Not a lot to glean from the EPC games, where the south dominated the north and most teams had their starters out by halftime. Still, there were some interesting results, particularly in lower classifications, and some individuals who had big opening weekends.
-The big news in the EPC was Whitehall getting beaten by East Stroudsburg South. The Zephyrs were bizarrely ranked #4 in the state by PennLive in their preseason 5A rankings, despite losing 9 starters on offense and their head coach. But it was the Zephyr defense that gave them problems last night, getting gashed by Cavalier running back Ryan Clark for 269 yards and 3 TDs on a whopping 27 carries. The Cavaliers racked up 476 yards of total offense. It could be a long year for Whitehall.
-Allentown Central Catholic got the other notable win, beating perennial north favorite Stroudsburg 38-14. Logan Bachman, who ran for 1,400 yards and 24 TDs last season, kicked his year off with 29 carries for 223 yards and 3 TDs. Bachman is a huge back (6'2 225) and rumbled his way to a ton of tough yards. Stroudsburg is not as strong as they've been in years past, but it was a good start for the team I picked to finish last in the EPC South.
-Becahi, Emmaus, Parkland, Freedom, Liberty, and Easton all rolled by mercy rule. Nothing to see here.
-Saucon Valley started a freshman at quarterback in their season opener against rival and league favorite Southern Lehigh and walked away with a 27-13 win. They didn't ask Dante Mahaffey to do a ton, but the 9th grader threw for a Td and ran for another, and relied on running back Ian Csisek to pile up 151 yards behind another excellent SV offensive line. Logan Edmond, Southern Lehigh's all state candidate quarterback, threw for 194 yards and ran for 136, but the Panthers largely kept Southern Lehigh out of the end zone.
-The other big upset was Northwestern Lehigh knocked off Notre Dame (GP) in overtime, 42-41 after the Crusaders missed an extra point in overtime. The Tigers had been one of the stronger programs in the Colonial League in the early part of the 2000s, but have fallen on hard time recently. They announced they're back in a big way, rushing for 323 yards against league favorite NDGP. Quarterback Devon Bollinger ran for 139 yards and 3 TDs and threw for 110 yards and 2 TDs, while tailback Nick Henry chipped in 120 yards on the ground. Notre Dame mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback to force OT, but a tough snap on the extra point spelled doom for the Crusaders. Cole DeFranco threw for 342 yards and 5 TDs and ran for a TD, with senior receiver David Sanders catching 8 balls for 187 yards and 4 TDs, but Notre Dame had tons of trouble stopping the Tigers ground game, which proved to be fatal.
-The big news in the EPC was Whitehall getting beaten by East Stroudsburg South. The Zephyrs were bizarrely ranked #4 in the state by PennLive in their preseason 5A rankings, despite losing 9 starters on offense and their head coach. But it was the Zephyr defense that gave them problems last night, getting gashed by Cavalier running back Ryan Clark for 269 yards and 3 TDs on a whopping 27 carries. The Cavaliers racked up 476 yards of total offense. It could be a long year for Whitehall.
-Allentown Central Catholic got the other notable win, beating perennial north favorite Stroudsburg 38-14. Logan Bachman, who ran for 1,400 yards and 24 TDs last season, kicked his year off with 29 carries for 223 yards and 3 TDs. Bachman is a huge back (6'2 225) and rumbled his way to a ton of tough yards. Stroudsburg is not as strong as they've been in years past, but it was a good start for the team I picked to finish last in the EPC South.
-Becahi, Emmaus, Parkland, Freedom, Liberty, and Easton all rolled by mercy rule. Nothing to see here.
-Saucon Valley started a freshman at quarterback in their season opener against rival and league favorite Southern Lehigh and walked away with a 27-13 win. They didn't ask Dante Mahaffey to do a ton, but the 9th grader threw for a Td and ran for another, and relied on running back Ian Csisek to pile up 151 yards behind another excellent SV offensive line. Logan Edmond, Southern Lehigh's all state candidate quarterback, threw for 194 yards and ran for 136, but the Panthers largely kept Southern Lehigh out of the end zone.
-The other big upset was Northwestern Lehigh knocked off Notre Dame (GP) in overtime, 42-41 after the Crusaders missed an extra point in overtime. The Tigers had been one of the stronger programs in the Colonial League in the early part of the 2000s, but have fallen on hard time recently. They announced they're back in a big way, rushing for 323 yards against league favorite NDGP. Quarterback Devon Bollinger ran for 139 yards and 3 TDs and threw for 110 yards and 2 TDs, while tailback Nick Henry chipped in 120 yards on the ground. Notre Dame mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback to force OT, but a tough snap on the extra point spelled doom for the Crusaders. Cole DeFranco threw for 342 yards and 5 TDs and ran for a TD, with senior receiver David Sanders catching 8 balls for 187 yards and 4 TDs, but Notre Dame had tons of trouble stopping the Tigers ground game, which proved to be fatal.
