Easton Area High School football team beats Liberty 21-14

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

With the game on the line and a chance to earn a home game in the district playoffs hanging in the balance on Senior Night, it's no surprise who the Easton Area High School football team went to in the clutch.

After some hard running by seniors Kevin Griffin and James Middleton, senior quarterback Ian Hayden scored the go-ahead 9-yard touchdown with 2:22 left as the Red Rovers beat Liberty 21-14 in a Lehigh Valley Conference game on tonight at Cottingham Stadium.

Classmate Jared Powell sealed the victory by intercepting Jim McCarthy with 59.7 seconds left as Easton, which came in ranked third in the Districts 2-4-11 Class AAAA sub-regional standings, won its fifth straight.

"It means everything," Hayden said. "The coaches preached it to us and the players preached it to each other all week. The juniors, sophomores and freshmen all played for the seniors tonight."

The Hurricanes (6-3 overall, 5-3 LVC) tied the score at 14-14 with 10:55 remaining after McCarthy hooked up with sophomore wideout K.J. Williams on a 4-yard touchdown. After exchanging punts, Easton (7-2, 6-2) took over on its own 48.

On first down, Hayden rushed down the right sideline for 5 yards and was hit late out of bounds as 15 more yards were tacked onto the run.

Middleton (15 carries, 63 yards) rushed for five yards, Griffin (10-67) added nine and Middleton had nine more before setting up second-and-1 on the Hurricane 9.

Griffin went in motion to empty the backfield and Hayden took a quarterback draw through the line for the touchdown.

"It means a lot," Powell said. "We definitely didn't think we'd have a chance at getting another home game. It's not secure yet, though. To make districts, we knew we had to win out against a lot of good teams.

"We just worked hard, didn't give up on each other and now we're here."

Liberty, which had its four-game win streak snapped, seemed poised to answer quickly. McCarthy, who rushed for 107 yards with a TD on 16 carries, found Williams down the right sideline for a 28-yard gain.

Fullback Stephon Font-Toomer gained 13 yards on his next two carries before McCarthy found Williams again for seven more yards to the Easton 19.

On third-and-3, Easton junior defensive end Matt Mowad pressured McCarthy before hitting the QB as the ball fluttered in the air.

Powell dove under it and three kneel-downs later, Easton was celebrating.

"We were just trying to get a stop because that's what we needed since we were up by seven," Powell said. "I saw him get hit as he threw it and it wobbled out, so I came up. It was real short, so I had to dive and I made the play."

For the second consecutive week, Easton, the two-time defending District 11 Class AAAA champion, jumped out to a 14-0 lead.

On first down at the Liberty 13, Hayden rolled left and connected with senior tight end Zach Herres for the first score with 6:20 before halftime.

The lead was doubled with a little over eight minutes left in the third quarter as Hayden rushed 13 yards for a score.

Liberty, which came in sixth in the district rankings, got within a TD on McCarthy's 22-yard run on the ensuing possession.

"I don't think it's frustrating, it's disappointing," Hurricanes coach Dave Brown said. "It's not due to a lack of effort. We had our chances; it was a close game and could have gone either way.

"They made a few plays and a few key stops. We shot ourselves in the foot at times. You have to cash in during a big game."

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