Stroudsburg rolls over East Stroudsburg South

FROM MIKE BLOUSE

Joe Bernard is in his first season coaching Stroudsburg High School's football team. But the 48-year-old is a veteran of the gridiron, having spent more than two decades on the sideline at the scholastic and college levels.

And so, Bernard has coached a lot of players over the years. He calls Mountaineers senior quarterback Rob Bennie "probably the best football player I've ever been around."

Bennie showed off all of his skills — he rushed for 200 yards and passed for 126 — during Friday night's 59-19 Mountaineers' victory over archrival East Stroudsburg South in a Mountain Valley Conference contest at Ross-Stulgaitis Stadium. Bennie scored two rushing touchdowns and passed for another.

"This was definitely one of my better games," said Bennie, who plans to play baseball at the University of Virginia. "It's a great game against our No. 1 rival. But we don't rely on just one guy. Andrew Brome had a great night tonight and Ben Kloepping is my go-to wide receiver. It's a lot better offensively to spread the ball around."

Stroudsburg recognized its undefeated 1971 team at halftime. Former coach Fred Ross received the loudest ovation of the ceremony, which included most of the players from the championship squad.

This year's Mountaineers, who improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in MVC action, turned a tenuous two-point advantage midway through the second quarter into a mercy-rule rout late in the third period by running up 38 consecutive points.

Bennie needed just 14 carries and nine passing attempts to do his damage. He had 151 rushing yards by halftime. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder ran for scores that covered 65 and 13 yards, and threw a 49-yard scoring strike to JaVaughn Patterson.

"He can run the ball, he can throw the ball and he's a very smart player," Bernard said. "He just does a tremendous job."

Stroudsburg's lead was 21-7 early in the second quarter before the Cavaliers scored two touchdowns in a 53-second span. Quarterback Tyler McLaughlin scored on a 13-yard sprint for East Stroudsburg South and speedster Marquis Harp returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. (McLaughlin and Harp hooked up for an 80-yard scoring strike for the Cavaliers' first touchdown.)

The home team, however, responded with three touchdowns in the final 5:29 before intermission to pull away. Darius Gonzalez's 39-yard interception return for a score was the big blow.

"Right at the end of the half we got some momentum," Bernard said. "Darrius' interception and TD was huge. Our defense has been sound all year. We needed to get our offense going, and we did."

Brome, a 5-8, 165-pound senior running back, had a huge night with 123 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. He reached the end zone on runs of 8, 19 and 20 yards.

Rob Karstendiek accounted for the Mounties' other touchdown with a 4-yard run. Jordon Ellison drilled eight extra points and a 38-yard field goal.

The win comes one week after Stroudsburg dropped a 7-3 decision to Pocono Mountain East in its conference opener.

"We were upset after that loss to East," Bennie said. "But we kept our heads up and we came to play tonight. I'm proud of the way we played."

The Mountaineers remain on track to qualify for the Districts 2-4-11 Class 4A subregional tournament.

East Stroudsburg South dropped to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the MVC. Cavaliers veteran coach Ed Christian was not in a reflective mood after Friday's 40-point defeat.

"Rob Bennie is a very good football player. They scored more points than we did. They were the better football team tonight and deserved to win. We'll be back," Christian answered to a series of questions.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/football/mc-stroudsburg-football-20110930,0,5997301.story