The crowd may have been limited, but you could still hear the roar of the fans in Andrew S. Leh stadium as Nazareth took on Pleasant Valley for the District XI 6A Quarterfinals. The Nazareth Blue Eagles went into this game with an undefeated record of 6-0 while the Pleasant Valley Bears were competing with a record of 1-2.
The game started off quickly with the first touchdown coming just a couple minutes after kickoff. Quarterback Matt Bugbee threw a pass to Wide Receiver Jaiden Cabrera, which he caught in the end zone. Matt Bugbee also attempted the extra point which was good. This quickly brought the score to 7-0, but Pleasant Valley was quick to respond. After a 17-play drive, Pleasant Valley’s Papaleo got the one-yard touchdown with a successful extra point kick by Shane Paste. There was 2:40 left in the first quarter and the game was tied.
Unfortunately for Pleasant Valley, that would be their final time in the endzone. The next Nazareth touchdown came from a 75-yard kickoff return by Sophomore Nolan Lobb. Tyler Rohn went on to run the ball one-yard into the endzone. Bugbee then secured the PAT and at the end of the first quarter, Nazareth led 14-7.
At this point, Nazareth’s defense became a brick wall while the offense was full steam ahead. With 10:31 left in the second quarter, Nazareth Blue Eagle, Joe Capobianco got a hold of the ball and didn’t stop until he got to the end zone with a 23-yard carry. Once again, Matt Bugbee took the extra kick and got it right between the posts. The score was 21-7, but it wouldn’t end there. Matt Bugbee had another impressive night as both quarterback and kicker. His next highlight came from a 45-yard touchdown run and a successful extra point kick. This raised the score to 28-7 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.
In an effort to get some more points on the board, Pleasant Valley’s Paste went for the 22-yard field goal and it was good. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be enough to contain Nazareth. Bugbee completed a 47-yard pass to Andrew Wells in the end zone with another successful extra point kick. The score was 35-10 as the Blue Eagles brought in the first half. Pleasant Valley had possession of the ball a handful of times throughout the first half, but they were shut down by Nazareth’s powerful defense.
A few minutes into the third quarter, Bugbee found Wells again for a touchdown. This brought the score to 42-10 as the game was quickly approaching mercy rule territory. After a squad change for Nazareth, a pass from senior, Mike McCarty to junior, Jake Hilarczyk got a touchdown with 4:26 left in the third quarter and a new score of 49-10.
The final score of the night came from Mike McCarty in the fourth quarter as Nazareth was able to drive the ball up the field. He ran it in for a five-yard touchdown. This time sophomore, Bugbee kicked the successful extra point. Those were the last points of the night. The end score was 56-10.
Monday night’s win kept Nazareth with an undefeated record of 7-0. They would have gone on to play Stroudsburg in the District XI 6A Semifinals, but since Stroudsburg’s withdrawal from the tournament, Nazareth will have a bye week and go onto the championship where they will face the winner of the Easton-Freedom game. The 6A finals game is tentatively scheduled for November 20th.
