East football avenges Bucket Game loss, beat PV to advance to 5A district title game
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BRODHEADSVILLE — How would Pocono Mountain East football respond in the district semifinal vs. Pleasant Valley?
That question is two-sided because the Cardinals lost by 24 points to the Bears in the Bucket Game in the regular season, and they lost the regular season finale to crosstown rival Pocono Mountain West. Momentum wasn’t on their side heading into Thursday, Nov. 5, so how would head coach Dustin Thomas's team respond?
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With victory.
In the rematch, East went on the road to avenge the Bucket Game loss and defeat Pleasant Valley 17-14, punching their second-straight ticket to the District 11 5A Championship, where the Cardinals will face Southern Lehigh.
East has become known for its offensive firepower under Thomas, but it was the defense that was the edge, recording two interceptions and recovering a forced fumble to create the momentum needed to win. Defensive coordinator Bobby Fox knew that would be needed against a tough opponent like the Bears.
“If we’re being honest, they ran all over us the first game,” Fox said. “We made a few slight adjustments to a couple of the packages they ran. Our kids really believed in the system, they did their job, and it paid off.”
Fox added that the defense “took it personal” after how the Bucket Game unfolded. Add in the loss to West, and East was “beyond motivated,” as Fox put it, to put on a better performance. More impressive was whom the big plays came from.
Junior Walter Wade, who usually plays safety, suited up at defensive end for Fox and was responsible for the forced fumble in the first quarter. And sophomore safety Elijah Jewell comes up with a timely interception, which set up the game-deciding field goal in the fourth quarter.
“I’m so proud of those two guys as underclassmen, along with the defense as a whole,” Fox said.
Pleasant Valley had two of the best offensive players on the mountain in Cobb and Ward, and both showed up for the Bears Thursday night. Those aren’t players you stop, but East made it a focus to contain those two in the district semifinal.
“We just knew we had to contain Ward and Cobb on the outside and contain the sideline,” Jewell said. “Once we did that, we knew they would be forced to pass, which is the strongest part of our defense.
“Getting the turnovers felt amazing. We needed those big plays during the Bucket Game, and we barely had them. Tonight, it gave us the momentum to come out with the victory.”
Offensively, it wasn’t the best game East has put together, but compared to the last two losses, the offense ran better; it moved more efficiently; it made the plays when it needed to. And it wasn’t because Thomas had a revelation about how to move the ball against Pleasant Valley.
If anything, it was the opposite.
“Typically, every week, I start by erasing my big whiteboard, and I write probably every formation on the board and how teams are playing it, what their blitz percentage is. Like I really dive into it,” Thomas said. “This week I kind of didn't do that. I just trusted my gut and figured, ‘I know what they're going to give me. I know what I'm going to get,’ and I think we just did a really good job executing.”
The result was a simple game plan: run the ball, run the ball some more, and pick spots in the passing game when they’re open. Dustin Thomas will never run a simplistic or watered down scheme, but this was the most straightforward the offense has looked in recent weeks, and it worked.
Evan Garrett broke 1,000 yards for the season in the semifinal; Ceejay Serfass flexed some of his dual-threat ability that came and went throughout the season; and the receivers all made big plays at key moments.
Pocono Mountain East created its own momentum and won. The next challenge will be sustaining that against not only the district title favorite, but a state title favorite in Southern Lehigh. The Spartans, who demolished East Stroudsburg South in the other 5A semifinal, are picked to advance to the state playoffs, which Thomas sees as a potential positive.
“You got nothing to lose. I think you play as loose as you can,” Thomas said. “That doesn't mean that you're undisciplined or unsound in what you're doing, but our guys got nothing to lose.
“Southern Lehigh is a great football team, but anything can happen on any given night. And it will be Friday the 13th, so who knows?”
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: East football avenges Bucket Game loss, beat PV to advance to 5A district title game