October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nHere\u2019s a closer look at each matchup:<\/p>\n
Class 5A<\/p>\n
No. 4 East Stroudsburg South (2-8) at No. 1 Whitehall (8-2)<\/p>\n
When: 6 p.m. Saturday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in the 5A title game against either No. 2 Pocono Mountain East (7-3) or No. 3 Pleasant Valley (5-5)<\/p>\n
The storylines: The Cavaliers beat Whitehall for the district title last year, but this is a vastly different South team that hasn\u2019t been able to replicate their 2024 success. They have scored just 17 points per game and allowed 36.6. They have allowed at least 30 points in seven of their eight losses. They snapped a five-game losing streak with a 22-16 win over winless East Stroudsburg North last week. The Zephyrs, who are going for their ninth district championship and sixth in 10 years at the 5A level, rebounded well from a 53-7 loss to Parkland with an impressive 49-14 victory over Allentown Central Catholic. Their only other setback was a 62-33 loss to Nazareth on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: South senior Gianni Gonnella leads the offense with 1,007 yards rushing and eight TDs. QB Ivan Laubach has added 442 yards and five scores on the ground. Tanner Dogmanits has thrown for 1,849 yards and 21 touchdowns for Whitehall. Bryce Medina has a team-high 39 receptions for 523 yards and Talon Dogmanits has 38 catches for 793 yards and 12 scores. Cole Richards leads all EPC kickers in points scored with 58. He has made 49 PATs and three field goals.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Whitehall 45-7<\/p>\n
No. 3 Pleasant Valley (5-5) at Pocono Mountain East (7-3)<\/p>\n
When: 5:10 p.m. Saturday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in the 5A title game against either No 1 Whitehall (8-2) or No. 4 East Stroudsburg South (2-8)<\/p>\n
The storylines: Both the Cardinals and Bears have staged amazing turnarounds. East was 1-10 last season and PV was 0-11. Both coaches, East\u2019s Dustin Thomas and PV\u2019s Blaec Saeger, have done superb jobs. In the previous meeting Amari Green ran for 119 yards and 3 TDs, and Ceejay Serfass threw for 222 yards. East ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, while PV rebounded from its 28-0 loss to East on Oct. 10 with wins over West and Stroudsburg. East is averaging 30.7 ppg, while PV averages 20.2<\/p>\n
Players to watch: East\u2019s Justin Williams is the top receiver in the EPC with 54 catches for 866 yards and 11 touchdowns. Serfass has thrown for 1,772 yards and 18 TDs and Green has run for 1,260 and 13 scores. PV\u2019s triple-option attack is led by Jaxson Haines, who has thrown for 673 yards and five TDs while Chris Ward has run for 565 yards and eight TDs.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Pocono Mountain East 34-13<\/p>\n
Class 6A
\nNo. 8 Emmaus (4-6) at No. 1 Easton (10-0)<\/p>\n
When: 7:05 p.m. Friday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in next Friday\u2019s semifinals against either No. 4 Liberty (7-3) or No. 5 Freedom (5-5)<\/p>\n
The storylines: The Green Hornets, who have never won a district title, had to sweat out the final power rankings before learning they were in the tournament. They gave an inspired effort against Parkland in their regular-season finale, but couldn\u2019t overcome the athleticism and depth of the Trojans. Emmaus averages 25.2 ppg, allowing 24.4. Easton has been one of the best stories of the season with quarterback Cole Ordway setting records almost every week. The Red Rovers, who won the rugged EPC Northampton division, average 38.4 ppg and allow just 14.7 \u2014 second best in the league. This is a rematch of last year\u2019s district semifinal at Cottingham Stadium, won by Emmaus 20-19 when the Green Hornets stopped a late two-point conversion attempt.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Easton\u2019s Ordway finished the regular season with 992 yards passing and a league-leading 1,468 rushing. His 29 touchdowns and 176 points also topped the league. Andrew Biddle is the top receiver with 34 catches or 403 yards and two scores. Tight end\/defensive end Kurtis Crossman was a two-way all-conference selection. Sean Kilpatrick leads the defense with 76 tackles. Emmaus defensive standout and Richmond commit Robert Edwards has 71 tackles, including five sacks. The return of wide receiver Kai Jefferson-Rushing, who was out since Week 2 with a fractured collarbone, has given the team a spark. He had four catches for 31 yards at Parkland.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Easton 31-13<\/p>\n
No. 7 Stroudsburg (5-5) at No. 2 Parkland (10-0)<\/p>\n
When: 7:05 p.m. Friday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in next Friday\u2019s semifinals against either No. 3 Nazareth (7-3) or No. 6 Northampton (4-6)<\/p>\n
The storylines: The Trojans completed a perfect regular season for the second time in three years. They were not challenged much throughout their 10 wins with a 30.7 average margin of victory, 38.8 over the last seven weeks. Parkland is ranked third in the state in 6A by Pennlive.com. Stroudsburg had a three-game winning streak snapped by Pleasant Valley 10-6, in Week 10. The Mounties, who have scored 24.6 ppg and allowed 29.8, are in districts for the fourth straight season. They lost to Northampton in 2022 and \u201923 and were routed by Easton 42-7 last year. Parkland has qualified for the D11 playoffs for the 15th straight year. The Trojans qualified in 2020, but had their game cancelled due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Stroudsburg is led by junior running back Keyen Johnson, who is third in the league in rushing with 1,311 yards and 12 TDs. Jackson Mitchell has thrown for 1,382 yards and 15 scores. Keegan Munch has 28 receptions for 393 yards and five TDs. Parkland\u2019s TJ Lawrence is 10th in the EPC in rushing with 904 yards and 22 TDs. Finn Coen has thrown for 999 yards and 14 scores and Blake Nassry has 23 catches for 372 yards and seven TDs. Karis Wilkins leads Stroudsburg with 86 tackles. Liam Spang is the Trojans\u2019 leading tackler with 64, including three sacks. Michael Car and Dom Matrich have combined for 11 sacks.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Parkland 47-14<\/p>\n
No. 6 Northampton (4-6) at No. 3 Nazareth (7-3)<\/p>\n
When: 7:05 p.m. Friday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in next Friday\u2019s semifinals against either No. 7 Stroudsburg (5-5) or No. 2 Parkland (10-0)<\/p>\n
The storylines: The Blue Eagles were off to a great start when star quarterback and Auburn commit Peyton Falzone went out with a broken collarbone at halftime of a 56-21 win over Freedom on Sept. 12. The Blue Eagles have gone 3-3 since Falzone\u2019s injury. While he is now out of his sling and making progress with his rehab, there has been no indication he will return to the field. Nazareth\u2019s biggest concerns have been on defense where it has been undersized against most opponents, including Northampton. The Konkrete Kids ran for 448 yards in the first meeting against Nazareth on Oct. 17. Sophomore Chase Kessler ran for a school-record 317 yards and three TDs while Gavin Taff and Zander Rickert added 56 and 52 yards respectively.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Nazareth senior Marquez Wimberly is No. 2 in the league in rushing with 1,378 yards and 18 TDs. Sophomore quarterback Cooper Madson has thrown for 1,191 yards and 12 TDs after replacing Falzone, who threw for 1,176 yards and 11 TDs in 3.5 games. Luke DiPietro is third in the league in receiving with 45 catches for 750 yards and eight scores. Northampton\u2019s Kessler is fourth in the league in rushing with 1,270 yards and 12 TDs while Gavin Taff has thrown for 1,325 yards and 13 TDs. Nazareth\u2019s Cooper Wenrich is the league\u2019s top tackler with 134 stops and the Blue Eagles\u2019 Kaiden Buscemi is among the league leaders in interceptions with four picks.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Nazareth 35-31<\/p>\n
No. 5 Freedom (5-5) at No. 4 Liberty (7-3)<\/p>\n
When: 12:05 p.m. Saturday<\/p>\n
At stake: A berth in next Friday\u2019s semifinals against either No. 1 Easton (10-0) or No. 8 Emmaus (4-6)<\/p>\n
The storylines: It\u2019s a rare situation where two teams who met in the regular-season finale have to battle again the following week. The last time it happened in this series was 2019 when Liberty won to close the league schedule but Freedom came back to win in the district quarterfinals. Those Patriots also went on to win the district title. Freedom has to make a lot of adjustments after giving up 508 yards in offense, including 382 in the air. Freedom had 272 yards on offense, but was hurt by three turnovers and 10 penalties for 100 yards. The win by the Hurricanes snapped a six-game losing streak to Freedom. The Patriots battled back after starting the season 0-2 and 1-3, but lost their last two games.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Liberty quarterback Antonio Fontanez set a school record with his 382 yards passing. He also threw for four TDs \u2014 two each to Zyaire Davis and Jake Pukszyn \u2014 also ran for a score. Fontanez ended the regular season atop the EPC in passing with 2,338 yards and 32 touchdowns. Lehigh commit Pukszyn has 44 catches for 810 yards and 14 TDs while Davis has 37 grabs for 819 yards and 12 scores. Liberty\u2019s JJ Pujals is among the EPC\u2019s top tacklers with 81 stops, including six sacks. Freedom has been hurt by several key injuries. Lashawn Johnson ran for 822 yards, but missed several games due to injury and went out of the Easton game after one carry. Abraham Pla has done well in his place with 370 yards \u2014 an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Quarterback Michael Stofanak has thrown for 1,374 yards and 14 TDs.<\/p>\n
Keith Groller\u2019s pick: Liberty 34-21<\/p>\n
Note: Keith Groller\u2019s picks were 6-3 last week and overall he was 80-23 entering the District 11 4A games involving Allentown Central Catholic and Bethlehem Catholic on Thursday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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