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Parkland Claims District XI Title over Rival Emmaus

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

| November 16, 2024


One of the best things Parkland head coach Tim Moncman does is make adjustments. Three weeks ago, his team was routed by Emmaus, 27-0. In that game, TJ Lawrence was held to 25 total yards and Parkland barely managed 150 total yards of offense. Emmaus did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

The script was flipped Friday night at Whitehall’s Zephyr Stadium, where Parkland denied their bitter rivals a first-ever district championship winning 17-3 and advancing into the state tournament. From start to finish, Parkland had all the answers to everything Emmaus wanted to do and TJ Lawrence, just a sophomore, had one of his most complete performances to date on offense, defense, and special teams.

“We really stepped it up with the energy. We really game-planned against the run. Last game, they only only had one completed pass on us, so we really wanted to stop the run,” Lawrence said of the win.

Parkland had the Emmaus offensive scheme figured out after just one drive, as Reilly Bechtel gained six on the Hornets’ first play from scrimmage, but then was tackled in the backfield on the next two plays. That forced an early punt and the Trojans took over on their own 45. Bechtel would be held in check nearly all night, gaining just 66 yards.

Parkland came out fired up and not only controlled the first quarter clock, but also dominated the line of scrimmage. Osmany Guzman frequently had time to run through his progressions and on the third play of the opening drive, took off up the middle for a gain of 12. On the next play, he flipped a pass down to TJ Lawrence for 11, setting up Parkland on the Emmaus 30. The Hornets would help the Trojans down the field with a holding call, but Lawrence was tackled for a seven yard loss. Parkland was eventually forced to go for the 30-yard field goal on 4th & 9 and Doug Bell booted it through for the 3-0 lead with 4:03 to play in the opening stanza.

Emmaus picked up its first first down on the night on a personal foul facemask. From there, the offense sputtered once again. Jerek Cooper scrambled for a gain of nearly 25, but the play was called back for a hold. Julian Diaz came from his defensive end position and was one of several Trojans in the backfield to get Jerek Cooper for a loss of seven.He was joined by Reid Andrush on the play.

As the game moved into the second quarter, Parkland punted back to Emmaus inside their own 10. Jerek Cooper, backed up to his own 4 after a false start, was nearly caught in the end zone for a safety. Marcel Burden came from his outside linebacker position off the edge and walloped Cooper at the 1-yard line, forcing another punt.

The Trojans took over with 5:28 to play in the half, starting with their best field position on the Emmaus 44. Chase Whitesell halted Guzman’s progress for no gain on second down, but another Emmaus penalty turned a 3rd & 7 into a 3rd & 2. TJ Lawrence took off around the right side down to the 25 and then turned a short pass into an 18 yard gain to move inside the ten. Two plays later, Lawrence was in the end zone from six yards out, increasing the lead to 10-0 with 2:56 left.

Emmaus began its final drive of the first half with the best field position they’d see all night–their own 35. Reilly Bechtel tried to make the most of it, picking up his largest chunk of green on the evening for a gain of 28 yards. A Cooper keeper around the left side for ten yards moved the ball to Parkland’s 24, where Emmaus looked sure to cut into the 10-0 deficit. Bechtel took a handoff up the middle to the 11, but ended up fumbling on consecutive plays. Emmaus retained possession, but with time waning, needed to settle for the 27-yard field goal try. Will Buck’s kick was blocked by TJ Lawrence, who returned the kick out to the Parkland 40 to end the half. This marked the first time Emmaus was shutout in a half on the year.

The second half was a similar story. Emmaus nearly had momentum when Daniel Duggan seemingly picked off a pass along the far sideline on Parkland’s first possession. However, he was ruled out of bounds and instead got credit for a really nice pass breakup. Parkland held Emmaus to -7 yards on their first two drives of the third quarter, as Andrush was busy pressuring Cooper and Burden came away with another sack. On the game, Parkland recorded eight tackles for loss, five of which went against Cooper.

While the Emmaus offense remained static, the Trojans mixed in a few well-timed passes. Guzman hit Nassim Adams over the left side for nine yards and sophomore Naquan Thomason became the featured back for much of the third quarter. His first carry went for 15, marching Parkland to their own 40 in the latter stages of the third quarter. Gashing runs by Thomason and Lawrence, combined with the no-huddle offense produced a ten play, 84-yard scoring drive capped by a Guzman 8-yard touchdown run.

The Hornets were able to flip field position on the ensuing drive, as Ben Jones went up and made a nice snag for 43 yards into Parkland territory. However, the Hornets were thwarted on the next three plays and had to settle for a Will Buck 43-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 17-3. Despite the score, momentum was still squarely with Parkland and it never felt as if Emmaus was going to come back or get another great chance.

Parkland went on to control over nine minutes of the fourth quarter clock. The door was slammed for good on Emmaus as TJ Lawrence picked Cooper off near midfield. The Trojans ran out the final 6:15 of the game, denying their rivals their first district title in school history.

Emmaus was held to just two first downs in the second half and Reilly Bechtel was kept to 66 yards on the night and ten in the final two quarters. Meanwhile, Parkland racked up 223 yards on the ground against a squad that held them to 25 three weeks ago.

“It’s everything. We lost last year and came back to win it this year with probably a more inexperienced team and it’s amazing,” Lawrence said of the win. “I rushed for over 1,000 yards and it’s all because of them[the offensive line].”

Parkland next faces juggernaut St. Joe’s Prep or Imhotep Charter next weekend at a site and time to be determined. Emmaus’ season comes to a close at 10-3.

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