The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference’s nonleague schedule is over and the games that will count in the league standings begin this weekend.
The EPC will enter that phase of the schedule with just two unbeaten teams, Bethlehem Catholic and Pocono Mountain East.
The Golden Hawks and Cardinals will get immediate tests this week as Becahi hosts Easton and the Cardinals travel to Emmaus.
But as the season moves along, the four teams that looked to be among the league’s best a month ago when practice began are starting to live up to that billing and look like teams that could not only contend for divisional crowns, but also district titles.
Those four are Freedom, Nazareth, Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic.
The Patriots got a very important win by rallying past Phillipsburg on Friday night behind a 178-yard rushing performance by Lashawn Johnson and 190 in the air by Michael Stofanak.
The Blue Eagles have been soaring ever since a tough opening night at Garnet Valley. The offense has never been an issue, but the defense appears improved. Quarterback Cooper Madson is establishing himself as the next in a long time of Nazareth QB stars. He threw for 225 yards and three TDs in a 42-14 win over Allentown Central Catholic. Mason Marinelli is one of several quality targets for Madson and he had seven catches for 111 yards against ACCHS.
The Trojans have one of the area’s most proven talents in TJ Lawrence. Against the team that embarrassed Parkland in last year’s district final — a game in which Lawrence was injured — the Villanova commit ran for 186 yards and three TDs. He also had 13 tackles on defense.
While those three will battle it out for 6A supremacy, Bethlehem Catholic appears positioned to compete for 4A honors. The Golden Hawks are stout at the skill positions with quarterback Axel Burkart and receiver Carter Vassa setting the tone.
The key for them is stay healthy going through the gauntlet that is the EPC’s toughest division — the Northampton County division.
Becahi will get its toughest test of the season when it hosts Easton on Saturday, and now that the league games are here the intensity will ratchet up across the EPC.
Tanner time
While many past greats came out to celebrate 100 seasons of Whitehall football on Friday night for the Zephyrs’ Cement Bowl rivalry game against Northampton, the program’s quarterback showed he might belong among them with a dynamic performance.
Senior Tanner Dogmanits completed 18 of 25 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown while also running for 156 yards on 13 carries and scoring three TDs.
He completed passes to seven receivers, with Henry Shultz his favorite target. Shultz, the son of former Whitehall quarterback and longtime area coach Matt Shultz, had six receptions for 84 yards and a TD.
It was the best performance by Dogmanits this season and one of the best of his career.
“We’ve been waiting for that for two weeks,” Whitehall coach Andy Marino said. “It’s good to see him back. He threw some nice balls. He practices really hard and it showed tonight.”
It was on the ground where Dogmanits, who is also a talented basketball player, shined.
“He’s a year older and has spent a lot of time in the weight room,” Marino said. “The game is slowing down for him a little bit. He knows when to use his legs. Some were designed runs and some were not. The best thing he did was not get too aggressive. He took one shot, which was warranted. Sometimes you have to pull him back because he’s an ultracompetitor.”
Dieruff gets into win column
After two tough weeks to start the season, Dieruff got its first win of the season Saturday night, blanking East Stroudsburg North 31-0.
Jio Camacho had a pair of TD runs and three others had one TD run apiece — Aramis Rosado, Sincere Brown and Kayson Barlow. Barlow’s score covered 40 yards. Chase Hawk chipped in two PAT kicks.
“Our kids have been working hard and tonight the hard work paid off,” Husky coach Dave Lutte said. “We got two of our injured linemen back and it made a huge difference. We still made too many mistakes with alignments and assignments, but we will correct those. We have a tough task this week with Pocono Mountain West, so we will have to be at our best.”
Most encouraging for Lutte is that he’s getting more of his injured players back because, after playing West, the Huskies’ schedule gets very tough with Freedom, Whitehall, Parkland, Emmaus, and Allentown Central Catholic before the Oct. 31 season finale against Allen.
Who’s hot
Manolo Bermudez: The Emmaus senior provided a big spark for the Green Hornets offense in a 42-0 win over Scranton. He rushed for 186 yards on 10 carries and had a 13-yard TD run.
Julian Pagan: The Allen quarterback continues to play well, even though the Canaries suffered their first loss, 24-20, to Pocono Mountain East. He completed 17 of 32 throws for 229 yards and three scores with an interception. Three Canary receivers had four catches, including Timajh Plott, who caught two TD passes.
Christian Stiehler: After Pocono Mountain West was blanked by Lehighton in a 35-0 loss, the Panthers bounced back to beat Hazleton 31-6 and Stiehler sparked the offense with 169 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.
Who’s not
Monroe County Division: It wasn’t the best of weekends for the teams from the north. Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg lost for the first time, falling to Pottsville and Liberty, respectively. East Stroudsburg North, the league’s only winless team, fell to Dieruff and East Stroudsburg South lost a defensive squeaker to a previously winless Delaware Valley team. But all was not lost as Pocono Mountain East edged Allen in a battle of unbeatens and Pocono Mountain West beat Hazleton.
Northampton passing: The Konkrete Kids have one of the area’s best running backs in Chase Kessler, but if Northampton is going to make the District 11 6A tournament, it need to get more from its passing game. The K-Kids have one of the lowest passing totals in the EPC and area. They have had just eight completions in three games and just 117 total passing yards in three games. They did a have a season-high 61 yards against Whitehall, with 30 coming on one play.
ES South offense: The Cavaliers failed to score in the second half after taking a 10-0 halftime lead and fell 13-10. Greyson Fuller had a solid night passing, going 10-for-19 for 157 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but South had just 116 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Week 3 scores
Bethlehem Catholic 35, Berks Catholic 14
Dieruff 31, East Stroudsburg North 0
Delaware Valley 13, East Stroudsburg South 10
Emmaus 42, Scranton 0
Freedom 32, Phillipsburg 31
Liberty 28, Stroudsburg 14
Nazareth 42, Allentown CCHS 14
Parkland 44, Easton 14
Pocono Mountain East 24, Allen 20
Pocono Mountain West 31, Hazleton 6
Pottsville 20, Pleasant Valley 19
Whitehall 31, Northampton 19
Week 4 schedule
Thursday night
Stroudsburg at Parkland
Friday night
Dieruff at Pocono Mountain West
East Stroudsburg North at Allen
Freedom at Nazareth
Northampton at Liberty
Pleasant Valley at Whitehall
Pocono Mountain East at Emmaus
Saturday night
ES South at Allentown CCHS
Easton at Bethlehem Catholic