Dieruff Comes Out on Top In Classic Allentown Rivalry

In a tough year, the Allen and Dieruff game provided some much needed normalcy for the people of Allentown. Coach Liuttles squad came ready to play in the much anticipated rivalry game. The Huskies defense came out swarming to the football forcing the Allen offense to go three and out on their first possession of the game. 

Although the Huskies offense couldn’t get anything going on their first possession on offense they relied on their defense to stand tall with the bend but don’t break mindset. Faced with an early fourth down, the Canaries elected to go for it on the fifty-yard line, but the Huskies denied them, stuffing them at the line of scrimmage, giving the Huskies the ball at the fifty-yard line. The Dieruff offense wasn’t going to let this field position go to waste. A few plays after the big stop, the Huskies found the end zone behind Javon Rodriguez’s two yard rushing touchdown giving Dieruff a 6-0 late in the first quarter.

The Canaries offense, led by quarterback Jonthan Marks, looked to respond, but couldn’t as the Dieruff defense forced Allens offense to go three and out for the third time. Having all the momentum on offense, the Huskies looked to build their lead after three big plays. The Dieruff offense found themselves at the Allen ten-yard line. Moments later, junior running back Christian Sell found the end zone on a ten-yard rush extending their lead to 12-0 early in the second quarter. 

The Canaries desperately needed an answer. Senior quarterback Johnathan Marks gave the Canaries just that by extending plays with his legs. On a two-play drive, the Canaries found the end zone behind Gabino Martin’s one yard rushing touchdown. With momentum building on the Canaries side, they looked to get a stop on defense and they got it. Forcing the Huskies to punt on just a three-play drive. Looking to tie the game going into half, Marks found wide receiver Darius King for a forty-yard pass and catch giving the Canaries offense the ball at Dieruff’s twenty-yard line. Just a play after that big pass and catch Marks had his pass tipped and picked ending a promising Canary drive. Dieruff went into the half up 12-6.

Coming out of the half, the Huskies looked to take a commanding lead. They did just that when senior quarterback Marc Castro found an open wide receiver for a 70-yard pass and catch giving the Huskies a 19-6 lead early in the third quarter. After the big touchdown by Dieruff, they looked to give the Canaries no momentum. They did just that when they stopped Allen at their forty yard line delivering a crushing blow to Coach Clay’s Canary squad. 

The huskies offense set up shop at their own forty-yard line. Looking to take advantage of the field position, they did just that by dialing up a trick play that resulted in running back Christian Sell throwing the ball to wide receiver Jayden Booth. This resulted in a 70-yard touchdown, extending their lead 25-6 late in the third quarter.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Canaries desperately needed a big play and their defense provided it by strip sacking Marc Castro and recovering the ball at the Dieruff twenty-yard line. Already standing tall multiple times, the Huskies did it again by responding with a strip sack of their own on Allen’s backup quarterback Darmel Lopez giving the Huskies offense the ball back at midfield. Allen’s defense was still solid today besides giving up two 70-yard touchdowns. 

Holding the Dieruff offense. Dieruff lined up to punt and the punt was blocked and returned by Darius King, giving the Canaries life and the ball inside the Huskies five. With under thirty seconds left to play in the third quarter, Allen punched the ball in a two-yard rushing touchdown sending a message to the Huskies that they weren’t going down without a fight. 

Starting the fourth quarter, the Huskies pounded the ball with their rushing attack killing the clock and keeping Jonathan Marks and the rest of the Canary offense off the field. Despite the Huskies running the ball effectively in the fourth quarter the Canaries still stood tall coming up with a big stop and giving the ball back to their offense. In the middle of the fourth, the Canaries were driving down the field and looking to come within one possession, but the Huskies did what they did best on Saturday making the big play at the right time. 

That play came when defensive end Jose Ramos stripped quarterback Jonathan Marks for the second time. With that sack by Ramos, it pretty much iced the game for the Huskies. I caught up with Dieruff’s head coach Dave Lutte after the game and asked him what was the key of coming away with a victory over Allen? Lutte replied, “We are learning from our mistakes from the past and keep grinding and making plays when plays needed to be made.” This was Lutte’s first win over Allen as Dieruff’s head coach. Finally I asked him, “Are you looking forward to next year?” He replied, “Absolutely! This is the most important offseason in Dieruff football history.”