg South (4-2), Emmaus (4-2)
Small School Top 5
1. Northwestern Lehigh Tigers (6-0)
Brutalized North Schuylkill last week, should do the same to Pottsville tonight. Eli Zimmerman broke head coach Josh Snyder’s NWL single game rushing record that stood for 25 years in last week’s win.
2. Tamaqua Blue Raiders (6-0)
Tamaqua and Southern Lehigh tonight is a huge clash in the Colonial League and will really tell us how for real the undefeated Blue Raiders are.
3. Notre Dame (Green Pond) Crusaders (5-1)
Notre Dame won’t see NWL in the regular season and that is the one 4A team that may be able to slow down their passing game. They’ll put up silly numbers the next four weeks before playoffs.
4. Southern Lehigh Spartans (5-1)
Sean Steckert has made four straight starts and gone over 100 yards in all of them. Adding him to the offense with Andrew Olesh as a receiving threat had totally changed the dynamic. I think they’re the 4A favorite, even over the two EPC Catholic schools.
5. Blue Mountain Eagles (5-1)
Like ND, they’re going to cruise, but for a final week showdown with Tamaqua, assuming they can exorcise some demons against a down North Schuylkill team.
HM: Saucon Valley Panthers (5-1), Norther Lehigh Bulldogs (4-2)
Game of the Week: Nazareth vs Liberty
Liberty is undefeated against a charmin soft schedule. But they. Close with Nazareth, Easton, Freedom and we will find out exactly how good they are. Their first big test comes tonight with the defending D11 champ Blue Eagles, who have lost THEIR two big tests with Freedom and Parkland. A Liberty win here would be the biggest for the program since…the 2008 state final?
Easton Outlook
Rovers host Northampton tonight, in a game the KKids have circled. The knock had been they can’t beat EPC South teams, and a crack at Easton is their first to silence those doubters. Easton’s defense has been stout, and they’ll need to run the ball effectively. Easton is playing as well as they have since 2014, and needs to make a statement headed into the final three weeks with Liberty, Freedom, and Nazareth.
