Emmaus 42 Easton 21

[RoverNation05]

Green Hornets get back on track after their undefeated season ended last week. Jake Fotta threw or ran for five touchdowns and Dylan Darville was approaching 300 yards receiving.

For Easton, they clinch their first under .500 season since going 5-6 in 2002 (5-4 regular season with losses in the D11 semis and to P’Burg to fall under .500). Of course, that group was coming off of a conference title and undefeated regular season in 2001, then the young kids of the 2002 team went to the PIAA final four in 2003 and 2004. I have a hunch that’s not in the cards.

Not counting 2020, this is the first time Easton has missed the D11 tournament since 1998, and the first time since the field expanded from 4 to 8 teams in 2006. Again, after 1998 they went to D11 finals in 99, 00, 01, won in 03, 04, and finals in 05, 06, 09 (won), 10 (won), 11, 13, and 14. I don’t foresee this setting up them running off 12 D11 finals in the next 16 years, but maybe I’m just a pessimist.

 

[HSFB99]

Rough year in Easton. I hope they can bounce back.

 

[not_a_fan]

Same here. HS football is always better when the traditional powers are relevant.

 

[HSFB99]

Rover - assuming Easton loses to Nazareth to finish the regular season 3-7, does Braido last? What are you hearing? Do they have a successor picked for AD?

 

[RoverNation05]

Easton played well, but lost 35-28 to Nazareth in a game that I think said more that Easton had some talent that was squandered, more than they got coached up to play well against the EPC champs. They’ll finish the regular season 3-7, their fifth 7+ loss season since they started playing football in 1894. I’ll have more context this week, there are some interesting facts around other bad Easton seasons.

I have heard nothing on the AD hiring. There is one rumor that Braido is going to get kicked upstairs and made the AD to get rid of him as football coach, which seems far fetched. I’ve also heard, this from local media, that they might be exploring bringing on a combo AD/football coach to pay them more money to get a better candidate to fill an open football job. But I don’t have anything pegged to sources, it’s just rumor.

My gut is to watch for John Cupples, the Easton middle school principal, and former Allentown Central Catholic defensive coordinator and head coach as Athletic Director. Opening up the ACC/Parkland pipeline (Morgans) tree seems to be the most fertile ground in the Valley, so that’d at least be interesting given Cupples background. I’d assume Cupples as AD means a new football coach, but that’s mostly based on an assumption that he’s not a dumbass.

They don’t really have a coach I could see taking the AD job - the most accomplished person on staff is Casey Eck, who was state field hockey coach of the year last year, and has turned that program into a state caliber unit from virtually nothing, but I don’t think AD is one of her ambitions (fantastic person, FYI and she would be very good at the job). Maybe Brad Bachman, the lacrosse coach would be interested in moving up, as he’s a well respected guy who has been there a long time, but Cupples seems to be the possible internal candidate. I’m hearing Danny Gonzalez, who I mentioned previously (who is a wrestling, not football background) I’m hearing is not interested. Mike Palos is, but it’s early in the process - and Palos coming in as AD would almost certainly mean a new football coach, as he split with this staff to go coach at Emmaus and does not think highly of Jeff.

That hire is really what is going to drive football.

 

[HSFB99]

Interesting. I mentioned before I thought if they could couple the AD/Head Football Coach job, they’d attract a serious candidate. I’ll still believe it when I see it as it pertains to the principal firing his brother in law.