VerticalRaise Plus The Funding Zone
 
 
 
SAFR: Safer Through Science
 
CoachComm Cobalt Plus
 
Turf Tank
 

Northwestern Lehigh drops Scranton Prep

Tagged under: District 11, District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 24, 2024

Playoff Central

It was another rematch in the State playoffs for these 2 teams, and there were significant venue changes and weather delays before the matchup could finally take place. Northwestern Lehigh was a perfect 13-0 on the season and fresh off of a big win over Conwell-Egan, while Scranton Prep was 12-1 and came in after defeating Wyoming Area. These schools faced each other in last year’s state playoffs with Northwestern Lehigh getting a 27-6 win, but Scranton Prep had taken a different path to improvement this season with a more difficult schedule. The rematch had the feeling of a different game, but that only lasted for the first half.

Northwestern Lehigh held a close 7-0 halftime lead before a strong second half surge gave the Tigers a 34-0 victory over the Cavaliers as they advanced to face Danville in a big semifinal matchup. Junior TE Shane Hulmes had 2 TD’s and Senior RB Eli Zimmerman had a good night on the ground and also added a punt return for a score.

Scranton Prep took the opening kickoff and started out at their own 22. On the drive, Senior QB Louis Paris had 2 runs for 7 yards and Junior RB Will McPartland ran it 4 times for 11 yards. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the Prep 40 and the Cavaliers punted it away. Northwestern Lehigh started out at their own 29 and Junior QB Shane Leh hit for 14 yards on the keeper to get things going for the Tigers. Senior RB Eli Zimmerman then ran twice for 4 yards but an incomplete pass on 3rd down forced the Tigers to punt it away.

Prep started their next drive at their own 33 after a nice 18-yard punt return by Senior WR Treyvon Dickey. McPartland had 2 runs for 11 yards but an illegal motion penalty pushed the Cavaliers back to the 39. Paris did hit Dickey for a nice 10-yard gain, but it was short of the line to gain and Prep punted it away. Northwestern Lehigh started their ensuing possession at their own 27 and began to gain momentum as they employed the hurry-up offense to keep the Prep defense from adjusting. Zimmerman had 4 runs for 23 yards on the drive to pace the Tigers but several offensive penalties slowed down the momentum. On 2nd-and-19 from the Tiger 42 a deep pass towards Junior WR Mason Bollinger was tipped by McPartland and fell incomplete, and on the next play McPartland again made a terrific play on the ball to defend a pass to force 4th down and another punt.

The Cavaliers started their next drive at their own 20. Dickey ran it around the end and was tackled for no gain but a facemask penalty made it 1st-and-5 at the 25. McPartland had 2 runs for 11 yards as the 1st quarter gave way to the 2nd quarter. Dickey ran it for 1 yard, McPartland ran for 4 yards and then Paris gained only 1 yard on the keeper to force another 4th down and a punt. The Tigers then started a determined drive at their own 20 and again employed the hurry-up. On the drive, Zimmerman had 11 runs totaling 51 yards. The key play on this drive was on a 4th-and-14 from the Tiger 34 when Leh threw a pass that was defended by McPartland and fell incomplete, but a pass interference penalty was called and gave the Tigers new life and a 1st-and-10 at the 19. On the play, Paris had to be helped off the field as he was injured and would not return to the game. The Tigers capped the drive when Junior TE Shane Hulmes scored on a 2-yard run to make it 7-0 Northwestern Lehigh with 2:47 left in the half.

The Cavaliers started their ensuing drive at their own 19 but could not do much and a 3-and-out meant punting it away. The Tigers took over at their own 46 and moved quickly as time was running out in the half. Runs by Bollinger, Leh and Zimmerman drove Northwestern Lehigh to the Prep 38. Leh then hit Zimmerman with a screen pass for 6 yards, and on the next play it was a turn of events as Zimmerman threw it to Sophomore WR Michael Lagowy for 24 yards to make it 1st-and-goal at the Prep 6. 3 straight running plays gained zero yards and as time was running out a 23-yard field goal attempt went wide left to end the half.

Northwestern Lehigh received the 2nd half kickoff and after a terrific kick return by Zimmerman they began the drive at the Prep 48. The Cavalier defense rose to the occasion however and made some big plays to force a 4th down at the 40. Needing 2 yards, Hulmes got only one which forced a turnover on downs at the Prep 39. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers only made it out to the 46 and had to punt it away. On the kick, Zimmerman fielded it at the 23 and broke free down the right sideline for a 77-yard punt return TD that made it 14-0 Tigers with 8:21 left in the 3rd quarter.

Unfortunately, disaster struck the Cavaliers yet again. Their next drive began at their own 32, and having lost Paris to injury it was McPartland under center. On the very first play, he scrambled to the right under pressure and his pass was intercepted by Sophomore LB Brady Zimmerman and returned to the Prep 32. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Leh threw it downfield and the pass fell incomplete but another pass interference penalty made it 1st-and-10 at the Prep 17. 3 plays later, Leh hit Hulmes for a 1-yard score to make it 21-0 Tigers with 7:21 left in the 3rd quarter.

Scranton Prep started their next drive at their own 33. On 3rd-and-7 from the 36, McPartland just missed on a deep pass to Senior WR Brady Holmes but a pass interference call gave Prep a 1st-and-10 at the Tiger 49. On the next play, an illegal blindside block penalty on the Tigers made it 1st-and-10 at the 34. Unfortunately, Prep lost yardage from here and after McPartland was sacked for a 12-yard loss the Cavaliers had to punt it away from the Tiger 48. Starting their ensuing drive at their own 23, Northwestern Lehigh again moved quickly with the hurry-up. The Tigers ran 5 plays but gained yardage only out to the 38. On 2nd-and-7 from there Zimmerman took the handoff and ran right and was tackled out of bounds resulting in a late hit penalty that made it 1st-and-10 for the Tigers at the Prep 39. After a 4-yard run from Zimmerman, Leh then hit Lagowy for a 35-yard TD to give the Tigers a 28-0 lead with only 49 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Prep started their next drive at their own 34, and as the 3rd quarter gave way to the 4th quarter it was another stalled drive for the Cavaliers as they had to punt it away. The Tigers took over at their own 25 and had a 11-play clock-draining drive that was capped by a 2-yard TD run from Bollinger. The PAT missed but Northwestern Lehigh had a 34-0 lead with 5:29 to go in the game, effectively sealing the win as Prep went 4-and-out on the next drive and the Tigers kneeled it out thereafter.

Scranton Prep ended their season at 12-2. Northwestern Lehigh improved to 14-0 and will now face Danville.  My fellow PFN staff member Brian Ptashinski had several interviews after the game, and below is one with RN Eli Zimmerman:

Be sure to check out the photo gallery from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  PHOTO GALLERY

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
QwikCut
 
GoRout
 
Sports Paradise
 
Football Legends board game
 
 
x