#6 Easton (8-3) at #2 Parkland (10-1)
All Time Playoff Series: Easton leads 6-3
Playoff Streak: Parkland has won three straight
Playoff Series at Parkland: Easton leads 3-1
Average Easton Playoff Margin of Victory: 8.3
Average Parkland Playoff Margin of Victory: 25.6
Last Playoff Meeting: #7 Parkland defeated #1 Easton 13-10 in OT
Easton Leaders
Passing: Trey Durrah (out): 45-85, 625 yards, 5 TDs, 9 INTs
Rushing: Nysir Minney-Gratz: 220-1,787-26
Receiving: Trey Bailey: 21-277-5
Tackles: Corey Deemer: 78
Sacks: Craig Stahlecker/Daloni Caldwell: 6
Interceptions: Nathan Moser: 3
Parkland Leaders
Passing: Devante Cross: 139-220, 1,941 yards, 17 TDs, 7 INTs
Rushing: Cross: 162-937-14
Receiving: Kenny Yeboah: 49-694-8
Tackles: Mario Dellis: 97
Sacks: DJ Hohman: 8
Interceptions: Yeboah: 4
This has been the pre-eminent playoff rivalry in the Lehigh Valley. Since meeting for the first time in the postseason in 1999, Easton and Parkland have ended each other’s seasons nine times, most recently last November when Parkland knocked off unbeaten Easton in overtime, the third time an undefeated team was defeated in this playoff series. The home team (higher seed) is only 4-5 in playoff meetings, and Parkland’s only win at home came in the 2013 finals, where they pasted Easton 42-0, the biggest margin of victory in the series. The tightest games were both semifinal wins by Easton decided a blocked and missed extra point, 7-6 in 1999 and 14-13 in 2001. There have also been two games decided by a field goal, Parkland with a 27 yarder in OT last season to win 13-10 and Easton with a 34 yarder on the last play of the game in 2006 to win 17-15.
The regular season winner is just 2-5, with Easton in 2009 and 2001 the only teams to sweep the season series. The biggest turnarounds were in 1999 when Easton lost 42-13 in week 9, then beat Parkland 7-6 two weeks later in semis, and in 2013 when Parkland lost 24-0 in week 2, then beat Easton 42-0 in the District Final.
The Last Time They Met
Parkland beat Easton 21-3 at Easton during week 7. The Trojans held Easton to 124 yards rushing, forced five turnovers, and allowed just three points on three trips inside the 10. Offensively, Parkland used a first half, 17 play, 98 yard drive after an Easton fumble at the two to take a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish. After Easton kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8 minutes left in the game, Parkland connected on a 36 yard touchdown to Kenny Yeboah to put the game away with five minutes remaining. After a interception by Easton and a long run by Erik DiGiralomo, Parkland punched in one more touchdown with 44 seconds left to account for the final margin. Parkland finished with 312 yards of offense and 20 first downs on the evening. Easton committed ten penalties for 70 yards, including two inside the ten yard line that killed scoring opportunities.
Easton Last Week
The Red Rovers overcame injuries, turnovers, and inconsistent offense to down Freedom 20-3 on the road at BASD Stadium. Greg Albertson returned the opening kickoff for an 85 yard touchdown, his sixth defensive/special teams TD of the year. Easton would also partially block two punts in the first half and recover a fumble at the Freedom 25, but had no points to show for any of their four red zone trips. In the second half, the Red Rovers broke the game open with a 14 play, 86 yard touchdown drive capped by a 10 yard Nysir Minney-Gratz TD run. The drive was kept alive by a roughing the punter penalty near midfield that gave Easton the ball in Freedom territory and a fresh set of downs. On the ensuing drive, David Simmons deflected a screen pass, which Nate Moser snagged out of the air and returned 19 yards for a touchdown to slam the door shut. The Red Rovers held Freedom to 133 yards of total offense, just 64 on the ground, and Freedom went from their second drive of the game until the six minutes left in the game without gaining a first down.
Parkland Last Week
The Trojans survived a first half scare to pull away from Delaware Valley, 28-10, in brutal weather conditions in Orefield. Erik DiGiralomo continued his excellent second half of the season with 111 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns, and Devante Cross added 104 yards on 17 totes. With wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour, Parkland kept the ball on the ground for almost the entire night, pounded out 231 rushing yards, and Cross completed 7 of 11 passes for 109 yards. and smothered Del Val’s offense in the win. Delaware Valley scored when Austin Cernak recovered a fumble and ran it back 50 yards to cut Parkland’s lead to 14-10 at halftime. However, Del Val gained just 13 total yards in the second half (91 for the game) as Parkland’s defense completely dominated the evening. The Warriors rushed for 39 yards on 26 attempts and passed for 52 yards on 17 attempts.
When Easton Has the Ball
The Red Rovers attempted a season high 28 passes against Parkland the first time around, when they weren’t throwing interceptions, had some success moving the ball through the air (150 yards on 16 completions). Even with backup quarterback Ben Nimeh taking the reins due to injury, the Red Rovers will need to reprise the passing attack, but take better care of the football. Three of Parkland’s interceptions came when Easton tried to take big shots downfield rather than make a safe intermediate throw or scramble. Parkland obviously wants to stuff the run and force the issue, which they did very successfully last time around. Minney-Gratz had almost no running room, needing 21 carries to gain 93 yards and did not have a run longer than 16 yards. The game was dominated by Parkland’s defensive line, particularly tackle Noel Brouse. Parkland has always defended the lateral run game well, but Easton is going to have to get outside the tackles to gain yards on the ground, because they’re not going to have much success running on the interior of Parkland’s defense. They also had some success in the screen game, and if Parkland is pinning their ears back, could be something to keep the pressure off.
When Parkland Has the Ball
Easton slowed the explosive Parkland offense the first time around. The Red Rovers defend the read option as well as anybody in the Valley, and Parkland’s running game struggled in the early going. Where Parkland found success was running straight QB powers with Cross, or roll-out passes with a run option. In the air, Easton has defended Parkland by playing off of their receivers, hitting them as soon as they catch it, and making Parkland work down the field in small chunks. That worked better in 2014 when Cross was more erratic with his delivery, as he completed a crisp 64% of his throws in their October meeting (as compared to 42% and 51% in two meetings last season). In an ideal world, a team would press Parkland’s receivers, to jam up their timing-dependant passing offense. But the Parkland receivers are big, and destroy smaller defensive backs who try to get physical on the line, and Easton doesn’t really have that kind of personnel in the secondary. And Easton has to know where Yeboah is at all times and roll a safety over the top. Easton held him in check most of the game, but as soon as a corner was 1-on-1 with him on an island in the fourth, Cross made a hot read and lofted it up for a 36 yard touchdown on a one step drop. This puts stress on the rest of the defensive backs, but to upset Parkland it’ll take a great individual effort from just about everybody defensively.
The Pick
Parkland has been playing at another level since their surprise loss to Liberty, a streak that started with the win over Easton. The Red Rovers made a ton of mistakes the first time around, and were kicking themselves at the amount of missed opportunities. However, Parkland is just a better football team than Easton, and the Rovers will need to be close to perfect, plus get a break or two, to pull an upset. With their injuries and limitations on offense, I can see them hanging around, but I don’t think this is a year they can break through.
Parkland 24-7
All Time Playoff Series: Easton leads 6-3
Playoff Streak: Parkland has won three straight
Playoff Series at Parkland: Easton leads 3-1
Average Easton Playoff Margin of Victory: 8.3
Average Parkland Playoff Margin of Victory: 25.6
Last Playoff Meeting: #7 Parkland defeated #1 Easton 13-10 in OT
Easton Leaders
Passing: Trey Durrah (out): 45-85, 625 yards, 5 TDs, 9 INTs
Rushing: Nysir Minney-Gratz: 220-1,787-26
Receiving: Trey Bailey: 21-277-5
Tackles: Corey Deemer: 78
Sacks: Craig Stahlecker/Daloni Caldwell: 6
Interceptions: Nathan Moser: 3
Parkland Leaders
Passing: Devante Cross: 139-220, 1,941 yards, 17 TDs, 7 INTs
Rushing: Cross: 162-937-14
Receiving: Kenny Yeboah: 49-694-8
Tackles: Mario Dellis: 97
Sacks: DJ Hohman: 8
Interceptions: Yeboah: 4
This has been the pre-eminent playoff rivalry in the Lehigh Valley. Since meeting for the first time in the postseason in 1999, Easton and Parkland have ended each other’s seasons nine times, most recently last November when Parkland knocked off unbeaten Easton in overtime, the third time an undefeated team was defeated in this playoff series. The home team (higher seed) is only 4-5 in playoff meetings, and Parkland’s only win at home came in the 2013 finals, where they pasted Easton 42-0, the biggest margin of victory in the series. The tightest games were both semifinal wins by Easton decided a blocked and missed extra point, 7-6 in 1999 and 14-13 in 2001. There have also been two games decided by a field goal, Parkland with a 27 yarder in OT last season to win 13-10 and Easton with a 34 yarder on the last play of the game in 2006 to win 17-15.
The regular season winner is just 2-5, with Easton in 2009 and 2001 the only teams to sweep the season series. The biggest turnarounds were in 1999 when Easton lost 42-13 in week 9, then beat Parkland 7-6 two weeks later in semis, and in 2013 when Parkland lost 24-0 in week 2, then beat Easton 42-0 in the District Final.
The Last Time They Met
Parkland beat Easton 21-3 at Easton during week 7. The Trojans held Easton to 124 yards rushing, forced five turnovers, and allowed just three points on three trips inside the 10. Offensively, Parkland used a first half, 17 play, 98 yard drive after an Easton fumble at the two to take a 7-0 lead they would never relinquish. After Easton kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8 minutes left in the game, Parkland connected on a 36 yard touchdown to Kenny Yeboah to put the game away with five minutes remaining. After a interception by Easton and a long run by Erik DiGiralomo, Parkland punched in one more touchdown with 44 seconds left to account for the final margin. Parkland finished with 312 yards of offense and 20 first downs on the evening. Easton committed ten penalties for 70 yards, including two inside the ten yard line that killed scoring opportunities.
Easton Last Week
The Red Rovers overcame injuries, turnovers, and inconsistent offense to down Freedom 20-3 on the road at BASD Stadium. Greg Albertson returned the opening kickoff for an 85 yard touchdown, his sixth defensive/special teams TD of the year. Easton would also partially block two punts in the first half and recover a fumble at the Freedom 25, but had no points to show for any of their four red zone trips. In the second half, the Red Rovers broke the game open with a 14 play, 86 yard touchdown drive capped by a 10 yard Nysir Minney-Gratz TD run. The drive was kept alive by a roughing the punter penalty near midfield that gave Easton the ball in Freedom territory and a fresh set of downs. On the ensuing drive, David Simmons deflected a screen pass, which Nate Moser snagged out of the air and returned 19 yards for a touchdown to slam the door shut. The Red Rovers held Freedom to 133 yards of total offense, just 64 on the ground, and Freedom went from their second drive of the game until the six minutes left in the game without gaining a first down.
Parkland Last Week
The Trojans survived a first half scare to pull away from Delaware Valley, 28-10, in brutal weather conditions in Orefield. Erik DiGiralomo continued his excellent second half of the season with 111 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns, and Devante Cross added 104 yards on 17 totes. With wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour, Parkland kept the ball on the ground for almost the entire night, pounded out 231 rushing yards, and Cross completed 7 of 11 passes for 109 yards. and smothered Del Val’s offense in the win. Delaware Valley scored when Austin Cernak recovered a fumble and ran it back 50 yards to cut Parkland’s lead to 14-10 at halftime. However, Del Val gained just 13 total yards in the second half (91 for the game) as Parkland’s defense completely dominated the evening. The Warriors rushed for 39 yards on 26 attempts and passed for 52 yards on 17 attempts.
When Easton Has the Ball
The Red Rovers attempted a season high 28 passes against Parkland the first time around, when they weren’t throwing interceptions, had some success moving the ball through the air (150 yards on 16 completions). Even with backup quarterback Ben Nimeh taking the reins due to injury, the Red Rovers will need to reprise the passing attack, but take better care of the football. Three of Parkland’s interceptions came when Easton tried to take big shots downfield rather than make a safe intermediate throw or scramble. Parkland obviously wants to stuff the run and force the issue, which they did very successfully last time around. Minney-Gratz had almost no running room, needing 21 carries to gain 93 yards and did not have a run longer than 16 yards. The game was dominated by Parkland’s defensive line, particularly tackle Noel Brouse. Parkland has always defended the lateral run game well, but Easton is going to have to get outside the tackles to gain yards on the ground, because they’re not going to have much success running on the interior of Parkland’s defense. They also had some success in the screen game, and if Parkland is pinning their ears back, could be something to keep the pressure off.
When Parkland Has the Ball
Easton slowed the explosive Parkland offense the first time around. The Red Rovers defend the read option as well as anybody in the Valley, and Parkland’s running game struggled in the early going. Where Parkland found success was running straight QB powers with Cross, or roll-out passes with a run option. In the air, Easton has defended Parkland by playing off of their receivers, hitting them as soon as they catch it, and making Parkland work down the field in small chunks. That worked better in 2014 when Cross was more erratic with his delivery, as he completed a crisp 64% of his throws in their October meeting (as compared to 42% and 51% in two meetings last season). In an ideal world, a team would press Parkland’s receivers, to jam up their timing-dependant passing offense. But the Parkland receivers are big, and destroy smaller defensive backs who try to get physical on the line, and Easton doesn’t really have that kind of personnel in the secondary. And Easton has to know where Yeboah is at all times and roll a safety over the top. Easton held him in check most of the game, but as soon as a corner was 1-on-1 with him on an island in the fourth, Cross made a hot read and lofted it up for a 36 yard touchdown on a one step drop. This puts stress on the rest of the defensive backs, but to upset Parkland it’ll take a great individual effort from just about everybody defensively.
The Pick
Parkland has been playing at another level since their surprise loss to Liberty, a streak that started with the win over Easton. The Red Rovers made a ton of mistakes the first time around, and were kicking themselves at the amount of missed opportunities. However, Parkland is just a better football team than Easton, and the Rovers will need to be close to perfect, plus get a break or two, to pull an upset. With their injuries and limitations on offense, I can see them hanging around, but I don’t think this is a year they can break through.
Parkland 24-7