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East Stroudsburg South holds off Whitehall to claim D11 5A title

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 8, 2024

The matchup was a storied one as the Whitehall Zephyrs (5-6) came to Stroudsburg to play East Stroudsburg South Cavaliers (9-2) for the District 11 5A title. Earlier in the season, the Cavaliers had defeated the Zephyrs 38-7, but as the teams warmed up you could sense that things would be different in this one.

They were.

The Cavaliers got a big night from RB Charles Capers who had 2 rushing TD’s and they withstood a comeback attempt late in the 4th quarter to defeat the Zephyrs 22-17 to claim the District 11 5a Championship.

East Stroudsburg South (ESS) won the toss and deferred, so Whitehall received the opening kickoff. The Zephyrs started out at their own 34 and it was a very quick 3-and-out as the Cavalier defense was on point. ESS then started their initial drive at their own 21 and RB Charles Capers had a nice 10-yard run on the toss play. QB Ivan Laubach then called his own number and broke free on a big 33-yard run to the Whitehall 36. Capers then ran for 5, then hit big on a nice 15-yard punishing run to the Zephyr 10-yard line. Unfortunately, the next 3 plays gained only 2 total yards so ESS brought on K Harrison Aillet to try a 25-yard field goal. The kick was good and with 6:56 left in the 1st quarter the Cavaliers had a 3-0 lead.

Whitehall then began a lengthy drive at their own 39. QB Tanner Dogmanits started things off by throwing it to WR Nolan Schmeckenbecher for 11 yards and 1st down at the 50. RB Brandon Bird then got things going on the ground on a 9-yard run. Bird and Dogmanits then alternated runs as they gained yardage down to the ESS 26. RB Iskander Blanco then had a 5-yard run, followed by 2 straight 5-yard runs from Bird down to the 11. Dogmanits gained 6 on the keeper to give Whitehall 1st-and-goal at the 5, but a false start penalty pushed them back to the 10. Dogmanits ran it for 2 yards as the 1st quarter ended. Beginning the 2nd quarter, Bird ran it for 5 yards and then on 3rd-and-goal at the 3 it was Dogmanits who called his own number again and hit paydirt to make it 7-3 for Whitehall with 11:02 left in the first half.

With the early momentum now switched to Whitehall as they ran on the Cavalier defense, ESS knew they needed to answer before halftime. Starting their next drive at their own 20, Capers again got things going as he ran it for 6 yards. Laubach then threw it to WR Xzavier Pusateri for a short 3-yard gain, and Capers followed it up with a 3-yard run and a 1st down. Laubach then used the play fake and hit Pusateri again, this time for 16 yards to the 48. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there and ESS was forced to punt it away.

Whitehall started their next possession at their own 33, and again it was Bird and Dogmanits alternating runs to gain yardage out to the ESS 49. Dogmanits then hit his brother, WR Talon Dogmanits, for a 6 yard gain. On 4th-and-1 from the 43, Dogmanits took the snap and hesitated and then ran through the Cavalier front for 9 yards and a 1st down at the 34. From there, Blanco pitched in with Bird and Dogmanits on alternating runs down to the 11. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there but Whitehall was able to connect on a 27-yard field goal to extend their lead at 10-3 with only 1:16 left in the 1st half.

The Cavaliers started their next drive at their own 20. Moving quickly due to the clock situation, Laubach hit Capers in stride for a nice 25-yard gain to the 45. After an incomplete pass, Laubach was sacked for a loss of 4 and a false start on the next play made it 3rd-and-19 at the ESS 36. On the ensuing play, the pass was incomplete but a penalty on Whitehall gave ESS new life and a 3rd-and-4 at their own 49. Laubach then hit Capers on a nice screen pass for 9 yards and a 1st down. Laubach then hit Pusateri again, this time for 15 yards down to the Whitehall 27. After 2 straight incomplete passes, Laubach ran it for 5 yards to make it 4th-and-5 at the 22. The Cavaliers lined up for a 39-yard field goal attempt but a bad snap spoiled the play and we went to halftime.

ESS took the 2nd half kickoff and started their drive at their own 33. Capers apparently caught a second wind during the half because he came out determined to carry his team down the field. He had a 4-yard run and then ripped off a huge 43-yard run down to the Whitehall 20. Capers then ran it for 3 down to the 17, and on the next play a keeper by Laubach hit for 6 yards but Laubach was injured on the play and had to come out of the game. On the very next play, Capers took the direct snap and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone for the score. With 10:01 left in the 3rd quarter, ESS had tied the game at 10.

Whitehall got a good kick return and started their next drive at their own 41, but they could not get anything going and it was a 3-and-out and a great punt that rolled all the way down to the Cavalier 10. As Laubach came back into the game for ESS, Capers had runs of 5 and 3 yards and then broke away again for a big 42-yard run down to the Whitehall 40. Unfortunately, ESS would only make it to the 34 and on a 4ht-and-4 there it was Capers getting stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain and a turnover on downs.

Starting at the 34, Bird ran it for 5 yards and then Dogmanits hit for 4 yards. On 3rd-and-1 at the 43, Dogmanits had a short gain aided by a Cavalier penalty so it became 1st-and-10 at the 32. Bird had a short 3-yard run, and then Dogmanits ran it up the middle and fumbled the ball which was picked up by Cavalier LB Alex Perez who rumbled 78 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown. The PAT missed but with 3:16 left in the 3rd quarter it was ESS taking the lead for the first time at 16-10.

Whitehall started their next drive at their own 30. Dogmanits tried to scramble to his left and was hit and sacked for a loss of 5 yards. He was able to gain that yardage back on the next play but his 3rd down pass fell incomplete. Lining up to punt it away, Whitehall went for the fake punt and the pass fell incomplete, give the Cavaliers great field position at the Whitehall 30. 3 straight runs by Capers gained only 4 yards as the 3rd quarter ended. Starting the final period it was 4th-and-6 from the 26, and Laubach hit WR Matthew Mercado for 9 yards and a 1st down. On the very next play disaster struck as Capers fumbled and Whitehall recovered it at the 16. Unfortunately, the Zephyrs only made it out to the 38 and had to punt it right back to the Cavaliers.

ESS started their next possession at their own 17. Laubach hit Mercado for 9 yards, and then Capers had another big run of 24 yards out to the 50. Laubach then hit Mercado again for a nice 25-yard gain to the Whitehall 25. A holding penalty pushed the Cavaliers back to the 35 but Aillet came in and had a nice run that was aided by a late hit out-of-bounds penalty that made it 1st-and-10 at the Whitehall 13. On 2nd-and-10 from the 13, Mercado had a strong 9-yard run to the 4 and on the very next play Capers struck again for a 4-yard TD run. The 2-point conversion failed but ESS had a 22-10 lead with 6:37 left in the game.

Whitehall knew time was running short. Starting their next drive at their own 36, Dogmanits hit WR Elik Warnken for 5 yards. After an incomplete pass, Dogmanits ran it for 4 yard to make it 4th-and-1 at the 45. Under pressure, Dogmanits rolled right and hit wide open TE James Hopkins for a 13-yard gain and a 1st down. Dogmanits hustled his team up to the line and then hit Schmeckenbecher for a big 27-yard gain to the Cavalier 15. Dogmanits then hit Bird for 13 more yards to make it 1st-and-goal at the 2. Again hustling his team back to the line, Dogmanits handed it off to Bird who rumbled into the end zone for the score. Whitehall had cut the Cavalier lead to 22-17 with 5:05 left in the game.

ESS knew they needed to control the clock on their next drive. Starting at their own 32, they got 2 straight runs from Capers for 14 total yards. On 3rd-and-7 from the 48, Laubach hit Pusateri for 8 yards and a critical 1st down at the Whitehall 44. Capers then took over as he ran it 5 straight times for 36 yards to drain the clock and get the win for the Cavaliers, who are the 2024 District 11 Class 5A Champions.

After the game I spoke to East Stroudsburg South RB Charles Capers, and you can find that interview below:

Be sure to check out photos from the game here:  PHOTO GALLERY

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