EASTON IS MORNING CALL TEAM OF THE YEAR

The 2009 Easton Red Rovers can fill up scrapbooks and history books with tales of amazing grit and accomplishment from a 13-2 season.

Among those memories: Joy and tears from coach Steve Shiffert on Nov. 28 as he stared into the eyes of his exhausted players at Cottingham Stadium, victorious for the third time in an eight-day span, 21-14 over Parkland in the District 11 final.

Champions again, a season after posting a 7-6 record and having a 10-year district playoff streak snapped.

That provided fuel for this season, one that ended in defeat in the cold and snow, 17-14 to La Salle Catholic High in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals.

Again there were tears.

''I was really upset,'' senior linebacker Kyle Frankenfield said. ''It was a rough loss. We almost had it. That last drive, we were so close.''

A diving catch by Jonathan Bisci had Easton at the 19-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Hope of a school-record 14th victory was restored, then ended with 3:10 left when the Red Rovers failed to get a first down.

But one drive, crushing defeat did not taint all that Easton accomplished, finishing as co-Lehigh Valley Conference champs with Central Catholic, a district title, a blowout win over Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving.

And today, Easton is rewarded as The Morning Call's team of the year, beating out Central Catholic, which finished 12-2.

''It was a wonderful season,'' Frankenfield said. ''We had great team chemistry. It was the most fun I've had playing football.''

Game 1 was was dogfight against East Stroudsburg South. Easton overcame a 14-0 first-half deficit to win 24-22 at Cottingham Stadium.

The Red Rovers played eight more home games, losing one – 7-6 to Emmaus on Sept. 25.

Frustrated, embarrassed, Easton appeared to be at a crossroads with the Emmaus loss, one week after a 14-3 road victory over Parkland.

''We were fortunate that they were mature enough to deal with that [Emmaus loss] and they came out and worked their butts off for the next couple weeks after that,'' Shiffert said.

Tough defense, unpredictable offense highlighted the rest of the season.

''After the loss to Emmaus it was a wake up call, then the Nazareth game [Oct. 9] is where I think we really came together as a team,'' junior lineman Ben Lorigan said.

Nazareth led 17-0 in the first half at Cottingham, stirring frustration in Eastonians. Shiffert then opened up the playbook and Easton rallied for 33-23 victory.

The veteran coach, known throughout his highly successful career at Easton as a run first, pass second coach, kept the playbook open and kept defenses on their heels with junior quarterback Justin Pacchioli rolling out and finding receivers open every where.

Senior running back Quran Hughes rushed for more than 1,100 yards and senior Jashaad Gaddy ran for 802, but Pacchioli's 1,361 yards and 17 touchdowns was a big bonus to the the success.

Grueling play on both sides of the ball, though, is what set Easton apart from other teams. Central Catholic and Parkland made their own statements, but Easton appeared to earn the most admiration.

''This year those kids were resilient to play that many games in eight days and win,'' Liberty coach Tim Moncman said. ''Probably for not the snow ... ''

Maybe, Easton would have beat La Salle, then Ridley in the state semifinals to advance to the school's first state final.

But the Red Rovers are not dwelling on that could have happened. A lot of good happened in a season to remember.

''We became so cohesive as a unit and we just didn't want it to end,'' Lorigan said. ''We just really enjoyed it.''

Frankenfield said, ''I will definitely cherish this season for years to come. It's something I will talk about with my teammates and people that I meet for the rest of my life. It was a great experience.''

One for the history books.