Let's keep the updates coming tonight.

The league announced their All Conference, All Division, and Players of the Year on Tuesday. I had about 2/3 of a team written up before the announcment went out, I'll post what the league voted on, then any minor disagreements I had - all in all I think the coaches did a pretty good job that lined up pretty well with my takes.

1st Team All EPC
Offense
QB: Peyton Falzone (Jr. 6’4 205; Virginia Tech): 127-239, 2,008 yards, 23 TDs, 3 INTs/66 carries, 640 yards, 8 TDs
Has blossomed into one of the best quarterbacks in Pennsylvania. Strong all state candidate who can do it all with a huge arm, touch, and speed.
RB: Aaron Beete, Freedom (Sr. 5'11 165): 177 carries, 1,548 yards, 17 TDs/7 catches, 83 yards, TD
Led the EPC in rushing after a monster 359 yard performance against archrival Liberty. Has been the engine of an explosive Freedom offense. I've heard a Kutztown lean, definitely a PSAC player.
RB: Dorian Thomas, Easton (Sr. 5’9 175): 173 carries, 1,201 yards, 19 TDs
Also a performance for the ages in the final week of the season with 315 yards against Nazareth. Lightning portion of Easton’s dynamic backfield duo. Looking at East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven.
WR: Shacre Colwell, Freedom (Sr. 6’2 175): 36 catches, 612 yards, 7 TDs
Rangy, elite athlete is a problem with the ball in the air. Adds an explosive element to the Freedom pass game, and performed big in their biggest games. Though to be a Toledo lean, but also may run track in college.
WR: Caleb Newsome, Nazareth (Sr. 6'0 165; Lafayette): 36 catches, 736 yards, 9 TDs
Falzone is dangerous and he has incredible weapons, led on the perimeter by Newsome. Really fast and becoming a great route runner. Was ineligible in the last postseaon after transferring back to Nazareth from boarding school, will be dangerous in November. Committed to Lafayette.
WR: Jake Pukszyn, Liberty (Jr. 6’4 185) 46 catches, 660 yards, 5 TDs
Big physical receiver was Liberty’s primary offensive weapon in their resurgence.
TE: Kurtis Crossman, Easton (Jr. 6’3 220)
Monster in the run game for Easton, who has allowed them to go 12 personnel and get after it up front. Garnering FCS interest at tight end. Also will have collegiate opportunities as a wrestler and baseball player, probably the best 3 sport athlete in the Lehigh Valley.
OT: Algee Macon, Easton (Jr. 6’2 205)
Fast and physical, Macon is an undersized tackle, but is maybe pound-for-pound Easton's strongest player, and they love to get him moving on counters and sweeps, and the agility is a real separator.
OG: Jackson Fuhrer, Easton (Sr. 6’3 245)
Senior leader on the Easton offense has given the Rovers a bunc of interior mobility on their offensive line that allows them to get creative in the run game.
C: Dan Shiffert, Freedom (Jr. 6’4 290)
The best center in the league and maybe the best offensive line prospect, the junior has really jumped out for the second seeded Patriots. Early attention from Rice has him on commitment watch.
OG: Ryan Ellis, Freedom (Sr. 5’11 245)
Undersized but physical mutli-year starter for the Patriots. Gives them mobility from the guard spot and works really well in tandem with Wheeler on the left side.
OT: Tanner Wheeler, Freedom (Sr. 6’5 280; Richmond)
The most talented lineman in the league for the best offensive line in the league. Three year starter who has improved wildly each season, having an All State year for the Patriots.
K: Will Buck, Emmaus (Sr. 6'4 210; Cornell): 7 FG, 41 XP
Huge legged kicker for Emmaus gives them a weapon in special teams. Better execution by the field goal team could have them 10-0.
OATH: Will Day, Easton (Sr. 5’10 185): 143 carries, 962 yards, 18 TDs
Thunder portion of the thunder and lightning duo has scored a touchdown in every game so far. Incredibly physical back who has totally changed the Easton offense after missing his entire junior year with a broken foot.

Defense
DE: Robert Edwards, Emmaus (Jr. 6’2 305): 71 tackles, 17 TFL, 6 sacks, INT, TD
The best defensive player in the conference, incredible year from a nose tackle – the tackle numbers alone are insane. Emmaus gets by on it’s defense, and it centers around the big junior. Lots of early attention from Lehigh and Lafayette locally, likely Patriot/Ivy League player, but Buffalo and some other MAC schools starting to sniff around.
DT: Tanner Wheeler, Freedom (Sr. 6’5 280; Richmond): 15 tackles, 2 TFL
Nose guard in the Freedom 3-3-5, eats tons of space in the middle and creates the gravity the rest of the Freedom defense needs to thrive. Following his older brother to Richmond, where Tanner was an All American linebacker.
DT: Marquis Labossiere, Easton (Sr. 5’10 255): 22 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
The one thing every great Easton defense seems to have is a short defensive tackle who causes all sorts of headaches for opposing offensive lines. Labossiere is crazy strong, plays with great leverage, and has an endless motor playing inside for the Rovers.
DE: Kurtis Crossman, Easton (Jr. 6’3 220): 32 tackles, 8 TFL, 5 sacks
Crossman is a classic strong-side defensive end who can set an edge and play the run. Has added some pass rush moves in year two as a starter.
OLB: Jasir Frutchey, Easton (Sr. 6’4 215): 30 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INTs
Do everything player for Easton's defense, no coincidence that Easton is undefeated in games where Frutchey plays. They'll use him as a 3-4 outside linebacker to rush the passer, drop him back to play deep safety, or just let him loose as a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Big, talented kid who is is the most versatile chess piece on the Easton defense.
ILB: Reilly Bechtel, Emmaus (Sr. 5'10 195): 36 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
Bechtel is both a 1,000 yard rusher and the lynchpin to the back 7 of Emmaus's defense - particularly after losing Raffy Tereao for the season. Throwback linebacker.
ILB: Mekhi Grant, Easton (Sr. 5'10 215): 43 tackles, 10 TFL, 3 sacks
Biggest hitter and smartest player on the Easton defense. Classic middle linebacker who gets everybody lined up, then plays with his hair on fire between the whistle.
OLB: Ryan Roeder, Freedom (Sr. 6'0 205): 39 tackles, 6 TFL, sack, 2 INTs
Coach's son who had to take on a much larger role on the Freedom defense after a season ending injury to Justin Peluso.
CB: S Shacre Colwell, Freedom (Sr. 6’2 175): 14 tackles, 2 INTs
Big cover guy who Freedom is comfortable putting on an island.
CB: Marquez Wimberly, Nazareth (Jr. 5'10 195): 33 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 INTs
He's getting FBS attention from Michigan, West Virginia, and Syracuse as a running back, but he seems like a corner all the way to me. One of the best cover guys up here in recent memory. Can fly, and is really strong at the point of attack.
S: Aaron Beete, Freedom (Sr. 5'11 165): 44 tackles, 2 INTs
Second straight year as an all league safety. Eraser on the back end for Freedom.
S: Will Day, Easton (Sr. 5’10 185): 48 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, 3 INTs, FF
Like Frutchey, gets used in a variety of ways in the Easton defense as a linebacker/safety hybrid. Two intereceptions against Freedom changed that game. Probably gets his carries limited on offense because he's such a valuable part of the defense. Thought to be a Lehigh lean.
P: Will Buck, Emmaus (Sr. 6'4 215; Cornell)
Averages 45 yards per punt with a long of 72, probably a punter at Cornell. Huge leg, for a defense and field position team, massive advantage having him control field position.
DATH: Dom Martrich, Parkland (Sr. 6'0 210): 37 tackles, 11 TFL, 6 sacks
Piled up a bunch of sacks during the challenging early season portion of Parkland's schedule.
RET: Marquez Wimberly, Nazareth (Jr. 5'10 195)
The most explosive athlete in the Valley, changes the game on special teams.

Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Falzone, Nazareth
The most impressive player I’ve seen this year and probably the best Lehigh Valley quarterback since Brendan Nosovitch. Makes Nazareth the most dangerous team in the 6A bracket.

Defensive Player of the Year: Robert Edwards, Emmaus
Just a whale of a season from Edwards, who is probably the EPC’s safest All State candidate.

2nd Team
QB: Jerek Cooper, Emmaus (Jr.)
RB: Reilly Bechtel, Emmaus
RB: Charlie Capers, East Stroudsburg South
WR: Leo Dauberman, Parkland
WR: Xzavier Putaseri, East Stroudsburg South
WR: Kamari Coleman, Stroudsburg
TE: Samuel Stephens, Emmaus
OT: Brody McHugh, Emmaus
OT: Evan Saylor, Parkland
OG: Matt Dorsey, Parkland
OG: Aiden Joyce, Emmaus
C: Mason Marcks, Parkland
K: Nate Stannard, Freedom
DE: Mehki Kirkland, Stroudsburg
DE: Dylan Hill, Freedom
DT: Braheem Battles, Allentown Central Catholic
DT: Adam Youwakim, Whitheall
OLB: Marcel Burden, Parkland
OLB: Kehmahni Wimberly, William Allen
ILB: Jayden Macon, Freedom
ILB: Carlos Perez, Bethlehem Catholic
CB: Jah'Khi Daves, Emmaus
CB: Daniel Duggan, Emmaus
CB: Xzavier Putaseri, East Stroudsburg South
S: Aidan Sorrentino, Allentown Central Catholic
S: Leo Dauberman, Parkland
P: Chris Ward, Pleasant Valley and Joseph Geipel, Liberty (tie)
RET: Kamari Coleman, Stroudsburg

Division Awards
Northampton County
OPOY: Peyton Falzone, Nazareth and Aaron Beete, Freedom (tie)
DPOY: Mekhi Grant, Easton
Lehigh County
OPOY: Jerek Cooper, Emmaus
DPOY: Robert Edwards, Emmaus and Reilly Bechtel, Emmaus (tie)
Monroe County
OPOY: Charlie Capers, East Stroudsburg South
DPOY: Mehki Kirkland, Stroudsburg

The 2024 class was inducted over the weekend. I believe this is the sixth year of the D11 HOF, which is a great idea and starting to clear a lot of the obvious inductees. On the football side, this year saw the induction of:

Rich Snisack - Dieruff ‘80/William Allen/Parkland
Snisack quarterbacked the 1979 undefeated Dieruff Huskies team that finished ranked in the top 3 in Pennsylvania. He also was an all East Penn Conference outfielder. After a stellar football career at The Citadel, where he was an all SoCon safety, he came back to the Valley to teach and coach. He was the head baseball coach at Dieruff, where he won the only D11 title in school history. He took over as the football coach at William Allen, and took the Canaries from 1-9 in his first year in 1988 to the 1992 D11 champs, who just missed a state tournament berth (4 team era) on power points. He left William Allen to spend a year on the Kutztown staff, before coming back to high school at Parkland. He turned Parkland into the program they’ve become. The Trojans were 4-15-1 in the two years before Snisack and 41-66-3 in the decade before his arrival. Snisack took Parkland to the Eastern Final in his third season, 1996, and again in 1998 and went 52-10 over his final five years in charge. He left the head coaching job to become the principal of Parkland High School after the 2000-01 school year, but no doubt the foundation he laid led to the 2002 state title. He finished his career as the superintendent of Parkland School District.

Keith Dorney - Emmaus ‘73
Keith Dorney was an All State lineman for Emmaus, who won the old Lehigh Valley League championship in his senior season. He was an AP All State selection for the Green Hornets. Dorney also was a state qualifier in the javelin, discus, and shot put and an All Conference basketball player. At Penn State, he was an All American in his final season and the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft. He played eight years for the Detroit Lions and was a Pro Bowler in 1982.

Chuck Dibilio - Nazareth ‘11
Dibilio was a standout football and basketball player in one of the great eras of Nazareth sports. He ran for 4,366 yards and was a two-time All State running back for the Blue Eagles in the early Rob Melosky era. He also scored over 1,300 points as a basketball player and is Nazareths all time leading scorer in hoops. He went to Princeton, where he was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was the first freshman ever to rush for 1,000 yards, but his career was ended after suffering a stroke in the offseason.

Tim Massaquoi - Parkland ‘01
The only five star of the online recruiting era, Massaquoi was an All State receiver at Parkland, and remains the single most dominant pass catcher I’ve seen in D11. Caught 12 touchdowns as a sophomore and took Parkland to the Eastern Final. 50 catches as a senior when Parkland attempted 113 passes all year and was an All State pick. Finished his career with 114 catches for 1,939 yards and 31 touchdowns, the TDs being a D11 record. Also a 1,000 point scorer in hoops. All Big Ten tight end at Michigan who won a Rose Bowl and got drafted by the Buccaneers. Played in the NFL for the Bucs, Dolphins, and Bills.

Ross Moore - Dieruff ‘69
The best all around athlete in Dieruff history and in the shortlist for the whole Valley. Was named a Parade All American in football and basketball. Threw for a then D11 record 1,435 yards while also running for close to 1,000 yards in 1968 on his way to All State honors. Also scored over 1,300 career points as Dieruff won four straight D11 titles in basketball and made two PIAA final fours in his career, where he was a two time all state player. He played football at Ohio State for Woody Hayes as a defensive back, where he and teammate John Smurda were part of the George Chaump recruited wave of Pennsylvanians to Columbus, but an ACL injury prematurely ended his career.

Other football figures in the HOF already:
J. Birney Crum, William Allen
Al Erdosy, Northampton
Ed McCaffrey, ACC
Artie Owens, Stroudsburg
James Mungro, East Stroudsburg
Mike Cerimele, ACC
Stan Dakotsky, Marian Catholic
Joe Gerenscer, Parkland/Whitehall
Greg DeLong, Parkland
Mike Guman, Becahi
Mike Hartenstine, Liberty
Dan Persa, Liberty
Jeff McGeehan, ACC
Matt Millen, Whitehall
Bill Wanish, William Allen

Couple regular season notes before we head into the playoffs.

Dorian Thomas finished the regular season with 1,201 yards, which places him 7th on the single regular season season rushing list. The top ten:
1. Nysir Minney-Gratz, 2015: 1,715
2. Nahjee Adams, 2019: 1,651
3. Shane Simpson, 2014: 1,535
4. Eric Thompson, 1993: 1,407
5. Juan Gaddy, 1992: 1,384
6. Juan Gaddy, 1991: 1,376
7. Dorian Thomas, 2024: 1,201
8. Brad Piperata, 2003: 1,152
9. Frank Lane, 1986: 1,150
10. Jeff Staton, 1988: 1,148

He's the 16th 1,000 yard regular season for the Rovers. From what I can find, Will Day's 962 yards puts him 19th in single regular season rushing yards. As a duo, I think Thomas and Day have the second highest combined total of 2,163 yards - only Shane Simpson and Dalvyn Reynolds in 2014 have more, with a pretty eye popping 2,450 (1,535 and 915). In terms of total season, Simpson and Reynolds ran for 3,279 yards and Ovid Goulbourne and Brad Piperata in 2003 are next on the list with 2,820 (Ovid missed three regular season games, then had playoff totals of 195, 89, 140, and 157 yards go over 1,000 for the year). Juan Gaddy/Larry Gibson in 1991, and Shane Simpson/Kyle Bambary in 2013 are the other duos to crack 2,000 yards combined.

Easton's current nine game winning streak is the 18th in program history of at least nine games. The school record is 19 straight wins stretching from week 3 in 1986 to the D11 championship game in 1987. Their longest of the state playoff era is a 13 game winning streak, done in 2004 and 1991, where they started 13-0 before falling in the Eastern Final, and stretching from P'burg in 2013 to the D11 championship game in 2014. A D11 title and a win over Philipsburg would match the 13 game streak for this crew. A state championship would put them at 16, tying the stretch from 1916 to 1918 for the second longest win streak in program history. Here's hoping.

For the record, the longest unbeaten streak in school history is 41 straight from 1921 to 1926. The more modern (post WWII) record is a 24 game unbeaten streak starting in 1966 and ending in week 2 of 1969. Obviously modern overtime rules negate further unbeaten streak records.

I said Friday that Thomas's 315 yards (revised) record was second in Cottingham history behind Nysir Minney-Gratz going for 469 against Nazareth in week 10 of the 2015 season. It's the third 300 yard game in school history, joining Minney-Gratz and Juan Gaddy's 314 yard effort agaist P'burg in 1991. Easton's total of 623 yards of total offense didnt' quite catch the 699 they posted in the 2014 Simpson/Barkley shootout, but I think it is only the second time over 600 yards of offense in a game for the Rovers, though they did break the record for single game rushing with 567 yards, topping the 530 from that 2014 game.

Brackets came out Sunday after Freedom's Saturday night romp over Liberty closed out the regular season in D11 6A. Here's what we've got

#8 Stroudsburg Mounties (6-4) at #1 Easton Red Rovers (9-1)
#5 Nazareth Blue Eagles (7-3) at #4 Emmaus Green Hornets (8-2)

#7 Northampton Konkrete Kids (5-5) at #2 Freedom Patriots (9-1)
#6 Liberty Hurricanes (7-3) at #3 Parkland Trojans (8-2)

Only curious result of power points is Parkland getting seeded ahead of Emmaus despite getting crushed, 27-0 in the season finale with the Green Hornets. Emmaus won the Lehigh County division of the EPC, but is seeded behind their arch-rival.

Lots of great potential rematches. Easton blew out Stroudsburg in the regular season, and should do the same Friday. That will get them the winner of Nazareth-Emmaus, so they'll either have to beat the team they just survived a 63-55 insane game with, or a team that took them to overtime, and missed a chip shot field goal in regulation that would have beaten the Rovers.

On the other side, it seems like everything is lined up for a Parkland-Freedom rematch. In the regular season, two turnovers and a shanked punt led directly to points for Freedom in a 30-13 rout. Expect a lot closer match up in round two, as Freedom is down a number of starters with big injuries (Justin Peluso has been out since week 5, and offensive lineman Aaron James joined him on IR after the Easton game).

First two rounds are hosted by the higher seed, with the finals played at a neutral site - I think Northampton, but I haven't seen that confirmed. Let the record show, I HATE neutral sites for the finals - everybody plays everybody during the season, so earning one of the top seeds should come with home field advantage all the way through. Some of the best high school football atmosphere's I've seen are D11 titles games at home sites, and changing that was a mistake.

It looks official at this point:

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https://www.piaad1.org/sports/fall-sports/football/scores-and-rankings/

Good luck to all (and good luck to the 'Skins after slipping back in the playoffs after multiple years of being absent -- even after letting that game on Friday night get away from them to our cross-town rivals).