Hollywood’s Cutting Room Floor- EPC Edition September 9-17th

The week that was in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South found one of the most successful teams in the state, the Easton Red Rovers fall to 0-3 for the first time in 41 years by dropping a 27-7 decision to the Allentown Central Catholic Vikings on Saturday night. The Rovers fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter, but then only allowed one score after that, but the offense could not capitalize on three drives inside the Vikings 20. An interception, a loss of downs and a missed field goal attempt stalled all the opportunities.

The EPC North had a surprise decision as the Pleasant Valley Bears, behind their signature triple-option attack, edged out a 7-6 win over East Stroudsburg South to move to 3-0 joining Emmaus, Northampton and Nazareth without a blemish on their record.

v

PME got their first win on the season over William Allen this past week 24-22,after losing a heart-breaker to ESN the week before. The Cardinals have Pleasant Valley and Easton coming up in next few weeks. The Cavaliers will be looking to get back in the win column after losing to PV 7-6 and will not be a happy group heading into Swiftwater. Hollywood’s Pick ESS 60 PME 0

East Stroudsburg North(1-2) at Emmaus(3-0) at EPSD Stadium Friday 7PM

The Timberwolves took a thumping at the hands of Northampton 62-6. Romeo Carmen-King was one of the bright spots rushing for 49 of the teams 59 yards total and the only score for North. Pennsylvania Football News has Emmaus ranked 6th in the state in 6A and coming off a 27-19 win over Whitehall. QB Jake Fotta tossed for 240 yards and two scores. Hollywood says look for another blowoot at the Hornets Nest Emmaus 63-0

Pleasant Valley(3-0) at Louis Dieruff(0-3) Friday at J. Birney Crum Stadium 7PM

The one positive Dieruff can take into this contest is that they won three of last four meetings with the Bears, but this is a different Pleasant Valley squad, as they held a potent South offense to just six points and the triple-option will sure pose a problem for the Huskies. Hollywood’s pick PV 48 Dieruff 6

Stroudsburg(1-2) at Pocono Mountain West(1-2) Friday 7pm

PMW had three interceptions against Dieruff and Malachi Walters defensive performance was outstanding with 9 tackles and a sack. Strodsburg struggled with Liberty passing by only throwing for 2 yards even though the outgained the Hurricanes 170-139. A few missed PAT’s were costly in 14-12 loss. This should be a close contest but Hollywood has PMW coming out on to 15-13.

Whitehall(1-2) at Easton(0-3) at Cottingham Stadium Friday 7pm

Easton looking to avoidan 0-4 start still looking for consistent pay from the quarterback position as Joseph Martinez, came into the game with ACC and had decent game as just a Sophomore. Inability to finish drives and some penalties deterred the Rovers from getting the win. Whitehall manged over 300 yards against the #6 Emmaus. Trey Dogmantis threw for nearly 240 yards and two scores. Jack Kocher and Braden Bashore combined for 11 catches and 146 yards each had a TD reception. Expect the rovers to play better at home, but again to much inconsist play Whitehall 21 Easton 20.

Bethlehem Catholic(2-1) at Liberty(1-2) at BASD Stadium Friday 7pm.

Liberty will be the home team as both teams call BASD home. Liberty got their first win against Stroudsburg 14-12. Kareem Brice had 4 catches for 55 yards and Nico Sciarra had a td reception. The Golden Hawks dropped a 21-6 decision to Nazareth. Luke Thomas passed for 155 yards and Eric Wert hauled down 7 passes for 75 yards and Becahi was shutout in the second half. Hollywood says Golden Hawks need this win to keep pace in 4A race, Hawks win 28-18.

Allentown Central Catholic(2-1) at Parkland(2-1) Friday 7pm

Allentown Central Catholic opened up 21-0 lead on Easton but then went into bend-but-don’t-break mentality and could only muster one score for rest of the contest. Parkland knocked off defending district champs Freedom 21-13. RB Trey Tremba did suffer an injury in that game, but quarterback Luke Spang picked up the pace in the win with a 67 yard TD pass to open the second half and then a two yard score to seal the win. With Parkland playing at home and on grass, the only field left in EPC with a natural surface, expect the Trojans to keep pace in the 6A race 28-21. Hollywood will be on the sidelines!

Here is what the District XI Power Rankings Look Like After Three Games