District 11 Championship Game - 40th Anniversary

[RoverNation05]

This season marks the 40th anniversary of the District 11 championship football game. D11 joined District 7 and District 3 as the only places holding a football postseason, which helped usher in the state playoffs four years later. Initially, D11 threw just a championship game, with the two highest rated teams by the Saylor Ratings matching up in the week following the regular season. Conference championships were not totally sewn up then, as many teams played Thanksgiving games that counted towards their league standings, but the match up largely pitted the champion (or at least leader) of the East Penn Conference against the champion of the Centennial League.

The tournament really gets split into four distinct eras. First is the championship game era, which ran from 1984 to 1993, where just the top two teams met for a title. Twice that was an All East Penn affair, five times it was the EPC and Centennial champ, and twice it was the EPC and twice it was EPC and the Eastern Conference. When the state tournament expanded beyond a four-team field in 1994, the D11 tournament followed suit and expanded to the top four teams qualifying for the postseason. This format ran from 1994 to 2005. The 2006 season saw the expansion of the field to eight teams as part of absorbing District 4 and District 2 into a subregional following the addition of District 12 to the state playoffs (which started in 2005 with two teams from D11 and two teams from D2 making the tournament). The original eight team bracket ran from 2006 to 2015 as a D2/4/11 subregional. The current era of the playoff is in the expanded six classification system, where eight teams, all from District 11, are in the initial field.

Here's the history of the championship game (split into those sections). I've also added the state rankings from the Harrisburg-Patriot News at the time of the championship game.

1984: Liberty 24 Lehighton 6
In the first ever D11 championship game, East Penn Conference champ Liberty took on Centennial League champ Lehighton and the Hurricanes capped their best year in over a decade with the inaugural D11 crown. Danny Warren ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the championship, hosted at J. Birney Crum Stadium. Bob Hepler took over at Liberty during fall camp and led them to a 10-2 record.

1985: Bethlehem Catholic 49 Stroudsburg 7
East Penn Conference champ Bethlehem Catholic obliterated Centennial Leauge champ Stroudsburg to cap a brilliant 11-1 year for the Golden Hawks. Joe Shunk (Lehigh) threw for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns, with Jon Pinckney (Stanford) and Stef Kern (Bloomsburg) both going over 100 yards receiving, while Rich Guman (West Chester) ran for 110 yards in the win. Bob Stem afterwards said it was his best team.

1986: Whitehall 20 Stroudsburg 14
East Penn champ Whitehall had a pair of goal line stands in the final minute to hold on against Centennial League champ Stroudsburg. Whitehall raced out to a 20-0 lead with two long touchdown passes from Mark Beidleman to Mark Buskirk and Andy Lisicky, then held on for the title. Whitehall finished 10-3 and shared the East Penn title with Easton after falling on Thanksgiving Day to Emmaus.

1987: Lehighton 12 Easton 0
On a frigid night, Lehighton scored one of the biggest upsets in D11 history, snapping Easton’s 19 game winning streak and knocking off the nation’s #14 team (according to the USA Today). Head coach Dave Parsons was quoted after the game saying “I didn’t think we had a snowball’s chance in hell. Until the first two series.” Skimmer Andrews ran for 138 yards on 23 carries and Lehighton smothered Easton’s rushing attack in the win.

1988: HM Pocono Mountain 20 HM Easton 17 (OT)
The first ever overtime game in D11 history, Pocono Mountain pulled the second straight Centennial League shocker in Cottingham Stadium. With seven minutes to go, Easton was driving with a 17-14 lead to ice the game, when Alan Brugger intercepted a pitch on an option play and returned it into Easton territory. Dave Smith tied the game with a field goal in the final minutes of regulation. In overtime, after Easton missed a field goal, Smith lined up on first down and knocked it through to set off a celebration in the Poconos. Pocono Mountain’s Sherman Chiles and Easton’s Jeff Staton (Temple) both went over 150 yards in a dual of all state running backs. The win by Pocono Mountain knocked Easton out of the inaugural state playoffs, as the berth went to District 3 Cedar Cliff for the inaugural state playoff berth from D11/D3, who outpointed the Cardinals on strength of schedule.

1989: HM Whitehall 8 Northampton 6
One of the great East Penn defenses of the modern era finished the year with a smothering performance over Northampton in the title game. Whitehall allowed only 52 points in a 10-1-1 season, only losing in the opener to defending 3A state champ Bethlehem Catholic. This was the first championship game rematch, after Whitehall smoked Northampton 33-0 during the regular season, harassing future first round NFL draft pick Jim Drukenmiller (Virginia Tech/49ers) into three interceptions. In the rematch, a power surge knocked out the scoreboard and half the lights in the stadium, and seemingly took the offenses with it. On fourth and one from the 34, Jesse Wright exploded through the line and went the distance from a touchdown, and then quarterback Mike Buskirk (King's) scrambled in on the two point conversion. Northampton pulled Drukenmiller for dual threat AJ Jordan, who led the Konkerete Kids on a last minute fourth quarter touchdown drive, but Andy Simock (Penn State - baseball) dropped the two point conversion to set off a Whitehall celebration. The Zephyrs did not have enough power points to overtake state finalist Wilson West Lawn from District 3 for the state playoff spot.

1990: Easton 42 Stroudsburg 10
Easton used their impressive team speed to hammer Stroudsburg and recover from a 1-2 start to emphatically win their first D11 title. The Rovers exploded for 28 points in the second quarter, with a 55-yard Juan Gaddy (Temple) touchdown run, a 66 yard Mark Libiano (East Carolina/Bengals) touchdown catch, a second Gaddy touchdown, and a short Dean Jones (Temple) run after an interception return inside the 20. Bob Apgar (Rhode Island) turned the opening kickoff of the second half to open up a 42-3 lead in the romp. The Rovers finished 10-2, and beat eventual 3A state champ Bethlehem Catholic, but did not have the power points to overtake Wilson West Lawn for a state playoff spot.

1991: #2 Easton 25 Pottsville 15
Easton finally clinched a first state playoff spot for District 11 in 4A with a 25-15 win over Pottsville in the pouring rain. Contrary to the conditions and expectations, Easton came out throwing, with Steve Billman going 10-15 for 186 yards, with 110 of them going to all state tight end Mark Libiano. Juan Gaddy scored a pair of touchdowns, and Billman threw the clinching TD to Libiano early in the fourth quarter. Easton moved onto the four-team 4A field, where it lost to eventual state champ CB West.

1992: HM William Allen 14 #10 Dieruff 7
Allen and Dieruff met in the regular season finale in one of the greatset moments in Allentown football history, where Dieruff won their first EPC championship since Andre Reed walked the halls with a 32-27 win at a sold out J. Birney Crum stadium. Nine days later, played in the rain, William Allen returned the favor with a pair of first quarter touchdowns, highlighted by future Super Bowl winner Nate Hobgood-Chittek’s 40 yard catch and run, and Hobgood-Chittek (North Carolina/Rams) single handedly stopped Dieruff inside the five just before halftime. William Allen, led by Dieruff alum Rich Snisack, finished 9-2 and won their only D11 champ, three years after a 1-9 season. They did not have the power points for a state playoff spot, which went to eventual champion Cumberland Valley.

1993: #4 Easton 26 #6 Pottsville 14
The Rovers made it a second trip to the state playoffs in the final year of the four-team format with a 26-14 win over Pottsville. The Rovers were the surprise team all season, and used 116 yards and a school record 30th touchdown from all state running back Eric Thompson (NC State - wrestling) in a win over the Randy Homa (Ohio State) led Crimson Tide. Darren Smith (East Stroudsburg) also played hero when he blew up a Pottsville screen pass in the red zone, tipping the ball to himself for an interception he returned all the way to Easton territory in a ten point swing. Easton earned the D11/3 state playoff spot, where it once again lost to the state runner-up CB West Bucks, 6-3, in the final four-team state playoff format.

 

[RoverNation05]

Four Team Field (1994-2005)

1994: Liberty 31 Pleasant Valley 14
The first year of a four team D11 field let to chaotic results. A win on the last day of the regular season earned 6-4 Liberty the final spot in the four-team field (3A Bethlehem Catholic and Allentown Central Catholic running roughshod over the EPC skewed a lot of records). Liberty then shocked undefeated Stroudsburg in the semifinal to earn a championship berth against third seeded Pleasant Valley, who upset 8-2 Whitehall in the other semi. In the final, Liberty trailed 14-10 at halftime, but used 126 yards and four touchdowns from A-Sar Long in the second half to run away from the Bears and claim their first D11 title since 1984. This also was the first year of D11 getting an automatic bid to the state playoffs, where Liberty was trounced 41-14 by eventual state finalist Downingtown.

1995: #7 East Stroudsburg 35 HM Stroudsburg 14
Stroudsburg upset Easton, the top ranked team in the EPC, to create one of the strangest weeks in District 11 history. Stroudsburg and top seeded East Stroudsburg were slated to play on Thanksgiving Day, with the D11 championship game scheduled for the Friday before. The PIAA gave them the options of either cancelling Thanksgiving or making Thanksgiving the D11 championship game, but barred the schools from doing both. Instead, they played the D11 title game on Friday and filed a lawsuit against the PIAA, where a state court judge allowed the Thanksgiving game to go-on with a Tuesday injunction. As it was, East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg played twice in six days, with the first coming for the championship. There, James Mungro (Syracuse/Colts)ran for a D11 championship game record 313 yards on 41 carries in a dominant effort against their archrivals. The Cavaliers would go on to beat Stroudsburg again on Thanksgiving, this time by 28-10 score, with Mungro carrying 22 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns. This was the only time a non-Lehigh Valley team has won a D11 title in the tournament era. Two days after Thanksgiving, East Stroudsburg ran out of gas in the second half, and fell to District 1 champion Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 24-13, though not before Mungro cracked the 3,000 yard mark for a single season.

1996: #2 Parkland 47 HM Dieruff 14
One week after Dieruff shocked Mungro and the Cavaliers (with Tosh Reddick running for 247 yards and 5 touchdowns on 41 carries), the magic ran out as Parkland announced their presence as a football program to be reckoned with under third year head coach Rich Snisack. Dieruff scored first, then Parkland rolled up 40 straight points in the win. All state running back Matt Thomas (UPenn) finished with 225 yards on 26 carries in the rout. The following week, Parkland won the first state playoff game ever by a 4A D11 team when it knocked off Cedar Cliff thanks to 288 yards from Thomas. Their season ended the following week in the Eastern Final against eventual state champion Downingtown.

1997: HM Whitehall 21 HM Parkland 10
Whitehall reversed a regular season loss to Parkland with a 21-10 victory in Orefield to deny the Trojans back-to-back crowns. Future Super Bowl winner Dan Koppen (Boston College/Patriots) scored two touchdowns lining up as a fullback in Whitehall’s “fatso” package, and cleared the way for James Freeman to run for 162 yards in a clock controlling victory. Whitehall moved onto the state tournament, where they fell 35-14 to Central Dauphin.

1998: Parkland 42 #5 Whitehall 7
Whitehall came in undefeated and a top five team in the state, behind 2,000 yard passer Chad Schwenk (Rutgers/Lehigh) and had thoroughly dominated a 28-14 regular season meeting, but Parkland annihilated the Zephyrs in some payback for the ’97 game. Sean Bleiler (Delaware) ran for 259 yards (195 yards by halftime!) and scored four touchdowns on 30 carries in the win and the Trojans ran for 354 yards as a team. Bleiler set the tone with a 48-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, and after an interception, Bleiler scored on Parkland’s fourth offensive play to give the Trojans a 14-0 lead in 104 seconds of gametime and it was over. Parkland rolled Cumberland Valley 31-14 the following week before falling to eventual state champ CB West in the Eastern Final.

1999: #5 Bethlehem Catholic 21 HM Easton 20
Tensions were high in 1999 after the dissolution of the East Penn Conference, where six teams (Freedom, Liberty, Easton, Parkland, Whitehall, and Northampton) all left for the Mountain Valley Conference over perceived recruiting practices by Bethlehem Catholic. The Hawks countered by declaring up to 4A so that the defectors would still have to see them in the playoffs. The matchup the world anticipated was Becahi (who played a national schedule with the decrease in conference dates) and #2 Parkland, who brought back a majority of the ’98 team that waltzed to the Eastern Final. But Easton shocked the Trojans, 7-6, two weeks after losing their regular season matchup 42-13. One week later, Easton nearly shocked the world for a second week in a row when they scored with 3:42 left against Bethlehem Catholic at a sold out BASD Stadium. The Rovers lined up to kick an extra point to tie the game at 21, but an encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 1.5 yard line, and Easton elected to go for two and the lead. Running back YaYah McGurn tried to jump over the pile, and was met by Pat Brown (Lafayette) and Brandon Isaacs (Lehigh) and stopped at the one inch mark. Becahi became the first school to win a 2A, 3A, and 4A D11 championship. The following week, Becahi throttled Wilson West Lawn 42-7 in the opening round of the state tournament, and the Hawks had a late lead on the dynastic CB West Bucks into the fourth quarter, but lost on an ill-fated punt return that sent the Bucks on to win their third straight state title.

2000: #6 Bethlehem Catholic 65 HM Easton 0
Easton upset a heavily favored #7 Parkland team for the second straight year, but this time got throttled by Bethlehem Catholic, who were itching for a CB West rematch. Easton native Eddie Scipio (Junior College legend) ran for 176 yards and four touchdowns, plus had an electrifying 65-yard punt return score to put the rout on against the Red Rovers. Famously, after scoring to go up 63-0, the Golden Hawks elected to go for 2 against a program he had no love lost for. The following week, Scipio ran for 246 yards and five touchdowns against Cumberland Valley, as the Hawks got their rematch with CB West, but fell in the Eastern Final 39-14, the final game in the Bucks 58 game winning streak.

2001: #4 Bethlehem Catholic 39 #3 Easton 14
The final match up in the trilogy. Easton came in 10-0, ranked third in Pennsylvania, and giving up 3.5 points per game. Bethlehem Catholic had recovered from early season losses to St. Ignatius and Glen Mills (without Eddie Scipio) to play themselves back into district contention, but an underage drinking arrest to star quarterback Mark Borda (Lehigh) seemed to leave the door open to ending Becahi’s run. Easton marched 80 yards on 16 plays on their opening drive in what looked like their ideal, ball control gameplan. Becahi ran one play, a halfback option pitch to Scipio who hit a streaking Shawn Martell (Moravian) for a 75-yard touchdown, to tie the game. While Easton tried to control the ball, they were no match for the high-flying Golden Hawks passing attack, led by converted wide receiver Adam Bednarik (West Virginia), who threw for 313 yards in the win. Becahi was shocked the following week, 41-31, by Cumberland Valley, ending their best shot at a 4A state title.

2002: #4 Parkland 14 #3 Bethlehem Catholic 11
That converted wide receiver became an All State quarterback the following season for the Golden Hawks, who beat Parkland in the opening weekend, 29-28 in overtime in an absolute classic that the whole Lehigh Valley was anticipating as a rematch in the D11 final between two of the top 4 teams in the state. Parkland was led by record setting tailback Austin Scott (Penn State), who wasted no time getting this one started, with a 57 touchdown on the first drive of the game. Scott scored the winning touchdown in this one in the fourth quarter, taking a pitch 30 yards and outracing Bednarik to the pylon. Scott finished with 222 yards on 27 carries, and broke James Mungro’s single-season Pennsylvania rushing record, finishing the evening with 3,193 yards in 12 games (he’d finish the year with 3,856). The Scott show continued on through the postseason, as he ran all over Central Dauphin, North Penn, and Woodland Hills (with a title game tying record five touchdowns) as Parkland won the first state championship for District 11 in 4A.

2003: #10 Easton 23 #4 Parkland 15
Easton went undefeated through the LVC season (a lone loss coming in the nonconference to Altoona) and met the returning state champions for the fourth time in five years, this time in the D11 title game. And for the fourth time, the Red Rovers won, taking control in the third quarter with a touchdown drive, a Marcus Millen (Army) blocked punt for a safety, and an interception that set up a short Ovid Goulbourne (West Virginia) TD run to take a commanding 23-7 lead. Goulbourne ran for 90 yards in the win (part of a 584 yard, 9 touchdown effort in four postseason games). Easton advanced the next week to upset Cumberland Valley in the Rovers first ever state playoff win, then fell to eventual champ North Penn in the Eastern Final.

2004: #3 Easton 14 #6 Liberty 7
These two came in a combined 20-1, with their only loss coming when Easton beat Liberty on Halloween. The follow up was a wild game. Easton finished with five first downs, 52 yards of total offense…and won. They did so by forcing five turnovers, blocking two punts, knocking super sophomore QB Dan Persa (Northwestern) out of the game, and getting a monster defensive touchdown. Near the end of the third quarter, Kevin Danko came flying into block a punt at the Liberty twenty that rolled all the way back to the six-yard line, leading to a short touchdown. Liberty’s backup quarterback Joel Sostre led a touchdown drive with five minutes left to tie the game and it looked like Liberty had a chance to win the game when they crossed midfield with three minutes to play. But Sostre bobbled a snap, and Todd Kresge (Wilkes) ripped it from his hands and sprinted 60 yards the other way to send Easton to the state playoffs. The following week, Easton used a last-minute drive to defeat George Washington in the first D11 vs. D12 playoff game (two days after beating New Jersey Sectional Champ and 12-0 Phillipsburg, 31-0). The Rovers fell in the Eastern Final to Neshaminy, 21-14, dropping the potentially tying touchdown with six seconds left.

2005: #10 Liberty 42 HM Hazleton 7
Liberty avenged a regular season loss to HM Easton by blasting the Rovers 42-10 in the “D11 championship”, held in the semifinals due to the new subregional setup with District 2 joining D11 in the bracket. Hazleton beat Wyoming Valley West, then got thumped by Liberty, 42-7 in the final championship of the four-team bracket. Dan Persa only played the first quarter and a half, but ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 72 yards and a score in the romp. Liberty followed up with state playoff wins over Frankford and North Penn, becoming the second D11 4A team to make the state finals, before falling to McKeesport in the championship game.

 

[RoverNation05]

Subregional Era (2006-2015)

2006: #2 Liberty 35 #3 Easton 14
Dan Persa concluded his electric career in the Lehigh Valley by slaying his nemesis for a final time. Easton started the season with seven consecutive shutouts before a 17-7 loss to Liberty, and the Rovers, Hurricanes, and Parkland were all in the top five in the state entering playoffs. Easton beat top seeded Parkland 15-14 on a last second field goal to earn a rematch with Liberty, played two days after the 100th Easton-Phillipsburg (broadcast nationally on ESPN), while Liberty stomped a pair of District 2 schools. In the rematch, Persa absolutely took over, rushing for 113 yards while throwing for 114 and he threw a touchdown, ran for two, and caught one in a spectacular individual performance. Running back Ahkeem Smith (Temple) added another 128 yards in the dominant effort by the Hurricanes in maybe their best single game performance of the Tim Moncman run. Persa led Liberty to two more state playoff wins, including a Herculean effort in a 45-38 (4OT) win over Pennsbury before losing in their second consecutive state final, this time to Upper St. Clair.

2007: #3 Parkland 16 #10 Hazleton 14
Hazleton broke Liberty’s grip on District 11 with a stunning 21-14 win in the semifinals where Nate Eachus (Colgate/Chiefs) broke James Mungro’s playoff record with 387, including the 87 yard game winning touchdown, plus the game saving tackle on Liberty’s two-point try with seconds remaining. The Cougars nearly shocked the Valley again against undefeated Parkland. After Parkland scored on a 52 yard run on a reverse by Sam Tajiri to take a lead with six minutes left, they missed the extra point to leave the door open for Hazleton. In the final two minutes, the Cougars drove down the field and lined up for a 27 yard field goal with a second left on the clock for the win. But Tajiri came flying through and blocked the field goal to preserve the win for the Trojans, who earned their first title since 2002. Parkland went on to beat George Washington and Ridley in the state playoffs before falling in the finals to Pittsburgh Central Catholic, 21-0.

2008: #7 Liberty 28 HM Freedom 14
A rivalry game in the D11 finals is always special, and this was the biggest Battle of Bethlehem in the history of either program. Anthony Gonzalez (Pittsburgh/Steelers) scampered for a 20 yard touchdown as time expired in the first half to tie the game at seven, then took over after the break with 124 yards and three touchdowns in the second half, including a game icing 47 yard run in the final minutes, to earn Liberty their third D11 championship in four years. This time, Liberty marched through George Washington, North Penn, and Bethel Park to win a state championship.

2009: #6 Easton 21 HM Parkland 14
Shifts in the start of the regular season and the length of the state tournament pushed the D11 championship game into Thanksgiving week, meaning the Red Rovers played this one 48 hours after dispatching Phillipsburg 21-10. Though Easton won the regular season match up, Parkland came in on fire, scoring 49 and 63 points in their two playoff wins and featured state leading rusher and future Heisman finalist Andre Williams (Boston College). Easton jumped out to a fast start, stopping Williams on fourth and goal, driving 96 yards for the game’s first touchdown, then recovering a Parkland fumble on the ensuing kickoff and immediately hitting Kadeem Pankey for a 21 yard score. Quron Hughes added a touchdown catch with 8 seconds left in the first half to give the exhausted Rovers a big lead to hold onto. Four times in the second half, they stopped Williams on fourth and less than three, with linebacker Patrick Murphy (Queens College) finishing with a school record 22 tackles in the win. Easton lost to eventual state champ LaSalle the following week, 17-14 in the snow.

2010: #5 Easton 13 #9 Whitehall 10
The gutsiest win in Easton history, the Red Rovers once again played 48 hours after Thanksgiving, this time losing a heartbreaker in five inches of snow, where the only points of the game came when they held Philipsburg to a field goal in overtime, but threw an end zone interception to lose 3-0 (the only overtime game in the 110+ years of the rivalry). Two days later, Easton took on Whitehall, their only regular season loss, with a shot at redemption. Whitehall took a 10-6 lead after an interception led to a short field touchdown, and it looked like they iced the game when Tyler Artim (Holy Cross) took a slant route over the middle and broke into the open field. But Justin Pacchioli (Lehigh - baseball/San Diego Padres) caught Artim from behind at the Easton 25 and punched the ball free, giving Easton one last chance. The Rovers drove 76 yards in 13 plays, all on the ground, capped by Pacchioli’s seven yard QB draw touchdown to send the Rovers back to the state playoffs. They dropped a 19-7 game to LaSalle.

2011: #8 Nazareth 28 HM Easton 21
Nazareth and former Parkland head coach Rob Melosky had been building since he took over the program in 2008, and finally climbed the mountain thanks to a record setting offense featuring state player of the year Dan Harding (Akrom/Serra JC/Albany) (who still holds the D11 big school passing record with 3,749 yards). Easton, again playing two days after Thanksgiving, opened the game with touchdowns on their first two possessions. But Nazareth forced three straight three and outs and scored on three straight possessions, including a Harding to Dan Shephard touchdown with four seconds left in the half to give Nazareth a 21-14 lead. Easton cut the lead to 28-21 with five minutes to play, but Nazareth never gave the ball back following the score. Harding threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, while record setting freshman running back Jordan Gray ran for 148 and the game winning score. LaSalle would get the D11 champ yet again the following week when they beat the Blue Eagles 41-33, iced by a late touchdown run and interception.

2012: #5 Parkland 49 HM Delaware Valley 42
Parkland started 0-2, but avenged both of their regular season losses with wins over Easton and Delaware Valley in the subregional tournament to send them back to states on an 11 game winning streak. In the final, Parkland outlasted Del Val and future FCS National Player of the Year Bryan Schor (James Madison) thanks to a 28 point third quarter, featuring an interception return for a touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown, and unstoppable spread-option rushing attack, going over 400 yards on the ground. Jarel Elder (Moravian) ran for 233 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, including a 91 yard score to put Parkland up 49-27, while quarterback Tim Baranek chipped in 103 yards on 17 totes. Parkland was up 49-27 at the end of the third quarter, but Schor threw a touchdown, then the Warriors recovered an onside kick a and Schor drove them down the field again to bring the margin within a touchdown. The Warriors had one final chance, but a Hail Mary on the last play of the game hit a Del Val receiver in the hands before falling to the ground and setting off celebrations and sighs of relief in Orefield. Parkland was lambasted the following week, 28-7, by LaSalle, giving up a state playoff record ten sacks in the loss.

2013: #7 Parkland 42 HM Easton 0
Easton blanked Parkland 24-0 in their regular season match up during week 2, but much like Easton did in the ’99-’00 flips, Parkland played a totally different game, blowing out the Red Rovers on their home turf. Unlike game one, Easton was playing without star running back Shane Simpson, and Parkland had made a switch at quarterback, with sophomore Devante Cross (Virginia) working his way into the lineup after the Easton loss. Kareem Williams (Delaware) scored on a 94 yard run on the game’s first possession, and Easton had no answer for Parkland’s running game (after holding the Trojans to 64 yard of offense during the regular season). Williams finished with 304 yards and four touchdowns, including 169 yards in the third quarter to break Easton’s back. Cross threw a pair of touchdowns in his first D11 title game appearance. Parkland began taking knees with 3:25 left in the third quarter to put Easton out of their misery with the game in mercy rule. The Trojans lost the following week to St. Joseph’s Prep, 21-10, extending the D11 streak of futility against D12 since the Liberty state title.

2014: #9 Parkland 13 #4 Easton 10 (OT)
For the third straight year, Easton beat Parkland in the regular season (28-21 in week 7) and for the third straight year, Parkland turned the tables in the postseason, with another finals victory. This one was a classic, where 12-0 Easton held Parkland to 68 yards of offense, but special teams mistakes and an interception cost them dearly. In the first quarter, all state linebacker Preston Saylor (Lock Haven) came through to block an Easton punt which Parkland recovered inside the five. They ran four straight jump balls to Kenny Yeboah (Temple/Ole Miss/New York Jets), who caught the fourth one to give Parkland a 7-0 lead. Parkland would go up 10-7 in the third quarter, after Easton botched a snap on a punt, yielding a 20 yard kick out of their own end zone. While Parkland went backwards on the drive, All State kicker Jake Bissel (Lafayette) drilled a 40 yard field goal to give the Trojans a lead. Easton drove the length of the field in the final minutes, but was forced to kick a game tying field goal with four seconds left as Parkland kept them out of the end zone on three plays following a 45 yard catch-and-run by tight end Kyle Walsh (VMI) that got Easton inside the 10. In overtime, Easton held Parkland to a field goal in the opening series. On second down, Easton tried to hide superstar running back Shane Simpson (Towson/Virginia) in a bunch formation, but Parkland read and double covered the route, and Trey Durrah’s (Lafayette – baseball) pass was to his check down receiver was tipped and intercepted to send the Parkland sideline into a frenzy and leave the Cottingham Stadium crowd stunned. Parkland lost the following week to St. Joseph’s Prep, where D’Andre Swift caught a 50 yard touchdown pass on 4th and 2 to give the Hawks a 34-31 lead and the win with minutes to play.

2015: HM Parkland 63 Wyoming Valley West 21
After a strange early season loss to Liberty, Parkland annihilated the rest of their schedule as the core of the 2014 returned for statewide redemption as seniors. Wyoming Valley West made this one a game early, returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter. But Parkland rattled off 35 points before halftime in a barrage of team speed, defense, and special teams. Devante Cross ran for 15 and 77 yard touchdowns, all state defensive end Noel Brouse (UConn) returned an intercepted screen pass 30 yards for a touchdown, Parkland recovered a squib kick then threw a 30 yard touchdown to Kenny Yeboah, and as time expired in the half, Parkland ran a hook and lateral, with Yeboah catching a pass and pitching it to Zach Bross (Franklin & Marshall) for a 46 yard touchdown as time expired to put the game in mercy rule at halftime. Cross ran for 171 yards and threw for 135 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (two runs, three passes) as he quarterbacked the Trojans for a third straight D11 championship, and their fourth straight overall (Cross won three D11 gold medals as a starting quarterback and four as a starting point guard for Parkland’s basketball teams, making him one of the great winners in D11 history). The following week, Parkland exorcised the D11 demons against D12 with a 16-13 win over LaSalle, with Cross rushing for the game winning touchdown in overtime, part of a 30 carry, 125 yard effort. They defeated Upper Dublin in the Eastern Final before falling 18-15 in the state championship against Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the final big school championship game of the 4-class era.

 

[RoverNation05]

Six Classes (2016 to present)

2016: Parkland 24 HM Freedom 14
You can’t call the five time defending champions Cinderella, but Parkland bounced back from a 7-3 regular season to win their fifth straight D11 title, overcoming a 14-3 halftime deficit to run over Freedom. After struggling mightily running the ball in the first quarter, Parkland took to the air, and got 177 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Micahel Ruisch (Susquehanna) in the win in Tim Moncman’s first year as the Trojan’s head coach. St. Joseph’s Prep ended Parkland’s season the following week in a 38-17 win.

2017: #3 Parkland 30 Freedom 6
Parkland returned most of their 2016 starters and marched through the regular season undefeated and stormed through Freedom for a second straight year and a record sixth straight championship. All state running back Jahan Worth (Duquesne) ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Ruisch was brilliant for the second straight year, throwing for 189 and a TD. The following week, St. Joseph’s Prep ended the Trojan’s season for the fourth time in five years with a 49-14 win.

2018: #9 Freedom 49 #8 Emmaus 17
Emmaus came in with a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and was ready to avenge a 32-31 overtime loss to Freedom from the regular season. But with Emmaus trailing 14-10 and looking to run the two-minute drill before halftime, Rontay Dunbar (Lincoln) picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. Emmaus went right back to their offense, but a Tristan Wheeler (Richmond) strip sack gave the Patriots the ball deep in their own territory again, and Wheeler caught a touchdown as time expired in the first half to put the Patriots up 28-10 at the break. A long Jalen Stewart (UMass) touchdown run out of the break effectively ended things and Freedom won their first title in school history. Stewart ran for 180 yards and four touchdowns, and Jared Jenkins (Moravian) was 9-12 for another 140 and two scores, and Freedom’s defense held the vaunted Emmaus rushing attack to 69 yards on the night. Freedom would also have their season ended by St. Joseph’s Prep with a 42-14 loss.

2019: #4 Nazareth 22 #7 Parkland 21 (OT)
Maybe the greatest championship game of the bunch. Nazareth trailed 14-7 and Parkland had the football with eight minutes left in the game. But a Ben Houchin interception started a Nazareth drive deep in Parkland territory. On fourth and goal from the 5, Nazareth lined up offensive tackle Corey Hartranft as an eligible receiver, and threw back a screen pass to him, as Hartranft broke a tackle at the goal line and plunged in to tie the game. In overtime, Angel Santos powered in on fourth and goal for Parkland up 21-14, and Anthony Harris (Maine) immediately answered with a nine yard TD scramble for the Blue Eagles. Rather than kick for a second overtime, Nazareth came out to go for two, where Harris acted like they were changing the play, and Nazareth snapped to Braden Mehlig, who pitched on a reverse to All State wideout Nate Stefanik (Princeton). Stefanik initially looked to throw back to Harris, who was covered on the Philly special. Stefanik instead rolled back to his right and found Jaiden Cabrera wide open in the back of the end zone for a two-point play at the win. Harris threw for 175 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score, while Stefanik broke Jahan Dotson’s career receiving record in the game. Nazareth lost to St. Joseph’s Prep the following week, 45-24

2020: #8 Nazareth 37 Freedom 29
An obviously weird year where the state tournament was moved up to the end of the regular season, which District 11 opted out of in favor of hosting their own tournament. Nazareth advanced to the finals via forfeit, when Stroudsburg could not field a team following a COVID outbreak, one week after Stroudsburg moved on thanks to Parkland being in the same predicament. Freedom led 9-7 at halftime, but Dominic Felician returned the second half kick 90 yards for a touchdown to set off a wild back and forth. The teams traded scores, with Freedom cutting a Nazareth lead to 31-29 with nine minutes to play. Nazareth answered when Matt Bugbee hit Joe Capobianco for 50 yard completion deep into Freedom territory, and a Tyler Rohn touchdown put them up eight. Freedom marched to the Nazareth 15, but threw an interception to Felician in the end zone to end the game, and Nazareth finished undefeated for the first time since 1967.

2021: HM Freedom 28 HM Emmaus 14
A typical Jason Roeder coached win, the Patriots forced five turnovers and Deonte Crawford (East Stroudsburg) ran for 180 yards in the victory. This was a nail biter deep into the fourth however, with Emmaus driving to tie the game when Owen Johnson (Harvard) forced a fumble which immediately set up a Crawford touchdown. On the ensuing drive, Freedom intercepted a pass and returned it inside the ten, where Crawford punched in his second score of the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Patriots. The following week, Freedom gave St. Joseph’s Prep the best game from a D11 team in a 24-21 loss.

2022: #10 Parkland 35 #9 Freedom 10
This was a Cinderalla Parkland team, who limped into the playoffs after an injury riddled 6-4 regular season as the seventh seed. But an injury to EPC Player of the Year Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech – wrestling) left Nazareth without a quarterback, and Parkland handled third seeded Northampton in the semis, who were overseeded after a soft EPC North schedule. The Trojans were decided underdogs to the Patriots, but exploded out of the gate with three Trey Tremba (Army) touchdowns in the first half to bury the Patriots early. Tremba finished with 157 yards and three scores, but suffered a concussion in the second half, ending his season. Parkland would lose in the state quarterfinal to St. Joseph’s Prep, 52-21.

2023: #9 Nazareth 24 #2 Parkland 17
Another stone cold classic from the Blue Eagles and Trojans. The two teams came in 23-1, with Parkland beating Nazareth during the season, 31-24, where Trey Tremba caught a 33 yard touchdown pass in the final minute to win the game for Parkland. The rematch was even better. After a scoreless first half and 3-3 after three quarters, the teams traded haymakers in the fourth. Tremba scored with 3:59 left to put Parkland up 17-10. But Nazareth marched right down the field, going 80 yards in seven plays, with Peyton Falzone (Virginia Tech commit) zig-zagging across the field on a wild 25 yard scramble touchdown with a minute left. Much like the 2019 iteration, Nazareth went for two points and the lead, but came out in a swinging gate formation, with All State wide receiver Mason Kuehner (Lafayette) lined up at quarterback with a two man line and eight players split wide. Kuehner went right and threw a jump pass back to his left to tight end Frankie Mroz, who easily caught the two point try to go up 18-17. Parkland had one last chance and completed a pass to Leo Dauberman in field goal range with five seconds left. But Dauberman fought for an extra yard rather than goig down so the Trojans could clock it and attempt a 36 yard field goal, and Logan Hilarczyk (Bloomsburg) punched the ball out, which Marquez Wimberly (a Parkland to Nazareth transfer) scooped up and returned for a touchdown as time expired. Falzone threw for 184 yards and ran for 88 and a touchdown, while Kuehner caught ten passes for 136 yards in addition to throwing the winning two point conversion. St. Joseph’s Prep finished the D11 season yet again the following week with a 59-21 shellacking of the Blue Eagles.

 

[scs13]

Amazing stuff, Rover! Had really hoped that your beloved Easton team would come out of D11 this year. That was heartbreaking loss last week, but lots to be proud of this year.

 

[RoverNation05]

If you told me before the season that they would go 10-2 and be a two point conversion away from the D11 final, I would have said that’s a wildly successful year and gladly accepted it! Coming off of 3-8, 3-8 and everything that’s happened since 2016, the only way to think of this season is as a wild success.

But yeah, in a vacuum, hard not to be disappointed they’re not playing tonight, in a game I’d feel pretty good about winning. Feel like a championship opportunity slipped through our fingers last week. That stinks. And while I don’t think they’d beat SJP, I think they were the best of the remaining D11 teams to take the swing. But, lot of kids back, and I feel pretty good about how the staff can prep them for 2025. Just have to make another run. See if we can’t go win a wrestling state title in the interim.