FOTBALL RECAP FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Football Recap from the Express Times:

Easton and Phillipsburg advance in football postseason
By Express-Times staff

Hazleton running back, A.J. Petrone, drops a pass while being pursued by Easton linebacker Patrick Murphy in the first half of the Rovers 28-6 victory in the District 2-4-11 semifinal playoffs.Quran Hughes rushed for 110 yards and Jashaad Gaddy added nearly another 100 yards of total offense as Easton advanced to the District 2-4-11 title game with a 28-6 win over Hazleton.

Hughes and Gaddy both found the end zone for the Rovers who will face third seeded Parkland, a 59-30 winner over East Stroudsburg South, next Saturday in the sub-regional final.

Before Easton can turn their attention to the Trojans they must first prepare for rival Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving Day. The Rovers will play two games in a three day stretch next week.

“It’s a tough week but we’re ready,” said Hughes, a senior captain. “We take them one at a time and right now the focus is on Phillipsburg. That’s our biggest game of the year.”

The Stateliners, a 35-7 winner over Westfield in the North 2 Group 4 semifinals, will get a respite from the NJSIAA playoffs before facing Ridge the first weekend in December.

Dana Lee rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns at Maloney Stadium against the Blue Devils defense.

“Dana ran well, and the whole team blocked well,” head coach Bob Stem said. “They came off the ball. Any time you get 300 yards rushing you know you’re doing a lot of things right.”

Tyler Smith bows his head after losing 49 - 21 to Central Catholic at J. Birney Crum Stadium.Also in NJSIAA playoff action, Belvidere did not do nearly enough things right as they were handled by Cedar Grove 46-7 in the NJSIAA North 2 Group 1 semifinals.

Only a 40-yard touchdown run by Kevin Motolla kept the County Seaters from being shut out.

"We’ve always said the line of scrimmage, no matter the level, will dictate the game," said head coach George DiGrande. “Early on they were controlling the line of scrimmage on us.”

Things also did not go as expected for Wilson, as they lost their first game of the season in the District 11 Class AAA final to a physical Central Catholic squad.

Brendan Nosovitch, the Vikings quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and threw for four more to storm coach Bret Comp's Warrior defense 49-21.

“Brendan’s been coming along, getting better and better,” Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough said. “His confidence level is getting higher and higher as the wins pile up. We knew he would be calm and under control.”

While not a district title, Bethlehem Catholic coach Mike Palos ended his inaugural season with an Eastern Conference Div. III championship by defeating Northwestern 13-0 in the final game for legendary Tigers coach Bob Mitchell.

The Golden Hawks were able to bookend a defensive contest with touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters.

“It was an honor to be on the same field with him (Mitchell) tonight,” Palos said. “I just hope one day I could be in his shoes and be the coach that he was.”

Express Times Staff