Different Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse, same result.
That, in a nutshell, summed up yet another dismantling of the District 11 champion, this time Easton, by a Philly team in the PIAA 6A quarterfinals Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.
After eight straight wins by St. Joe’s Prep over the Lehigh Valley’s rep, with Parkland, Freedom, and Nazareth taking turns as the victim, La Salle College High School offered a fresh opponent and maybe fresh hope in this year’s 6A elite eight.
But this one looked a lot like the 46-7 rout St. Joe’s Prep delivered against Parkland last year or the 59-21 blowout of Nazareth the year before.
A scoreless first quarter offered some hope before a quick 14-0 burst by La Salle flipped the game the Explorers’ way and a proud Red Rovers team that came in 13-0 never recovered.
The PCL and District 12 champs scored 28 points over the final 7:50 of the first half. Then they scored on their first possession of the third quarter to kick in the mercy rule. La Salle could start making plans for a semifinal matchup against District 1 champ North Penn – a 21-14 winner over Pennridge and former Dieruff coach Kyle Beller – while Easton’s attention could shift to its always special Thanksgiving morning battle with Phillipsburg.
It’s that Turkey Day battle that should help ease the sting of the Rovers’ 49-7 loss to La Salle that had local fans complaining about the boundary vs. non-boundary PIAA situation long before the final whistle. Social media sites were inundated with pleas for the PIAA to change the format, something that has gone on during the state football and basketball tournaments since the Philly Catholic League was allowed to compete in PIAA tournaments in the 2008-09 school year.
Easton’s Skyler Fowlin runs the ball down the field Friday Nov. 21, 2025, against La Salle College High School at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in the PIAA 6A quarterfinal. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)
That discussion will likely rage on for a few more weeks until the state titles are decided, but there was no disputing the quality of the La Salle team (11-1), which beat St. Joe’s Prep twice this year and is now two wins away from its first state title since 2009.
Quarterback Gavin Sidwar, a Missouri commit, threw two touchdown passes, and three different running backs scored touchdowns as La Salle became unstoppable after turning the ball over on downs at the Easton 21 on its first possession.
“In the first quarter, we didn’t come out the way we should have,” Sidwar said. “We had to weather the storm. It was a loud environment. [Easton] had a long band and stuff. We had some momentum going on our first drive, but it stalled out. We knew if we just executed our game plan, the score would turn out like it did. There’s talent over there and they are a well-coached team, but we knew what we had to do.”
On La Salle’s second possession, Sidwar’s passing game, and a couple of productive runs by Ahzir Nelson had the Explorers moving.
On fourth-and-6 at the Easton 19, Sidwar hit Owen Johnson, who got the first down and more as he spun away from defenders and into the end zone for the first score of the game.
After it took more than 16 minutes for the first TD, it took only nine seconds for the next one as Easton fumbled the ball on the ensuing kickoff and the ball bounced to John-Patrick Oates, a James Madison commit, who took it 15 yards untouched for another TD.
The quick turnaround was tough to take for Easton, which had battled hard to stay in the game to that point and had stayed on the ground for three first downs on its first possession.
“We did what we wanted to do coming out, and that was to control the clock and pick up some first downs here and there,” Rovers’ coach Matt Senneca said. “Our kids did that. You just have to play a perfect game against a team like that, and we weren’t able to finish off drives when we had an opportunity. The quick 14 points they scored were just tough. They finally came down and scored in the second quarter, and that was fine, and we just had to regroup and come back. But then we gave that up on the kickoff and that kind of deflated us a little bit.”
Senneca was proud of the effort. His squad, which had been averaging 37.8 points per game and was coming off a 42-point effort against Parkland in the district final, avoided a shutout on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ordway to Sean McPeek with 8:46 left in the third quarter.
But not much later, Senneca began pulling his starters.
Easton’s Jayden Foreman attempts to tackle La Salle College High School’s Owen Johnson runs the ball down the field Friday Nov. 21, 2025, against La Salle College High School at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in the PIAA 6A quarterfinal. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)
“Our kids weren’t intimidated by them or anything,” Senneca said. “They were ready to come out and play Easton football. It’s a credit to our kids that they don’t quit. They are tough as nails. I love them to death and wouldn’t trade them for anybody.”
Sidwar, who finished 15 of 20 passing for 259 yards, said Missouri can wait. He’s focused on winning a state title with his friends before heading to the SEC.
“I don’t really care about college right now,” Sidwar said. “I go to college in January, but I am focused on spending a couple more weeks with my guys. I’ve been with these guys for four seasons, and we’ve had ups and downs together. We just came to work every day, and we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing and fight for one more day together. We know North Penn is a good team, well-coached. But we practice hard and be physical and come out and execute, we should be OK.”
La Salle coach Brett Gordon, who is familiar with Bethlehem since his wife, the former Tanya Russo, went to Bethlehem Catholic and has family living near BASD Stadium, said, “I thought Easton had a really good plan coming out. That first quarter was pretty even across the board. Football, especially at the high school level, is a game of momentum. After we got that first touchdown, we breathed a little sigh of relief, and then the fumble on the kickoff that we returned for a touchdown put them in a 14-0 hole, and we started to get going after that.”
The Explorers, who beat Easton for the third time in a state quarterfinal, are in the PIAA playoffs for the first time since losing to Parkland in an overtime game in 2015. They are 8-4 all-time in the tournament. They outgained 434-213, but were flagged 12 times for 106 yards, with several of the penalties being for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Scoring summary
La Salle 0 – 28 – 14 – 7 – 39
Easton 0 – 0 – 7 – 0 – 7
SECOND QUARTER
L: Owen Johnson 19 pass from Gavin Sidwar (Chris Heck kick), 7:50
L: JP Oates 25 fumble return on kickoff (Heck kick), 7:41
L: Ahzir Nelson 5 run (Heck kick), 3:26
L: Oates 25 pass from Sidwar (Heck kick), 1:24
THIRD QUARTER
L: Desmond Ortiz 1 run (Heck kick), 9:51
E: Sean McPeek 50 pass from Cole Ordway (Noah Borluca kick) 8:46
L: Ortiz 20 run (Heck kick), 0:52
FOURTH QUARTER
L: Jarae Dial 20 run (Heck kick), 5:30
Individual stats
RUSHING
La Salle (20-164): Ahzir Nelson 12-108, TD; Jarae Dial 5-34, TD; Desmond Ortiz 2-21, 2 TDs; Bryce Hanton 1-1.
Easton (37-126): Cole Ordway 13-36; Jeffrey Thomas 12-63; Chris Martinez 10-15; Trevon Tyler 2-12.
PASSING
La Salle: Gavin Sidwar 15-20-0, 259 yards, 2 TD; Luke Gordon 1-2-0, 11 yards.
Easton: Cole Ordway 3-9-0, 87 yards, TD.
RECEIVING
La Salle: Owen Johnson 8-145, TD; Joey O’Brien 3-55; John-Patrick Oates 2-46; Chima Auguste 2-13; Lucas Ferriola 1-11.
Easton: Sean McPeek 2-60, TD; Trevon Tyler 1-27.