Congrats to Jeff Braido as Easton's New Football Coach

I first met Easton High School's new football coach as a result of football. Peewee football. Jeff and his wife religiously came to every game in which his nephew Isaiah played. He was at many of the practices, too. I know because his nephew and my grandson were on the same flag football team.

That continued over the years and in other sports, too. Like basketball. I often saw Jeff and his wife at different basketball tournaments, and sometimes sat with him. Though I knew he was an Easton football coach, he was quiet about it. He never attempted to interfere in coaching decisions. He sat quietly in the stands and enjoyed watching the kids play and develop over the years. He cared mostly about the kids, not the score.

On Saturday night, his nephew Isaiah was lit up Pottsville's magnificent Martz Hall with 35 points at Catty advanced in District XI's 3A Boys basketball tournament. Part of the reason for that is Braido's quiet support over the years. I'm sure he was there.

Braido replaces Steve Shiffert, who has come under criticism in recent years. I decline to interject myself in that debate, except to note he won more games than anyone else as Easton's head coach. I am sorry to see him go, but think Braido will give Easton the wins its fans demand and will develop players for college.

Beca Freshman Visit Allen

Yesterday, Becahi's Freshman Football faced Allen High School at J. Birney Crum, and basically repeated the performance put in by the varsity on Saturday. I was able to catch a few good video clips of Dat (#7) tearing it up.

This Saturday, the Freshman will play Central Catholic in what the T-shirts proclaim is a "Holy War." The Varsity squads play on Halloween.

Dieruff - The Team to Watch

Dieruff's loss to the now 5-0 Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks at J. Birney Crum Stadium on Friday night was no surprise. Nor was the lopsided, 65-21 score.  Simmons sizzled. McDaniel mauled. But they played a team that is getting better, week by week. In fact, two years from now, the Huskies are going to be a threat for the Districts.

I won't beat around the bush. The chief problem at both Allen and Dieruff has been poverty. This has led to a transient population in which families move frequently. That often prevents the most athletically gifted students in the Lehigh Valley from excelling. A few things have stemmed that tide for Dieruff. I can't put my finger on any one thing, but have seen a lot of interest in youth sports in East Allentown over the past ten years. Is it the East Side Youth Center? The Wall to Wall basketball program? The frequent tournaments in which fathers and mothers watched their sons and daughters grow up?

Something good is happening. Instead of seeing a deserted J. Birney Crum stadium on Friday night, there was a bit of a crowd. Lots of proud families. One young man, about 7, told me several times that his brother was playing. I sat near one woman who came because she's an alumnus and is excited at how the kids are doing, even though she knows none of them.

Freshmen football players walked up and down the concourse, proudly wearing their Jerseys. I begged them to go easy on my grandson on Monday, when the Freshman team plays Beca, and they laughed.

You won't find a better football stadium in the Lehigh Valley. You also won't find better food, including funnel cakes.

On the field, I could see #50, Badid Haddad, a linemen who made a few key stops throughout the game. He'll be back next year. He gives it everything and  happens to be pleasant young man off the field. 

Senior Shakur Lester (#6) took a kickoff all the way in for a score, and had several great long runs. So did Juniors Devante Robinson (#20) and Jayden Reyes (#1), who will be back next year.

For whatever reason, Dieruff is developing a core of athletes who grew up and have played in the Lehigh Valley. Tough and gritty, they know and have played the same kids who now play for Parkland, Beca, Central, Freedom and Liberty.

They never quit.

Another amazing phenomenon was the band. A reader observes, "They can't have more than twenty people who play instruments and I noticed two of the big bass drummers marching at halftime were actually football players who took their helmets off and never made it to the locker room! I was sincerely shocked at how loud they were, though; I never would have guessed they could generate that much noise."

I laughed when the Husky mascot pretended to pee on the Golden Hawk.

I did see a fight as I left, but it was broken up by the kids themselves. Another good sign. What I see at that football game is a much more hopeful prognosis for Allentown than the NIZ.

The big game Friday night was Whitehall's upset of Parkland. That's Dieruff in two years.

MaxPreps now rates Becahi #6 among AAA teams, and #15 statewide. Easton is rated #4 among AAAA teams, and #9 statewide.

Becahi's Golden Hawks Remain Undefeated

Freddie Simmons (#5) and Michael McDaniel (#2) 

Fireworks! You could see and hear them exploding at Sand Island as the first half ended in Saturday night's gridiron contest between East Stroudsburg South and Bethlehem Catholic. But they were nothing compared to the fireworks on the field. Those were all coming from the Golden Hawks, who were up already up 28-0. Becahi would go on to win its fourth victory in four games this season, by a final score of 42-0.

Was it Fabulous Freddie Simmons, who just last week returned three punts for touchdowns? No, Coaches sheathed their most powerful weapon during the first half, and only used him sparingly in the second. Instead, they relied on some other very powerful weapons.

Michael "M1" McDaniel took the ball down the field for a 61-yard touchdown in Beca's first offensive drive. He improved on that in the next drive with a 99-yard scamper from the one, in what might be a school record. He followed that up later in the game with a 23-yard run to the goal line. He ended the night with 215 yards rushing.

Antwon Keenan also scored on a 21-yard pass.

Becahi's bend-but-don't break defense mounted two goal line stands, stopping the Cavaliers twice when they threatened in the first half.

Then the sack machine went to work. Dante Lonordo had at least two sacks and another two hurry-ups on East Stoudsburg South QB Nick Boushell..

With the game in hand, McDaniel and other starters found themselves on the bench, too, as coaches wisely avoided the temptation to run up the score. High school football is so unpredictable that it could easily have been the other way around.

The Becahi - Pleasant Valley Lightning Bowl

Imagine a high school football game where, suddenly, everyone starts leaving before the half. Imagine a game in which even the bands are sent home. That's what happened at last night's Lightning Bowl at Liberty Stadium, when Bethlehem Catholic's overconfident Golden Hawks hosted a determined Pleasant Valley. Everyone picked Becahi to win, but nobody told the Bears. They came to play football, and very nearly pulled off an upset.

Winning the toss, Becahi marched down the field for an easy touchdown. It looked like it would be a repeat of the trouncing delivered to Liberty High School last week. But just as quickly as Becahi scored, so did Pleasant Valley. Then it did it four more times, sending fans into shock, as thunder rumbled in the distance and fans kept one eye on the game and the other on the weather. As the clock wound down, fans from both sides began to leave, especially after the PA announcer said, "If lightning strikes, seek shelter."

Hickey claims he can't be struck by lightning 

Jim Hickey and his lovely wife Carla were sitting nearby. He refused to go, so i stayed, too. I introduced myself to his wife, figuring I might as well be polite before some bolt flew up my ass.

Hickey claimed he's already been struck by lightning once, so he's got nothing to worry about. "What are the odds of me getting stuck twice?" he asked, and about thirty nearby people decided to leave right away.

"I'm immune, too," I bragged back. "I'm a blogger so I get professional courtesy."

"No, Bernie, all that means is you wouldn't get hit by a geyser of raw sewage," Hickey responded.

While we traded insults, Becahi was marching down the field.  Freddie Simmons managed to score a TD pass right before the end of the first half, despite a limp that seemed to hobble him throughout the game.

As the buzzer went off, Beca was still down 35-21.

After sitting in the rain for 15 minutes, the PA announcer ejected us all at the direction of Liberty's Athletic Director. Play would resume once the lightning had stopped.

I waited until nearly 10 pm in my car,  when both teams returned to take care of unfinished business.

Unfortunately, Pleasant Valley still looked very good. The Bears mounted a nice drive, picking apart the Becahi secondary. Then they kicked a 42-yard field goal, increasing itheir lead to 38-21.

Then Beca went finally woke up after a broken play.

Things looked really bad when Freddie Simmons got the ball on a 3rd and ten and decided to go cross field instead of cutting it up. Then he actually began running toward his own goal line as hungry Bears followed, pouncing on him for the kill. Instead of going down and holding onto the ball, as he is certainly coached to do, Freddie did something any coach would call foolish. He lateraled the ball in the general direction of QB Julian Spigner. His teammate grabbed it and dashed down the field for a touchdown.

What the hell does a coach say when a player breaks every rule in the book and the result is a touchdown?

In addition to the touchdown, that play ignited the team. The Bears would still play tough, but it was all over.

The Golden Hawk offensive line began opening gaping holes for Spigner, as well as Michael "M1" McDaniel and Damien Diaz, with an injured Freddie luring defenders away. A Becahi team known for its air attack suddenly had a ground game. It resulted in three unanswered touchdowns. As the fourth quarter started, Becahi was suddenly on top again, 40-38, with the few fans left making much more noise than the much larger first half crowd.

To its credit, Pleasant Valley never quit. With very deceptive screens and slashing running plays, it marched down the field to the Becahi 2 yard line. Then Beca's defense, which had been incredibly weak throughout this game, suddenly got tough. It bounced Pleasant Valley back three times. On 4th and 2, the Bears took a time out to decide whether to take an easy field goal, which would give them a 41-40 lead, or put the game out of reach with a touchdown. 

They went for it.

And were stopped.

From that point, Becca held onto the ball until one of the most exciting games I've seen was over. A game that had started at 7 pm went until a little after 11. Becahi walks away with a 2-0 record going into next week's game against Pocono Mountain West.

(You can see the crazy lateral at the end of this video clip,)