When I sit down to schedule high school football games, you just never know what you are going to get. That was not the case this past weekend. Every game had the potential to be a classic or, as often happens when there is so much hype, disappointing the spectators and the viewers at home. Well, guess what – every game became a future classic.
The night began with Easton traveling to Bethlehem to take on Freedom. Freedom was coming off their first loss of the season and Easton was trying to stay alive in the Conference championship race. Based on past meetings, Easton was probably a heavy favorite to win and quickly jumped out to a 13-0 lead after three possessions and maintained that lead at the half. And Easton would receive the second-half kickoff.
Easton did not get a first down and Freedom scored on the following possession: 13-7. Freedom’s defense caused four turnovers on Easton’s next four offensive sets and finally scored with 2:07 to go in the game: 13-13 with the extra point to follow for the win. It was blocked! 13-13 at the end of regulation.
Easton fumbled in overtime and on a fourth and one, Freedom won the game 19-13. One could make the argument that this was the biggest win in Freedom football history.
Game two matched undefeated Notre Dame (9-0) against undefeated Saucon Valley (9-0). The winner would most likely win the Colonial League championship. Saucon Valley last won the title in 2004 and Notre Dame had never won one.
Notre Dame scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 35-35. With 45-seconds to play in regulation, Saucon Valley scored and captured a thrilling 42-35 victory. Notre Dame’s quarterback threw for 224 yards and ran for 111. Saucon’s Evan Culver ran for 208 yards and two TD’s. Saucon’s QB Zach Thatcher ran for 172 yards and three TD’s and threw for 86 yards, 75 on the last drive.
And, believe it or not, the craziest game was saved for Saturday afternoon with Liberty taking on Central Catholic. For starters, the score was 75-54!! 129 points! Nineteen touchdowns were scored! Liberty won.
Liberty rushed for 594 yards; Central ran and threw for 561. The game featured 1,206 total yards when all the passing numbers were added. Liberty’s Gunner Anglovich scored seven TD’s and rushed for 361 yards. Central’s Alvin Pacheco scored four rushing TD’s. Central QB Ethan Persa threw for 343 yards. Oh, there were three punts in the game. That might be the most unbelievable stat. There were possessions when a team did NOT score!
So, we hit the tri-fecta this past weekend and it will be pretty much impossible to duplicate these three games on one weekend. But… Freedom plays Liberty on Saturday and Central plays Bethlehem Catholic (another offensive machine) on Saturday night.
Who knows… just maybe…
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- One of the more common phrases used in sports is that “defense wins championships”. The World Series proved the opposite – “Lack of defense loses championships”. The Mets had six errors in five games, none bigger than the throwing error by Lucas Duda that kept them from winning Game Five.
- The Royals won their second title with the previous one coming in 1985. Remember they lost Game Seven last year to the San Francisco Giants. Ironically, the Mets led after eight innings in three games they lost.
- The NCAA will probably now switch to a centralized replay review system like that used by the NFL, NBA, NHL, and the MLB after the fiasco at the end of the Duke-Miami game. There were eight laterals, and four missed calls that would have resulted in a Duke win. The officiating crew was suspended for two games, but the ruling on the field was not changed. Miami won!
In case you missed the play:
http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/11/01/miami-duke-ending-ncaa-replay-reform-refs
- With the Eagles having a bye week, all the football attention in Philadelphia was on the Notre Dame – Temple game. Both teams came in ranked in the NCAA. Notre Dame had one loss and Temple was undefeated. The atmosphere was electric and Temple played a superb game losing late on an interception by a 24-20 score. It’s good to see a Philly school play big-time college football again.
- The District XI football brackets will be out by noon on Sunday. There will be four classifications for the last time as the District adds two more starting next season. The first round in AAAA and semifinals in AAA, AA, and A all start on the weekend of the 13th.
And finally, a very, very sad note. Last week’s blog focused on former Easton football player “Chevy” Graham and his determination to play college football at Kansas. He achieved that goal. Tragically, this past Monday, his 14-year-old sister, Lelieth, died in her sleep. She was an honor student and involved in many in-school and out-of-school activities. She suffered from an irregular heartbeat. So tragic. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2015/11/chelsie_graham_recalled_as_act.html
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 8-6; OVERALL 76-43 (64%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK NINE)
CINCINNATI
GREEN BAY
PATRIOTS
NEW ORLEANS
MIAMI
ST LOUIS
JETS
OAKLAND
GIANTS
ATLANTA
DENVER
PHILADELPHIA
SAN DIEGO
