Seven thoughts to come out of a big night in Emmaus

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

It was a memorable game and a memorable night at East Penn School District Stadium where Emmaus outlasted Easton 14-7 in a defensive struggle.

Here are seven thoughts, not necessarily deep thoughts or shallow ones, but seven thoughts I take from one of those games that will be talked about on Saturday around the Valley, and maybe even throughout the state.

(1) Even though he came from Pennridge with some great credentials, not everyone was thrilled with Emmaus' decision to hire Randy Cuthbert (seen below at right).

    But it's clear that this guy can coach. He has brought a physical and mental toughness to the Green Hornets, taking the next step from what Joe Bottiglieri had established. The 43-year-old Cuthbert played at statewide power CB West, Duke and in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers and he has brought the Steelers style of football here and that style starts with toughness in the trenches, especially defensively. Special teams are important, too, and the punting of Wyl Miller played a key role tonight, ultimately setting up Emmaus' first scoring drive.

(2) Cuthbert has surrounded himself with great assistant coaches who know Lehigh Valley Conference football. There's lots of familiar faces such as former Freedom head coach and longtime area assistant Sam Senneca, former Whitehall coach Stan Luckenbill, former Dieruff coach Keith Brader. Former CCHS standout Jose Delgado is on the staff and so is Dieruff alum Randy Hannis. Some of these guys have been coaching against Easton for years and know what the Red Rovers do and how they do it. In a game like tonight's, that experience certainly came in handy.

(3) You can't rely on one guy, no matter how good. Shane Simpson shouldn't be the whole Easton team, but it seems like he is. He played one series, carried twice for five yards, and was done for the night with an apparent ankle or foot injury. Once he was gone, the Red Rovers lacked big-play potential and really struggled to throw the ball consistently.

(4) Steve Shiffert, Easton's longtime coach, could have used Simpson's injury as an excuse, but he chose to set the right tone for his team by not dwelling on it. Maybe the Red Rovers were looking for excuses, but Shiffert was not. He was disappointed with his team's effort, saying they didn't seem to be listening when he warmed them about Emmaus' tenacity. "Lackadaisical" is one of the words Shiffert used.

(5) Emmaus is a big school, but with a small-town feel. East Penn School District Stadium is probably the smallest in the Lehigh Valley Conference but the bleachers are always packed and that creates a great atmosphere. It was also kind of neat to see all of the Emmaus students come out to the game and support the team, this team using a camouflage theme. I don't think school officials wanted the kids to run on the field at the end of the game, but it didn't get too out of hand and 's not every day you beat Easton.

(6) Emmaus better enjoy its game against Northampton next week because the schedule gets extremely difficult after that with Liberty, Whitehall, Nazareth and Parkland all to follow. Can the Green Hornets hang in the race? The defense is stout, and I like kids like Andrew Davidson (seen carrying the ball below at left) and Kyzir White, but the offense will need to take it up a notch for Emmaus to survive that gauntlet down the stretch.

(7) Easton and Shane Simpson will be back. Preliminary indications were that the injury was not serious. Shiffert hoped this game will be a wakeup call. He didn't like his team's focus and didn't like how they reacted to the adversity of losing Simpson. Easton will likely steamroll past Freedom and Northampton the next two weeks and should be favored against Liberty and Nazareth as well.

 Whitehall comes to Cottingham on Oct. 25 and despite their losses tonight, it wouldn't surprise me if both the Rovers and Zephyrs come into that big one on three-game win streaks.