'Playing for more than just us': Pleasant Valley retains Old Oaken Bucket vs. PM East
BROADHEADSVILLE — In a dominant performance at home, Pleasant Valley retained the Old Oaken Bucket, defeating Pocono Mountain East 21-0 in the 63rd meeting between the two teams.
It was a packed house at the Bears' home field as students celebrated Senior Night while enjoying another installment of the decades-long rivalry. Head coach Blaec Seagar predicted such an atmosphere earlier in the week, and when he was asked how his team got the win, he pointed to crowd of students that rushed onto the field.
"The celebration says it all," Seager said. "Our guys knew they were playing for more than just us. They knew they were playing for generations of people that played in this, the entire community, the entire school."
Outside of the Oaken Bucket, it was a test of wills as both the Bears and Cardinals ran triple option offenses. But Pleasant Valley was dominant throughout, leaning heavily on senior Alexander Ecker and the offensive line to come out with the victory.
While Ecker carried the load, quarterback Valentino Byers-Robinson put Pleasant Valley on the board with a goal-line sneak to take the lead 7-0.
East did succeed against the Bears' defense, moving down the field with a solid running attack of their own. But self-inflicted wounds often halted the Cardinals' momentum, as it did when quarterback Rocco DelGiudice was picked off deep in the red zone by Joey Brustein.
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Pleasant Valley also shut down another scoring opportunity by blocking an East field-goal attempt to keep the score 7-0 at halftime.
The second half is where Ecker did most of his damage, scoring a rushing touchdown in the third and fourth quarters to finish with 111 yards and two scores, eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
East continued to fight in the second half and did have several big plays, but the offense was plagued with false start penalties, and the Pleasant Valley defense was tackling well for most of the night.
The Bears almost added another score when Byers-Robinson rushed into the end zone, but a holding call took it off the board. After that, Seager decided to run out the clock to secure the victory.
With the win, Pleasant Valley improves to 5-4, setting up a crucial season finale against Stroudsburg to solidify their spot in the 5A district playoffs. Pocono Mountain East falls to 2-7, and their season finale is against Pocono Mountain West.
Week 9 scores
Stroudsburg 42, Allen 0
After suffering a blowout loss to East Stroudsburg South, the Mounties bounced back in a big way by shutting out Allen. It's likely that they will make the playoffs, but Stroudsburg is fighting for seeding in the postseason as the bottom four teams in 6A all have similar records.
Allentown Central Catholic 42, Pocono Mountain West 10
West has solidified itself as a playoff team, but the Panthers take another blowout loss at the hands of another Lehigh Valley team. They end their season in a favorable matchup against Pocono Mountain East, which should provide some momentum going into the postseason.
East Stroudsburg South 41, Dieruff 28
The Cavaliers keep their playoff hopes alive with their third straight win. As things stand now, South will probably need Stroudsburg to beat Pleasant Valley to have a chance at the postseason, but they've done everything required on their end and will end the season at home against a rebuilding North squad.
Northampton 31, East Stroudsburg North 0
The Timberwolves were punching two levels above their weight class against the third-best team in 6A. It was a tall task before the game, and it showed after the game. That said, they could play spoiler and end South's chances with a win in the season finale.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Pleasant Valley football keeps Old Oaken Bucket in 21-0 win vs. PM East
