Lehigh Valley high school football roundup: Nazareth survives, Emmaus upsets Bethlehem Catholic, and Easton grinds out another win

Here is a roundup of Friday night’s top Lehigh Valley high school football games in Week 6.

Nazareth 14, Allentown Central Catholic 7

The first quarter ended with a 0-0 tie as both defenses held strong. The second quarter was much of the same until Nazareth’s Caleb Newsome’s 61-yard catch and run set up Jed Bendekovits’ 3-yard score to give the Blue Eagles a 7-0 lead at the half. In the third quarter, Antonio Fontanez found Jareel Calhoun for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7. The game continued to be a defensive struggle, but Nazareth’s Peyton Falzone gave the Blue Eagles a 14-7 lead after finding Newsome for a 13-yard score.

Easton 21, Liberty 13

Gabe Green scored on a 1-yard run to give Liberty a 7-0 lead. A 2-yard TD run by Easton’s Dorian Thomas capped an eight-play, 84-yard drive and tied the game at 7-7. An 18-yard pass from James Parham to Jake Pukszyn with 54 seconds left in the half gave Liberty a 13-7 lead, but fireworks ensued. Easton’s quarterback Cole Ordway rolled left and threw a 38-yard Hail Mary to the end zone, and the prayer was answered by Jasir Frutchey to give the Red Rovers a 14-13 lead with one second left in the half. Neither team found the end zone in the third, but in the fourth, Ordway threw a 23-yard touchdown to Andrew Biddle to put Easton up 21-13.

Emmaus 10, Bethlehem Catholic 0

Emmaus’ Will Buck’s 37-yard field goal went through the uprights, and the Green Hornets led 3-0. Josiah Williams found Rafael Terrero for a 13-yard touchdown, and Emmaus led 10-0 at the half. Neither team was able to generate points in the third quarter and the Green Hornets’ defense held strong the rest of the night, shutting out Bethlehem Catholic and handing the Golden Hawks their first loss of the season.

North Schuylkill 28, Notre Dame-Green Pond 21

After a scoreless first quarter, Caden Mengal’s 13-yard touchdown run made it 7-0 North Schuylkill. Notre Dame tied the game quickly with a 30-yard touchdown run by Josh Ludlow. However, the Spartans answered one play later as Mengel threw a 56-yard bomb to Luke Miller to go up 14-7. In the third quarter, the Spartans engineered a 15-play, 97-yard drive that chewed 8:31 off the clock. It was capped off by a 3-yard run by Joey Flail to go up 21-7 with 2:20 left in the third quarter. Ludlow answered for Notre Dame, and the Crusaders trailed 21-14. The Spartans did not back down, though, as Mengel scored another touchdown, this time an 8-yard run to extend the lead to 28-14. Notre Dame kept the game interesting as Danny Darno threw a 61-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left. The Crusaders got a stop and set up a final drive; however, North Schuylkill’s Collin McGee picked off Darno and sealed the game.

Pocono Mountain West 28, Pleasant Valley 7

Pleasant Valley got on the scoreboard first with a 66-yard run from Valentino Byers-Robinson. Pocono Mountain West put together a nice drive and capped it off with a 15-yard touchdown reception by Brady Behr from Ryder Bray. Bray added his second touchdown pass of the night, this time a 22-yard throw, to extend Pocono Mountain West’s lead to 13-7 at the half. Pocono West connected on a 54-yard pass to get inside the red zone, where the Panthers punched it in on a quarterback sneak, and a 2-point conversion made it 21-7. Late in the fourth quarter, Jalen Drummond scored a four-yard rushing touchdown and extended the Pocono Mountain West lead to 28-7.

Minersville 35, Pen Argyl 20

Minersville’s Dante Carr put the Battlin’ Miners up 6-0 with a 47-yard touchdown run. Pen Argyl’s Damian Tyminski gave the Green Knights a 7-6 lead with a 69-yard touchdown run. Luke Stevenosky’s 19-yard touchdown run gave Minersville a 14-7 lead at the half. Pen Argyl’s Brad Rissmiller threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14. Carr scored his second touchdown of the night, giving Minersville a 21-14 lead. Rissmiller cut the lead to 21-20 with his legs on a 57-yard touchdown run. However, Minersville ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, and Stevenosky added a 10-yard score and a 57-yard score, giving the Miners a 35-20 victory.

The Morning Call’s Jeremy Klump can be reached at jklump@mcall.com. Follow him on X @NUTTYxPROFESSOR.